Equity markets were off to go a good start in August as major American indexes posted gains of more than 2% on the day. This sharp spike came after a better than expected July reading for Supply Management’s manufacturing index and an unexpected climb in June construction spending. These solid reports combined with strong earnings in many European banks to fuel a robust rally on Wall Street and temporarily calm growing fears over the health of developed market economies. [click to continue…]
Heading into the second half of the year, investors are divided over where global financial markets are headed. There is no shortage of bears, who point to depressing unemployment and consumer confidence figures as evidence that the recovery is quickly losing momentum (or perhaps never really had any in the first place). Others believe that [...]
ProShares, the largest issuer of leveraged and inverse ETFs, has filed for SEC approval on several additional products. The proposed funds include:
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 [...]
It’s been an interesting week in the world of ETFs: gold trading was extremely volatile, and world leaders met in Denmark to discuss climate issues. Here are the ETF Database staff picks of the week’s most important and interesting stories from around the Web:
Yesterday, Dow component Alcoa posted better than expected earnings of 4 cents per share. The company’s surprise return to profitability was largely attributable to cost cutting measures, not new sales. While the way that Alcoa brought itself back to profitability may not be sustainable in the future, Alcoa did forecast an 11 percent increase in [...]
With the rapid declines in the equity markets over the past year and increasing worries about inflation, many investors have been looking for alternative ETF investments to reduce volatility in their portfolios and establish at least a partial hedge against deteriorating economic conditions. One of the most popular options for doing so has been commodity [...]
