Washington has put Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman on notice; that is, orders could be slowing down in coming years. The song remains the same overseas. Countries such as Great Britain are planning to dial back the major purchases of military products. Will austerity measures adversely impact Aerospace & Defense ETFs? On Tuesday, July 20th, 2010, we look at the distinct possibility. Budget Cuts Could [...] Continue Reading...
As many as 75% of companies are beating their earnings estimates… far above the 65% norm. Yet, consumer, homebuilder and newsletter sentiment have all dropped to bone-chilling depths, pushing pessimism to the forefront of investors’ minds. Indeed, macro-economic anxiety has been dampening the share prices of companies, in spite of some very positive results. One would think that Intel’s “best quarter EVER” could have carried [...] Continue Reading...
The IMF estimates in 2010 that the Chinese economy will grow by 10.5%, India at 9.4% and Brazil at 7.1%. This is in stark contrast to their prediction that “developed” countries are expected to grow at 0 to 3% in the same time frame. If China truly is the most capitalistic country in the world, as Alan [...] Continue Reading...
Gold ETFs, Precious Metal ETFs, Gold Miners ETFs, Homebuliders Click here to listen to the show: 7-18-10 Continue Reading...
The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Report could not have been more dismal. The gauge fell to its lowest level of confidence since the 2009 start of the Obama Administration. The news weighed heavily on stocks, pushing the S&P 500 back into solid correction territory… roughly 12.5% off its April high. And yet, consumers and investors are as frightened [...] Continue Reading...
Markets moved dramatically higher off their correction lows from the first week of July. Some believe the 6%-8% free-for-all has pushed many ETFs into overbought territory. Others believe that it was a last gasp for air before more bearish forces initiate the next cataclysmic storm. If you hate watching the markets as though you were participating in some bizarre nest [...] Continue Reading...
Talk about clearing the air. On Thursday, 7/15, the Senate passed a financial regulatory bill for President Obama to sign next week. What’s more, the SEC agreed to settlement terms with Goldman Sachs. How might this play out for ETF investors? The worry about what FINREG will or won’t contain is gone. What’s more, analysts can now put pencil to paper on how bad [...] Continue Reading...
It is well-known than smaller compnaies tend to be responsible for a large percetnage of hiring; thus, they often help lead a country out of recession. Perhaps this is a reason for investors to consider Emerging Market Small Cap ETFs. However, what if the lack of credit flow to small business impedes hiring? And what if large compnaies simply [...] Continue Reading...
There may be more than 1000 ETFs worth $850 billion in assets. However, when you remove leveraged “long”/”short” investments, and when you discard those with limited assets under management (i.e., less than $100 million), you pare that list down to 380 ETFs. Most of the themes for 2010 are readily recognizable in this ETF roll call. Current [...] Continue Reading...
In a recent post, Robert Goldsborough of Morningstar argued that Industrial ETFs can add “zing” to a well-diversified portfolio. Yet Vanguard Industrials (VIS) as well as SPDR Select Industrials (XLI) are both highly correlated to the broader market’s S&P 500. In other words, investors need to be mindful of excessive exposure to similar assets. If the economic [...] Continue Reading...
