Europe appears on the brink of another recession. Islamic
militants have seized Iraqi territory. Russian troops have massed on the
Ukraine border, and the resulting sanctions are disrupting trade. An
Ebola outbreak in Africa and Israel's war in Gaza are contributing to
the gloom.
It's been a grim summer in much of the world. Yet investors in the United States have largely shrugged it off — so far at least.
A big reason is that five years after the Great Recession officially ended, the U.S. economy is showing a strength and durability that other major nations can only envy. Thanks in part to the Federal Reserve's ultra-low interest rates, employers have ramped up hiring, factories have boosted production and businesses have been making money.
All of this has cushioned the U.S. economy from the economic damage abroad. And investors have responded by keeping U.S. stocks near all-time highs. Not even reports Friday of a Ukrainian attack on Russian military vehicles unnerved investors for long, with blue chip stocks regaining nearly all their midday losses by the close.
"We're in a much better place psychologically," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "And it's allowing us to weather the geopolitical threats much more gracefully."
Still, the global turmoil comes at a delicate time.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2014/08/17/why-global-turmoil-hasnt-sunk-us-markets-yet/14131051/
It's been a grim summer in much of the world. Yet investors in the United States have largely shrugged it off — so far at least.
A big reason is that five years after the Great Recession officially ended, the U.S. economy is showing a strength and durability that other major nations can only envy. Thanks in part to the Federal Reserve's ultra-low interest rates, employers have ramped up hiring, factories have boosted production and businesses have been making money.
All of this has cushioned the U.S. economy from the economic damage abroad. And investors have responded by keeping U.S. stocks near all-time highs. Not even reports Friday of a Ukrainian attack on Russian military vehicles unnerved investors for long, with blue chip stocks regaining nearly all their midday losses by the close.
"We're in a much better place psychologically," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "And it's allowing us to weather the geopolitical threats much more gracefully."
Still, the global turmoil comes at a delicate time.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/markets/2014/08/17/why-global-turmoil-hasnt-sunk-us-markets-yet/14131051/
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