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What Is A Recession? When a country's economy grows, its citizens benefit as the value of services and goods increases—namely the gross domestic product (GDP). By contrast, when a country faces a period of economic decline there is a marked reduction of trade and industrial production. When this happens across two quarters, the overall GDP declines, and the economy is said to be in a recession. History Of Global Recessions…
Established as the official currency of Japan by the Meiji government in 1871, the yen (ISO code: JPY ¥) is the third-most used currency in the world. With a long history of zero interest rates and little effect on the stimulation of the economy, the yen has been the world's biggest investor, and the preferred Asian reserve currency for decades. In the Japanese Edo era, a central bank had not…
The most important stock index in the U.K. is the FTSE 100, which tracks the performance of the 100 largest companies in the country based on market capitalisation. The index, which is pronounced commonly as the "Footsie 100," was created in January 1984. At that time, its baseline value was established at 1,000 points, although stock prices were calculated retroactively back to 1969. In this article, we cover the 10…
A Drop of 17% in Five Years - London Stock Exchange Experiences Decline in the Number of Companies Trading Judging by the number of companies which are currently trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), by all accounts the trading platform appears to be losing its appeal. In 2020 the number of companies trading on the LSE declined to an all-time low. Even though the platform is a powerful player…
What Is An ETF? Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are investment vehicles similar to mutual funds that hold a portfolio of securities, such as stocks, bonds, currencies, commodities and other assets. ETFs differ from mutual funds in that they are often designed to match the performance of a specific index and are therefore usually passive, while mutual funds are typically actively managed in order to try to outperform a specific index. ETFs…
What Is An Australian Real Estate Investment Trust? Australian real estate investment trusts (A-REITs) are funds that give individuals the opportunity to invest in large income-producing commercial properties that are usually available only to large institutions. A-REITs include properties that are located in Australia as well as funds open to Australians that invest internationally. REITs (pronounced "reetz") in general can be bought and sold like regular stocks or in mutual…
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank, whose "duty is to contribute to the stability of the currency, full employment, and the economic prosperity and welfare of the Australian people," according to its website. The RBA does this by conducting monetary policy, establishing an interest rate in order to meet a medium-term inflation target, and maintaining a strong financial and efficient payments system. The bank also issues…
The 2020 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic unhinged capital markets and domestic economies around the globe. From Asia to the United Kingdom, economic contraction became the rule. Amid lockdowns, quarantines and travel restrictions, day-to-day life underwent a dramatic transformation. Unfortunately for workers, businesses and investors, the world's labour markets experienced turbulence not seen since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. What Is Unemployment? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, unemployment is the "involuntary…
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is one of the oldest and probably best-known stock indexes in the world. It is composed of 30 U.S.-based "blue chip" stocks, which change periodically based on market fluctuations and the fortunes of the individual companies. Four of the 10 largest U.S. companies ranked by market capitalisation were members of the DJIA as of 8 June 2022. However, all 10 are components of the…
What Is The Euro STOXX 50 Index? The Euro STOXX 50 is an index that tracks the performance of the 50 largest companies in the eurozone, similar to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which tracks the 30 largest publicly-traded companies in the U.S. The index includes stocks from 11 eurozone countries, namely Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. The top 10 components in…
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is one of the largest global securities exchanges by value, with a total market capitalisation of about A$16 billion. It is also the largest market for interest rate derivatives in Asia and among the top five exchanges globally for raising capital. The ASX, which is based in Sydney, was the first major financial market open every day. The Australian Stock Exchange was formed on the…
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