Just when many investors thought that the world economy was finally back on track, European debt markets were rocked by a crisis of confidence that sparked fresh concerns of a double dip recession and prolonged period of economic contraction. The sovereign debt crisis began earlier this year in Greece, but in recent months has been threatening to spread to much larger economies across Europe, including Italy and Spain. These countries, along with Portugal and Ireland, have seen sharp increases in unemployment and a push towards austerity as a way to combat rising concerns over high budget deficits. While it appears that most economies will scrape through this crisis without resorting to default, the increase in anxiety has sent markets tumbling nonetheless. The worst damage has been done closest to the eye of the storm; almost all of the ETFs in the Europe Equities ETFdb Category are down on the year, with many of them sharply lower [for ways to avoid Europe with a global portfolio make sure to read ETF Ideas For An Ex-Europe Portfolio]. [click to continue…]
One of the greatest spectacles in sports kicks off in South Africa over the weekend, with 32 countries gathering to compete in the final stages of the World Cup. Even the economists of the world have taken an interest in the upcoming matches; ABN Amro recently released a note predicting that the world economy would [...]
Wall Street’s brutal losing streak came to an end on Thursday, as concerns over the euro zone’s woes eased and global equity markets surged. Investors cheered remarks from Beijing indicating that China doesn’t plan to sell its European bond holdings, a scenario that could have flooded the market. Meanwhile in Spain, the government approved new [...]
As sovereign debt issues drag down the once mighty euro, markets around the world have slumped as speculation continues to swirl over which countries are likely headed towards default. Decades of wild spending have compounded with a shaky economy and costly bailouts to put many countries on the brink of fiscal catastrophe. While the $1 [...]
Earlier this week, European leaders announced a nearly $1 trillion rescue plan to potentially bail out highly indebted EU countries. Markets initially cheered the news, with Spanish and Italian markets leading the way; the iShares MSCI Spain Index Fund (EWP) soared higher by more than 14% on the news while the iShares MSCI Italy Index [...]
Since the beginning of the year, most European equity ETFs have gradually sunk deeper and deeper into the red, as concerns about mounting government debts and ratings downgrades have rippled throughout the continent. Of the ETFs included in the Europe Equities ETFdb Category, all but two are in negative territory on the year, with some losing [...]
The tiny European nation of Greece has had a huge impact on the global economy in 2010, as its budget deficit spiraled out of control until ultimately reaching unmanageable levels earlier this year. After last week’s announcement that Greece was going to tap an aid package from other euro zone members (as well as the [...]
With taxes due in just a few hours, many Americans are scrambling to fill out 2009 returns. A lot has been made over the long-term tax impact of health care legislation, bailout packages, and a host of other government initiatives. Currently, marginal tax rates can approach (and sometimes exceed) 39% for many American corporations when [...]
Although equity markets generally headed higher in the first quarter of 2010, there were a few funds that were not so lucky and became the early leaders in the Laggard of The Year race. The S&P 500 finished the quarter up close to 6%, but European markets stumbled in the wake of an on-and-off crisis [...]
ETFs started March on a high note as major indexes gained over 1% for the week. This surge came after a jobs report indicated the unemployment rate held steady at 9.6%, beating a projected increase to 9.7%. Industrials and technology stocks were some of the best performers, as 1,000 jobs were added to the American [...]
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 [...]
