Bank ETFs have been hammered over the last 12 months. “Robo-stamping” of foreclosure paperwork has only added to the anxiety over light revenue, declining trading profits, limited lending activity, as well as FINREG “reform.” Conversely, many income investors have profited from an incredible 2010 rally in bonds. However, the premium to own U.S. Treasury Bonds may be signalling [...] Continue Reading...
Bond Bubble ETFs, Financial ETF Concerns, Commodity ETFs, Consumer ETFs Click here to listen to the show: 10-17-2010 Continue Reading...
A large percentage of analysts would agree that… historically speaking… investors are paying a premium to own U.S. treasury bonds. Similarly, the same analysts would argue that stock assets, relative to bonds, are inexpensive. Yet what if I told you that U.S. treasury bonds may not only be pricier than stocks, but they’re also more volatile? [...] Continue Reading...
Brad Zigler notes the latest USDA crop estimates caused many agriculture-related companies to shoot up. The report helped investors in the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (MOO) garner 7%+ this past week alone. Is this merely another example of asset prices rising at the expense of a depreciating U.S. dollar? Or could investing in global agricultural corporations be a profitable venture irrespective of currency shenanigans? Zeroing [...] Continue Reading...
Dividend ETFs, Income Appreciation ETFs, Small Cap ETFs, Emerging Market ETFs, Top ETFs Click here to listen to the show: 10-13-10 Continue Reading...
Central banks in emerging economies have a very interesting dilemma. Their currencies have soared against developed world counterparts… and there may not be much that they can do about it. Late in 2009 and early in 2010, central banks in the developing world felt comfortable with above-trend growth projections. They tightened monetary policy via higher interest rates and/or they restricted money supply [...] Continue Reading...
There was a time when “talking heads” explained that the stock markets could not move higher without financial stocks. In the middle of the credit crisis, this was accurate. After all, almost any business in any industry needs access to money for the continuation of month-to-month operations. Today, however, there are several significant differences in the way that businesses have [...] Continue Reading...
The IMF is forecasting that India will close out 2010 with annual GDP growth of 8.5%. The Economist Intelligence Unit is projecting equally compelling growth figures for 2011 at 8.6% India has a young and educated workforce, a strong private sector, and a government that puts economic issues first. The country is suffering from inflation and dramatic wage [...] Continue Reading...
The 30-year U.S. treasury bond yield is at a paltry 3.86%. And yet, many risk-averse investors think this may be the safest haven for their money. Never-mind the fact that the yield started the year closer to 4.66%. Forget the reality that the Fed’s not buying long-term treasuries in its upcoming quantitative easing (QE). All that some folks see are the dazzling [...] Continue Reading...
The topic of clean energy, or alternative energy, can be heard from Washington D.C. to Beijing. With scores of plans for new nuclear reactors all around the world, one might hypothesize that he/she could make a bundle in alt energy investing. Yet, with oil still massively far from its $145+ per barrel high, will ”non-green” consumers be willing to pay [...] Continue Reading...
