Utilities ETFs

Jun 11

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Rate-Sensitive, Energy-Sensitive Sectors Now Down 10%-Plus

By Gary Gordon | Biotechnology ETFs, Bond ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Dividend ETFs, Energy ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Health ETFs, Internet ETFs, Natural Resources ETFs, Real Estate ETFs, Technology ETFs, Transportation ETFs, US Markets and ETFs, Utilities ETFs | No Comments

Bullish borrowers have increased their margin debt to invest in stocks from $445 billion in January to $507 billion today. And why not? The overall price movement for growth sectors of the stock market remains healthy. Flashy sub-segments like cyber-security and biotech continue to soar. For example, I allocated a small portion of moderately aggressive client assets to the Pure Funds ISE Cyber Security ETF (HACK) in early February. Its series of higher lows since its inception lent credibility to…

Apr 01

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Bull Market, Bear Market or Barely Moving Market?

By Gary Gordon | Bond ETFs, Consumer ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Financial ETFs, Health ETFs, Internet ETFs, Materials ETFs, Natural Resources ETFs, Retail ETFs, Semiconductor ETFs, Technology ETFs, Telecom ETFs, Transportation ETFs, Utilities ETFs | No Comments

Perma-bulls may note that the S&P 500 eked out a 0.4% gain in the first quarter of 2015. They may also choose to ignore warning signs such as the 5th consecutive month of decelerating economic activity in the manufacturing segment. The last time that this happened? 2008. A quick check of the individual sectors that make up the overall market demonstrates that an increasing number of them are losing ground rather than gaining it. For example, the transporters in the…

Feb 23

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Why The Fed Has Lost The Will To Normalize Rates (And What You Can Do About It)

By Gary Gordon | Bond ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Dividend ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Large Cap ETFs, US Markets and ETFs, Utilities ETFs | No Comments

McKinsey & Company, a multinational consulting firm, recently compiled data on global debt and economic growth. The company determined that worldwide debt has reached nearly $200 trillion dollars, up from roughly $140 trillion at the time of the 2008 crisis. Gross world product grew approximately $15 trillion to $70 trillion in the same time frame. In other words, IOUs grew roughly 41% over the last seven years in a period when the global economy expanded at a more modest 27%….

Dec 29

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Are Rate-Sensitive ETFs Suggesting Economic Weakness Ahead?

By Gary Gordon | Bond ETFs, Consumer ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, ETF Strategy, Real Estate ETFs, US Markets and ETFs, Utilities ETFs | No Comments

Lost in the bull market euphoria is the reality that economists have been dead wrong about the direction of asset prices, particularly bond prices. Last December, when 55 of the most prestigious economists across a wide range of institutions had been polled by Bloomberg about where the 10-year yield (3.0%) would end the year, each of the 55 professionals anticipated higher rates. The average of those estimates? 3.41%. And yet, the 10-year will finish the year closer to 2.25%. That…

Dec 04

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Selecting The Individual Energy Stocks Over The ETFs

By Gary Gordon | Alt Energy ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Energy ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Special Sectors ETFs, US Markets and ETFs, Utilities ETFs | No Comments

Talk about doom and gloom. Oil bears are predicting $40 per barrel, even $30 per barrel. Meanwhile, a whole lot of folks are treating the chatter like it is a foregone conclusion. What would need to happen for oil to go from $110 per barrel at the height of Russia-Ukraine tensions down to $30 per barrel and stay there? Oil-producing exporters would need to vow never to cut production… ever. Countries exceptionally dependent on oil revenue (a la Russia) would…

Oct 29

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Expect Rate Sensitive ETFs To Extend Their Lead Due To Housing Uncertainty

By Gary Gordon | Biotechnology ETFs, Bond ETFs, Consumer ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Dividend ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Financial ETFs, Industrial ETFs, Large Cap ETFs, Special Sectors ETFs, Technology ETFs, US Markets and ETFs, Utilities ETFs | No Comments

I have not been able to sell my house. I have lowered the original asking price ($1,139,000) by more than 5%. I have jacked up the commission for buyer agents. None of it matters – million dollar homes throughout Orange County, California are not receiving a whole lot of offers. Granted, real estate is local. What’s more, I may be fortunate enough to rent out the residence. (My family already has a new home to move into in November.) Yet…

Oct 24

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New 52-Week Highs: Which Stock ETFs Are Shining The Brightest?

By Gary Gordon | Bond ETFs, Consumer ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Dividend ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Health ETFs, Large Cap ETFs, Special Sectors ETFs, US Markets and ETFs, Utilities ETFs | No Comments

In spite of a stock market sell-off that nearly set the S&P 500 back 10%, some stock ETFs have already recovered. That’s right. A handful of funds barely trembled during last week’s frightful liquidation. Shortly thereafter, this intrepid group ascended to record heights. Here are the more notable stock ETFs on the latest 52-Week High list. Do the 1-month and 3-month performance intervals hint at a pattern? New Highs: Least Volatile ETFs Are Shining The Brightest 1 Month % 3…

Sep 29

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What The Daily 1% Price Swings Mean For ETF Investors

By Gary Gordon | Asia ETFs, Bond ETFs, Commodity ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Emerging Market ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Europe ETFs, Large Cap ETFs, Small Cap ETFs, Special Sectors ETFs, Utilities ETFs | No Comments

In the first half of the U.S. stock market bull (i.e., 2009-2011), 10%-19% corrections occurred annually. That has not been the case in the second half of the bull market. Instead, the frequency as well as the duration of setbacks lessened. There were several 7% sell-offs in 2012, a couple of 5% pullbacks in 2013 and a number of shake-ups here in 2014. At the present moment, the NYSE High-Low Index suggests that our collective assets may be banging on…

Sep 19

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Reduce Your Allocation To Small Cap U.S. Stock ETFs

By Gary Gordon | Biotechnology ETFs, Consumer ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Defense & Aerospace ETFs, Dividend ETFs, Energy ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Financial ETFs, Industrial ETFs, Large Cap ETFs, Materials ETFs, Small Cap ETFs, Technology ETFs, Utilities ETFs | No Comments

The Wall Street media may celebrate the 35% intra-day jump in Alibaba shares. They may tout the record highs in the Dow and the S&P 500. However, they are missing the boat on both the economy as well as key stock market divergences. Let us start with the economic environment. The all-important Conference Board’s Leading Indicators Index (LEI) rose a meager 0.2%. That is indicative of an economy that has little chance of repeating its 4% 2nd quarter expansion. Even…

Jul 21

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Sector ETFs In 2014 And 2007: The Inconvenient Comparison Feels Like A Bone In The Throat

By Gary Gordon | Bond ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Dividend ETFs, Energy ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Financial ETFs, Health ETFs, Internet ETFs, Materials ETFs, Real Estate ETFs, Retail ETFs, Special Sectors ETFs, Telecom ETFs, US Markets and ETFs, Utilities ETFs | No Comments

The S&P 500 has served up a 7%-plus return through the first six-and-a-half months of the year. That’s remarkably impressive when one considers the depth of geopolitical conflict, the implication of structural under-employment, the October end of quantitative easing (QE3) and the strong possibility of a significant change to the legislative branch this November. Naturally, some investment sectors of the economy have outperformed others. Here’s a peek at the 2014 year-to-date results: Sector ETF Performance (1/1-7/21) in 2014 …