State of the Economy - 2014

Looking back, the year hasn't been as bad as 2008 nor 2011, but it sure comes close. MERS virus was a global scare in the Middle-East and gave me visions of World War Z (the movie). It was made worse with the uncontrolled outbreak of Ebola virus in Africa.

Crimea was annexed and the Great Russian Bear came a calling. West European nations desperately attempted in their disorganised manner to shore up their East European neighbours as the new democracies faced the threat from the the Rise of the Big Bad Bear. Ukraine is starting to look like a Yugoslavia.

The US pulled out of the quagmire of Iraq and Afghanistan, only to see the onslaught of a new threat in the form of ISIS. Strange bedfellows unfold in this complex environment.

All these while, the US has been espousing the rhetoric of "Pivot to the Pacific" to confront China and the many issues in the Pacific region. The Middle Kingdom continues to grow economically and militarily. The future of a new era of East vs West Part II is in the works.

Meantime, a Malaysian airline flew all over the Pacific and Indian Ocean, only to go missing and likely crashed into the depth of the ocean, in an ocean far far away, and in an opposite direction from where it was originally headed, co-incidentally, to China. Someone else shot down another over Ukraine. Not a good year for airlines, especially if you are MAS. SIA is not having a fun time with Tiger Air either.

Fires and tornadoes raged in US. Fear of icebergs melting raised fear of the impending disaster of the impending Great Flood. Water scarcity continues to be pitched as a scarce resource that bears further investments into, more so than the glitzy allure of Gold.

How do all these affect my stock portfolio? Not much actually. In the end, the shares' performance depend on investor sentiments, underpinned by the longer term profitability and potentials of the companies. Well managed companies with products or services that can sell and sell at good margins are what makes for growth.

Related:
A Sea of Red - Oct 2014
Pattern of Behavior - A Review for 2013
Recollections of my companies (2011)