The broader S&P 500 may not have fallen far enough to have met the technical definition of a stock market correction. Yet we shouldn’t dismiss an intra-day, high-to-low pullback of 7% as unremarkable. (For that matter, there may be more selling pressure ahead.) On the flip side, what if the worst of the selling has passed [...] Continue Reading...
Everybody from little old ladies to shock jocks is talking about the Japanese nuclear crisis. Yet, in light of increasing uncertainty, there are many different perspectives about which Energy ETFs stand to benefit and which stand to lose. The Nuclear ETF is already in bear market territory. Meanwhile, dollars flowed into Solar ETFs, as investors demonstrated that the sun [...] Continue Reading...
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) closed more than 10% above its long-term 200-day moving average. That hasn’t happened since August of 2010, back when investors fretted the possibility of a double-dip recession. Today, the worries are more cumulative in nature. Uncertain job growth, depressed home values, debt troubles in Europe, rising commodity prices, the threat of rising rates, inflation in Asia, [...] Continue Reading...
Excitement about emerging markets in Latin America have typically centered on two prevailing themes: (1) commodity production a la Chile or (2) rising middle class consumption in Brazil. That said, the successful launches for the Columbia ETF as well as the Peru ETF have opened the door for additional frontier investments. Good day, Argentina! Argentina’s ETF is weighted [...] Continue Reading...
There are many times when commentators bash Japanese equities. After all, the Nikkei benchmark has been a losing proposition for buy-n-holders over the past 20 years. Yet there are few times when you’ll hear anybody question the resolve of Japanese people. Japan was the world’s first modern superpower in the Far East. Even after losing its control [...] Continue Reading...
You would have to be living under a rock to have missed the volatility in oil prices. (I know, I know… it sounds a bit like a GEICO commercial!) Nevertheless, dramatic price spikes in both crude oil and retail gasoline could help Alternative Energy ETFs. Others believe that the high prices would need to be sustained — not just experience a Libya-inspired spike [...] Continue Reading...
US Small Cap ETFs, US Large Cap ETFs, Europe ETFs, Germany ETF, Switzerland ETF, Resources ETFs, Miners ETFs, Metals ETFs, Food ETFs Click here to listen to the show: 3-13-11 Continue Reading...
Analysts like Bob Doll at Blackrock believe that U.S. economic growth will accelerate, with GDP likely to come in at a vibrant 3.5% for 2011. Economists polled at the Economist Intelligence Unit may be a little less enthusiastic, but they have raised their forecasts from 3.0% to 3.1%. So here’s my question: If the U.S. economy is [...] Continue Reading...
Deutsche Bank believes the S&P 500 will end the year at 1550. Goldman Sachs… 1450. B of A and Citigroup? Both are calling for 1400 on the popular U.S. benchmark. With double digit percentage gains from current levels, is it time to go ”all in?” Maybe not. For one thing, Copper ETFs have been hinting at a pause for the [...] Continue Reading...
The worldwide bull market for stocks turned 2 years old on March 9, 2011. And so far, there’s been two meaningful corrections — one in 2009 and one in 2010. Some in the media have suggested that the Dow might not experience any significant pullback… like the way U.S. stocks behaved in 1995. Others believe that stock assets will get [...] Continue Reading...
