Positive performance was a rare commodity in May for the major asset classes. With the exception of US stocks and a fractional gain for US high-yield bonds, red ink dominated last month’s return ledger. The big loser: emerging market stocks in US dollar terms. After surging in April, posting the biggest monthly advance in more than three years, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index gave up a more than half of that gain and stumbled 4.0% last month.
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● US Economy Contracted 0.7% in First Quarter | NY Times
● Forget GDP: Here’s the new way Wall Street is measuring the US economy | BI
● Consumer Sentiment in U.S. Decreased in May to Six-Month Low | Bloomberg
● Eurozone Manufacturing Recovery Continues In May | RTT
● Germany May Manufacturing PMI 51.1 vs Flash Reading 51.4 | Bloomberg
● UK CIPS May Manufacturing PMI Lower Than Forecasts | MNI
● Greece faces crucial week of IMF repayments | BBC