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The last week of July was quiet in terms of economic data and political risks on a global scale. Amongst the main economic events, Greece has entered into debt negotiations, with the next expected debt payment due to the European Central Bank (ECB) on August 20.This latest market commentary takes a look at manufacturing activity in China and Europe, the current job outlook in the United States, GDP and GNP growth for the second quarter and insight into the global economy for the third quarter in 2015.

As investors search for attractive risk-adjusted returns in challenging markets, they increasingly view sub-investment grade credit as an important component of a globally diversified fixed income portfolio. Credit markets have evolved since the global financial crisis and now provide a broad opportunities for investors across a number of sectors and regions. These changes require investors to take a more global, flexible and dynamic approach to credit investing.

The mutual fund industry has grown tremendously in both size and complexity during the past 30 years. The variety of mutual fund structures and products has expanded, along with the diversity of investors.According to the 2015 Investment Company Fact Book published by the Investment Company Institute (ICI), from 1984 to 2014 the number of mutual funds offered increased 537%. This growth led to changes in the way the industry operated and, consequently, in shareholder services and the role of transfer agents.

There exists this notion that over 70 percent of outstanding municipal securities are held by individual investors through mutual funds or individual holdings. It has been reported that over 50 percent of those mutual funds have some level of exposure to Puerto Rico or its public corporations.This commentary and outlook tackles the possibility that Puerto Rico’s debt Crisis may have broader market implications than first expected.

As mid-year approaches, it is important to do various tax projections to determine if certain investment planning strategies can be implemented or improved. Often, this reveals potential tax liability reductions that would have otherwise been overlooked.This article spells out useful tax planning tips that should be taken into consideration when it comes to preventing tax liability risks.

Two years ago, India was an unhappy member of Morgan Stanley’s “Fragile Five,” a handful of emerging economies judged most vulnerable to tighter Federal Reserve policy and rising global bond yields. Since then, India’s oil bill has dropped, inflation has eased, gold imports have been curtailed, the trade deficit has narrowed -- and in last year’s national elections, Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) romped to victory, becoming the first single party to win a majority in the lower house of parliament for 30 years.

Greek voters sent a clear message by voting “no” to European creditor proposals. Greece’s Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, responded by stating, “I am fully aware that the mandate here is not one to break with Europe, but a mandate to strengthen our negotiation position to seek a viable solution”.

This presentation for 2015 provides an overview of the private equity market that includes:

Wealthy American investors should welcome a rational conversation on the real benefit of gold as foreigners understand, particularly in China, Asia, the Mideast, Russia and most of the developing world. Gold is beautifully uncorrelated to the dollar.

Russia is becoming a very attractive destination for Chinese investors primarily due to its natural resources and the capacity of the domestic market. However, there is a significant disconnect between the attractiveness of the Russian market and hands-on knowledge of it: 91% of major Chinese businesses find the Russian market attractive, but less than a quarter of them know enough about it, and what's worse, none believe they have good understanding of Russian legislation.