While most economic indicators are clearly heading south, U.K. consumers continue to hit the shops, showing no signs of retrenchment. Rising financial wealth and steady growth in real disposable income have helped sustain strong consumption growth over the last few years, but the fall in equity value, moderating real income growth, and the threat of…
Argentina may have dodged the bullet with its recent debt swap, but pressures will continue to build. Because emerging markets are notoriously volatile and unpredictable, risk-averse investors should tread cautiously in this asset class for the time being.
Evaluation of the effect of FTSE restructuring their indexes, specifically the FTSE All-Share Index, to better reflect the underlying free float reveals that index changes will be minor in the United Kingdom. The dearth of restricted holdings in the U.K. market should minimize the turnover and trading costs associated with FTSE’s change over to free-float…
Economists have been rapidly ratcheting down their growth forecasts to keep pace with the latest onslaught of negative news. While global equity markets expectations are much saner relative to the lofty expectations of yesterday, a turnaround in six months is not guaranteed. Major central banks are preoccupied with their region’s unique economic woes so the…
Despite the severity of the peak-to-trough declines in the Nasdaq and S&P 500, it is hard to make the case that most equity investors have been put through the wringer of a serious bear market.
MSCI is restructuring its global equity indexes to more accurately reflect trading opportunities in each market. These changes will improve the investability and liquidity of each index, as well as provide greater predictability and transparency to their methodology. However, with an estimated $2.3 trillion benchmarked against MSCI EAFE, the change will also increase turnover and…
This report examines the nature of high-yield bond returns, the role of high-yield bonds in a diversified portfolio, and the implementation of an allocation. Exhibits include data on issuance, default and transition rates, and spreads relative to treasury bonds. Also included are performance data on representative high-yield managers and descriptions of benchmarks.
The euro-zone economy has undoubtedly caught some sort of bug, and investors are struggling to diagnose whether this is just a cold or a more serious case of the flu. On the one hand, business sentiment and industrial production have dropped sharply, but on the other hand consumer sentiment and spending have held up relatively…
A look at major U.S. equity indexes returns over one-, two-, and five-year periods to put the ongoing decline in perspective.
A quick survey of representative global equity managers indicates that they have moved to an overweight position in U.K. equities, and are now underweight Europe ex U.K.