So you thought that the biggest fallout over higher taxes for the wealthy might be the selling of stock assets. Indeed, investors sitting on monster capital gains in Apple have liquidated scores of shares in the culture-changer company. Yet a wide variety of riskier categories have held up nicely, including high yield corporate bonds, preferred stock, [...] Continue Reading...
Why is the budget battle as monumental an issue as it is? Over the last 50 years, the U.S. federal government has spent an average of 20% of its economic output (GDP). It has only averaged 18% of GDP in tax revenue. In other words, for 50 years, our elected politicians have regularly spent more [...] Continue Reading...
For the last week, market participants have been adding to their stock risk. The activity seems to fly in the face of how markets tend to react to significant uncertainties like the fiscal cliff. While many expect a financial deal to get done, the market’s collective calm is reminiscent of the debt ceiling stalemate of 2011. [...] Continue Reading...
The S&P 500 is down -3.5% since its early September highs. And many fear that a “fiscal cliff” stalemate will send stocks significantly lower in the weeks ahead. However, there are a variety of ETF categories that have not only remained resilient in the wake of U.S. legislative uncertainty, but they’ve been exceptionally profitable. In fact, [...] Continue Reading...
Unemployment Numbers and ETFs, China and ETFs, Real Estate Recovery and ETFs, Alternatives to Overbought ETFs, Europe and ETFs, ETFs for 2013 Click here to listen to the show: 12-9-2012 Continue Reading...
Most of the world’s attention is on “fiscal cliff” negotiations in Washington D.C. And when we’re not hearing about the latest crack in the Republican coalition, financial journalists provide thoughts on the latest batch of U.S. economic data. The question that many wish to know… “Is the domestic employment picture improving?” If a lower unemployment rate is [...] Continue Reading...
Since the summertime lows, a number of themes have gained enormous traction. U.S. real estate is benefiting from ultra-low mortgage rates, limited supply and remarkable demand from overseas buyers. Chinese leadership continues to provide just enough government support to maintain economic targets. And the European Central Bank (ECB) is having success at containing its sovereign [...] Continue Reading...
Why do some ETFs succeed and why do others fail? The question certainly seems harmless enough. What’s more, this was the topic of my presentation at the Global Indexing & ETFs Conference in Phoenix yesterday afternoon. As I prepared to speak, I found myself questioning the nature of success. Should I link success to risk-adjusted returns? [...] Continue Reading...
The Fiscal Cliff & ETFs, Foreign REIT ETFs, Timber ETFs, Singapore ETFs, BRIC ETFs, Low Volatility ETFs Click here to listen to the show: 12-2-2012 Continue Reading...
