Throughout the last 10 years, world currencies gained remarkable ground on the U.S. dollar. In fact, it wasn’t that long ago when the cover of The Economist featured George Washington with his wig on fire; the former president is piloting a “greenback in flames” as it nose-dives towards Earth. However, the U.S. dollar served as a one-of-a-kind [...] [...more]
In recent commentary, we identified the reasons that the PowerShares Buyback Achievers Fund (PKW) had been earning respect. Primarily, PKW had smoked the S&P 500 over the 3-year bullish period 12/2008-11/2011 with 75% gains to the S&P 500’s 45%. The idea behind PKW is simple enough. In theory, large companies that use cash to buy their own corporate [...] [...more]
One of the most volatile segments of the market is the materials segment. Its under-performance throughout 2011 is directly tied to slowing emerging market demand and increasing fears of a global meltdown in Europe. Of course, what if oversold stocks should get a break out of the European quagmire? Or what if China makes a statement [...] [...more]
Over the last year, the 15 companies in the Dow Industrials (DJIA) that repurchased the most shares returned roughly 9%. In contrast, the 15 companies in the DJIA that repurchased the least number of shares registered a less robust 3%. Granted, this Morningstar study is not particularly extensive. Yet market pickers often covet corporations that engage in share buybacks, and the investment community frequently [...] [...more]
How many major sectors of the U.S. economy are riding above their respective long-term, 200-day trendlines? 3 of the big 10 are. Not surprisingly, Defensive Equity ETFs like SPDR Select Sector Utilities (XLU) and SPDR Select Sector Staples (XLP) made the cut. More surprisingly to some, however, is the recent emergence of a cyclical powerhouse like SPDR Select Sector [...] [...more]
Over the weekend, Germany and France presented a unified front on recapitalizing European banks. Not surprisingly, risk assets clear across the globe rocketed higher on Monday, 10/10/11. In fact, most believe that a TARP-like response for protecting “too big to fail” financial institutions is the best way to avoid a rash of sovereign debt defaults, a worldwide recession as well as depreciating risk [...] [...more]
Telecom ETFs, China Bond ETFs, Apple And ETFs, Brazil ETFs, World ETF Update Click here to listen to the show: 10-09-2011 [...more]
Some don’t believe in the curative powers of band-aids with Neosporin. In particular, if Greece is going to default in 2011 or early 2012, some see European ETFs as ripe for short-selling opportunities. Daniel Sckolnik at iStockAnalyst.com suggests that one may benefit from a worsening 16-country crisis via shorting Vanguard European ETF (VGK). The author also opines that shorting CurrencyShares Euro (FXE) is likely to be beneficial over [...] [...more]
Suddenly, stocks are income investments. “Seriously!” analysts are screaming. Consider the case of the U.S. government’s AA+ debt for a 10-year treasury at 2.13%. Microsoft still has its triple-A (AAA) rating… and it’s yielding 2.6%. Johnson & Johnson has its triple-A rating intact… and it yields 3.7%. Who knows when the volatility will end. But it will. And [...] [...more]
When it comes to earnings reports in the 2nd quarter, several things stand out. Big-time technology companies clobbered expectations, from Apple to Google to Microsoft to Advanced Micro. In contrast, a few notables in the Industrial sector seemed to come up short. Caterpillar missed. So did 3M. Industrials are typically seen as a primary gauge for the [...] [...more]
