There’s a lot being made about crude oil settling below $75 per barrel again. On Wednesday, 8/18/2010, the commodity fell to a 3-week low. Yet there’s a larger trend that may be developing and that the mainstream media may be missing. Emerging market growth throughout Asia means an uptick in the demand for commodities… particularly, oil and agricultural products. [...] Continue Reading...
Retail giants Home Depot and Walmart posted surprisingly strong sales numbers this past week. Might this be the sign that the U.S. economy will regain its footing? Or, might it be an indication that consumers are looking for cheaper ways to meet their needs? Ironically enough, a shaky U.S. economy may actually be good news for Stock ETFs. It increases the [...] Continue Reading...
Is a bad U.S. economy good for stock ETFs? It depends on the type of stock ETFs — large, small, growth, value, foreign, domestic. It also depends upon whom you ask. Some analysts believe that… at the end of the trading days… earnings are all that matter. In fact, if large companies are cautious with their [...] Continue Reading...
The 2nd largest economy in the world used to be Japan, though it has now slipped into 3rd place. In fact, the Japanese are currently racking their collective heads over ways to devalue its currency (yen) as well as revive its trade prospects. And while the U.S. may still lay claim to the title of “World’s Largest,” its [...] Continue Reading...
On a popular episode of “The Simpsons,” the diabolical owner of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, Montgomery Burns, sold his property to a German consortium for $100 million. In the passing of 30 television minutes, he bought back his plant for $50 million… or half the price he’d been paid. Ironically, this was one of the few times in [...] Continue Reading...
Hard Assets Investor recently reported that one particular pundit is predicting $2000 per ounce on gold within 3 to 5 years. GLD and IAU track the commodity well enough that… should the forecast come to fruition… both ETFs would see 66% total appreciation. Some Gold Miner ETFs have had their struggles, however. It follows that ownership of a precious metal proxy may be the [...] Continue Reading...
One may not need much more than the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) and the S&P 500 SPDR Trust (SPY) to forecast near-term weakness in U.S. stocks. The current price on the VIX has been flirting with a closing value above its 50-day moving average, while the price on SPY has already slipped beneath a long-term 200-day trendline. Fundamental analysts [...] Continue Reading...
With BP close to placing a permanent cap on the worst oil disaster in U.S. history, investors are looking for ETFs in the industry that might profit in the weeks and months ahead. Some believe that Energy/Oil Services are long overdue to surge higher. Less adventurous, however, may turn to Telecom/Smart Phone investing opportunities. 2 ETFs That Could Clean Up After BP - Mac [...] Continue Reading...
Relative Strength ETFs, ETF Uptrends, ETF Downtrends, Deflation ETFs, Inflation ETFs, Commodity ETFs Click here to listen to the show: 8-15-10 Continue Reading...
Money has been flowing out of stock assets at a steady pace. Macroeconomic data has been decidedly weak. And unless you hopped aboard the gravy “grains” this past week, a Great White took a bite out of your portfolio. (Or maybe a brown bear is responsible for the mauling. I don’t think it was a brown bear, though. So let’s [...] Continue Reading...
