Despite the high profile struggles for two of Japan’s largest and best-known companies–Toyota’s massive recall and Japan Airlines’ bankruptcy–signs of a long-awaited recovery are finally beginning to emerge in the world’s second largest economy. Japan’s economy unexpectedly grew at an annualized rate of 4.6% in the fourth quarter of 2009, crushing analyst estimates of a [...]
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 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 [...]
Investors in the Japanese markets had been hoping that the flip of the calendar to 2010 would bring new hope for the country’s stalled economy, following a bitterly disappointing 2009 that saw Japan lag global economies by a considerable margin. But only two days in to the year, health problems of the finance minister have [...]
Early Friday morning, eyes around the world will be focused on Copenhagen, Denmark, where the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will announce the host city for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The announcement ceremony figures to be quite a spectacle, with heads of state from the four finalists expected to make last minute pleas for [...]
