Motivational speakers frequently explain that the Chinese word for “crisis,” or “wei-ji,” represents a combination of “danger” (wei-xian) and “opportunity” (ji-hui). That said, how much opportunity can be found in crisis after catastrophe after calamity? For instance, the PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain) have been responsible for staggering levels of market volatility for 24 months. Time and again, one or more [...] Continue Reading...
The weight of the health care sector in a given ETF can vary dramatically. In the S&P 500 SPDR Trust (SPY), health care accounts for about 12%. In contrast, First Trust Dividend (FDL) commits roughly 30% to the segment. Naturally, there are specific sector and sub-sector funds that provide 100% exposure. There’s 100% health care for the broader S&P 500 SPDR Select Health [...] Continue Reading...
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) sports 5-year dividend growth of nearly 10% as well as a 3.5%+ annualized yield. Eli Lilly (LLY) has a P/E of 9, a 5.3% dividend yield and 3-years earnings growth of 19%. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) has a mammoth 35% trailing return on equity with a 5.8% annual dividend payout. How in the world are investors [...] Continue Reading...
Many folks are “banking” on a year-end rally. The catalyst? The European Union (EU) will come up with a massive recapitalization (a.k.a. bailout) of their financial institutions. In theory, if we no longer need to fret the collapse of the EU — the solvency of member nations, the functionality of its banks, etc. – investors should be able to return to corporate earnings. And most should like [...] Continue Reading...
Are you wondering if the market can go significantly higher by year end? Maybe your question should take the U.S. market’s remarkable resilience into account. Specifically, the S&P 500 has not closed in bear market territory. In fact, the large-cap barometer would have to close below 1096 to get there. Yet, with the exception of a few scary moments, the gauge has demonstrated its [...] Continue Reading...
Short-sellers and program traders are in charge… for now. Going into Wednesday’s (8/3/11) session, PowerShares QQQ (QQQ) sat directly atop its 200-day moving average. After falling below the key trendline early, QQQ springboarded to finish with a 1% gain. Or consider the S&P 500 SPDR Trust (SPY). It fell precisely -10% from its April 29 intra-day high to its August 3 [...] Continue Reading...
Over the last six months, no sector investment racked up more gains than health care. The iShares Health Care Providers Fund (IHF) amassed 21.5%. Rydex Equal Weight Health (RYH) proffered 14.6%. And SPDR S&P Biotech (XBI) promised 12.7%, even as the broader S&P 500 SPDR Trust (SPY) chimed in with a less sonic 4.7%. Some Health Care ETFs look even [...] Continue Reading...
Investors have become so accustomed to the notion of “risk on” and “risk off,” many have cast aside one of the most hallowed principles of success. Specifically, reducing the possibility of loss (a.k.a. “risk”) requires individual assets that do not all move in the same direction. How does an ETF investor know whether his/her investments are zigging simultaneously, rather than zigging and [...] Continue Reading...
Stocks haven’t quite “gone away” in May. In fact, the S&P 500 at 1346 remains within spitting distance of its multi-year peak of 1370. In spite of remarkable stock resilience, the 10-year treasury bond yield has dropped to a jaw-droppingly low 3.14%. That has helped Bond ETFs hit 52-week highs for the fourth consecutive week. (Remember, it wasn’t that [...] Continue Reading...
It wasn’t that long ago when I criticized terms such as “overbought” and “undervalued.” (See April’s Going Global: Rethinking the Overbought Concept.) In essence, I explained why investors may give more credence to powerful-sounding words than they give to common sense information. With that said, you should look at a sector’s P/E ratio and compare it against the sector’s P/E [...] Continue Reading...
