The Dow at 17,000 gets all the fanfare and attention, but don't forget the little old ASX.
Yesterday both the S&P/ASX 200 Index and the All Ordinaries Index closed at six year highs.
Is that the "full steam ahead" signal for the 2014 bull market rally?
As a reminder, it wasn't too long ago that Credit Suisse upped their target for the S&P/ASX 200 to 6,000.
Are you on board yet?
As previously flagged, last week I topped up my holding in one of the Motley Fool Share Advisor recent Best Buys Now stocks.
If it's good enough for our ace stock picker Scott Phillips — he recently called the stock "cheap" — it's good enough for me. The juicy, and growing 4.2% fully franked dividend is the icing on the cake.
Results season has already kicked-off in the US, and it's a case of so far so good, with Bloomberg reporting about 76% of S&P 500 companies have beaten analysts' estimates.
The happy gas extended to Fed Chief Janet Yellen who last week was quoted in Bloomberg as saying…
"While some asset values may be on the high side and there may be some pockets where we see valuations becoming stretched, in general price equity ratios and other measures are not outside of historical norms."
So much for the "it must be time for a correction" crowd.
Full steam ahead, Foolish readers…
Reporting season here in Australia is just kicking off. As ever, I'll have my beady eyes on companies that exceed earnings expectations.
Business momentum is often under-rated by investors, even if the shares jump on the day of the announcement. Their loss, my gain.
Last month I was able to pick up shares in one such small-cap company, and I can report I'm happily already sitting on a quick ~20% profit.
Watch this space.
Another thing to watch is the falling Aussie dollar.
Our own Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) boss Glenn Stevens is speaking today at a charity lunch, with expectations he'll again talk down our strong Aussie dollar.
It's no secret the RBA wants the Aussie dollar trading around US85 cents, the sooner the better.
My bet is sooner.
US interest rates have no-where to go but up.
Here in Australia, as the resources boom ends, there's still a very good chance our interest rates will be headed down.
Remember Goldman Sachs economist Tim Toohey recently saying he would not be surprised to see the RBA cut interest rates to just 2.25% as soon as September 2014?
If that does happen — and remember, we're talking less than two months away — look out below for the Aussie dollar.
From an investing perspective, there are three ways you can play this…
1) Short the Aussie dollar.
2) Buy ASX stocks that have overseas earnings.
3) Buy US-quoted shares.
I don't trade forex — it's a one way bet to the poor farm.
Although they do exist, the number of ASX stocks with significant foreign earnings is somewhat limited. One such company is BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP) — a stock I already own.
My personal preference is to buy US-quoted shares.
Not only do you get access to the great growth companies of this world — I'm talking the likes of Google, Apple and Facebook — but you also benefit if and when the Aussie dollar falls.
And for me, it's not a matter of IF, but WHEN it falls.
As it so happens, I already own shares in the above three US giants. Google and Apple are also recommendations in our Motley Fool Share Advisor service.
So far so good, with Google being up 77% and Apple up 88% since we tapped them for members. But if the Aussie dollar does fall back towards US85 cents, myself and Motley Fool Share Advisor members could be looking at making some easy money ahead.
Speaking of Apple, the iEverything giant reports results tomorrow morning local time. I'll be keeping a close eye, but also looking ahead to the launch of the iPhone 6. It could be MASSIVE — and I'm not talking about the size of the screen.
Buying more Apple shares — using our strong Aussie dollar — is defintiely on my radar. They should be on YOUR radar too.
Australian investors are missing a HUGE trick by not buying US-quoted shares.
But all that could be changing, especially given an AFR article last month which said…
"Australians are sending bigger chunks of their wealth offshore as they hunt for exposure to companies such as Google and Apple to boost their investment returns."
It's never too late to join the party…
Combine growth companies and market leaders with a falling Aussie dollar, and it all adds up to a compelling investment opportunity — but only if you're prepared to move outside your ASX investing comfort zone.
The first time is the hardest. But once you've filled out a couple of simple forms, you can buy US-stocks using your online broker — including Commsec and E*Trade — at the click of a button.
