After a record-setting October gave investors hope that 2011 would finish on a strong note, the first couple weeks of November have effectively taken any wind out of those sails. The culprit–surprise, surprise–has been the cash-strapped PIIGS economies of Europe, with Italy now grabbing the spotlight as a serious credit risk and a grave threat not only to Europe but to global financial markets.
And just like that, it appears as if we are heading to dismal end to a generally dismal year for many investors. The asset classes that had powered big recoveries in 2009 and 2010, such as commodities and emerging markets, have largely fallen flat this year. Most major benchmarks are in the red year-to-date, and it’s probably a safe bet that many investors have lost money this year. [click to continue…]
With a weak consumer economy and a lack of job creation, concerns are once again beginning to return to the housing industry. For the 10 City Case-Shiller index, prices are down year-over-year in non seasonally adjusted terms for the most recent reading, leading to a dreaded double dip for many markets around the country. However, [...]
With many equity markets plunging around the globe, investors are flocking towards safe-haven investments. This flight to quality has left many investors piling into U.S. Treasury bonds and the U.S. dollar in general. This has helped to sink commodity prices and send T-Bill yields lower decreasing the desirability of each substantially as asset classes to [...]
Historically, no portfolio was complete without a material allocation to real estate. Consistently high real returns and low correlations to stocks and bonds made it easy to overlook the out-of-whack fundamentals that ultimately led to an unprecedented collapse. But when real estate markets got a reality check in late 2008, many investors swore off the [...]
Once considered a vital “return enhancer” in almost every portfolio, real estate as an asset class has fallen out of favor with investors following its spectacular collapse during (and role in causing) the recent global economic downturn. Real estate was historically embraced because of its potential for delivering excess returns in bull property markets and [...]
In recent months, the U.S. housing market has shown signs of life, with several major metropolitan areas eking out small month-over-month gains. While home prices remain well below year-ago levels, there are at least signs that the worst has passed, and a modest recovery is now underway.
