With continued worries over budget crises in the “PIIGS” (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain) and their rapidly deteriorating fiscal conditions, the future of the euro zone’s common currency has been called into question. Most of attention has focused on Greece, where double digit budget deficits threaten to grind the government to a halt and spread throughout the region. While some are pushing for a Greek bailout, others worry about the signal this action might send to other troubled economies across the Mediterranean. Greece’s richer counterparts certainly aren’t happy about the idea of a bailout, especially in Germany where in a recent poll 53% demanded that Greece be thrown out of the euro zone if they can’t solve their problems without outside funding. [click to continue…]
BlackRock’s acquisition of Barclays Global Investors and iShares seemingly went off without a hitch earlier this month. But certain actions required by terms of the deal have proven difficult to wrap up, resulting in a dozen iShares funds now operating under interim investment advisory agreements and potentially closing down. [click to continue…]
In an unexpected development, the European Central Bank announced Friday that it will tighten the standards under which it accepts asset-backed securities as collateral from banks for refinancing tenders after March 1. While this step seems relatively minor, analysts viewed its as the first step towards unwinding the massive stimulus plans put into effect to [...]
Thanks to strong economic recoveries in Germany and France, the 16-country euro zone has now officially exited its worst recession in a half century. According to data released on Friday, the euro zone grew by 0.4% in the third quarter, compared with a 0.2% decline in the second quarter. Although the news strengthened hopes of [...]
Germans celebrated this week the 20th anniversary of the of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the division of Europe. For many, the occasion was no doubt a welcome departure, however briefly, from the economic troubles currently facing a united Germany. Europe’s largest economy will continue to feel the effects of [...]
It’s been an interesting week the world of ETFs: Technology stocks reported strong earnings and oil finished the week at the $80/bbl mark. Here are the ETF Database staff picks of the week’s most important and interesting stories from around the Web:
Over the weekend in Germany, an alliance between the conservative Christian Democratic Union and the pro-business Free Democratic Party claimed a majority in Germany’s lower house of Parliament that could set the stage for slashes to government spending and income taxes. German Chancellor Angela Merkel now has a partner who supports implementing tax cuts, not [...]
Over the past several months, concerns over the fallout from the massive stimulus plans, rising unemployment, and continued weakness in corporate earnings have left many investors rethinking their allocations to U.S. equities. Once considered an essential element of any portfolio, American stocks have fallen out of favor with some investors who have shifted assets towards [...]
