My optometrist displays a particular issue of Forbes magazine in his examination room that's a bit unusual, mainly because he's actually on the cover.
Now, my optometrist is good at his craft, but he never actually made the cover of Forbes. I assume this was simply a clever gift from a family member. But the implication is clear: It would be really cool to be on the cover of a major magazine.
Here at EWI, though, we look at things a little differently. And, as Mark Galasiewski explains in the October 2011 Asian-Pacific Financial Forecast, being on a magazine cover may not be quite as glamorous as you think.
Here's why...
As Paul Montgomery of Montgomery Capital Management has shown with his magazine cover indicator, media often laud leaders near the peak of their popularity, after which they often have nowhere to go but down. For example, after Time magazine chose Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos as 1999's Man of the Year, the internet retailer's stock price declined 90% over the next 21 months. As EWI successfully predicted, the magazine's choice of U.S. central bank chairman Ben Bernanke as 2009's Man of the Year marked a peak of his status. And The Australian seemed to curse former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd when it chose him as Australian of the Year in January 2010. Six months later, Rudd was deposed by his own party.
- October 2011 Asian-Pacific Financial Forecast (emphasis added)
In other words, the popularity of public figures fluctuates according to patterns of social mood. And when they appear on magazine covers, it usually means that their popularity has peaked. After that, a public figure can go from hero to zero in no time.
Why do I bring this up? Because the October Asian-Pacific Financial Forecast shows you which well-respected Asian-Pacific leader may not be well regarded soon -- and what this portends for a specific Asian-Pacific market's near- and long-term future.
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The latest October issue gives you 18 charts across 10 pages of independent market analysis of Japan, Australia, Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Turkey, India and more.