In a period of economic instability, like we have seen for the majority of this year, consumer spending is usually low. The low buying power that consumers hold during uncertain times wreaks havoc on a slew of companies whose profit relies the consumer’s willingness to buy. So it came as a bit of a surprise last quarter when Intel reported stellar earnings, sending semiconductor funds soaring. Amid what appeared to be low spending habits, Intel generated a healthy profit. It seemed that the tech industry was on the road to recovery, but that may have just been the eye of the storm, as new information from Intel points to a foggy future for the semiconductor industry [see also ETFs To Play A U.S. Export Boom].
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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 [...]
After a rough start to the holiday-shortened week, equity markets surged on Wednesday as most major indexes jumped by close to 3% on the day. This large jump came after ETF issuer and financial giant State Street said that it was likely to top analysts’ expectations for second-quarter earnings. This news sent shares of State [...]
The first year and a half of president Obama’s term has been market by bold initiatives to reshape domestic policies and transform the U.S. economy. And for the most part the administration has followed through on its promises, already pushing through overhauls of the health care and financial systems. During his January State of the [...]
The Semiconductor Industry Association recently reported a major increase in the sales of computer processing chips for the month of May, giving investors reason to optimistic on a sector that has been battered by recent market turmoil. Chip sales rose 4.5% from the previous month, and were up nearly 50% from the same month in [...]
As anxiety over Europe’s debt woes and the resulting drag on global growth have intensified in recent weeks, equity markets around the world have plummeted. Technology companies, which led the way higher during the recovery of 2009, have fallen on hard times. After rising for much of the start of 2010, the tech heavy Nasdaq [...]
Equity markets are suddenly enduring a rocky April. Stocks were off to a good start last week following strong earnings reports from Intel and JP Morgan, but poor numbers out of Bank of America and fraud allegation at Goldman Sachs sent major indexes sharply lower (see ETFs With Exposure To Goldman). With another week of [...]
With investors looking for confirmation that improved economic indicators are translating to healthier bottom lines for domestic and global companies, another highly anticipated and critical earnings season kicked off this week. Things got off to a rocky start when aluminum giant Alcoa posted disappointing sales and earnings figures. That shortfall increased investor anxiety as chip [...]
by Eric Dutram on April 12, 2010 | Updated April 13, 2010
After plunging in mid-week trading, equity markets climbed back to finish up last week. Commodity markets were also in focus, as oil stayed flat and a sinking dollar caused gold to gain almost $50/oz. in trading over the course of the week. Bond yields also slipped with the benchmark 10 Year T-Bill falling by close [...]
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:
For the most part, ETFs are pretty similar regardless of which issuer is behind the fund. But as many investors know, there’s one notable exception to this rule. The HOLDRS products from Merrill Lynch are similar to traditional ETFs in many ways, but also feature some nuances that make them very different in others. HOLDRS [...]
