After starting out 2012 with a bang, economic uncertainties are once again creeping in from both sides of the Atlantic and equity markets around the globe appear to be losing steam and heading lower back towards where they started off the year. With Euro zone debt drama back in the spotlight, investors have seemingly brushed aside all other financial news. Perhaps one of the most overlooked developments is the mountain of debt that has been building up in China, leading many to worry that the Asian economic bellwether could soon face a financial crisis of its own [see also Will Gulf State ETFs Thrive From Oil Wealth?].
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Last week saw a strong opening soured by economic data as the five-day trading string came to a close. Though unemployment dipped to 8.1%, hiring slowed more than expected in April, ultimately sending markets lower on the final day of the week. Earnings season is essentially over, so investors will have to focus on data [...]
After a bumpy session last week, stocks on Wall Street stumled out of the gates on Monday morning as more of the same uncertainty weighted on investors’ confidence. Earnings reports at home remain a mixed bag, making way for looming Euro zone debt woes, and ultimately paving the way for profit taking. On the home [...]
Equity markets climbed higher on Thursday as investors brushed off the worse-than-expected jobless claims report, instead focusing on upcoming earnings from tech giant Google and financial behemoths JPMorgan and Wells Fargo. The weekly jobless claims figure showed 380,000 filings for unemployment, which was a bit steeper than the expected 359,000, and also above the previous reading [...]
The rough start to the week had a number worried over the fate of Q2, but the past two days have seen the bull train get back on track, as investors have cheered on positive data and earnings releases. Today saw Google beat estimates after the bell as well as announce an essential stock split, [...]
After taking a dip lower last week, equity markets will look to shake off profit taking pressures and resume the bull-run on Wall Street. With corporate earnings season on tap to kick-off with Alcoa on Tuesday, investors will have platefuls of fresh economic data to digest throughout the trading week. In international developments, the China GDP release [...]
Bullish momentum cooled off a bit last week thanks to sparse economic data releases and lingering profit taking pressures. Investors fretted over worse-than-expected data from the housing market on the home front, while slowdowns in manufacturing across Europe and China also added to the list of uncertainties. Despite relative weakness in the stock market, gold prices [...]
As far as the majority of the ETF industry is concerned, size is everything. Institutions and financial advisors often have minimum AUM requirements for investing; a pre-screen that many ETFs fail due to their smaller size. Even individual investors are quick to write off a fund with low assets, as they assume its low popularity [...]
Equity markets continued their trek higher last week as encouraging economic data is a key driver of price action now that Euro zone woes have finally taken a backseat. In light of the positive fundamental improvements on the home front, this week is looking to be fairly uneventful in terms of major data releases aside [...]
Most risky asset classes have generally posted impressive three year performance figures at this point, delivering huge gains in the 36 months or so since equity markets bottomed out during the last financial crisis. Just about every equity index is well in positive territory for the latest three year stretch, thanks to improving economic fundamentals [...]
Stocks are off to a shaky start this week as investors digested discouraging economic growth expectations from China. The Asian behemoth cut its growth goal down to 7.5%, previously at 8%, which inevitably caused concerns that spilled over onto Wall Street. The Nasdaq led the way lower, shedding 0.86% on the day, while the Dow Jones Industrial [...]
