EWM News and Press, iShares MSCI Malaysia Index Fund From 05/06/21

Malaysian equities look more attractive than U.S. equities from a valuation standpoint. However, EWM (a Malaysia-focused ETF) is heavily exposed to the local Financials sector. This heavy exposure makes the fund exciting from a cyclical standpoint, considering that China is furthe...

A year has now passed since the correction of March 2020, as markets first appreciated the implications of a global pandemic. With continued weakness in developed markets, we have seen a continuance of unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus. The concept of a world-leading emer...

The value-investing concept remains on the defensive, although some variations of the strategy are showing hints of a revival in recent months after an extended drought. Skeptics remain unconvinced, but in some corners there's fresh hope for a revival for strategies favoring assets th...

Central bank manipulation of asset prices has swamped fundamentals. Asia-Pacific is one place to look for value, because the world is shifting from the concept of nation-state to the concept of civilization. Mutually assured destruction is the most stable game theory structure tha...

Global growth looks set to rebound even more strongly in 2021 than we had anticipated in our January Cyclical Outlook. Over the next several months, a combination of base effects, recent increases in energy prices, and price adjustments in sectors where activity ramps up is likely to ...

Global manufacturing PMI buoyed by further strong gains in production. Robust growth seen in the US, Eurozone, India and Brazil despite supply chain delays close to record high. Expansion limited by further slowdown in China, in turn linked to shipping and logistics problems. ...

The Asia-Pacific region went into this crisis first and many of its economies are emerging from it first as well. This is largely driven by stronger-than-expected performance among advanced economies in the region, as well as some large emerging market economies such as China, India, ...

The Malaysian central bank has reported a 3.4% contraction in 4Q20 GDP, which is a much bleaker result if compared to a 2.6% decline in 3Q20. Some pundits consider that a 25 bps cut in the overnight policy rate is exceedingly likely. In theory, this can result in the weakening of MYR....

Emerging Asian equities outpaced broader EMs in January. East Asian markets were largely buoyant. In many EMs, a central new reality is the rise of domestic demand as a driver of growth. Often overlooked, we believe that the frontier markets (FMs) asset class continues to exhibit ...

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority pegs the HKD to the USD at a range of 7.75-7.85. A rise in US yields threatens to disrupt this rigid currency peg. Hong Kong yields/rates would have to also rise as the HKMA buys HKD (reducing local HKD liquidity) and to prevent carry trade outflow...