CHART OF THE DAY: The Fastest Internet Speeds Aren’t In The US

DAVE SMITH

 OCT. 14, 2014

We are hugely dependent on our internet speeds for everything — on a desktop or mobile device, for business or pleasure, we need fast internet to do just about everything these days, since most of our lives have moved online. And yet, according to Akamai’s “State Of The Internet Report,” a survey that covers the first three months of 2014, the US comes up woefully short in terms of internet speeds, compared to other countries.

According to data from Akamai, which was charted for us by BI Intelligence, South Korea offers the fastest broadband in the world (and it’s not even close), with an average connection speed of 23.6 Mbps. After that, Hong Kong has the second-fastest speeds, followed by Japan and Switzerland, which are tied in third with 14.9 Mbps. And then there’s nine other countries listed before the US, including the Netherlands, Sweden, Latvia, Ireland, Czech Republic, Romania, Denmark, Finland, and Norway. Yes, Latvia, which is smaller than the state of Kansas, has faster internet than the US.

BI Intelligence

CHART OF THE DAY: Alibaba’s Booming Business Is Way Ahead Of eBay

DAVE SMITH

 TECH

 AUG. 28, 2014

China’s enormous e-commerce site Alibaba is a huge deal; its $200 billion valuation exceeds that of Facebook ($150 billion) and Amazon ($137 billion). The company is expected to go public in less than a month, so we have new data about the company based on its F-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which became public on Tuesday.

Based on data charted for us by Business Insider Intelligence, Alibaba comprised 76% of all mobile retail purchases in China last year, and each one of the 231 million active users on its sites in 2013 made about 49 purchases each.

But here’s the kicker: The value of all of the merchandise sold over Alibaba’s sites was roughly four times greater than that of eBay. And as the chart shows, one-third of those purchases came from mobile devices. Comparatively, Nielsen says only 27% of online purchases made in North America come from mobile devices.

In other words, Alibaba has an incredibly impressive mobile presence that will continue growing for the foreseeable future, which should bode well for its impending IPO.

CHART OF THE DAY: How Stocks Have Tumbled Around The World

Ben Duronio

 May 10, 2012 

Bespoke Investment Group releasd a chart showing how major market indices across the globe have fallen since their 2012 peaks.

To the surprise of nobody, Spain and Italy have dropped more than the rest of the group. The Eurozone in general has seen the biggest percentage dropoff from '12 peak highs, with China and the United States performing the best relative to other markets. The United States also has the most recent peak, with Spain having the furthest.

From Bespoke:

CHART OF THE DAY: All Of The Stock Market Sentiment Indicators Combined Into One Index

Sam Ro

Sentiment is a key driver of stock market returns in the short-term, notes RBC Capital's Myles Zyblock. Fundamentals are more relevant for longer-term oriented investors.   From his U.S. Equity Strategy Weekly note to clients:

Sentiment and value are cornerstones of the return generation process. We find that shifts in sentiment are critical on short-term investment horizons.

 For example, our work shows that changes in perception account for about two-thirds of the market’s return on a six-month horizon, and that even under the conditions of attractive value, bearish sentiment can drive prices lower and vice versa.

 Mean reversion is key to correctly using most sentiment gauges, where one attempts to arbitrage the belief that a recent trend will persist. Meanwhile, the market’s fundamental underpinnings become more important for investors with horizons that extend beyond a two-year time frame.

There are various measures of sentiment that stock market watchers follow.  RBC blended six of the biggest ones to form one comprehensive market sentiment indicator. 

 It consists of the

 1) CBOE put-to-call ratio, which is currently neutral;

2) the American Association of Individual Investors Bull ratio, which is bullish; 

3) the Investors Intelligence Bullish Ratios, which is neutral; 

4) the National Association of Active Investment Managers Survey of Manager Sentiment, which reflects extreme optimism;

 5) the NYSE New High to New Low ratio, which reflects extreme bullishness and 

6) the CBOE Volatility Index, which is neutral relative to long run averages.

According to RBC's aggregation of the sentiment readings, the stock markets reflect extreme optimism.

RBC Capital Markets