The debt ceiling story seems to change by the minute. First it was the McConnell plan. Then it was ”Cut, Cap And Balance” from the House. Now the Senate has support for a proposal from the bi-partisan “Gang of Six.” Regardless of the bill that makes it through to the very end, stocks soared on Tuesday. Earnings may [...] [...more]
The Greeks got their bailout, limiting the need for the country to sell the Parthenon in 2011. And U.S. economists received an upside surprise on manufacturing growth. Combined, optimistic bulls are beginning to feel much better about themselves. The question is… for how long? Chairman Bernanke explained that the Federal Reserve has finished with its ”QE” practice of buying U.S. treasury [...] [...more]
Some folks are beginning to ask the question, “What in the world has happened to gold?” The good folks at Bespoke Investment Research seem to think that the shine is wearing thin. After all, proxies like SPDR Gold (GLD) are hovering at a 50-day moving average. On the other hand, is $1530 per ounce really that [...] [...more]
Some Crude Oil ETFs have fallen into a bear market. And it only took 6 weeks to fall more than 20%! (Have gasoline prices fallen from $4.00 to $3.20… just asking?) Yet the oil drop is sharing the stage with other important indicators of local economic activity. Specifically, the bear is clawing away at Small Cap [...] [...more]
Recently, Gary talked about his reasons for adding WisdomTree Asian Local Debt (ALD) to a number of client portfolios. It’s refreshing to see that other analysts and writers are warming up to Asian debt as well. For instance, Cris Heaton at Index Universe wonders if a boom in Asian debt offerings will keep up with robust [...] [...more]
Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citigroup are all down about 17% - 21% in 2011. Making matters worse, Moody’s has placed these companies under a ratings review. In fact, the technical picture for Financial ETFs is becoming increasingly bearish. While the Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) and iShares DJ Regional Banks (IAT) are only down 7%-8% YTD, they’ve fallen 2x as far from 2011 highs and share prices have fallen [...] [...more]
The financial sector remains one of the most decimated areas from the bear market of October 2007 – March 2009. For instance, the Financial Select SPDR (XLF), KBW Bank ETF (KBE) and SPDR KBW Regional Banking ETF (KRE) are STILL down 57%, 58% and 48% from their respective highs in 2007. Contrast “financials” with the SPDR S&P 500 Trust (SPY) or iShares MSCI Emerging [...] [...more]
Some Sector ETFs remain healthy. Others, like Financials and Technology, may require resuscitation. For instance, the threat of rising interest rates as well as erratic oil trading has pressured the Financial Select SPDR (XLF) in 2011. The exchange-traded sector fund trailed the S&P 500 by 200 basis points in the first quarter alone. However, both JP Morgan and Bank of America report this [...] [...more]
The oil story has been fairly straightforward. Yet Banking ETFs may be a bit more of a surprise to some. After all, earnings growth for some of the bank majors might be capped by shadow inventory in real estate and limited small business lending. On the flip side, this sector is still a long way from its 2007 [...] [...more]
Apple, IBM and Intel have helped the tech sector by reporting upbeat earnings reports in recent quarters. Some believe that the strong data by the usual suspects is a sign that businesses have been upgrading their infrastructure. If that’s so, will investors show increasing affection for Technology ETFs throughout 2011? Then again, if the global economic growth story is more critical than forecasts and earnings [...] [...more]
