Listen Live
St Jude banner
CLOSE

 

Mellody is President of Ariel investments, a Chicago-based money management firm that serves individual investors and retirement plans through its no-load mutual funds and separate accounts. Additionally, she is a regular financial contributor and analyst for CBS News.

Skip: There were some jitters on the markets last week. You are here this morning to help us get our heads around why, right?

Mellody: That’s right! In early December, investors were bullish and the markets had been flirting with records – the Dow was looking at 18,000. But last week was a bumpy one across all of the indices, from the S&P 500, to the NASDAQ. This has caused some people to wonder whether we are looking at a downturn, so this morning I want to walk people through what is going on.

Skip: That sounds great! So, why did the markets experience turbulence last week?

Mellody: Well, Skip, the big story last week were the growth numbers out of emerging economies, especially the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China. All of these economies have been cooling more than expected. Of course, the big story here is China. China is now a prime mover in the global economy, so what happens in China ripples around the world.

The data that has emerged from Beijing over the course of the last two weeks show that the country’s growth is coming down in a big way. China’s GDP growth clocked in at 6.91% in October year over year, the third straight month below 7% and the weakest stretch since the start of 2009. The countries exports and imports underperformed expectations as well, and the housing sector is slumping.

All of this combined definitely has investors on edge.

Skip: So slower growth in developing countries is partially to blame. Is there anything else?

Mellody: The second piece of the story is commodities, such as oil, gold, aluminum and copper. The markets generally consider commodity prices, particularly the price of oil, to be indicators of growth, and falling prices a signal of weak growth. As you know, oil prices have come down significantly – nearly 40% in the past 6 months. Now part of it is due to demand in developing markets like China. However, the other piece of the puzzle is supply.

As I have mentioned before, the United States energy sector has exploded, turning past predictions on their head. You have heard the line about America having to end our addiction to foreign oil? Well, we are less addicted, at the very least, Tom. In 2008, the U.S. produced 1.83 billion barrels of crude oil. In 2013, that number was 2.7 billion.

Money Mondays: Are Market Jitters A Bad Sign?  was originally published on blackamericaweb.com

1 2Next page »