Markets

NEW YORK—The steep decline in emerging market stocks since early this year are attracting some U.S. fund managers who think they may find long-term bargains amid the sell-off. Portfolio managers from Harding Loevner, Federated Investors, and Wells Fargo are among those who have been adding emerging markets stocks to their portfolios in the face of […]

WASHINGTON—For a solid decade after the collapse of Lehman Brothers touched off a global financial crisis, there was good reason to think the U.S. economy remained broken, from skepticism about the health of the labor market to tepid economic growth and the moribund rate of interest paid on U.S. Treasury bonds. In a heartbeat, that […]

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average hit record highs on Sept. 20, as tax reform continues to boost corporate profits. While the uncertainty surrounding the trade war with China continues to rise, investors are confident the battle will cause less economic damage than feared. The S&P 500 index gained 0.78 percent on Sept. 20 and […]

A decade after the credit crisis, investors are returning to where it all began. The U.S. mortgage sector, blamed in large part for the near-collapse of the global financial system, is now seen by many as a high-quality market forged by fire. Yet along with new players, new worries are emerging. The mortgage-backed securities market, […]

With digital-currency trading volume having plunged, some of the biggest crypto exchanges are turning to unorthodox practices to boost activity and win market share. Bitfinex, FCoin, and OKex are encouraging startups to drive depositors to their online-trading platforms to get coins listed. Other exchanges, such as Binance and KuCoin, are embracing listing fees that can […]

WASHINGTON—Despite the uncertainty surrounding the trade war with China, U.S. equity markets had a relatively strong opening on Sept. 10. President Donald Trump has continued to target China, recently announcing that he is ready to levy tariffs on basically all of the goods that the Chinese import to the United States. “I hate to say that, but […]

In the tussle between the euro zone’s north and south, Erkki Liikanen may boast just the right credentials to become the next president of the European Central Bank. The former governor of Finland’s central bank is the new frontrunner in a Bloomberg survey of economists on who’ll succeed Mario Draghi in November 2019. His chief […]

To understand the routs in Turkey, Argentina, and other emerging markets, one needs to understand the anatomy of a credit bubble. They are all the same, although the companies and countries caught up in them are different. Credit conflagrations are normally ignited by a small, wrong-footed speculator. Those with the thinnest capital have the most […]

U.S. oil prices edged up on Sep. 4, rising back past $70 per barrel, after two Gulf of Mexico oil platforms were evacuated in preparation for a hurricane. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $70.04 per barrel at 0034 GMT, up 24 cents, or 0.3 percent from their last settlement. Anadarko Petroleum […]

LONDON— Global stock markets fell for a third straight day on Sept. 3, hurt by worries over the escalation of trade disputes between world powers and a deepening sell-off across emerging market currencies. With U.S. markets closed for Labor Day, trading activity was generally subdued. European shares were largely flat, although London’s blue-chip FTSE rallied […]

LONDON—Oil prices rose on Sept. 3, supported by concerns that falling Iranian output will tighten markets once U.S. sanctions bite from November, but gains were limited by higher supply from OPEC and the United States. The two benchmarks have risen strongly over the last two weeks with Brent gaining more than 10 percent on expectations […]

NEW DELHI—Indian software services exporter Wipro Ltd. won its biggest-ever contract worth more than $1.5 billion with U.S.-based Alight Solutions LLC for digital services, the company said in a statement on Sept. 2. Wipro, one of India’s top IT firms, said it would earn $1.5-1.6 billion in revenues over the tenure of the deal, which […]

LONDON —Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week.   Missing Trade War Casualty—Jobs U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff war has cast a shadow over all economic data releases lately, including the biggest market-mover of them all: the U.S jobs employment report. Aug. 30 offers a […]

WASHINGTON—U.S. consumer confidence surged to near an 18-year high in August, as households remained upbeat on the labor market, pointing to strong consumer spending that should help to sustain the economy for the remainder of the year. The bright economic outlook, however, was dimmed somewhat by other data on Aug. 28 showing the goods trade […]

Some of the biggest U.S. banks have continued to slash their exposure to state and city debt since the federal government cut corporate tax rates, leaving the securities less attractive to the companies. JPMorgan Chase & Co., State Street Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. decreased their holdings of […]

U.S. stocks added to all-time highs, and Mexico’s peso rallied versus the dollar as the Trump administration closed a bilateral trade deal with America’s southern neighbor. Treasuries fell. The S&P 500 Index closed in on 2,900 as President Donald Trump unveiled details of the agreement that he says will replace Nafta. Shares of carmakers and […]

Global carriers have flocked to India, lured by a domestic travel boom and what’s expected to be the world’s third-biggest aviation market by 2025. Yet India has proven an intensely competitive market, where profits are scarce and the life expectancy of weaker airlines is anything but certain. Jet Airways India Ltd., one of the first […]

NEW YORK—Oil prices gained more than 1 percent on Aug. 24, ending a run of weekly declines on signs that Iran sanctions may limit global supply and that a trade war may not curb China’s appetite for U.S. crude. Brent crude oil settled up $1.09 a barrel, or 1.5 percent, at $75.82 a barrel. U.S. […]

The S&P 500’s bull market turned 3,453 days old on Aug. 22, making it the longest such streak in history, according to some investors’ definition. The benchmark stock index was off 0.13 percent in midmorning trading, and the market took the milestone in stride a day after the S&P 500 set an all-time intraday high […]

Companies buying back their own shares is now one of the biggest sources of demand for stocks, helping propel the S&P 500 to new record highs.