Latin America vs S&P 500

South America has gone south for U.S. stock investors, and so has Central America. That’s evident from the ratio between the MSCI Emerging Markets Latin America Index and the S&P 500 Index -- a gauge that Michael Hartnett, Bank of America Corp.’s chief global equity strategist, highlighted in a report Wednesday. MSCI’s index closed Friday near the lowest level relative to the U.S. benchmark since January 1988, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The low was set on Nov. 18 after the ratio plunged 89% from a record high in October 2010.