For many investors, the end of 2008 may have seemed like the end of the world. Their most prized holdings – high-yield junk bonds, high-yield currencies (e.g., Australian dollar, etc.) and emerging market stocks had been massacred. Yet the losers from 2008 became some of the best performing assets in 2009. Recovering a large percentage of lost portfolio dollars became [...] Continue Reading...
After umpteen quarters of economic growth in China, the government appears to be in the process of shutting down the stimulus spigot. What will happen to China ETFs if its government officials seek to rein in growth, slow speculation and moderate inflation? How are your favorite China ETFs currently faring? Must-read info before heading into your weekend… here on [...] Continue Reading...
There are plenty of reasons to remain bullish on stocks. The Index of Leading Economic Indicators is at the highest level in 1 year. More than 4 out of 5 corporations are beating earnings expectations. Inflation, while beginning to rise, is tame around the world. And global monetary/fiscal policy is mostly stimulative. That last one, though, doesn’t exactly include China. The [...] Continue Reading...
In looking at some of the forecasts for 2010, readers will discover that analysts expect oil to climb in 2010. Reasons range from worldwide economies gaining traction to oil producing countries searcing for ways to get the commodity price higher. Since Oil ETFs can be confusing, we look at 4 ETFs that one writer believes are worthy of your portfolio pipeline. Four [...] Continue Reading...
Praise the reduced threat of health-care intervention for Tuesday’s surge higher. Blame China’s focus on restricting credit for Wednesday’s dramatic move lower. Here on Thursday, 1/21/10, it’s the uncertainty created by Obama’s proposed bank regulations that has caused extraordinary selling pressure for stock assets. For 3 consecutive trading days, then, we’ve seen the major U.S. benchmarks move up or down by 1%+. There are several exchange-traded [...] Continue Reading...
Consumer Staples ETFs have a reputation for carrying lower risk than other sectors of the stock market. But, could the mega-merger between Kraft and Cadbury affect the faith investors have in the “everyone-needs-toilet-paper” premise? Or, could investors regard the recent merger as a sweet reason to buy Consumer Staples ETFs? Scintillating ETF articles for investors on Thursday, January 21, 2010: A [...] Continue Reading...
For roughly 6 months circa 9/10/2008 – 3/9/2009, the market averaged a 1% gain or loss each day. Of course, most of those particular sessions were losses for the investing public! Yet volatility has come back down to earth from the stratosphere. Now… we may be accustomed to 1% moves on a single day… but are we really accustomed to seeing [...] Continue Reading...
If they hadn’t caught your attention before, they’ve probably caught your attention by now. Investors have now poured $1,000,000,000 (yes… with 9 zeros) into ETFs. And commission-based mutual fund families are feeling the pinch! If you are still new to them, you may just be getting acquainted with features such as lower costs, higher tax-efficiency and enhanced liquidity. But do you [...] Continue Reading...
Last week, I pointed out that prominent China ETFs had been decoupling from one another; the one-time standout, iShares China 25 Index (FXI) had been moving lower whereas Claymore China Small Cap (HAO) and PowerShares Golden Dragon Halter China (PGJ) had each been hitting higher highs. (Review “China ETFs Are Decoupling From Each Other!“) In that feature, I suggested [...] Continue Reading...
According to Jeff Miller, the relative strength of Telecom ETFs is impressive when compared to the broader benchmarks. Is it due to a greater focus on yield? Is it associated with a late 2009 run? Or are investors expecting AT&T, Verizon and others to benefit from the Apple/Research in Motion smart-phone wars? On Wednesday, January 20, 2010, we [...] Continue Reading...
