With the finish line in sight, it’s fairly safe to say that 2011 will be remembered by most investors as a wild, back-and-forth year that brought plenty of both hope and despair. A hot start raised optimism of a continued recovery after a generally impressive 2011, but the summer months were anything but relaxing; major indexes suffered some of the worst losses since the recent recession.
In examining the year-to-date performances for the 1,000+ ETPs that have been around since the beginning of the year, there are a number of interesting figures that jump out, including both pleasant surprises and bitter disappointments–and some that are just plain confusing [the complete, sortable, document is available in ETF Edge--sign up for a free 7-day trial to get full access]. [click to continue…]
With three quarters of 2011 officially in the books, it is now safe to say that the year has not played out as many investors had hoped it might. After coming flying out of the gates–most major benchmarks were solidly in positive territory after the first quarter–a perfect storm of negative developments has conspired to [...]
After a rough 2010, alternative energy equities have been swinging back and forth all year long without establishing a clear trend. With 2011 being quite a busy year thus far, the only real attention that alternative energies have received has been quite negative, as many have called for the end of nuclear power after the [...]
U.S. equities floundered between smalls gains and losses on Monday before succumbing to the red in the late part of the session. After a discussion with the U.S. Justice Department, the Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. and Intercontinental Exchange withdrew their $11 billion bid to acquire NYSE Euronext. Regulatory hurdles were the main road-block, and officials from Nasdaq [...]
The first quarter of 2011 is officially in the books, and the last three months have been a stretch marked by instability both domestically and abroad. Significant uncertainty remains, as investors are still divided on the outlook for interest rates, further stimulus measures, and the ability of emerging markets to continue driving global GDP growth. [...]
The massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan earlier this month have dominated the headlines in recent weeks, as the fallout from the natural disaster continues and efforts to rebuild the country figure to take years to complete. The humanitarian crisis in Japan has been one of the most devastating in recent history; several thousand [...]
Uncertainty remains the name of the game in markets around the world as American equities oscillated between heavy losses and sharp gains last week. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East kept the markets in check, while cautious outlooks from major central banks pushed the dollar slightly lower in the volatile currency markets. Domestic equities were [...]
The first month of 2011 is in the books, and January certainly displayed no shortage of action for investors. Earnings season kicked off to a relatively strong start, though disappointments sprinkled throughout cast some doubt on the strength of an ongoing recovery. Last year was a good one for almost every asset class, with the [...]
2010 brought terror to the energy sector, as the year started off with the Deepwater Horizon spill, sending energy equities across the board into a free-fall. Despite this tragedy, some analysts felt that they vast amounts of oil that had spewed into the Gulf of Mexico would finally force the U.S. government to make a [...]
In general, 2010 has been a pretty solid year for most portfolios. Despite lingering concerns about unemployment and mounting debt burdens, most global equity markets have moved higher on the year. Commodity markets have been red hot, with prices of many natural resources climbing to new highs thanks to strong demand from emerging markets and [...]
Earlier this year, when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, energy policies were thrust into the spotlight. For as long as oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico, many policymakers discussed alternative energies and stiff oil drilling regulations to help prevent not only another accident, but to help wean the U.S. off of its fossil fuel [...]
