News & Insights
Visual Capitalist: U.S. And China’s Combined GDP Equals 184 Countries
Key Takeaways The two largest economies have a combined GDP that equals almost the entire rest of world’s. The U.S. and Chinese economies together amount to $50 trillion. The entire rest of the world—excluding Germany, Japan, and India—also has an economic output of $50 trillion. The U.S. and China are in the midst of their […]
John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended May 30
May’s rebound After a volatile and mostly negative April, the major U.S. stock indexes generated strongly positive results in May. The NASDAQ finished about 9.6% higher for the month while the S&P 500 gained 6.2% and the Dow added 3.9%. Information technology stocks led the broader market, with the S&P 500’s tech sector up more […]
First Trust: Debt Downgrade Drama And The Budget
Moody’s finally downgraded US government debt on May 16th to Aa1, its second highest rating. With the US $36 trillion (and rising) in debt, it’s not hard to see why. But Moody’s was late to the party with S&P and Fitch (the other two major ratings agencies) having done so long ago. The financial media […]
John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended May 23
Gold rebounds The price of gold climbed nearly 6% for the week to around $3,360 per ounce as the precious metal recovered all of the ground lost in the previous week’s decline. The latest week’s result extended a year-to-date rally that recently pushed gold to a record high of more than $3,400. Dollar’s decline […]
First Trust: Does Anyone Care That Keynesianism Doesn’t Work?
Milton Friedman, Art Laffer and other market-believing economists had their long day in the sun during the 1980s and 1990s. Tax rates fell and government spending declined relative to GDP. But – ironically, in the long run, and long after he passed away – John Maynard Keynes got his revenge. Whereas free-marketeers believed markets were […]
Visual Capitalist: Billion Dollar Companies By Country In 2025
Key Takeaways The U.S. is home to 1,873 billion dollar firms by market cap, more than a third of the global total. Japan ranks in second worldwide, at 404 billion dollar publicly-listed firms. Since 2000, the number of companies in India valued at $1 billion or more has jumped from 20 to 348. Globally, […]
John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended May 16
Inflation moderation A Consumer Price Index report showed that price increases continued to moderate in April even as higher tariffs began to take effect. Prices rose 2.3% over the same month a year earlier, down slightly from March’s 2.4% annual inflation rate and marking the smallest increase since February 2021. Excluding volatile energy and food […]
First Trust: Is The Dollar Really Dying?
Back on January 10, 2025, it cost $1.024 to buy one Euro. Last Friday, the $/Euro exchange rate was $1.125 – a drop in the value of the dollar of about 10%. Similar moves in the value of the US dollar versus the British pound, Japanese yen, and Canadian dollar also occurred. Many analysts have […]
Visual Capitalist: The World’s 50 Most Valuable Companies In 2025
Key Takeaways This graphic shows the 50 most valuable companies globally, based on May 5, 2025 market capitalizations The U.S. has the highest representation in this ranking with 32 companies, followed by China at 5 companies The world’s most valuable companies hold immense sway over the global economy, shaping everything from technology to consumer […]
John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended May 9
Trade movements U.S. stocks fell on Monday and Tuesday, then reversed course the next two days as news of trade talks lifted investor sentiment. The United States and the United Kingdom announced a framework aimed at reaching a comprehensive trade agreement, and U.S. and Chinese officials announced plans for negotiations in the wake of recent […]