Barron's Picks And Pans: Emerging Markets, Kandi, Simon Property, Plug Power And More

• The cover story from this weekend's Barron's discusses why now is the time for investors to start shopping abroad.
• Other featured articles examine emerging market value stocks worth a look, alternative ways to invest in stocks with lofty share prices and the post-vaccine sweet spot for stocks.
• Also, the prospects for a Chinese EV maker, a mall operator, regional banks, virtual reality and more.

Cover story "Investors, Put the Rest of the World on Your Radar" by Reshma Kapadia suggests that the United States trounced foreign markets in the past decade, but now it is time to start shopping abroad. Twenty stock picks from the international roundtable include Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA and Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. TSM.

Matt Smith's "A Tiny Electric Vehicle From China Is on a Wild Ride in the Market" shows how Kandi Technologies Group Inc KNDI, a Chinese producer of gas-powered all-terrain vehicles and electric-car parts, embodies the promise (and potential pitfalls) for investors in the electric vehicle segment. The company plans to launch a small electric car in December.

In "The Mall Isn't Dead. It's Time to Shop for Simon Property Group Stock," Liz Moyer makes the case that Simon Property Group Inc SPG, the largest U.S. mall operator, is using its financial strength to weather the retail crisis. The article also points out that the real estate investment trust has a dividend that yields almost 7%.

Shares of Synovus Financial Corp. SNV and other stocks in this beaten-down group have had a strong rally in the past few weeks, notes Carleton English in "5 Regional Bank Stocks to Buy After the Covid-Vaccine Rally." Find out why Barron's believes they still have plenty more upside.

In Bill Alpert's "Plug Power Has Soared This Year. How Walmart, Amazon Also Benefited From the Green-Energy Rally," see the two big beneficiaries of one of this year's stock market standouts, Plug Power Inc PLUG, a pioneer of clean-energy power supplies for forklifts and other traditional gas-guzzlers.

"Emerging Market Value Stocks Are Worth a Look" by Craig Mellow discusses why emerging markets value stocks look especially attractive, assuming the rotation from growth stocks has started. Find out whether ICICI Bank Ltd IBN is one of those stocks worth a look now.

See also: Benzinga's Bulls And Bears Of The Week: Moderna, Palantir, Tesla And More

There are simple ways for novices without much cash to begin building a portfolio in some of the market's biggest names, such as Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN, according to Daisy Maxey's "Daunted by Lofty Share Prices? Here Are 3 Ways for Novice Investors to Get In on the Action."

In "How the Vaccine Era Could Be a Sweet Spot for Stocks," Jacob Sonenshine focuses on why the Pfizer Inc. PFE and Moderna Inc MRNA vaccines, and the economic recovery they are expected to bring, may not stoke much inflation. See how that could be beneficial for stocks.

Max A. Cherney's "Virtual Reality Is No Longer Just a Dream" says that there has been talk about virtual reality for decades, but it has gone pretty much nowhere. However, six years after Facebook, Inc. FB paid $2 billion for virtual reality firm Oculus, the deal may be starting to pay off, thanks to the launch of its Quest 2.

Also in this week's Barron's:

• A value fund that goes above and beyond
• What helped stocks look past last week's bad headlines
• How to protect portfolios amid low yields and high volatility
• Why low volatility ahead does not mean smooth sailing for stocks
• Five ETFs riding the rebound in value stocks
• Whether forgiving student loans is bad economics
• Bucket list travel being booked in record numbers
• The ongoing debate of the viability of bitcoin

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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