Belgium ETF Signals Good News for Europe

Parts of Europe continue to limp along as they emerge from recession, but Belgium has given exchange traded fund (ETF) investors something to be enthusiastic about.

Business sentiment in Belgium is moving higher, and the numbers bode well for the overall Eurozone, if history is any indication. Philip Blenkinsop and Antonia van de Velde for Reuters report that the Belgian numbers are often a good indication of the movement of the closely watched German Ifo business climate index, as well. [How the Belgium ETF is holding up.]

The business confidence index, often referred to as the leading indicator, increased to -7.0 from December’s -7.9. This exactly matched the average of a Reuters poll of 13 economists, whose forecasts ranged from -9.5 to -5.0. Although sentiment remains below average, there is lots of room for improvement and inflationary risks remain low.[How the European nations are handling the recovery.]

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• iShares MSCI Belgium Index (NYSEArca: EWK)