EFA News and Press, iShares MSCI EAFE From 06/13/22

All of the major central banks are facing a tight dilemma with inflation, but the European Central Bank has the hardest job at the moment. A monetary union, without a fiscal union, becomes a problem in a truly inflationary environment. A look at how Europe and the US differ in thi...

Central banks have primed markets to expect too many rate hikes in the face of persistent inflation, in our view. This keeps us neutral on stocks in the short run. The U.S. added 390, 000 jobs in May - a number that was matched by new entrants to the labor force. This shows the labor ...

I remain 50% in SPY and 50% in cash. SPY is trending lower but not yet in bearish alignment. All of the ETFs I follow closed higher in May. For further details see: My Current View Of The S&P 500 Index: June 2022 Edition

EFA provides exposure to large and mid-cap stocks in developed markets, excluding the US and Canada. The fund is well-diversified both across industries and constituents. Based on the fundamentals of developed markets in Japan and Europe, I believe EFA is poised to underperform the S&...

We still prefer equities over fixed income on a strategic horizon, but we moderate our stance after this year’s big market moves. Stocks bounced back on hopes the Federal Reserve can soon pause rate hikes. But we don’t expect a sustained rebound until the Fed takes a cle...

Being financially independent is a prerequisite for retirees, but can be a great stress reducer for younger folks who are several years away from retirement. We will go over our strategy as to how a diversified income portfolio with an in-built hedging mechanism with low volatility co...

Central banks are facing a growth-inflation trade-off. Hiking interest rates too much risks triggering a recession, while not tightening enough risks causing runaway inflation. The Fed has made it clear it is ready to dampen growth. Implication: We are neutral developed market (DM) equiti...

Price pressures intensified on average, thanks in part to higher energy prices. While the China impact was most commonly reported in Japan, the Ukraine war impact was most heavily felt in the eurozone. For all economies, the path of inflation and the cost-of-living crisis remains ...

We cut developed market (DM) equities to neutral on a risk of the Fed talking itself into overtightening policy and China adding to a weaker global outlook. Stocks plumbed new 2022 lows on fears steep rate rises will trigger a growth slowdown. We see a brighter picture, but this may n...

We recently cut risk, but stick with stocks over bonds for now. Equity prices now reflect much of the worsening macro outlook and hawkish Fed, in our view. Markets came to grips last week with the trade-off central banks face: choke off growth or live with inflation. Yields fell and s...