The U.S. government shutdown has stretched on another day and Congress is now dangerously close to not reopening the government prior to Thursday, the deadline to extend the debt ceiling. Prior to Tuesday, U.S. stocks had admirably dealt with the situation.
So have already resurgent Europe ETFs. That could be the result of the International Monetary Fund recently boosting its 2013 and 2014 growth outlooks for the once downtrodden Eurozone. Even the PIIGS have gotten in on the act.
Ireland’s economy has strengthened and is on track to wean itself off the Eurozone and International Monetary Fund bailout program, helping the iShares MSCI Ireland Capped ETF (NYSEArca: EIRL) become one of 2013’s top-performing country-specific developed markets ETFs. [Ireland ETF Soars as Country Ditches Bailout]
Diversified Europe ETFs, such as the Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (NYSEArca: VGK) and the iShares MSCI EMU ETF (NYSEArca: EZU) have also been embraced by investors.
“VGK appears to have hit bottom in late June. Since that time, VGK has catapulted 17% off its lows. It has also bounced higher off support levels at its 50-day trendline in late August as well as October,” writes Gary Gordon.
While the Eurozone is not entirely out of the woods, the outlook has improved to the point where some previously controversial European banking giants are poised to significantly increase their dividends. [Bank on Europe Bank Dividends With These ETFs]