Nathan Behan, a senior investment analyst at Prima Capital Holdings, outlines some key recent and long-term trends in the markets in an economic report and analysis on the third quarter.
The second quarter opened up with high hopes and generally positive expectations for the remainder of the year. As noted last quarter, there was a wide variety of opinions on the strength of the recovery but a strong majority believed a recovery was in fact under way.
The international developed markets were muted during the fourth quarter with the Russell Developed Large Cap ex-North America Index up just 2.3%.
As 2009 wound to a close, it was hard not to look back at the global financial markets just 12 months ago and realize how far and how quickly the recovery had come.
The fourth quarter of 2009 started out on shaky ground with the domestic equity indexes falling sharply in October.
After a relatively sleepy start to the quarter, the taxable fixed income markets went on a quick rollercoaster ride for the final 60 days of the year.
