Debt levels remain high across the world especially in the developed countries.However debt levels vary by type and country as shown in the following chart: Click to enlarge Source:Vanguard’s economic and investment outlook, Jan 2014, Vanguard Debt held by the Federal government, households, non-financial and financial firms in the U.S. and Germany is moderate(between 50% …
Spain was one of the hardest hit economies during the global financial crisis and the following European sovereign debt crises. Before the crises the Spanish economy grew rapidly over many years attracting international investors. As a result of the crises, the economy tanked primarily due to the bursting of the once red-hot real estate industry.The …
Canada and Australia are two of the commodity-based developed economies. Canada depends heavily on the U.S., its top trading partner while the Australian economy is more tied to Asia especially resource-hungry China. Hence the economic growth of these two countries depend on the U.S. and China respectively. In terms of equity returns, how did …
Continue reading ‘Performance Comparison: Canada vs. Australia ETF’ »
The DAX Index is the German equity market’s benchmark index. The index is similar to the Dow Jones Industrial Average in that it is comprised of 30 blue-chip companies traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. DAX had a base value of 1,000 as of Dec 31, 1987. Yesterday it closed at 9,497.84. The chart below shows …
Continue reading ‘DAX Index Returns By Year From 1955 To 2012’ »
The U.S. dollar has been the world’s preferred reserve currency since the end of World War I. The fact that about 60% of the world’s foreign exchange reserves are held in U.S. dollars proves that the world continues to maintain the faith in the dollar. The U.S. is a debtor country. The government borrows heavily …
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