August was a difficult month as China’s surprise devaluation of the yuan fueled concerns around global growth and unleashed a wave of volatility, sparing few asset classes. For instance, the MSCI EM Index fell 9% as emerging market equities—especially China’s … Continued
The Greek debt crisis and a steep sell-off of overheated local equities in China dominated headlines in July. However, it was slowing growth out of China—the world’s second largest economy—that seemed to have the most pervasive impact on markets. Commodity … Continued
Global markets seesawed in June as investors turned their attention to Greece’s negotiations with its creditors and deliberated the likelihood of yet another bailout. In the early part of the month, developed market equities responded positively as Greece and its … Continued
US equities bounced around in May with trading marked by low volume and changing sentiment as investors grappled with the potential impact of mixed economic data on the Federal Reserve’s timing of a rate increase. Smaller-cap issues fared better than … Continued
International equities surged in April, with the MSCI EAFE Index gaining 4.1%, as monetary easing policies in Europe and Japan emboldened investors. Emerging market stocks also rallied as investors embraced the likelihood that the Fed would delay raising rates in … Continued
Stocks reversed course in March amid subdued economic data, expectations of lower US earnings growth, and ongoing geopolitical tensions. The S&P 500 finished the month down 1.6% amid weaker than expected GDP growth of 2.2% in the fourth quarter and … Continued
In the investment and environmental communities, there has been a lot of discussion about stranded energy assets in the last few years. A recent article in the Guardian state that US and Chinese companies top the list of most polluting … Continued
Financial markets reversed course in February as global equities rallied. The MSCI EAFE Index returned 6.0% amid investor anticipation of the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing program, which kicks off this month. The gains were also driven by strong returns … Continued
Global equities were a mixed bag in January as investors responded to diverging monetary policies and the resulting potential for an uptick in volatility. The S&P 500 fell 3.0% on the month while emerging markets were modestly positive as the … Continued
US equities scaled new highs in December amid optimism around the economy. To this end, the S&P 500 returned 13.7% for the year and the Russell 2000 gained 4.9%. These advances came amid a slump in the rest of the … Continued