Thursday 29 September 2011

What is the Best Technical Analysis Charting Software?

The choice of the best technical analysis charting software very much depends on an investor's, trader's or chartist's needs and trading style. The financial instrument traded does not really play a major part in the decision process as almost all technical analysis (TA) software can chart stocks, bonds, commodities, forex, futures and options without any problems. As long as basic OHLC (Open, High, Low, Close) market data-feed is available, you're in business. All the TA software discussed below are capable of displaying chart types like OHLC, Line and Candlesticks, and also various standard technical indicators like MACD, RSI, Stochastics, Moving Averages and Fibonaccis, to name a few. Some of these software also contain some esoteric technical indicators like Bressert DSS, Woodie's pivots and Andrew's Pitchfork.
There are basically 3 types of Technical Analysis charting software. They are the End of Day (EOD), the Real-Time and the Analytics or Algorithmic Trading software (read Trading Charting Software for more details).

End-of-Day Technical Analysis Charting Software

In this segment, there are two charting software that are head and shoulders above the rest of the competition. They are Metastock and NeoTicker EOD. Other than displaying stunning charts of stock trends, these software tools allow you to easily program trading systems and backtest them against historical financial data. They also include a multitude of technical analysis indicators that are sufficient for the most demanding of traders. Tradestation used to be a standalone product, very similar to Metastock, but since they are now integrated with a brokerage account, they are more of a real-time automated trading software.

Real-Time Technical Analysis Charting Software

The undoubted kingpins in this area are Reuters and Bloomberg, but these systems are normally used by professional money managers and are just too expensive for the regular investors or traders. eSignal is one of the better real-time software which is very popular amongst active traders and which is packed with loads of technical analysis features (read eSignal review). In terms of price and functionality however, one of the best real-time technical analysis software is Medved QuoteTracker. Other than providing the best "bang for the buck", the other main notable feature of QuoteTracker is its seamless integration with data-feeds and integrated trading features from online brokers like Interactive Brokers, optionsXpress and Ameritrade.

Analytical/Algorithmic Technical Analysis Charting Software

If "on-the-fly" real-time technical analysis scanning is what is required, it is difficult to beat the capabilities of NinjaTrader, Tradestation and NeoTicker. These software enable active traders to scan, in real-time, thousands of securities in search of ones that meet pre-programmed technical and fundamental analysis criteria. NinjaTrader and Tradestation also have the capability to automatically manage trades i.e. set profit targets, stop loss and trailing stops based on the trader's pre-programmed strategy using NinjaScript or Easy Language respectively. Another notable alternative in this segment is a lesser known but very capable software called StockWatch Pro. Both these analytics software can use a variety of data-feeds including live datafeeds from eSignal and QCharts. ** Note: StockWatch Pro's website at Crontech seems to have been taken down. It's a pity as this was such a capable piece of software.
Another interesting software in this category is TradingSolutions. It is a financial analysis and investment software that combines technical analysis with neural network and genetic algorithms. It has the ability to learn patterns from historical data, allowing you to create highly accurate trading systems that inform you when to buy and sell for the various types of financial markets, including stocks, futures and currencies (FOREX).

Data-Feed for TA Charting Software

The data-feed is the lifeblood of any TA software so choosing a high quality feed will ensure that your investment in a TA software will not be in vain. Remember, "Garbage in, garbage out". Good real-time or EOD data-feeds like Reuters and Standard and Poors are expensive but they do get the job done. There are also some very good alternative data-feeds like eSignal, IQFeed and Stockwatch which are acceptable in quality and are quite reasonably priced (in the range of $20-$100 monthly). Most online brokers also provide a data-feed (usually for a nominal monthly fee) which can be of high quality. One such broker is Interactive Brokers, which provides a hardy real-time market data-feed for use in 3rd party charting front-ends like Medved QuoteTracker. A good test for a data-feed is to see how it performs during high intensive trading periods for e.g. like Fed Interest rate decision days. Data from a poor feed provider will lag badly during these periods. If just a free streaming service is required, you can't go wrong with ADVFN, who offer FREE streaming stocks and shares data from around the world

Friday 23 September 2011

Fibonacci

What Does Fibonacci Retracement Mean?
A term used in technical analysis that refers to areas of support (price stops going lower) or resistance (price stops going higher). The Fibonacci retracement is the potential retracement of a financial asset's original move in price. Fibonacci retracements use horizontal lines to indicate areas of support or resistance at the key Fibonacci levels before it continues in the original direction. These levels are created by drawing a trendline between two extreme points and then dividing the vertical distance by the key Fibonacci ratios of 23.6%, 38.2%, 50%, 61.8% and 100%.

Fibonacci retracement is a very popular tool used by many technical traders to help identify strategic places for transactions to be placed, target prices or stop losses. The notion of retracement is used in many indicators such as Tirone levels, Gartley patterns, Elliott Wave theory and more. After a significant price movement up or down, the new support and resistance levels are often at or near these lines


 

 

What Does Fibonacci Extensions Mean?
Levels used in Fibonacci retracement to forecast areas of support or resistance. Extensions consist of all levels drawn beyond the standard 100% level and are used by many traders to determine areas where they will wish to take profits. The most popular extension levels are 161.8%, 261.8% and 423.6%.


In practice, most traders use Fibonacci extensions in combination with other technical indicators/patterns to help them determine appropriate target prices. As this chart shows, the 161.8% level is often used to set the price target on a breakout of an ascending triangle. This specific target is calculated by multiplying the vertical distance of the triangle by the key Fibonacci ratio of 61.8% and then adding the result to the upper resistance of the triangle.

Fibonacci Arc


What Does Fibonacci Arc Mean?
A charting technique consisting of three curved lines that are drawn for the purpose of anticipating key support and resistance levels, and areas of ranging.
Fibonacci arcs are created by first drawing an invisible trendline between two points  (usually the high and low in a given period), and then by drawing three curves that intersect this trendline at the key Fibonacci levels of 38.2%, 50% and 61.8%. Transaction decisions are made when the price of the asset crosses through these key levels.

Fibonacci Fan

What Does Fibonacci Fan Mean?
A charting technique consisting of three diagonal lines that use Fibonacci ratios to help identify key levels of support and resistance.


Fibonacci fans are created by first drawing a trendline through two points (usually the high and low in a given period), and then by dividing the vertical distance between the two points by the key Fibonacci ratios of 38.2%, 50% and 61.8%. The result of these divisions each represent a point within the vertical distance. The three 'fan' lines are then created by drawing a line from the leftmost point to each of the three representing a Fibonacci ratio.

Fibonacci Numbers/Lines

What Does Fibonacci Numbers/Lines Mean?
Leonardo Fibonacci was an Italian mathematician born in the 12th century. He is known to have discovered the "Fibonacci numbers," which are a sequence of numbers where each successive number is the sum of the two previous numbers.

e.g. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, etc.

These numbers possess a number of interrelationships, such as the fact that any given number is approximately 1.618 times the preceding number.
Investopedia explains Fibonacci Numbers/Lines
Interpretation of the Fibonacci numbers in technical analysis anticipates changes in trends as prices tend to be near lines created by the Fibonacci studies. The four popular Fibonacci studies are arcs, fans, retracements, and time zones

Wednesday 14 September 2011

Most traded currencies by value

Currency distribution of global foreign exchange market turnover


RankCurrencyISO 4217 code
(Symbol)
 % daily share
(April 2010)
1
United StatesUnited States dollar
USD ($)
84.9%
2
European UnionEuro
EUR (€)
39.1%
3
JapanJapanese yen
JPY (¥)
19.0%
4
United KingdomPound sterling
GBP (£)
12.9%
5
AustraliaAustralian dollar
AUD ($)
7.6%
6
SwitzerlandSwiss franc
CHF (Fr)
6.4%
7
CanadaCanadian dollar
CAD ($)
5.3%
8
Hong KongHong Kong dollar
HKD ($)
2.4%
9
SwedenSwedish krona
SEK (kr)
2.2%
10
New ZealandNew Zealand dollar
NZD ($)
1.6%
11
South KoreaSouth Korean won
KRW (₩)
1.5%
12
SingaporeSingapore dollar
SGD ($)
1.4%
13
NorwayNorwegian krone
NOK (kr)
1.3%
14
MexicoMexican peso
MXN ($)
1.3%
15
IndiaIndian rupee
INR (INR)
0.9%
Other12.2%
Total[8]200%

Australian dollar

The Australian dollar is popular with currency traders, because of the comparatively high interest rates in Australia, the relative freedom of the foreign exchange market from government intervention, the general stability of Australia's economy and political system, and the prevailing view that the Australian dollar offers diversification benefits in a portfolio containing the major world currencies, especially because of its greater exposure to Asian economies and the commodities cycle.[4] The currency is commonly referred to by foreign-exchange traders as the "Aussie."

Value of the Australian dollar

In 1966, when the Australian dollar was introduced, the international currency relationships were maintained under the Bretton Woods system, a fixed exchange rate system using a U.S. dollar standard. The Australian dollar, however, was effectively pegged to the British pound at an equivalent value of approximately 1 gram of gold.
The highest valuation of the Australian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar was during the period of the peg to the U.S. dollar. On 9 September 1973, the peg was adjusted to US$1.4875, the fluctuation limits being changed to US$1.485 - US$1.490[9]; on both 7 December 1973 and 10 December 1973, the noon buying rate in New York City for cable transfers payable in foreign currencies reached its highest point of 1.4885 U.S. dollars to one Australian dollar.[10]
On Monday 12 December 1983, the Australian dollar was floated, allowing its value to fluctuate dependent on supply and demand on international money markets. The decision was made on 8 December 1983 and announced on 9 December 1983. [11]
In the two decades that followed, its highest value relative to the US dollar was $0.881 in December 1988. The lowest ever value of the Australian dollar after it was floated was 47.75 US cents in April 2001.[12] It returned to above 96 US cents in June 2008,[13] and reached 98.49 later that year. Although the value of the Australian dollar fell significantly from this high towards the end of 2008, it gradually recovered in 2009 to 94 US cents.
On 15 October 2010, the Australian dollar reached parity with the US dollar for the first time since becoming a freely traded currency, trading above US$1 for a few seconds.[14] The currency then traded above parity for a sustained period of several days in November, and fluctuated around that mark into 2011.[15] On 2 May 2011 the Australian Dollar hit a record high since the floating of the dollar. It traded at a $1.1011 against the US Dollar. [16] Some have even suggested the dollar could rise as high as 1.70 USD by 2014. [17]
Some commentators claim that the value of the dollar in 2011 is related to Europe's sovereign debt crisis, and Australia's strong ties with material importers in Asia and in particular China.[18]
Economists posit that commodity prices are the dominant driver of the Australian dollar, and this means changes in exchange rates of the Australian dollar occur in ways opposite to many other currencies.[19] For decades, Australia's balance of trade has depended primarily upon commodity exports such as minerals and agricultural products. This means the relative value of the dollar varies significantly during the business cycle, rallying during global booms as Australia exports raw materials, and falling when mineral prices slump or when domestic spending overshadows the export earnings outlook. This movement is in the opposite direction to reserve currencies, which tend to be stronger during market slumps as traders move value from falling stocks into cash.
Although not considered a reserve currency, high volatility and its unorthodox movement in exchange rates has contributed to the AUD's status as one of the most traded currencies in the world.[4] Other factors include a relative lack of central bank intervention, and general stability of the Australian economy and government

Exchange rate policies

Prior to 1983, Australia maintained a fixed exchange rate. The first peg was between the Australian and British pounds, initially at par, and later at 0.8 GBP (16 shillings sterling). This reflected its historical ties as well as a view about the stability in value of the British pound. From 1946 to 1971, Australia maintained a peg under the Bretton Woods system, a fixed exchange rate system that pegged the U.S. dollar to gold, but the Australian dollar was effectively pegged to sterling until 1967.
With the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system in 1971, Australia converted the traditional peg to a fluctuating rate against the US dollar. In September 1974, Australia valued the dollar against a basket of currencies called the trade weighted index (TWI) in an effort to reduce the fluctuations associated with its tie to the US dollar.[21] The daily TWI valuation was changed in November 1976 to a periodically adjusted valuation.
On 12 December 1983, the Australian Labor government led by Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Treasurer Paul Keating floated the Australian dollar, with the exchange rate reflecting the balance of payments and other market drivers.

Commodity Prices And Currency Movements

Predicting the next move in the markets is the key to making money in trading, but putting this simple concept into action is much harder than it sounds. Professional forex traders have long known that trading currencies requires looking beyond the world of FX. The fact is that currencies are moved by many factors - supply and demand, politics, interest rates, economic growth, and so on. More specifically, since economic growth and exports are directly related to a country's domestic industry, it is natural for some currencies to be heavily correlated with commodity prices. The top three currencies that have the tightest correlations with commodities are the Australian dollar, the Canadian dollar and the New Zealand dollar. Other currencies that are also impacted by commodity prices but have a weaker correlation are the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen. Knowing which currency is correlated with what commodity can help traders understand and predict certain market movements. Here we look at currencies correlated with oil and gold and show you how you can use this information in your trading. (For background reading, see The Most Popular Forex Currencies.)

Oil and the Canadian DollarOver the past few years, the price of commodities has fluctuated significantly. Oil, for example, surged from $60 a barrel in 2006 to a high of $147.27 a barrel in 2008 before plummeting back below $40 a barrel in the first quarter of 2009 and rising to above $80 in 2011. Similar volatility can be seen in the price of gold, which hit $1600 an ounce in June 2011 and then a new high of over $1,800 an ounce a few months later in August 2011. With many countries around the world in recession, the trend of commodity prices can mean the difference between a deeper downturn and a faster recovery. Knowing which currencies are affected by what commodities will help you make more educated trading decisions. (Find out how the everyday items you use can affect your investments in Commodities That Move The Markets.)
Oil is one of the world's basic necessities - at least for now, most people in developed countries cannot live without it. In February 2009, the price of oil was nearly 70% below its all-time high of $147.27 set on July 11, 2008. A decline in oil prices is a nightmare for oil producers, while oil consumers enjoy the benefits of greater purchasing power. This is a complete 180-degree change from the situation at the beginning of 2008, when record-high oil prices put a big smile on the faces of oil producers while forcing oil consumers to pinch pennies. There are a number of reasons to explain the fall in oil prices, including a stronger dollar (oil is priced in dollars) and weaker global demand. As a net oil exporter, Canada is severely hurt by declines in oil, while Japan - a major net oil importer - tends to benefit.

Between the years 2006-2009, for example, the correlation between the Canadian dollar and oil prices was approximately 80%. On a day-to-day basis, the correlation can break, but over the long term it has been strong because the value of the Canadian dollar has good reason to be sensitive to the price of oil. Canada is the seventh-largest producer of crude oil in the world and continues to climb up the list, with production in oil sands increasing regularly. In 2000, Canada surpassed Saudi Arabia as the United States' most significant oil supplier. Unbeknownst to many, the size of Canada's oil reserves is second only to those in Saudi Arabia. The geographical proximity between the U.S. and Canada, as well as the growing political uncertainty in the Middle East and South America, makes Canada one of the more desirable places from which the U.S. can import oil. But Canada does not service only U.S. demand. The country's vast oil resources are beginning to get a lot of attention from China, especially since Canada stumbled upon a new stash of oil after a reclassification of its Alberta oil sands to the "economically recoverable" category. (Read more in Peak Oil: What To Do When The Wells Run Dry.)

Figure 1 shows the clearly positive relationship between oil and the Canadian loonie. In fact, it should come as no surprise that the price of oil actually acts as a leading indicator for the price action of the CAD/USD. Since the traded instrument is the inverse, or USD/CAD, it's important to note that based on the historical relationship, when oil prices go up, USD/CAD falls and when oil prices go down, USD/CAD rises.

cad usd, canadian dollar, oil, commodity
Figure 1: A look at the correlation between the price of oil and the price action in
the CAD/USD from January 2005 to March 2009
Source: FXCM

Oil and the Japanese EconomyAt the other end of the spectrum is Japan, which imports nearly all of its oil (compared to the U.S., which imports approximately 50%). As of 2011, it is the world's third-largest net oil importer behind the U.S. and China. Japan's lack of domestic sources of energy, and its need to import vast amounts of crude oil, natural gas and other energy resources, make it particularly sensitive to changes in oil prices. Japan also lacks the flexibility to switch to nuclear power because it is a huge net importer of uranium for its nuclear power plants. As of 2008, the country's dependence on imports for primary energy stood at more than 84%. Oil provided Japan with 49% of its total energy needs, coal with 20%, nuclear power 13%, natural gas 14%, hydroelectric power 3% and renewable sources a mere 1%. Therefore, when oil prices skyrocket, the Japanese economy suffers. (Hedge against rising energy prices and diversify your portfolio; read ETFs Provide Easy Access To Energy Commodities.)

An Attractive Oil Play: CAD/JPY
Looking at this from a net oil exporter/importer perspective, the currency pair that tops the list of currencies to trade to express a view on oil prices is the Canadian dollar against the Japanese yen. Figure 2 illustrates the tight correlation between oil prices and CAD/JPY. More often than not, oil prices tend to be the leading indicator (as with USD/CAD) for CAD/JPY price action with a noticeable delay. As oil prices continued to fall during this period, CAD/JPY broke the 100 level to hit a low of 76.

cad jpy, canadian dollar, yen, oil, commodity
Figure 2: A look at the correlation between the price of oil and the price action in the CAD/JPY from January 2005 to March 2009
Source: FXCM

Going for GoldGold traders may also be surprised to hear that trading the Australian dollar is just like trading gold in many ways. As the world's third-largest producer of gold, the Australian dollar had an 84% positive correlation with the precious metal between 1999 and 2008. Generally speaking, this means that when gold prices rise, the Australian dollar appreciates as well. The proximity of New Zealand to Australia makes Australia a preferred destination for exporting New Zealand goods. Therefore, the health of New Zealand's economy is closely tied to the health of the Australian economy, which explains why the NZD/USD and the AUD/USD have had a 96% positive correlation over the same time period. The correlation of the NZD/USD with gold is slightly less than that of the Australia dollar but is still strong at 78%.

nzd usd, new zealand  dollar, gold, commodity
Figure 3: A look at the correlation between the price of gold and the price action in the NZD/USD from January 2005 to March 2009
Source: FXCM

A weaker, but still important, correlation is that of gold prices and the Swiss franc. The country's political neutrality and the fact that its currency used to be backed by gold have made the franc the currency of choice in times of political uncertainty. From January 2006 until January 2009, USD/CHF and gold prices had a 77% positive correlation. However, the relationship broke down somewhat in September 2005 as the U.S. dollar decoupled from gold price movements. (For further reading, see The Gold Standard Revisited and What Is Wrong With Gold?)
Trading Currencies as a Supplement to Trading Oil or GoldFor seasoned commodity traders, it may also be worthwhile to look at trading currencies as an alternative or a supplement to trading commodities. In addition to being able to capitalize on a similar outlook (e.g. higher oil), traders may also be able to earn interest if they are on 2% margin or higher with most brokers. When trading currencies, you are dealing with countries, and countries have interest rates, of course. For example, a trader who may have bought the AUD/USD in March 2009 would be able to earn up to 3% in interest income if Australian interest rates remained at 3.25% and U.S. interest rates remained at 0.25% for the entire year. The 3% comes from taking Australia's central bank rate, which is the amount earned, and subtracting the nearly 0% rates paid for shorting the U.S. dollar. These are unleveraged rates, which mean that with 10 times leverage, for example, net of any exchange rate changes, the interest income would be that much higher. Leverage also makes the trade riskier, which means that if the trade turns against you, losses will be larger.

Along the same lines, if you shorted AUD/USD to express a short gold view, you would end up paying interest. If you're a commodity trader looking for a bit of a change from the usual pro gold trade (for example), commodity currencies such as the AUD/USD and NZD/USD provide good opportunities worth looking into.

ConclusionIf you want to trade commodity currencies, the best way to use commodity prices in your trading is to always keep one eye on movements in the oil or gold market and the other eye on the currency market to watch how quickly it responds. Due to the slightly delayed impact of these movements on the currency market, there is generally an opportunity to overlay a broader movement that is happening in the commodity market to that of the currency market. Bottom line: It never hurts to be more informed about commodity prices and how they drive currency movements. (For more insight, read The Currency Market Information Edge and Forex: Wading Into The Currency Market.)



Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/06/CommodityCurrencies.asp#ixzz1XYRoxHas

An Historic Look At the Gold/Dollar Ratio

With Gold making 52-week highs on a daily basis and the US Dollar making 52-week lows, below we highlight a chart of the two going back to 1975. As the chart shows, the two move in the opposite direction of each other most of the time. Gold made its all time high of just under $850 back in January 1980 only to quickly reverse and move sharply lower.
While Gold currently remains about $100 below its all-time highs, the ratio of Gold versus the US Dollar index is much closer to all time highs (2nd chart below). Most people seem to believe Gold will continue higher and the Dollar will go lower, but contrarians have a pretty compelling case based on these charts as well.


















Wednesday 7 September 2011

5 Quick Ways to Organize a Presentation

Too many people structure their presentations by pulling together slides and then assembling them like a deck of cards, in what seems like an OK order.  That usually means that no one except the presenter can divine where the speech is headed.
That’s a bad idea.
At the heart of a successful presentation is a clear structure.  Which one should you use?  The best structure for what you’re trying to do depends on the nature of your talk.  Following are five possible situations in the organizational world for which you might be called upon to present; pick the one that best suits your actual situation.
1.  You might be called upon to report progress.  In that case, use the following structure:
1.  Describe the issue or assignment, including why it’s important
2.  Describe the critical outstanding problems
3.  Prioritize them, and describe how they’re being addressed
4.  Describe successes to date – positive progress made
5.  Close with action steps
2.  You might be called upon to recommend a strategy.  For that situation, here’s a good structure:
1.  Define the objective
2.  Describe the current conditions
3.  Describe the desired state
4.  List the possible strategies, with pros and cons of each
5.  Identify best one, describe next steps
3.  You might be called upon to persuade your audience of the excellence of a particular product, service, or idea – a sales talk.  Here’s how to organize that one:
1. Frame the need that the product, service, or idea addresses
2. Describe the need in more detail
3. Describe the ways in which your solution addresses the need
4. Describe the benefits of buying in to your solution
5. Get agreement on a next step
4.  You might be called upon to choose among several alternatives.  Here’s the best way to present:
1.  Frame the situation
2.  Describe the criteria for success and prioritize them
3.  Describe alternatives
4.  Compare to the criteria and eliminate alternatives that don’t meet criteria
5.  Recommend best remaining alternative
5.  You might be called upon to teach a procedure or a skill.  In that case, proceed as follows:
1.  Frame the skill in terms of its importance to the audience
2.  Explain the skill or procedural steps involved
3.  Get the audience to try some aspect of the skill or procedure
4.  Review and summarize, including anything the audience did not try
5.  Describe what the audience can do on its own to acquire the skill or procedure

Tuesday 6 September 2011

The Dazzling Dozen: The Best Analysts


No. 1 Heather Wolf

Banc of America Securities-Merrill Lynch Research
Financial Services

Despite unprecedented volatility in the financial service industry, one bank analyst pulled ahead of her peers--regardless of industry specialization. According to Zacks Investment Research in Chicago, the top banks and thrifts analyst is also the best stock picker and earnings estimator overall, based on performance over the last three years.
Heather Wolf outperformed her colleagues by generating the most excess return of any analyst (excess return is defined as the difference between returns that an investor would have realized by following an analyst's advice and the industry's overall return over the same period). Wolf was on the Merrill Lynch side when that firm was acquired by Bank of America ( BAC - news - people ).
On Jan. 14, 2008, Wolf issued a "sell" rating on Huntington Bancshares ( HBAN - news - people ) when it traded at $12.33. Between then and March 31, 2009, the end of the period analyzed by Zacks, Huntington's stock lost 87% of its value, dropping to $1.66. Bank and thrift shares fell on average 49% over that period, earning Wolf an excess return of 38 percentage points on her call--the highest excess return of eight market-beating calls that Wolf made in the last three years.
Other prescient calls included sell ratings on Zions Bancorp on Aug. 23, 2007, and First Horizon National ( FHN - news - people ) on April 1, 2006. Both stocks dropped sharply over the following months; by the end of 2008, Zions shares had fallen 67% from when Wolf rated them "sell," and First Horizon was off 70%.
In such a tumultuous industry, though, mistakes are inevitable, and Wolf made several. She gave Wisconsin regional bank Marshall & Ilsley ( MI - news - people ) a "buy" rating on April 5, 2007, when its shares closed at $38.55. The day before Wolf changed Marshall & Ilsley's rating to "sell" on Jan. 23, 2008, its shares closed at $22.42, leaving Wolf with a 42% decline for that call.
Wolf has no "buy" rating outstanding on any company she covers. Of the six banks in her coverage universe, she rates five "underperform" and one "neutral."

The World's Billionaires

Rank Name Net Worth Age Source Country of Citizenship
1Carlos Slim Helu

Carlos Slim Helu & family

$74 B71telecomMexico
2Bill Gates

Bill Gates

$56 B55MicrosoftUnited States
3Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett

$50 B81Berkshire HathawayUnited States
4Bernard Arnault

Bernard Arnault

$41 B62LVMHFrance
5Larry Ellison

Larry Ellison

$39.5 B67OracleUnited States
6Lakshmi Mittal

Lakshmi Mittal

$31.1 B61SteelIndia
7Amancio Ortega

Amancio Ortega

$31 B75ZaraSpain
8Eike Batista

Eike Batista

$30 B54mining, oilBrazil
9Mukesh Ambani

Mukesh Ambani

$27 B54petrochemicals, oil & gasIndia
10Christy Walton

Christy Walton & family

$26.5 B56WalmartUnited States
11Li Ka-shing

Li Ka-shing

$26 B83DiversifiedHong Kong
12Karl Albrecht

Karl Albrecht

$25.5 B91AldiGermany
13Stefan Persson

Stefan Persson

$24.5 B63H&MSweden
14Vladimir Lisin

Vladimir Lisin

$24 B55SteelRussia
15Liliane Bettencourt

Liliane Bettencourt

$23.5 B88L'OrealFrance
16Sheldon Adelson

Sheldon Adelson

$23.3 B78casinosUnited States
17David Thomson

David Thomson & family

$23 B54mediaCanada
18Charles Koch

Charles Koch

$22 B75DiversifiedUnited States
18David Koch

David Koch

$22 B71DiversifiedUnited States
20Jim Walton

Jim Walton

$21.3 B63WalmartUnited States
21Alice Walton

Alice Walton

$21.2 B61WalmartUnited States
22S. Robson Walton

S. Robson Walton

$21 B67WalmartUnited States
23Thomas & Raymond Kwok

Thomas & Raymond Kwok & family

$20 BN/Areal estateHong Kong
24Larry Page

Larry Page

$19.8 B38GoogleUnited States
24Sergey Brin

Sergey Brin

$19.8 B38GoogleUnited States
26Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud

$19.6 B56InvestmentsSaudi Arabia
27Iris Fontbona

Iris Fontbona & family

$19.2 BN/AMiningChile
28Lee Shau Kee

Lee Shau Kee

$19 B83real estateHong Kong
29Alexei Mordashov

Alexei Mordashov

$18.5 B45SteelRussia
30Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg

$18.1 B69BloombergUnited States
30Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos

$18.1 B47AmazonUnited States
32Michele Ferrero

Michele Ferrero & family

$18 B84chocolatesItaly
32Mikhail Prokhorov

Mikhail Prokhorov

$18 B46InvestmentsRussia
34Vladimir Potanin

Vladimir Potanin

$17.8 B50nonferrous metalsRussia
35Alisher Usmanov

Alisher Usmanov

$17.7 B57steel, telecom, stocksRussia
36Azim Premji

Azim Premji

$16.8 B66SoftwareIndia
36Oleg Deripaska

Oleg Deripaska

$16.8 B43aluminumRussia
38Michael Otto

Michael Otto & family

$16.6 B68RetailGermany
39German Larrea Mota Velasco

German Larrea Mota Velasco & family

$16 B57MiningMexico
39Rinat Akhmetov

Rinat Akhmetov

$16 B44steel, coal minesUkraine
39John Paulson

John Paulson

$16 B55hedge fundsUnited States
42Shashi & Ravi Ruia

Shashi & Ravi Ruia

$15.8 B67DiversifiedIndia
43Mikhail Fridman

Mikhail Fridman

$15.1 B47oil, banking, telecomRussia
44Michael Dell

Michael Dell

$14.6 B46DellUnited States
44Susanne Klatten

Susanne Klatten

$14.6 B49BMW, pharmaceuticalsGermany
46Steve Ballmer

Steve Ballmer

$14.5 B55MicrosoftUnited States
46George Soros

George Soros

$14.5 B81hedge fundsUnited States
48Berthold & Theo Jr. Albrecht

Berthold & Theo Jr. Albrecht & family

$14.4 BN/AAldi, Trader JoesGermany
49Birgit Rausing

Birgit Rausing & family

$14 B87packagingSweden
50Vagit Alekperov

Vagit Alekperov

$13.9 B61LukoilRussia
51Aliko Dangote

Aliko Dangote

$13.8 B54sugar, flour, cement Nigeria
52Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg

$13.5 B27FacebookUnited States
53Anne Cox Chambers

Anne Cox Chambers

$13.4 B91Cox EnterprisesUnited States
53Roman Abramovich

Roman Abramovich

$13.4 B44steel, investmentsRussia
55Jorge Paulo Lemann

Jorge Paulo Lemann

$13.3 B72beerBrazil
56Savitri Jindal

Savitri Jindal & family

$13.2 B61SteelIndia
57Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor

Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor & family

$13 B59real estateUnited Kingdom
57Paul Allen

Paul Allen

$13 B58Microsoft, investmentsUnited States
57Viktor Vekselberg

Viktor Vekselberg

$13 B54oil, metalsRussia
60Phil Knight

Phil Knight

$12.7 B73NikeUnited States
61Robert Kuok

Robert Kuok

$12.5 B87DiversifiedMalaysia
61Carl Icahn

Carl Icahn

$12.5 B75leveraged buyoutsUnited States
63Mohammed Al Amoudi

Mohammed Al Amoudi

$12.3 B66oilSaudi Arabia
64Donald Bren

Donald Bren

$12 B79real estateUnited States
64Ronald Perelman

Ronald Perelman

$12 B68leveraged buyoutsUnited States
66Alberto Bailleres Gonzalez

Alberto Bailleres Gonzalez & family

$11.9 B80MiningMexico
67Francois Pinault

Francois Pinault & family

$11.5 B75RetailFrance
68Joseph Safra

Joseph Safra

$11.4 B72bankingBrazil
69Abigail Johnson

Abigail Johnson

$11.3 B49FidelityUnited States
70Viktor Rashnikov

Viktor Rashnikov

$11.2 B62SteelRussia
71Leonardo Del Vecchio

Leonardo Del Vecchio

$11 B76eyewearItaly
72John Fredriksen

John Fredriksen

$10.7 B66shippingCyprus
72Stefan Quandt

Stefan Quandt

$10.7 B45BMWGermany
74James Simons

James Simons

$10.6 B73hedge fundsUnited States
75Luis Carlos Sarmiento

Luis Carlos Sarmiento

$10.5 B78bankingColombia
75Horst Paulmann

Horst Paulmann & family

$10.5 B76RetailChile
77Eliodoro, Bernardo & Patricia Matte

Eliodoro, Bernardo & Patricia Matte

$10.4 BN/Apaper Chile
77Nasser Al-Kharafi

Nasser Al-Kharafi & family

$10.4 B68constructionKuwait
79Sammy Ofer

Sammy Ofer & family

$10.3 B89shippingIsrael
80Len Blavatnik

Len Blavatnik

$10.1 B54Access IndustriesUnited States
81Hans Rausing

Hans Rausing

$10 B85packagingSweden
81Ernesto Bertarelli

Ernesto Bertarelli & family

$10 B45biotechSwitzerland
81John Mars

John Mars

$10 B75candy, pet foodUnited States
81Jacqueline Mars

Jacqueline Mars

$10 B71candy, pet foodUnited States
81Forrest Mars

Forrest Mars

$10 B80candy, pet foodUnited States
81Klaus-Michael Kuhne

Klaus-Michael Kuhne

$10 B74shippingGermany
81Gautam Adani

Gautam Adani

$10 B49commodities, infrastructureIndia
88Iskander Makhmudov

Iskander Makhmudov

$9.9 B47mining, metals, machineryRussia
89Johanna Quandt

Johanna Quandt

$9.8 B85BMWGermany
89George Kaiser

George Kaiser

$9.8 B69oil & gas, bankingUnited States
89Maria-Elisabeth & Georg Schaeffler

Maria-Elisabeth & Georg Schaeffler

$9.8 BN/Aball bearingsGermany
92German Khan

German Khan

$9.6 B49oil, banking, telecomRussia
93Ananda Krishnan

Ananda Krishnan

$9.5 B73telecomMalaysia
93Dmitry Rybolovlev

Dmitry Rybolovlev

$9.5 B44fertilizerRussia
95Robin Li

Robin Li

$9.4 B42InternetChina
96Serge Dassault

Serge Dassault & family

$9.3 B86aviationFrance
97Kumar Birla

Kumar Birla

$9.2 B44commoditiesIndia
97Petr Kellner

Petr Kellner

$9.2 B47insuranceCzech Republic
99Leonid Mikhelson

Leonid Mikhelson

$9.1 B56Natural gasRussia
100Cheng Yu-tung

Cheng Yu-tung

$9 B86real estateHong Kong