Although news of SEC charges against Goldman Sachs became the dominant story on Wall Street on Friday, the focus on investors for much of the past week was on the handful of companies that kicked off another critical earnings season. With the market recovering much of the ground lost during the recent recession, many investors were anxious to see how improved economic data had translated to profitability at industry bellwethers. The first week of earnings season was a mixed bag, with some big names reporting stellar results and outlooks and others falling short of expectations. While earnings reports are company-specific developments, they can often provide insight into macro economic trends and the outlook for an industry.
Below, we highlight five sectors that were especially volatile this past week, including two clear winners, two clear losers, and a mixed sector on which the jury is still out. [click to continue…]
Direxion, a pioneer in the 3x leveraged ETF space, announced Thursday the launch of six new funds, bringing the firm’s total product offerings to 34, and represent firsts for both the company and the ETF industry. The leveraged ETFs beginning trading on Thursday include:
After watching their portfolios take devastating blows in 2008, many investors hoped that a new year would bring a reversal of fortune and a recovery of lost assets. After the first two months of the year tested resolve, things finally took a turn for the better in March, and long climb upwards began. Most equity [...]
Leveraged ETFs were in the headlines a great deal in 2009, but most of the coverage was less than favorable. Misinformation on these products was widespread throughout the year, leading to confusion on many aspects of these products and some unfair generalizations. One of the primary points of discussion was the performance of leveraged ETFs [...]
For investors looking to make a play on the technology sector through ETFs, there are a number of options offering varying degrees of exposure. The PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQQ) tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index, meaning it is tilted heavily towards the technology sector (about 65% of its holdings), but maintains moderate exposure to health care [...]
Technology ETFs have hit a wall in recent days, slumping on news of an analyst downgrade to Research in Motion, slashes in projected semiconductor demand, and weak earnings reports from several internet companies. With an uncertain holiday shopping season ahead, the fate of the technology sector is very much up in the air, and technology [...]
Research in Motion (RIMM), the Canadian maker of the popular Blackberry device, is taking a beating today, with its shares down more than 15% in early trading. The company reported weaker than expected revenue for the quarter ended in August and gave disappointing earnings guidance for the upcoming third. The news sparked a host of [...]
In what many analysts are calling the latest sign that the recession has ended, Intel surprised Wall Street on Friday by raising its third quarter revenue outlook above current consensus analyst estimates. Citing stronger-than-expected demand for microprocessors and chipsets, the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker revised its third quarter revenue forecast to $9.0 billion, up from [...]
