Tuesday was an interesting day on Wall Street, as investors reacted to the unveiling of a controversial bailout plan, a welcome rise in home prices, and a major setback for comprehensive health care reform. The Dow eked out a gain thanks largely to a rally in IBM shares, but most broad-based indexes were down. The ETFdb 60 Index, a benchmark that includes the entire universe of assets available through exchange-traded products, dropped 4.92 (0.5%) to close at 999.51. Tuesday marked the third consecutive losing session and a monthly low for the benchmark. [click to continue…]
We’re almost 10 months into 2009. And what a year it’s been for the ETF industry and ETF Database! ETFs continue to gain market share from actively-managed mutual funds, becoming the vehicle of choice for more and more investors. As the number of exchange-traded products and assets under management have continued to increase, ETF Database [...]
The S&P 500 is one of the most widely-followed benchmarks in the world, a bellweather of the American economy that is included in the Index of Leading Indicators. Composed of 500 of the largest stocks listed in the U.S. (as well as a handful of non-U.S. companies), the S&P 500 has a weighted average market [...]
Advisors and individuals who favor a tactical asset allocation to investing have historically analyzed broad macroeconomic trends and statistics to identify asset classes and sectors poised deliver strong returns. In the early days of the ETF industry, this meant homing in on a certain sector or style and picking the fund that tracked that segment. [...]
Over the last few years, ETFs have seen a tremendous surge in use and popularity among all breeds of investors for a number of reasons. Some are attracted to the low costs. Others value the tax efficiency and liquidity. I love ETFs (in part) because they facilitate a “top-down” approach to investing. Picking individual stocks [...]
Equity and oil prices fell on Monday as the dollar strengthened, suggesting that the greenback remains a safe haven investment in times of economic uncertainty. Investors continued to dance around two psychologically and technically important levels: the 10,000 mark for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the $1.50 mark for the dollar against the euro. [...]
The iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund (EWY) jumped by nearly 1% on Monday following surprisingly strong GDP growth in the third quarter. South Korea’s economy grew 2.9% from the second quarter, the biggest jump since the first quarter of 2002. That represents a 0.6% increase from the same period a year ago, the first [...]
Equity markets around the globe have staged strong comebacks in recent months on hopes that the recession has passed and the recovery will prove to be a long, stable process. But the real winners so far in 2009 have been commodity investors. Industrial and base metals have surged this year on hopes of a recovery [...]
Every investor has a few benchmarks that he or she watches closely to keep a pulse on the market. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average are perhaps the most widely-followed benchmarks in the U.S., recognized by just about everyone. The CBOE Volatility Index (better known as the VIX) doesn’t have nearly the level [...]
Over the last year, swine flu has been the news story that just won’t die. After an early initial scare, H1N1 faded into the background of the minds of many for several months, before returning in full force as flu season approached. Of course, the threat posed by the disease never really diminished, and health [...]
Friday was an action-packed day on Wall Street and around the world, with a disappointing GDP release in London, reports of a divided Federal Reserve, and a continued climb in commodity prices. The Dow fell more than 100 points to finish the week below the 10,000 mark, a level it has now crossed several times [...]
