Our investment management team explores investment news and economic highlights over the week ending June 14, 2013:
Equity markets moved lower over the course of the week as investors weighed the latest round of economic data and lower global growth forecasts by the World Bank and IMF, and generally looked ahead to this week’s Federal Reserve meeting and corresponding state-ment. After several weeks of heightened volatility in both the equity and bond markets, following Congressional testimony by Ben Bernanke, investors are hoping to gain greater insight into when, and to what degree, the Fed might taper its current stimulus efforts.
Japan’s Nikkei remained volatile over the course of the week as it officially entered bear market territory, having fallen by more than 20% since reaching a peak in late May. On Tuesday, following its most recent meeting, the BOJ announced that it would not undertake additional stimulus, disappointing investors who had been hoping for further action.