As the ETF universe has expanded rapidly over the past few years, so too has the reach of its exposure. Where there was once only a few hundred products for basic investing, there now stands over 1,400 ETFs with more than one trillion in combined assets. There are now ETFs for not only broad-based investing, but also for satellite holdings in a portfolio to round out missing exposure gaps [see also 25 Things Every Financial Advisor Should Know About ETFs]. One of the most popular themes among these products has come from country-focused investing, as there are now options for a wide variety of different countries and plans for many more. [click to continue…]
Resurfacing Italian debt woes paved the way for persistent volatility in the markets last week, further deteriorating the economic outlook of the financially fragile currency bloc. Selling pressures overwhelmed the bulls on Wall Street, despite a host of better-than-expected economic data releases on the home front, including surprisingly strong retail sales, new home starts, industrial [...]
Domestic equity indexes started off the week on a positive note, unlike European markets which fell victim to selling pressures as worries over Italy spooked investors. Yields on 10-year Italian bonds soared to their highest level since 1997 as political turmoil in Rome intensified after Prime Minister Berlusconi defied huge pressure to resign. In response [...]
This past week was, for the most part, a stellar time for major equities as a number of positive data releases buffered a healthy market rally. The Dow pushed through 12,000 while the S&P is making reaches for the 1,300 mark. Oil was perhaps the most talked about asset, as its price skyrocketed early in the week [...]
The ETF industry continues to grow by leaps and bounds as investors embrace the numerous benefits associated with the exchange-traded product structure. Recent volatility in the markets hasn’t stopped the industry from expanding as issuers continue to beef up their product pipelines and roll out first-to-market products. In a slew of SEC filings, iShares, the [...]
Wall Street posted yet another up-down week of performance as domestic equity indexes fluctuated and ultimately fell victim to serious profit taking as the final trading session drew to a close. Worse-than-expected U.S. consumer confidence coupled with a decline in personal income were concerning data releases that only added to the piling uncertainty weighting down [...]
Given the broad weakness in the euro zone throughout 2011 and the ever-present fears of default in a number of nations, most investors shouldn’t be surprised to read that all of the ETFs in the European Equities ETFdb Category are down in year-to-date terms. In fact, at time of writing, only the iShares MSCI UK [...]
Equity markets struggled to pick a direction last week, fluctuating between small gains and pesky losses one day after the other. Late in the week, however, worse than expected economic data on the home front and escalating European debt woes managed to push the markets of a cliff one more time, with equity indexes sinking [...]
Wall Street plunged into the abyss last week as investors prepared for the worst after the ECB and Bank of Japan intervened in the markets, sending widespread waves of fear, and inducing one of the worst sell-offs that the market has seen since the dismal days of 2008. Domestic equity indexes fell over 4% on [...]
Domestic equities were shaky last week to say the least, managing to rally on Thursday and immediately sell-off on Friday following a very dismal employment report. Gold emerged as the strongest asset class, while crude oil futures fluctuated wildly much like equity markets across the globe. Earnings season officially starts this week and we are [...]
After a sixth consecutive week of losses, investors will be looking for some indication that the steady losses have been a bit of overkill and that a bounce back is warranted in coming sessions. Equity markets have tumbled past key technical and psychological levels in recent weeks, and anxiety is once again running high both [...]
