IPO imports
Initial public offerings are “back in a big way,” with the hottest ones coming in emerging markets, said Barbara Kollmeyer in Marketwatch.com. The recent debut of the Brazilian arm of Spain’s Banco Santander SA, on both the São Paulo and New York stock exchanges, raised about $8 billion—making it the “biggest IPO in the world to date.” Meanwhile, Chinese offerings alone represented about 63 percent of global IPO dollars in the third quarter. “For U.S. investors, it’s worth paying attention to what these markets are offering, though outright buying of new companies is a tricky proposition.” That’s especially true when foreign companies decide to list their IPOs on their own country’s exchanges, as many are now doing. Even when a company does opt to list on a U.S. exchange, “retail investors rarely get the best price.”
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Holiday shopping: Wait
The holiday shopping season got off to an early start this year, said AnnaMaria Andriotis in SmartMoney. Hoping to win back wary consumers, some retailers started decking the halls and rolling out holiday discounts as early as July. “Bah, humbug!” It’s still best to wait until after Thanksgiving to buy. In anticipation of slower business, retailers have ordered much less inventory than they did last year—so they won’t unveil the real deals until they begin to get a handle on what’s actually selling. If you’re worried that a particular item on your list will sell out, plan to buy no later than mid-November. But if you’re looking for a serious deal, you’ll see the biggest bargains a few days before Christmas, when merchandise is typically 75 percent off.
