EFA News and Press, iShares MSCI EAFE From 01/11/23

Summary After enduring one of the worst years on record across asset classes, investors should find more cause for optimism in 2023, even as the global economy faces challenges. Inflation is likely to moderate, and risks to the inflation outlook appear more balanced than they did severa...

Summary As expected, despite an overhang of risk from the pandemic, global banking sectors again avoided major crises in 2022. The combination of higher interest rates, tighter liquidity conditions, and risk aversion against a background of weaker global economic growth will slow credit...

Summary On a coincident basis, driven by a historically tight labour market and robust industrial production growth, the US economy remains deceptively strong despite negative real incomes and tight financial conditions. However, the leading indicators of the business cycle continue to ...

Summary Recession foretold in developed markets (DM), a pause in central bank rate hikes and China’s reopening help shape 2023 and reinforce our tactical views. European equities led DM stocks higher. Surprisingly weak U.S. services data spurred bets for Federal Reserve rate cuts...

Summary Global business activity fell for a fifth consecutive month in December, with the rate of decline moderating slightly amid improved supply conditions but still rounding off the worst quarter since 2009 barring lockdown months. At 48.2 in December, the Global PMI - compiled by S&...

Summary Reducing my exposure to SPY. Adding exposure to EFA. US equities still trending lower. Happy New Year everyone. In this month’s article I outline why I am decreasing my January’s allocation to the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF ( SPY ) to 20%, adding ...

Summary US stocks, large and small, led markets to the downside to cap off 2022. An early-month rally in bonds swiftly faded as rates rose into year-end. All eyes will be on the upcoming corporate earnings season, while foreign equities sport compelling valuations. It wa...

Summary There were ample causes for this global downdraft in equity markets. Global equity markets look likely to face a global recession in 2023, which appears to have already begun in the final quarter of 2022. Equity markets will face a tough global environment in 2023, particula...

Summary Somewhere along the way toward the liberation of the self-directed investor, some interference arose. Specifically, the S&P 500 Index became everyone's benchmark, or so it seems. If an investor is willing to see their portfolio swing 40% or more in either direction in a ...

Summary Return divergences were largely an outgrowth of the collapse in resource stocks. Amid the extreme risk-on/risk-off swings in sentiment spurred by the pandemic and Russia/Ukraine war, industry performances have been as polarized as they've ever been in a decade. The turbulent...