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Chase Flexible Rewards Visa Signature Card0% APR for up to 6 months*
Earn 1,000 bonus points2 with your first purchase. Enjoy great rewards that you can redeem with as few as 2,500 points. Save even more with 0% APR for up to 6 months* and no annual fee. The time period for the introductory APR and the balance transfers to which it will apply will be based on our review of your application for Flexible RewardsSM Platinum Visa® card and credit history. *Valid for introductory period so long as you comply with the terms of your account. Also, we apply payments to introductory balances before balances with higher APRs. This means that the length of your introductory period may vary based on your payment amounts and the APRs for other balances on your account. Learn more about rates, fees, and other cost information by reviewing Pricing & Terms. 1No points will be earned on balance transfers, cash advances, overdraft protection advances, convenience checks, money orders, finance charges, unauthorized or fraudulent charges or fees of any kind, including fees for products that protect or insure the balances of your account. Maximum point accumulation is 5,000 per month/60,000 per year. Points will expire after 60 months. 2Please allow 4 to 6 weeks after your first purchase for bonus points to be applied to your account. 2
DID YOU KNOW?
China has been the largest economy in the world for eighteen of the past twenty centuries and it is clearly determined to regain its role as the hegemonic power in Asia and then challenge U.S. global leadership. Will it be able to sustain its 10% economic growth rate, quell rural discontent, build a sound market-based financial system, privatize dominant state-owned enterprises and move towards openness and democracy? This is a tall order and you can put me in the skeptic column. Nevertheless, China’s raw industrial power, momentum and the palpable ambition of the Chinese people could realistically yield a huge return. I advise my clients to go ahead and invest in China but emphasize that this is a speculative investment. It is smart to protect against the considerable downside risk. Here is a simple plan you might want to execute to capture the upside while cutting your losses if the Chinese economy hits a speed bump. First, you could take a broad stake in China through investing in the China iShare exchange-traded fund (FXI) that is comprised of 25 of the largest and most liquid China names. All of the 25 stocks included in the China iShare are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Some of them are incorporated in mainland China (H shares) and some of them are incorporated in Hong Kong (red chips). The China iShare has been picking up steam in the last few months and is up just over 12% so far this year. The China iShare provides good exposure to three key sectors of China: energy (20%), telcom (19%) and industrial (18%). This concentration can be viewed as a plus or a minus depending on your perspective. For example, some smart investors are placing a bigger bet on China’s consumer markets. The top five companies represent 40% of the index. The annual operating expenses of the China iShare are only 0.74% compared to 2% plus for other alternatives out there including actively managed China and greater China regional funds. Keep in mind that most of these companies are still largely controlled and owned by the Chinese government. Next, you could take out some insurance to protect this position by purchasing a put option on the China iShare (FXI). It sounds complicated but is actually very straightforward. An option is a right to buy (call) or sell (put) 100 shares of a security on a fixed expiration date at a set price (strike price). For this right an investor pays a fee or premium. While you may grumble about paying the premium with cold hard cash when you might not need it, you probably have home insurance just in case disaster strikes and no doubt you have some life insurance as well. Why not protect your portfolio as well? It is especially important to consider hedging against more risky emerging markets such as China. While countries like China offer tremendous upside potential, the downside risk can be daunting and immobilize even the bravest investor. Let’s look at a couple of examples. Say you buy 100 shares of the China iShare (FXI) which is trading at $62 per share. Your total exposure is $6,200. Then purchase a put option (right to sell the China iShare) that gives you the right to sell FXI at a price of $60 on the third Friday in January 2008. I think we all can agree that a lot could happen to China, good and bad, from now until January, 2008. If the price of the China iShare moves down toward the strike price, the value of the option will increase. This will cost you a premium of a little over $500 but limits your potential loss to $2 per share plus the premium. Or buy a put option at a strike price of $50 and your premium drops to about $200 with a worst case scenario of a loss of $12 per share plus the premium. Here is another example. You know Latin American markets are hot and believe the bull market will continue but are wary that there is the potential for a sharp pullback. You could buy 100 shares of the Latin America 40 iShare (ILF) giving you exposure to Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Chile at a price of $113 for a total exposure of $11,300. Then buy a put option giving you the right to sell 100 shares at a strike price of $100 in March 2006 for a premium of around $300. Your worst case scenario would then be a loss of 15% with unlimited upside. Keep a cool head when investing in emerging market countries like China. They should represent only be a small portion of your portfolio and, whenever possible, take out some insurance.
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