Review of value investors

Value investing has been a time-tested strategy, and there have been several successful investors who have become well-known for their adherence to this approach. Here are a few popular value investors:

Warren Buffett: Often considered the most successful value investor of all time, Buffett is the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. His investment philosophy focuses on long-term value, quality businesses, and buying companies at a reasonable price.

Benjamin Graham: Known as the "father of value investing," Graham laid the foundation for this investment approach. His book, "The Intelligent Investor," is a classic in the field.

Charlie Munger: While often associated with Warren Buffett as his business partner, Munger is an accomplished value investor in his own right. He emphasizes the importance of understanding multiple disciplines for successful investing.

Seth Klarman: The founder of the Baupost Group, Klarman is a highly respected value investor known for his disciplined and conservative approach to investing. He authored the book "Margin of Safety."

Joel Greenblatt: A hedge fund manager and author of "The Little Book That Still Beats the Market," Greenblatt is known for his simple yet effective value investing strategy.

Howard Marks: Co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management, Marks focuses on risk assessment and market cycles. His memos on investing are widely followed in the investment community.

These investors have different styles and approaches within the realm of value investing, but they all share a common emphasis on finding undervalued assets and having a long-term perspective.

TOP 5 events important for investors in the new week

1.  Retail in the USA

U.S. retail sales data will be closely watched for signs whether consumer spending - a key driver of economic growth - remains resilient in the face of elevated interest rates.

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates at a record pace last year in an effort to rein in inflation. However, with price growth slowing, the potential pace of interest rate cuts this year and whether the economy will avoid recession are key questions on the minds of markets.

2. Bank results

Bank earnings releases will continue from Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW), which are expected to be released on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, following mixed results from large lenders on Friday.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, the largest U.S. bank and indicator of the economy, said consumers were still spending and markets expected a soft landing, but warned that government spending could still push up prices.

3. Davos

The 54th annual World Economic Forum titled "Rebuilding Trust" will begin on Monday in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

Politicians, central bankers and business leaders will discuss the difficult global economic outlook, including the war in Ukraine and Gaza, trade concerns and rising debt levels.

4. China's GDP

China is scheduled to publish full-year GDP data, which will show how well it has achieved its official target of 5% growth in 2023.

In addition, Germany also intends to publish full-year GDP data, which may show that the euro zone's largest economy experienced a shallow recession in 2023.

Britain will release closely watched inflation data, a day after the latest jobs data. Core inflation is expected to remain well above the Bank of England's 2% target.

5. Oil prices

Oil prices look set to remain volatile in the coming week after rising 1% on Friday as a growing number of tankers were diverted away from the Red Sea. This comes after US and UK attacks on bases of Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen following a number of attacks by the latter on merchant ships.

During the week, the price of Brent crude oil fell by 0.5% and WTI by 1.1%. At the beginning of the week, sharp price cuts by the largest exporter, Saudi Arabia, and an unexpected increase in the supply of WTI and stocks raised concerns about supply.

Is it worth buying Amazon shares?

Today, Amazon is one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world. Since entering the stock exchange, the price of its shares has been steadily increasing.

This trend is not expected to reverse in the near future.

Relatively stable price growth makes Amazon shares a safe investment. Investors willingly invest their capital in fast-growing companies that regularly generate huge profits.

It might seem that the best time to buy Amazon shares is behind us. Is it really so?

We believe there is still a lot of money to be made in Amazon shares. If you want to earn more profits, adopt a long-term strategy.

How to invest in Amazon? Where is the best place to buy company shares? What financial instruments to use?

Benefits of investing in Amazon shares:

• Amazon is a fast-growing company. From the very beginning, he has been successful in the e-commerce industry. It has millions of customers around the world. It achieves multi-billion turnover, which is growing year by year;
• High growth potential. If the company maintains its growth rate, its share price is likely to increase. Much depends on Amazon's annual reports. With more income, the value of the stock increases almost automatically;
• Constantly rising share price. Since the foundation of the company and its debut on the stock exchange in 1997, the value of Amazon shares has steadily increased. The company survived three major crises during this time;
• Numerous investment opportunities. Investing in stocks is very easy these days. You have easy access to many financial instruments, trading platforms and online brokers;
• Since Amazon is a leader in many markets, it is quite safe to invest in the company. However, it is worth taking a long-term perspective and not focusing on quick earnings. Buying shares for €250 won't make you rich in a few months. However, it can be profitable in the long run;
• Low fees. Most reputable trading platforms charge minimal transaction fees. Use eToro or similar providers and only pay when you make a profit.

Disadvantages of investing in Amazon:

• No dividend. Amazon does not offer shareholders a share of the profits;
• Big competition. While Amazon continues to lead the industry, more and more companies are growing at a similar pace. Tesco is currently in position number 2. The turnover of the British company in 2020 amounted to EUR 8.1 billion. It is closely followed by Zalando and Otto.

World stock exchanges

 Here you will find an overview of the most important international stock exchanges.

There are many exchanges around the world. Many states have one or more systems for trading securities - stocks, options or other derivatives. Exchanges can be distinguished by the type of instrument traded on them, e.g. stock exchanges, futures exchanges, forex exchanges or commodity exchanges. The stock exchange can be defined as a place where supply and demand physically meet, e.g. on the New York Stock Exchange NYSE

Stock exchange - a place of trading in securities

Different classes of securities, assets are traded in many places. For example, US stocks are traded on the NYSE, while forwards are traded on special futures exchanges such as Eurex. Most trading venues are now electronic exchanges, where electronic trading takes place. Deciding which exchange to choose doesn't just depend on the type of securities you want to buy or sell. Fees, trading volume, spreads and current prices play a significant role. Price differences between exchanges, however, are minimal in these automated times.

Large international exchanges

The largest exchanges are currently located in North America and Asia. The NYSE and NASDAQ in the US often dictate the pace of world trade. When trading on international exchanges, you should look at the opening hours of the exchanges, because due to the existence of different time zones, the opening hours of individual exchanges vary significantly. The world's largest stock exchanges are listed in the table below

Exchange	Country	Short
NYSE	USA	XNYS
NASDAQ	USA	XNAS
Tokyo Stock Exchange	Japan	XJPX
Shanghai Stock Exchange	China	XSGE
London Stock Exchange	United Kingdom	XLON
Euronext	Europe	XBRU, XPAR
Hong Kong Stock Exchange	China	XHKG
Shenzhen Stock Exchange	China	XSHE
Toronto Stock Exchange	Canada	XTSE
Bombay Stock Exchange	India	XBOM

A very successful six-month period for the world stock exchanges

Friday's session on Wall Street ended with increases in the main indices. Investors focused on macro data from the US economy, including the PCE deflator, which is considered a favorite indicator for Fed members. Once again, the growth leaders during Friday's session were tech companies.

The Dow Jones Industrial closed up 0.84%. and amounted to 34,407.60 points.

The S&P 500 ended the day up 1.23%. and amounted to 4,450.38 points.

The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.45 percent. and closed the session at 13,787.92 points. The index had its best first half of the year in four decades.

The growth leaders during Friday's session were tech companies that pushed US stock markets up throughout the very successful first half of 2023.

After a few percent have gained, among others Nvidia, Meta Platforms, Netflix, Microsoft, Amazon. Apple gained 2.3 percent. and exceeded USD 3 trillion in capitalization.

All three major U.S. stock indices gained more than 2 percent in the past week.

America is the fastest growing major economy. Thanks "Bidenomica"

 The US is the fastest-growing major economy in the post-pandemic period thanks to Bidenomica, President Joe Biden said in Chicago on Wednesday during a speech on his economic policy. He added that his policy, based on investments in American industry, education and infrastructure, is a "fundamental break" with the current "drip theory".

Biden stated that while he didn't create the term "Bidenomics" (the Wall Street Journal did), he would use it. At the same time, he contrasted his approach to "Reaganomics" with the "drip theory", i.e. an approach favoring the richest in the belief that benefits - eg lower income - for them "drip" to the lower classes. Biden describes his approach as developing the economy "from the inside out and from the bottom up, instead of just top down."

Biden also summarized the main pillars of his policy and his achievements to date, including increased investment in education and research, multi-billion public investment in infrastructure, the semiconductor industry and green technologies, and support for labor unions.

He contrasted it with the current approach, which he believed had caused industries to flee abroad, wreak havoc on entire communities and cities, and cut investment, making America lose ground in key areas such as semiconductor manufacturing, infrastructure, and research spending.