Shit, I WISH it was only 16%. :fuuuu:
Doc, last years simple answer is this, I invested in a LOT of South African interest in Jan, lost my ass till the World Cup (cliffs: SA companies blew the eff up during the Copa Mundial), sold all that stuff about 3 days before the end, and made up for the crushing defeat I took in the rest of my portfolio.
This year I bought a whole crapload of Japanese stuff in the days following the Tsunami, when folks thought the world was ending (read: got them for pennies on the dollar) and a lot of them have slowly recovered since then. They are still down from where they were pre-Godzilla, but up a nice little piece from where I got them.
I don't have a huge portfolio, but what I do have is in the hands of people I trust. Also, when I ask them to do something specific, they do it.
ON TOPIC:
The BMW lease offers are very attractive, and damn if I don't want a BMW, but I have had bad lease experiences, so I'm out on those.