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In this article I outline some thoughts on investment prospects that I've been following with interest. I don't make any real comment on timing but rather on situations. There is a vague element of value here.

This article does not constitute investment advice.

Equities

Tesla

Everyone should know of Tesla by now. Currently the leading manufacturer in electric cars and should have a bright future ahead of them. I'm kicking myself for not buying in at under $40; easy to say this in retrospect but I didn't have the funds available at the time. Unfortunately the price has moved a long way since then. I think there is still a lot more upside as this company matures,

I think it is fair to compare it to other tech giants like Google or Apple: the products are desirable and at the forefront of the technology market. Tesla is more immature, however, and still a tiny percentage of the overall car market. As the cheaper models come to market then the company ought to increase revenue as it becomes a true mass market producer.

My biggest complaint is that the company is not as cheap as it once was, and would perhaps be best to invest on the dips (yeah, I know that's a throw away comment but this one is near its own all-time highs).

Maxwell

I wish I could say that I recommend Maxwell, but the price history looks like a warning to avoid. Despite being around for five decades it seems like the company hasn't gone anywhere. The reason I mention it is because of their products; I think there should be a bright future for ultra-capacitors. They feature in stop-start technology for cars, wind farms, electric cars, and smart power grids too.

So I wonder if it is a case of great technology but poor management. If so I have to wonder how management has been poor for so long.

Currencies

Russian Ruble

This currency halved in value over 2014 due to the conflict with Ukraine and the ensuing sanctions. The value stopped dropping early in 2015 but the news stories were still full of doom and gloom. This suggested to me that the value had bottomed out: lots of talk about doom but currency not depreciating as a much. It seemed that the move was over-done and it recovered from the bottom.

It would seem that it has dropped a bit again but it is not clear that it will stay down for long. There was a lot of talk about global markets doing crazy stuff on the back of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict but it seemed to be a less significant event.

A related consideration is Gazprom, the Russian energy giant. The price is beat up, so low P/E yet the yield is high, but given its prominence it does seem likely that it will rise again. The downside is investing in a company which is 50% government owned. Both the currency and company are down, but I don't think that will be forever.

Iranian Rial

A couple years ago (2013) the value of the Rial halved. The primary reasons seem to be based on the sanctions imposed upon the country because of their nuclear treatment facilities and difficult relations with the West.

Now that the West and Iran have hopefully come to an agreement on the nuclear facilities the sanctions can be lifted and hence the country can start trading with the West again. This will bring money in and put demand on the currency. I don't know when the currency will start to appreciate but I think it should start doing so soon (unless relations with the West degrade again).

Syrian Pound

Another currency which has suffered from 2013 (around the same time as Iran)  is the Syrian Pound. In 2013 you could purchase 100 Syrian Pounds for every British Pound, now the rate is close to 300 SYP for every GBP.

The biggest driver, I'd guess, is the conflict. I couldn't begin to guess when the conflict will stop but when it does there will be a need to start rebuilding and for investment to be attracted back into the country.