Last year was dominated by drama from the Euro zone and the constant worry as to whether or not the currency bloc would be able to keep afloat during tough times. With a number of debt crises, rioting, and threats to leave the currency altogether, this group of countries has certainly been under a fair amount of scrutiny over the past few months. But at the head of it all has been Germany, not because they are worse-off, but because they are the powerhouse economy of the region, and are expected to lead the way during times of turmoil. [click to continue…]
Equity markets hit the ground running last week as investors came back from the holiday weekend with a fairly optimistic outlook for 2012. U.S. stocks started off the year with a solid rally as investors’ confidence was bolstered by multiple better-than-expected economic data reports; consistent improvements in the housing market coupled with a downtick in [...]
Equity markets snapped back and recovered losses from yesterday as investors were in a cheerful buying mood following better-than-expected housing data on the home front. Wall Street started and ended the day in green territory with industrial stocks leading the way higher followed closely by financials, while utilities lagged behind as investors increased their risk [...]
Resurfacing Italian debt woes paved the way for persistent volatility in the markets last week, further deteriorating the economic outlook of the financially fragile currency bloc. Selling pressures overwhelmed the bulls on Wall Street, despite a host of better-than-expected economic data releases on the home front, including surprisingly strong retail sales, new home starts, industrial [...]
Since the downgrade of U.S. credit quality in August, investors have turned their attention to the debt drama taking place overseas. Several Euro zone member nations have fallen victim to mounting government deficits, which has inevitably contributed to investor worries over the health of the financially fragile currency bloc. Economic growth has also been lackluster [...]
Wall Street started and ended last week on a positive note. Investors came back to the equity markets on Monday after French and German policymakers voiced their support to come up with a viable plan for restoring stability in the Euro zone by November. Meanwhile, on the home front, domestic equity indexes extended gains throughout [...]
Domestic equity indexes having been climbing higher all week, posting seven consecutive sessions in green territory. Investors are showing confidence in European lawmakers to bring forth a concrete plan of action in due time, while at home, corporate earnings have gotten off to a solid start. Yet, FOMC minutes from the most recent Fed meeting revealed [...]
Wall Street was able to close out the week in solid positive territory, although investor worries remain escalated over the uncertainty still plaguing the debt-stricken Euro zone. Waves of optimism and improvements in investor confidence, following a better-than-expected employment report at home, helped stocks climb higher last week. Gold prices remain range-bound although the yellow [...]
This past week was a brutal one for equity markets as a wave of selling crushed sectors across the board. The benchmark S&P 500 index saw its value decline by nearly 6.5% on the week, marking one of the roughest five day stretches in recent memory. Generally speaking, this decline was thanks to investors being [...]
The past few days have been an incredibly tumultuous time for investors around the globe as new risks and worries enter the market seemingly every day. While the situation remains poor in the United States, events aren’t much better in Europe as the major powers on the continent cannot seem to agree on how best to proceed [...]
After a sixth consecutive week of losses, investors will be looking for some indication that the steady losses have been a bit of overkill and that a bounce back is warranted in coming sessions. Equity markets have tumbled past key technical and psychological levels in recent weeks, and anxiety is once again running high both [...]
