J.P. Morgan investor insights
News, views and opinions for investors
Featured articles
Why long-term investors should take a closer look at India
After a difficult 2011, the Indian stock market has returned to favour with some impressive gains in the first three months of 2012. As a result, investors are once again asking whether Indian shares can deliver attractive and sustainable long-term returns.
An ISA For All Seasons
But is a last-minute rush really the best way to invest? Research from J.P. Morgan Asset Management suggests that a ‘little and often’ approach could produce better returns over the long term, particularly in volatile market conditions.
Investment Director’s bulletin – May 2012
After a strong start to 2012, global stock markets fell back in April, with the MSCI World Index dropping 1.5% in local currency terms. The main causes of the fall in world stock markets were mixed economic data and negative political news.
Latest articles
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Economy explained: Unemployment
It’s easy to see why high unemployment takes its toll on the economy. If people aren’t earning, they don’t buy as much. If people aren’t buying as much, companies don’t make as much. If companies aren’t making as much, they don’t hire new workers (and they might even fire some of the existing ones). And so the cycle continues.
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US: Greek woes overshadow brighter economic news
Concerns over Europe overshadowed an encouraging batch of US economic data. Following the previous week’s disappointing payrolls report, which showed that significantly fewer jobs were created in April than had been expected, last week brought better news on employment.
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Europe: Greek political deadlock raises eurozone exit fears
The results of elections in France and Greece on 6 May suggested popular support for austerity is waning in the eurozone. In the French presidential election, the socialist candidate, Francois Hollande, beat incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy on a commitment to renegotiate Europe’s fiscal compact to include growth measures.
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Pacific: Yen strength weighs on Japan
Despite recent interventions by the Bank of Japan, the yen rose further against the US dollar and the euro in the week, adding to concerns about the negative impact of currency strength on Japan’s exporters.
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Emerging markets: Chinese data disappoints
Emerging markets underperformed their developed counterparts last week as Chinese data indicated a sharp slowdown in economic growth. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 3.1%, versus a 1.5% decline for the MSCI World.
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US: Economic worries knock sentiment
US stocks fell last week as concerns over the strength of the economic recovery hit sentiment. Wall Street actually began brightly, with the Dow Jones hitting a four and a half year high early in the week.
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Europe: Shares drop as voters reject austerity
The MSCI Europe Index fell 2.5% last week ahead of crucial elections in France and Greece, as the polls suggested voters would reject the austerity measures being implemented to curb large budget deficits, calling into doubt the commitment of some countries to Europe’s fiscal compact.
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Pacific: Australia’s central bank moves to cut rates as economy slows
Despite recent action by the Bank of Japan to weaken the yen, the Japanese currency rose in the week, raising concerns about the negative impact of currency strength on export earnings.
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Emerging markets: Improving Chinese manufacturing data provide a boost
Emerging markets outperformed their developed counterparts last week. Speculation rose that the Chinese authorities may announce further measures to support economic growth in the coming weeks.
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Challenging austerity
Austerity has been the main response to containing the eurozone debt crisis. However, as the eurozone economy worsens this policy of government budget cuts and tax rises is facing increasing political challenges.
Each week Tom Elliott looks back at the events of the previous seven days on the world’s major stock markets. Broken down by region, the Weekly Stock Market Report looks at the performance of headline market indices in the US, Europe, Pacific and emerging markets.