The big news of the week is the vote in the United Kingdom (UK) concerning the continuing participation of the country in the European Union (EU). The vote yesterday known as Brexit, was 48.1% to remain and 51.9% to depart from the bloc. Voter participation in the referendum hit 72.2% of the electorate. As a result of the Brexit vote, world equities in Asia dropped precipitously. In Japan for example, the Nikkei dropped 7.9%. In Europe, the major exchanges also fell on […]
Global Investing Blog
Collapse Of The European Union: Fractures Widening
The European Union was founded with great fanfare back in 1993, with the signing of the Maastricht Treaty. There have been dramatic changes on the continent since this momentous event. Both economic and political forces have descended on Europe, that are now threatening to undo the unity that was achieved over two decades ago. With the accession of Croatia in 2013, the number of nations within the bloc swelled has to 28. Investors have grown increasingly anxious about the direction that the European Union has […]
Weekly Market Review – June Week 3
The big news for the week is the now historical marker, when Germany’s key benchmark 10 year bond hit zero and went negative at -0.01%. It is a strong indication that central banks are losing control over monetary policy in Europe and worldwide. The European Central Bank has printed massive quantities of notes, negative interest rates, quantitative easing in the purchase of government and now corporate bonds. Yet, economic growth in the Euro-zone remains lethargic. The other news for the week is […]
Kazakhstan Nearing An End Of An Era
Disturbing the relative tranquility of the country, the people of Kazakhstan earlier this month watched a band of Islamist insurgents raid two hunting supply shops for weapons in north-western portion of the nation. Following that the group said to number 26, attacked an army base. There was a night of clashes, which led to a checkpoint near the city of Aktobe to also come under fire the next day. When it was all over, 18 vigilantes, 4 civilians and 3 security men […]
The Economic And Political Collapse Of Venezuela
As the economy of Venezuela nears collapse, the leftist government of President Nicolas Maduro resolutely attempts to cling to power. The opposition would like to end the present regime through a referendum, while Maduro is going to court to block this effort. Meanwhile, the country is descending into chaos. The shortage of basic consumer necessities is becoming increasingly widespread and violence is spreading, as the citizenry becomes desperate. Venezuela has is now one of the world’s most violent countries. Food riots and savage […]
Weekly Market Review & Target Fills June Week 2
The big news for the week is the increasingly likelihood that the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) the equivalent of the central bank in the United States (U.S.) will not raise interest rates in the short term. This was the result of the preceding weeks jobs report which saw just 38,000 jobs added to the economy in May, when 164,000 was expected. The Fed has indicated that 100,000 is what is needed just to keep pace with population growth. It is the smallest […]
Elections In Russia An Exercise In Futility
Legislative elections will be held in Russia on September 18, 2016. They have been moved forward from December 4th. In play are all 450 seats in the State Duma which is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia. In contrast, the next presidential election will be held in 2018. United Russia has been the ruling party since the 2011 election cycle. At that time they were able to capture 49.32% of the vote, which gave them 238 seats or 53% […]
Another Crucial Election in Spain Approaches
King Felipe VI of Spain had no choice, but to call for another national election. There were a number of different attempts to form a government, which all failed since December. The Conservatives (PP) under Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy have continued the task of running the government on a daily basis, but it is only a caretaker. In power since 2011, the Party still remains the largest in voter support, but no longer has a mandate to create a working majority in […]
Weekly Market Review June Week 1
The week would be highlighted by two meetings in Vienna, Austria. One would be OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Export Countries), where the oil cartel would once again attempt a production freeze on oil output. The other would be the ECB (European Central Bank) where it would be decided if the financial institution would expand stimulus in an attempt to recharge the slow growing EU(European Union) economy. An OPEC output agreement on crude failed because Iran refused to agree to a new Saudi […]
Iceland: Turning Against Foreign Investment
The legislature of Iceland has decided that foreign investment is no longer paramount to the development and prosperity of the island country. On May 22 of this year, the Parliament passed a new law concerning government bonds that are coming due. The aim of officials in Iceland is to prevent the domestic economy worth $16.7 billion USD (United States Dollar) from being overwhelmed from the massive inflow of capital. Although Iceland is a rather small country with just 327,386 inhabitants, it has […]