Although many investors believe that Asian equities have led the pack lately, it has actually been the Nordic region that has been the star performer, at least as far as developed markets are concerned.
So far this year, the MSCI Nordic index has outpaced the MSCI World index by 13.8 percentage points. The MSCI Europe index has edged out that broad benchmark by 1.7 percentage points.
In contrast, the MSCI Far East and Pacific indexes have trailed the World index by 8 and 3.6 percentage points, respectively.
While that divergence seems at odds with the breathtaking share-price run-ups that have been seen in places like Brazil and China, its worth remembering that those nations and others like it are categorized as emerging markets.
I'll have more on the relative performance in 2007 of those high-flyers tomorrow.
Michael Panzner is a 25-year veteran of the global stock, bond, and currency markets and the author of Financial Armageddon: Protecting Your Future from Four Impending Catastrophes and The New Laws of the Stock Market Jungle.
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