Forecaster were mostly off with their 2015 predictions as end of year numbers are tallied up and analyzed.
The U.S. was supposed to be the best place to invest but with another drop on Thursday, Wall Street ended the year totally flat. It was the first negative year for the Dow since 2008.
European countries, on the other hand, got shot down and investors were expected to see slow growth economies and no clear buying signals saw these countries come in positive by the end of the year with France up 8.5%, Germany up 9.5%, and Japan up 7.3%. And despite its roller coaster performance, the Shanghai Index was the best in the world--up 9.4%.
Oil Biggest Bungle
The biggest blunder of the year was oil. The price of a barrel started off at $100 and dropped to $50. The consensus was that it would go back to $60 by the end of the year. Instead, crude ended 2015 at a low of $37.05.
Earnings predictions were supposed to pick up in the second half of the year. This did not happen. They dropped in both material and energy names as well as big industrial names. The global economy never picked up and there were four straight quarters of global decline. 4th quarter earnings dropped 4.7% and revenues were down 3.2% for the same period.
The consensus for 2016 according to a report by CNBC is that the U.S. is the best place to invest, European growth will flatten out and China is still decelerating. Does this all sound familiar?
Happy New Year!