Although Japan is perhaps mired in another ‘lost decade’ and faces significant obstacles on the road to material economic growth, the country remains the world’s second largest economy and as such is a major component of the international equity portion of most investor portfolios. After missing out on the bull market that sent much of the global equity market soaring in 2009, some analysts see 2010 as another poor year debt-burdened Japan. Goldman Sachs’ Jim O’Neill recently noted that in relation to America and Britain’s economies Japan’s is “much much worse“. [click to continue…]
The tremendous increase in the number of ETFs launched in recent years has seemingly brought cheap, efficient access to nearly every corner of the globe within reach of U.S. investors. There are now funds devoted to Vietnam, Turkey, Israel, Colombia, among countless others. But while the breadth of international options has expanded significantly, the exposure [...]
Over the next 48 hours, a world superpower, home to one of the largest global economies, will head to the polls, with all indications that the Democratic Party, running a campaign promising thorough overhauls (as evidenced by the campaign slogan “Change”), will score a resounding victory and wrestle power from the long-ruling party. Sound familiar?