It’s been a great couple of week for stocks… no question about it! U.S. stocks in the S&P 500 collectively gained 6.3% over the last 9 trading days. Still, a great many folks are not impressed. Companies aren’t hiring. And while consumers may be buying, they’re not buying enough at discounted prices to heal a propped-up [...] Continue Reading...
The volatility in the stock market rattles your nerves. And who can blame you… when the possibility of 50% price declines may be un-”bear”-able. On the flip side, the bond market may have less going for it today than it has in many decades. For one thing, the current yield of a 10-year treasury is less [...] Continue Reading...
It could be argued that water is the most important commodity… period! With world populations growing, and strong demand for potable water, could now be the time to dive into Water ETFs? If so, you may need to recognize the recent effect that the U.S. dollar has had on Commodity ETFs and Hard Asset Company ETFs . On Friday February 19th, 2010, we [...] Continue Reading...
Intra-day, top-to-bottom, the S&P 500 lost roughly -9.2%. On a closing basis, it fell a little bit less… -8.2%. Does this mean that the correction is over? Are we not going to dip below the official 10% correction level here in the U.S. – a close below S&P 1035? With the third week in February showing a decided bullish [...] Continue Reading...
China may be setting up for a very strong run. With double-digit GDP possible for 2010, modest inflation, and slow removal of stimulus, ETF investors should ”get the scoop” on all things China. We also look in on other International ETF themes. For instance, what are the endowment folks at Harvard purchasing? What are the markets saying about Russia? China: Best Play Of The Year? - [...] Continue Reading...
On a Western calendar year basis, few country ETFs have struggled as noticeably as representatives in the China space. Through 2/17/10, the China 25 Index Fund (FXI) has lost-6.0%, SPDR S&P China (GXC) has shed -5.0% and PowerShares Golden Dragon Halter (PGJ) has trimmed -3.0%. Of course, if one chooses to invest more globally, he/she might wish to [...] Continue Reading...
Energy ETFs recently experienced a strong move to the upside, fueled by a pullback in the U.S. dollar. The same held true for most hard asset ETFs and commodity ETFs. Yet the U.S. dollar has hardly tanked. Today it gained back nearly all that it had lost over the previous 5 days! So before deciding whether or not to go [...] Continue Reading...
When it comes to ETFs, I always feel it is important to return to the basics. Specifically, why on earth should an investor choose an exchange-traded fund over an individual security or a mutual fund? The primary reasons include (in no particular order): (1) tax-efficiency, (2) trade-ability, (3) transparency, (4) diversification, and (5) low cost structure. There [...] Continue Reading...
The term ”Real Estate” stirs a wide range of emotions in homeowners and investors alike. Many have been wiped out. Many others are still trying to figure out where they stand. Some suggest, however, that a true bottom is forming. If so, with all of the investment choices available, do you know which one is right for you? Or are you terrified that real [...] Continue Reading...
Gold ETFs, Precious Metal ETFs, Platinum ETFs, Commodity ETFs Click here to listen to the show: 2-17-10 Continue Reading...
