U.S. equity markets rose higher in Thursday trading as speculation over solid earnings reports in the coming days helped to boost investors sentiment. The Dow rose by 85 points while the S&P 500 gained 0.9% in the session, but both gains paled in comparison to the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which added 1.4% on the day due to another strong day out of the semiconductor segment and a solid performance out of the software industry as well. Commodity markets didn’t fare nearly as well, however, as oil sank by about $0.40/bbl and gold, which at one point flirted with the $1,450/oz. mark, ended the day lower by about $10/oz. Soft commodities and grains did manage to buck the trend though, as wheat, sugar, cotton, and corn, reversed their downturn and all rose at least 2.8% in the session. Lastly, the demand for the U.S. dollar weakened slightly as the greenback lost against most of the world’s major currencies and traders sold off their T-Bill holdings, pushing yields on most maturities up and putting the two-year note at a yield of 0.69%. [click to continue…]
When considering the equity allocation of an investor portfolio, perhaps the most common bifurcation made is between developed and emerging markets. The distinction between developed and emerging markets has become a hot topic in recent years thanks to the tremendous gaps in growth and risk between the two groups. As developed markets have struggled to [...]
U.S. stock markets roared higher in Thursday trading as oil prices declined modestly and claims for unemployment surprisingly fell, putting Wall Street into an optimistic mood. The Dow gained 191 points on the session while the broader indexes posted more robust gains; the S&P 500 jumped by 1.7% and the Nasdaq rose by 1.8% thanks [...]
U.S. equity markets tanked to start the holiday shortened week as escalating protests in the Middle East sent investors running for safe havens. The Dow sank by 178 points while the broader indexes posted sharper losses as the S&P 500 declined by 2.1% and the Nasdaq fell by a 2.7% margin. Commodities were also weak [...]
American equity markets finished the week on a high note as investors bought up securities ahead of the three day weekend. The Dow lead the other major indexes thanks to its 0.6% gain, followed by a 0.2% jump in the price of the S&P 500 and a 0.1% move higher in the tech-heavy Nasdaq. Commodity [...]
Harvard University is perhaps the most prestigious college in the U.S. As the oldest institution of higher learning in the country, Harvard was also the first corporation chartered in the country. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the university is home to roughly 14,500 students who hail from all over the world. But aside from the obvious [...]
South Korean equities have been in focus as of late but for all the wrong reasons; rising tensions with the often volatile North finally bubbled over earlier this year as the communist regime shelled an island of their long-time South Korean rival. The South Koreans responded in kind, launching mortars of their own while scrambling [...]
South Korea is home to one of the world’s most unique and promising economies, thriving off of its status as a tech leader as well as proximity and strong relationships with many of Asia’s rapidly-expanding emerging markets. But constantly looming over South Korea is the unstable relationship with its neighbor to the north, one of [...]
Interest in emerging markets has grown tremendously over the past few years, as the developing world has accounted for almost all of global GDP growth while the U.S., Western Europe, and other developed countries struggle to get back on track. Many investors have embraced ETFs as a means of overweighting the emerging markets, favoring the [...]
With the health of the global economy still riding in the balance, leaders from twenty of the most powerful and important economies in the world will meet in Seoul, South Korea this week to discuss a number of critical issues. The G-20 organization, which consists of 19 countries around the world as well as the [...]
As the world population continues to expand at a tremendous pace, investors have begun to see the impact of this growth on a host of finite resources, including food, water, and other assets critical to modern life. With the world population increasing by nearly one billion people every 12 years (it stood at just 5 [...]
