The last three years has been a troublesome time for financial equities around the world, as numerous crises struck different regions of the globe one by one. Starting with the recession in 2008, various regions quickly fell prey to many of the same problems that anchored the U.S., and now a new issue threatens our financial system yet again. As the U.S. government stares at its largest deficit in history, its actions going forward will have a significant impact on financials, as major spending cuts that will likely go into effect may put the nation in a bit of a bind. And no matter how the U.S. implements policies going forwards, it may be too late, as major credit rating agencies are already considering removing our country from the AAA club until we get our debts under better control [see also Netherlands ETF Immune To ‘Dutch Disease’ Thanks To Euro].
[click to continue…]
The Fed’s new quantitative easing plan was recently unveiled; a $600 billion dollar injection into the U.S. bond markets in hopes of jump-starting our struggling economy. While some U.S. officials, like Fed Chair Ben Bernanke have stood behind the plan, it would appear that many of the leaders from around the world are not so [...]
A third week of earnings saw both good and bad reports but left the markets virtually where they started with the S&P 500 losing just 12 points on the rocky week. Markets stayed flat for much of the week as traders awaited the GDP growth for the United States in the second quarter. When the [...]
One of the biggest stories from the first half of the year in the world of finance has been the sharp decline in the value of the euro. Once regarded as one of the strongest currencies in the world, the monetary unit has fallen on hard times as some of its weaker southern European users [...]
The 2010 FIFA World Cup final will take place this Sunday with the match being between Netherlands and Spain. In light of this major sporting event, we compare and contrast the two ETFs tracking the respective countries to see who would win a match on the financial pitch.
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 [...]
With borrowing costs and odds of defaults spiking across Europe, a wave of fiscal conservatism has swept across the continent, bringing about drastic changes to countries accustomed to generous social services and seemingly endless government pockets. In recent days even Germany, which boasts a relatively robust fiscal health, has rolled out deep austerity measures designed [...]
ETFs have become popular among all walks of investors in part because of the granularity of exposure available; U.S. investors are able to access nearly every corner of the world through a single security. Before the advent of country-specific ETFs, many investors spread out their portfolios around the globe through broad-based global funds or stock [...]
Although equity markets stayed rangebound for much of the holiday-shortened week, markets experienced quite the tumble on Friday as major indexes slumped by more than 3.3%. This steep slide put markets in the red for the week and continued a brutal stretch that has sent markets around the world lower and brought back memories of [...]
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 [...]
With the third quarter drawing to a close and a possible economic recovery beginning to take place, many investors who have been sitting on the sidelines are anxious to get back into the market and put their money to work again. With overriding fears about inflation and concerns about the U.S. dollar, many investors are [...]
