Equity markets have endured another wild week as investors have digested mixed news on all fronts; encouraging economic data at home continues to restore confidence in the domestic recovery, while Euro zone debt woes have cooled off considerably, although uncertainties still remain. iShares continues to ramp up activity on the product development front with several exciting proposals to add junk bond and high yield ETFs to the firm’s already impressive lineup [see iShares Beefs Up Bond ETF Lineup]. Global X has also taken steps this week for beefing up its list of offerings with the addition of three “super income” ETFs.

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First Trust launched two more international AlphaDEX ETFs this week, on the heels of the debut of seven country-specific funds that employ the proprietary stock selection methodology [see AlphaDEX ETFdb Portfolio]. The new ETFs will offer broad exposure to emerging and developed markets outside the U.S., focusing specifically on small cap stocks in those segments: [click to continue…]

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Friday’s ETF Chart To Watch: iShares Barclays 20 Year Treasury Bond Fund (TLT)

February 17, 2012

Equity indexes climbed into bright green territory yesterday as investors on Wall Street rejoiced over several encouraging economic data releases. Buying euphoria quickly spread after the latest jobless claims report came in better-than-expected; a total of 348,000 people filed for unemployment benefits, a nice improvement versus the previous reading of 361,000. Housing starts also surprised [...]

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Daily ETF Roundup: GDX Pops, VXX Drops

February 16, 2012

Equity markets soared into green territory as investors rejoiced over encouraging economic data on Wall Street, while developments in the Euro zone also helped to ease lingering uncertainties stemming from Greece. On the home front, the Nasdaq led the way higher, gaining an impressive 1.51% on the day, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged [...]

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iShares Beefs Up Bond ETF Lineup

February 16, 2012

iShares continued to expand its suite of exchange-traded products this week with the debut of seven new bond ETFs. The new offering includes the first products available to U.S. investors that offer sector-specific exposure to the corporate bond market. The new ETFs are: iShares Barclays U.S. Treasury Bond Fund (GOVT) iShares Aaa – A Rated [...]

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ETFs To Invest In The Next Facebook

February 16, 2012

With all of the buzz and excitement building around Facebook’s IPO, it’s likely that some investors are wishing they could have gotten in on the ground floor. Private equity investments are known for incredibly lucrative returns, in addition to having more than a handful of barriers to entry. The reality is that the average investor [...]

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Thursday’s ETF To Watch: United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG)

February 16, 2012

Natural gas has been one of the most talked about commodities this year, as its prices have been on a slippery slope, bringing them down to historical lows. NG futures have sank more than 17% on the year as investors have been scrambling in and out of positions which have continually turned sour. The issues [...]

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Daily ETF Roundup: VXX Spikes After Fed Minutes, UNG Down On Strong Dollar

February 15, 2012

Equity indexes on Wall Street oscillated between minor gains and losses early in the day, however, cautious words from the Fed tipped stocks south right before lunch time. Selling pressures accelerated across the board as investors grew worried that without another round of quantitative easing the economic recovery could loose steam and falter [see also Five ETFs [...]

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Van Eck Debuts Unconventional Oil & Gas ETF

February 15, 2012

Van Eck announced today the debut of an exchange-traded fund that offers exposure to companies employing “unconventional” approaches towards producing energy commodities such as crude oil and natural gas. The new Market Vectors Unconventional Oil & Gas ETF (FRAK) will seek to replicate an index comprised of companies operating in segments such as coalbed methane, [...]

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First Trust Rolls Out 7 New AlphaDEX ETFs

February 15, 2012

First Trust announced the introduction of seven new single country international ETFs, dramatically expanding its lineup of international equity funds. Each of the new ETFs will be linked to indexes that utilize the AlphaDEX methodology that is used in a number of existing First Trust ETFs. The new ETFs are: 

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Five ETFs For Doomsday Capitalism

February 15, 2012

The world is always ending, according to someone out there. The current environment is full of those who think the end is nigh–at least for the robust global economy to which we’ve grown accustomed. Let’s suppose that our economy is about to fall off a cliff, resulting in general chaos, what’s the average investor supposed [...]

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Wednesday’s ETF To Watch: MSCI Australia Index Fund (EWA)

February 15, 2012

The past few months have had all eyes fixated on the euro zone and whether or not the currency bloc would be able to withstand its looming debt crisis. Despite a recent Greek debt deal, you can almost certainly bet that this issue is far from over, as it has been lingering around markets for almost two [...]

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