Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday briefing on what's moving markets and money.
Goldman Sachs is making the case for European equities, pushing back on what it calls persistent myths about the region's stock markets. Europe flies under the radar compared to U.S. markets, but Goldman argues investors are overlooking a quiet outperformer that deserves a second look from allocators chasing diversification.
Shifting to real estate, homeowners are increasingly tapping home equity lines of credit to fund rental property purchases. A HELOC functions much like a credit card drawn against your home's value, and savvy investors are using that flexibility to build income-producing portfolios without liquidating existing assets or taking on traditional mortgage debt.
And on the broader economy, the rising cost of long-term care is becoming a financial crisis that cuts across generations. Americans in their fifties and sixties are leaving high-earning careers to care for aging parents, absorbing enormous personal and economic costs at precisely the moment their own retirement savings should be compounding. The pressure on households is accelerating, and policy has not kept pace.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
