The U.S. dollar is still the most stable and reliable home for international investment. Our economy is quite good compared to the rest of the world and our stock market has significantly outperformed the international markets in recent years. For those reasons, I overwhelmingly stick with domestic ETFs and other U.S. investments.
Having said that, my feeling is that prospects are very mixed - earnings growth is not stellar, "free" money is going away, and our domestic market is not the bulwark of consumption it used to be. A lot of corporate earnings comes from offshore, so we are vulnerable to the global economy like everyone else. I find the current affairs in China and Europe to be worrisome and the new norms of market volatility excessive. And lastly, while the [transitional] energy sector takes a powder, relatively meagre U.S. Corporate profits are being boosted by industries like technology and health care that are also notoriously fickle. Huge financial industry profits don't necessarily make me feel good either.
Up cycles are usually followed by down cycles, so I'm not getting too excited about this run. Just when I start to get excited I'm making real money is usually when I get killed. I think there will be a big correction sometime later this year and I'm protecting my profits with a bunch of stop-loss orders that I review and adjust regularly.
