October Monthly Commentary
Volatility made a comeback in October as a wave of risk aversion washed over markets amid rising rates in the United States, growing concerns over slowing economic growth in China, and ongoing geopolitical tensions. Equities declined with international and emerging economies faring worse than US markets. The S&P 500 Index fell 6.8% even as the […]
2018 Climate Accountability Scorecard
Today, the Union of Concerned Scientists released the 2018 Climate Accountability Scorecard: Insufficient Progress from Fossil Fuel Companies, an update to the 2016 report that scored eight major fossil fuel companies on climate-related metrics. Many thanks to Tim and Pat for reviewing a draft of the report over the summer. This follow-up study uses 28 metrics […]
September Monthly Commentary
Strong economic data and positive sentiment pushed US stocks higher with the S&P 500 Index gaining 0.6% in September, bringing quarterly returns to 7.7%. Outside the US, Japan led the way with gains of 3% last month on the back of the country’s strongest job market in decades. In Europe, concerns around the United Kingdom […]
UUA Shareholder Resolution Gets Majority Vote
Range Resources agrees to proposal’s recommendations The largest natural gas extraction firm in Pennsylvania will report on ways of cutting emissions of the greenhouse gas methane in response to a shareholder resolution filed by the Unitarian Universalist Association. At the AGM on May 15, 2018, the UUA’s proposal was presented by Judith Lane from the […]
August Monthly Commentary
Non-US equities declined in August amid escalating trade tensions between the US and its major trading partners, a currency crisis in Turkey, and uncertainty in Italy. A spate of positive macroeconomic data was unable to lift the MSCI Europe Index, which fell 2.8% last month. Emerging market equities also ended lower, losing 2.7%, according to […]
July Monthly Commentary
Developed market equities forged ahead in July as robust economic data and strong corporate earnings offset concerns around escalating trade tensions between the United States and China. The S&P 500 returned 3.7% last month as US GDP growth hit 4.1% in the second quarter. A healthy earnings season pushed the MSCI Europe Index up 3.3%. […]
June Monthly Commentary
Equities saw no respite from volatility in June as trade concerns weighed on markets. Despite the uncertainty, the S&P 500 Index eked out gains of 0.6% for the month – ending the quarter up 3.4%. However, markets outside the US fared worse. Roiled by a strengthening US dollar—the yuan, for instance, fell 4.2% versus the […]
May Monthly Commentary
Volatility remained a mainstay in May amid festering trade tensions between the US and China and Italy’s struggle to form a new government. The US dollar strengthened 2% relative to a basket of major currencies, fueling declines of 2.2% and 3.5% in the MSCI EAFE and MSCI Emerging Markets indexes, respectively. In contrast, the S&P […]
April Monthly Commentary
Volatility continued to roil markets in April as trade tensions escalated between the US and China. However, developed market equities still ended the month in the black amid a stronger than expected earnings season; the S&P 500 Index returned 0.4% and the MSCI EAFE Index gained 2.3% for the month. Within fixed income, the specter […]
Mark Ewert Recommends UUCEF for Congregations
Mark Ewert, one of the fundraising consultants on the Stewardship for Us team, recommends that congregations consider the UUCEF for their investment management needs. Stewardship for Us is a group of independent fundraising consultants closely affiliated with the UUA. In a recent blog Mark wrote, “we, as a denomination, have a powerful tool in the […]