Where are you on your investments and in the world?

ROBARE & JONES ON THE MARKETS

           The S&P 500 shed 0.6% this past week from disappointing readings on US employment and consumer sentiment as well as concerns about China's economy. With about two weeks remaining in the month, the S&P 500 is now down 2% for September to date. However, it is up 18% for the year to date.  

The materials sector had the largest percentage drop of the week, down 3.2%, followed by the 3.1% slide in utilities, and only two sectors managed to rise this week. Energy climbed 3.3% while consumer discretionary edged up 0.6%.  

In Bank of America (BofA) most recent survey, the results showed that fewer asset managers remain optimistic about prospects for global economic growth (13%) or corporate profitability (12%). That’s half the number in the previous survey and the lowest percent since April 2020.  

Rapidly changing conditions in China also may also be a concern for investors. The Chinese government’s recent regulatory enforcement actions during 2021 have negatively affected market values, and a number of financial bloggers and commentators were arrested in China, and many financial websites and blogs were scrubbed from China’s social media platforms.  

Investors will also be focused next week on the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting that will conclude Wednesday with a statement from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Let's take a look at the markets from this past week!   

Where are You?

      If you were virtually dropped into another country, do you think you would recognize where you were?    In 2013, Swedish information technology consultant Anton Wallén created a game around an internet company’s street-view maps. Players are dropped into a street view within a country and must identify the location.  

• The most readily identifiable countries are Japan (64 percent correct guesses, 9 percent wrong guesses) and the United States (79 percent correct guesses, 40 percent wrong guesses), followed by Russia, Italy, Brazil and Britain.

• The most misidentified country was the United States. “…18% of players who reckoned they had been dropped in America were actually in Australia. Spain and Mexico were also frequently mixed up. Not all of the guesses made sense: at least one person mistook Luxembourg for Mongolia.”

• The people who are best at identifying geographic locations live in Germany, Switzerland and France.

• The people who are worst at identifying geographic locations live in Turkey, Russia and America.

Do you know your way around the earth?