By Bill Witherell, Ph.D.
International stock markets, like the US market, started the year on an optimistic note. The global slump in manufacturing appeared to be bottoming, and trade relations were easing. The first quarter is ending, however, with global equities experiencing dramatic losses and volatility surging across all market classes.
As this is written (March 20), stocks in the US are again falling. The iShares MSCI ACWI ex US ETF (ACWX) is down 29.5% year-to-date. Emerging market stocks are down slightly less, 28.4%, while in the Eurozone, now the center of the outbreak, stocks