italy

There is no dearth of exchange-traded funds that have “benchmark” status, and plenty of those are believed to be sound gauges of risk appetite. One of the more overlooked ETFs in terms of gauging market sentiment and risk appetite might just be the Ishares MSCI Europe Fincls Sctr Indx...

None of the U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds tracking stocks in the PIIGS countries are doing much to make investors excited this year, but the iShares MSCI Italy Index (ETF) (NYSE: EWI) is a particularly egregious offender. EWI, the largest ETF trading in New York tracking stocks in the euorzone...

Neither the Italian economy, the eurozone's third largest, nor the country's equity market have had the pizzazz of the country's famous automakers and fashion in recent years, but there are signs that Italy could be awakening from a long slumber. That could be enough to bring...

There are still pockets of weakness among the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain), the countries previously and some still known as Europe's problem children, but investors should not outright shun opportunity with the PIIGS. These Little PIIGS Went To Market Entering Tuesday,...

Data out this week appeared to show that the European Central Bank's quantitative easing program has helped turn the region around; the eurozone economy grew at its fastest pace in almost two years during the first quarter of 2015. The gain can be attributed largely to impressive growth in France...

Data out Wednesday confirmed what many have been fearing; the eurozone slipped into a period of deflation in December. The report showed that consumer prices in the bloc fell 0.2 percent from a year earlier, a worrying sign that the region’s financial troubles may continue to worsen. If...

This piece contains the opinions of Marketfy Maven Ron Insana that do not reflect the opinions of Benzinga.com. I think it's time for a new word to describe what is going on in the global economy, outside the United States. I call it "deflationcy," the complacency surrounding the...

“I think it’s very important for investors to invest with their head, not over it.” Author and television personality Doug Kass, whose book “Doug Kass on the Market: A Life on The Street” came out recently, granted an exclusive conversation with Benzinga...

The euro made its way above $1.27 on Tuesday as the dollar weakened on disappointing data and the upcoming Federal Reserve policy meeting. The common currency traded at $1.2702 at 7:00 GMT, still weighed down by worries about stability in the region. Reuters reported that U.S. service sector...

The eurozone's economy is showing some vitality, after several stunning years of financial setback. Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, reports the euro area's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 11.8 percent in March. That figure has remained stable for the last four months...

The subject of market direction and near-term price movements is discussed frequently in the media, and pretty much wherever investors gather to talk about stocks and bonds. Most of us have an opinion and are delighted to share this carefully formed insight (read: wild-eyed guess) with anyone...

Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows Phone sales share in Europe approached double digits in August, according to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. Although Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android platform was still king of the hill at 70.1 percent market share, Windows Phone’s 9.2 percent number across the...

Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) new gold colored iPhone 5S is getting a lot of press. Samsung (OTC: SSNLF) is not impressed. Maybe that’s because Samsung has seen gold colored phones before. Eight times before, in fact. Samsung’s first gold phone, the Anycall Athens Olympic Phone came out in 2004. The...

Global service PMIs were released overnight with weakness in China and the eurozone weighing on markets around the world. A slower pace of expansion in China's service sector increased fears of a China hard landing while a weaker than expected reading in the eurozone coupled with a flare up of...

Greece's government is failing to make the cuts to get its next bailout payment. A key Italian politician faces jail time for having sex with and refusing to pay an underage prostitute. Portugal's government is on the verge of collapsing, risking the sustainability of its bailout reforms. And...