SMLE News and Press, Xtrackers S&P SmallCap 600 ESG ETF From 02/11/23

Summary After years of strong returns, 2022 was the worst year for global equities since the 2008 financial crisis. This trend is evident in the recent increase in securities lending activity, the mechanism which enables short selling. In December 2022 alone, the iShares Russell 200...

Summary As economies both in the United States and globally weaken with tighter monetary policies, corporate earnings are coming under greater pressure. Without exception, in the 24 months prior to a recession, large caps outperformed small caps. Higher-quality investments did not m...

Summary Tightening monetary policy drove rising 10-year Treasury bond yields and pressured equity valuations in 2022. Interest rates will drive the market environment, to some extent, according to our U.S. growth and core equity and U.S. value equity teams. Given the lagged impact, ...

Summary Past episodes of debt ceiling histrionics have resulted in temporary government shutdowns. With both sides seemingly dug in, a repeat of the 2011 episode cannot be ruled out. In 2010, republicans controlled the House and demanded that President Obama negotiate over deficit r...

Summary We have hit the debt limit; we have a problem. How can we put off the problem and make someone else deal with somewhere down the road? Both political parties, in my opinion, don't really want a solution to the "debt" problem; they just want to send it off once again into the...

Summary ClearBridge is a leading global asset manager committed to active management. Research-based stock selection guides our investment approach, with our strategies reflecting the highest-conviction ideas of our portfolio managers. The pro-cyclical tilt of our portfolio helped the S...

Summary One of the big stories late last fall was the abrupt about-face turn by the Chinese government on its zero-Covid policy. There is a connection of sorts tying together the newfound fondness for Chinese and European assets. Small-cap domestic stocks do still seem to demonstrat...

Summary Stocks have rallied to start the year due to financial conditions easing. The Fed, to this point, has been unable to convince the markets of its commitment to raise rates. Vice-Chair Lael Brainard speaks this week and could be personified to reset market expectations. ...

Summary Markets may be underestimating the stickiness of inflation and central banks’ determination to beat it - and what that means for growth and corporate earnings potential. We favor fixed income and credit over equities, and investment grade over high yield. Should infla...

Summary The CPI cooled again in December driven by a massive fall in Energy prices. A big driver behind the fall in Energy prices has been the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Lower inflation is “good for gold” as the Fed can theoretically pull back on hikes. ...