Monthly Market Summary: January 2016

The markets are off to a rough start this year. Worries about the strength of the world economy caused global stocks to plunge double-digits in January before rebounding slightly. Recent manufacturing data in the U.S. has underwhelmed, the European Commission reduced its Eurozone GDP forecast to just 1.7%, and it’s anyone’s guess as to how strong China’s economy will be this year. Despite the troubling headlines, there remain bright spots—low energy prices should stimulate U.S. consumer spending, the debilitating effects of a rising USD on the emerging markets should moderate, and households in the Eurozone are optimistic about the year ahead.