With sovereign debt issues continuing to wreak havoc across the euro zone, many investors have piled into the relative safety of U.S. dollar in order to avoid the storm. This ‘flight to quality’ has had a devastating impact on a variety of commodities which are usually priced around the world in U.S. dollars. Among the hardest hit in recent weeks has been sugar, which has been assaulted by a stronger dollar and robust supplies in two of the biggest producers of the commodity; Brazil and India. [click to continue…]
This week brought more ups and downs to uphold the uncertainty of what investors are calling “Grim May.” An up-and-down week ended on a negative note, with a downgrade of Spain increasing investor anxiety over the spread of the debt crisis beyond Greece. This week features the close of a tumultuous month for markets all […]
Equity markets tumbled to finish May on a down note, as the Dow and S&P 500 sank 1.2% while the Nasdaq slipped 0.9%. This sharp decline helped to send the markets to their worst month in more than a year as worries continued to build over the economic condition in Europe. In commodity markets, gold […]
As anxiety over Europe’s debt woes and the resulting drag on global growth have intensified in recent weeks, equity markets around the world have plummeted. Technology companies, which led the way higher during the recovery of 2009, have fallen on hard times. After rising for much of the start of 2010, the tech heavy Nasdaq […]
Over the last decade Colombia has been transformed from a conflict-ravaged and seemingly lawless nation to one of South America’s most stable governments. Relationships with the U.S. and other superpowers have strengthened considerably as the South American nation’s presence on the global stage has increased. Drug cartels and leftist guerrillas have seen their influence and […]
Recent economic turmoil has shaken markets around the world as the odds of a sovereign debt crisis in Europe creep gradually higher. The debt-laden nations of Greece and Spain have seen the prices of their bonds plummet as investors demand additional compensation for higher perceived risk; the yield on Spanish debt has nearly doubled in […]
There aren’t many industries out there that can match the impressive growth of ETFs over the last few years. But natural gas might be close. Driven by increased interest in cultivating crude oil alternatives, production of shale gas has surged in recent years, and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. According to data […]
Europe continues to steer global equity markets in 2010, as stocks around the world have taken their cues from a bloc of developed economies teetering on the brink of a sovereign debt crisis. As a crisis born in the shadow of Mount Olympus threatens to spread throughout the euro zone, governments have taken drastic–and often […]
Wall Street’s brutal losing streak came to an end on Thursday, as concerns over the euro zone’s woes eased and global equity markets surged. Investors cheered remarks from Beijing indicating that China doesn’t plan to sell its European bond holdings, a scenario that could have flooded the market. Meanwhile in Spain, the government approved new […]
When companies began tightening their belts as the most recent recession hit, advertising budgets were slashed in an effort to minimize losses in the short term and weather the storm. This behavior had a significant impact on companies that generate significant revenues from advertising, and broadcast television networks endured one of their leanest years in […]
The impressive rise of the ETF industry in recent years is often held out as evidence of an ongoing shift in investor preferences away from costly active management and towards low cost indexing. Investors frustrated with the inability of pricey mutual fund managers to consistently beat their benchmark have abandoned stock picking in favor of […]
