Surbhi Jain

Retail sales in the United States in April didn’t see any growth over March’s sales figures. But the jobless claims reading brought some positive news for the consumer sector.

In his recent webcast by Janus Capital, Bill Gross expressed his surprise at the extent to which central bankers of the developed world (EFA) (VEA) have distorted the financial system.

In a recent interview, Jim Rogers said, “I’m on record as saying that we’re going to have a recession certainly within a year or two.”

Credit Suisse (CS) strategists forecast 10% earnings growth in Europe versus a 6.8% growth expected from the US.

The Eurozone’s Retail PMI (purchasing managers’ index) dipped to 50.4 in June from the 51.4 recorded in May.

Four days before the UK (EWU) decided to leave the European Union (VGK), Soros warned the markets of a “Black Friday” and a crash in the pound.

The artillery barrage in Mariupol could mean Russia is preparing to launch an offensive that would secure its hold on Crimea.

Ray Dalio, and Marketplace Morning Report host David Brancaccio discussed the future of the economy and the next recession. Here’s what you need to know.

On October 20, the government of Saudi Arabia raised about $17.5 billion in an international bond issuance, marking the emerging market’s first foray into the international bond market.

Over a good four decades, the S&P 500’s net profit margin has fallen notably when the economy was on the verge of, or already into, a recession.

Real estate and construction are the two important drivers of China’s economic growth. They account for more than 20% of China’s gross domestic product (or GDP) when you also factor in cement, steel, chemicals, furniture and other related industries.

Credit spreads are the difference in yield between U.S. Treasuries and corporate bonds of the same maturity. Corporate bonds yield more than Treasury bonds, as they carry a risk of default.

Brazil (EWZ) is rich in commodities. It’s among the top producers and exporters of iron ore, crude petroleum, soybeans, sugar, and meat.

Global monetary policy is unconventional. From an era of lowering interest rates to boost economic growth, central bankers are taking rates into negative territory.

Gross believes that money has stopped generating growth and inflation. Equity prices are artificially elevated, and negative yields are guaranteeing capital losses.

In a currency war, the “beggar-thy-neighbor” strategy is about increasing the demand for a nation’s exports at the expense of other countries’ export share.

Market commentators have noticed that when Icahn starts buying into a company, its stock prices rise. This trend has been called the “Icahn Lift.”

With commodity prices recovering and major developed markets (EFA) (VEA) caught in the lull, Latin America should see sunnier days ahead.

Europe-tracking ETFs gained significantly from February 19 to February 24, when the bailout extension to Greece was approved.

ETFs and ETNs are very similar—both trade on an exchange like a stock, follow an underlying product, and are easily accessible to investors.

“The next downturn may be a difficult one for central banks to reverse,” warned Ray Dalio, CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund.

Saudi Arabia has also been involved in the sale of US Treasuries. The country is the 15th-largest holder of US Treasury bonds in the world.

Ray Dalio: Here’s what’s required of central bankers Given the inadequacy of monetary policy measures to stimulate the economy, we may see “more direct placements of purchasing power in the hands of spenders,” believes Ray Dalio. He has outlined what central bankers should do. “Continue to make debt assets extremely unattractive for savers” For some […]

Russia’s inflation rate has been trending upwards since the beginning of 2014 alongside the ruble’s decline. The ruble has declined by almost 40%.

Junk bonds are high yield bonds issued by below–investment grade corporations. Due to the low ratings and high risk of default attached to these bonds, they’re popularly called “junk bonds.”

Low global interest rates have been catastrophic for Brazil. Growth is stagnant while inflation continues to soar.

According to the August 31 release by the ISTAT, the EU’s harmonized inflation rate in Italy rose to an impressive 0.50% in August on a YoY (year-over-year) basis.

As percentages of the worlds’ total reserves, Russia holds 45% of the gas, 23% of the coal, 14% of the uranium, and 13% of the oil. Currently, Russia is the world’s largest energy supplier.

Investor sentiment with respect to Latin American economies has definitely been changing since the beginning of the year.

Gundlach also believes it’s interesting to look at the correlation between the size of the Fed’s balance sheet and the S&P 500 (SPY) (SPXS) (SPXL) level.

Popular opinion holds that the Brexit referendum has opened the gates for other such votes in the future.

“Deleveraging” refers to reducing the debt level. With Japan’s debt burden, deleveraging the economy’s balance sheet seems more than imperative.

Russia’s inflation rate had been trending upward since the beginning of 2014, in tandem with the ruble’s decline. But the country’s central bank believes that the worst is now over for Russia.

An early contraction, middle bear phase seems to suggest that we are near the end of the current business cycle.

This isn’t a normal business cycle Billionaire hedge fund manager Seth Klarman said, “the stock market is the story of cycles and of the human behavior that is responsible for overreactions in both directions.” Ray Dalio believes that this isn’t a normal business cycle. In our April 2015 series Business Cycle Investing: What Should You Look […]

In the U.S., Blackrock (BLK), State Street GA (STT), and Vanguard are the top three ETF providers. They have a 40.1%, 22.3%, and 20.7% market share, respectively.

A dividend exchange-traded fund (or ETF) consists of dividend-paying stocks. Usually, ETFs track a dividend index. The stocks in the fund or index are selected based on their dividend yield.

The “Big Six Banks” in Canada have only reduced their prime rates by 15 basis points. So the spread between the prime and key interest rates is now 0.1%.

In regards to commodities, gold is a “bad market” for Bernstein. On the currency front, he thinks that the US dollar (UUP) will lose strength.

Given the declining competitiveness of its commodity exports, Brazil’s economy is attempting to diversify away from its economic model.

We’ve talked about the dual mandate and factors constraining the Federal Reserve from achieving this mandate. Let’s now assess how close the Fed has come to achieving its macroeconomic objectives.

The group spoke about how these companies and India could benefit from investment flow into the country. Modi sought investment pledges from many of these CEOs, who were impressed with what India had to offer.

The voting result of the Scottish Referendum, due September 18, will have a direct bearing on Scotland, the United Kingdom, and the 28-member European Union as a whole.

Widening spreads indicate a slowing economy. Since companies are more likely to default in a slowing economy, credit risk related to their bonds rises.

Gundlach thinks that investors should short low volatility equity funds. People invest in them thinking that they’re safe, but they aren’t.

Carl Icahn is one of the first activist investors to voice his opinion against share buybacks. He believes that companies are increasingly putting money into buybacks instead of using them for much-needed capital improvements.

Apple (AAPL) is one of the most cash-rich companies in the US. While Carl Icahn has been talking about share buybacks artificially inflating the Market and asset values, some buybacks have occurred as a result of his push.

Many European countries want the ability to print their own money and come to their own aid instead of going to the ECB (European Central Bank).

Currently, we’re in a highly levered system, especially the developed world. A levered economy depends on continued credit creation for stability and growth.

Bill Gross provided his view on lower rates no longer resulting in credit creation in the economy. They have also lost their efficacy in raising equity prices.