After an up-down performance across equity markets last week, investors will look to revive bullish momentum on Wall Street as earnings season continues full speed ahead. The spotlight will also turn to Fed Chair Ben Bernanke as he is set to testify before Congress on Thursday, an event that usually comes away with a detailed outlook on our economy. Stocks have gotten off to a hot start in 2012 and will look to close out the first month of trading in bright green territory, however, several lingering concerns may derail the bull train; Euro zone jitters could very well resurface as investors fret over lackluster developments in the debt burdened currency bloc, while disappointing earnings at home will only add to the cloud of uncertainty.
Investors’ confidence has taken a serious beating over the past few months as debt drama on both sides of the Atlantic ocean has paved the way for volatile price action across financial markets. Despite better-than-expected economic data releases on the home front, Euro zone debt woes have definitively taken center stage; sentiment on Wall Street [...]
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 [...]
The last five years have seen a tremendous expansion of the ETF industry, as assets have skyrocketed and the number of products available to U.S.-based investors has multiplied. That same period of time has also been a period of tremendous volatility in global financial markets; the last five years have witnessed an unprecedented financial crisis, [...]
With the fourth quarter of 2011 now well underway, the year is generally shaping up to be one that many investors will try quickly to forget. After 2009 and 2010 brought steady recoveries from the chaotic downturn in 2008, this year has seen renewed concerns about mounting debt burdens around the globe and slowing growth [...]
Volatility remains the name of the game. Equity indexes continue to fluctuate wildly and Wall Street started the week with a rally, but investor confidence is clearly lacking as stocks have fallen victim to high-volume profit taking near the close of almost every single trading session. The debt drama in Europe remains unresolved and investors [...]
Wall Street started the week with a rally as investors regained some optimism over the weekend, although the euro zone debt drama has by no means been resolved. Tuesday was a wild day, as equity indexes gapped much higher at the open, but failed to hold onto gains for the whole session and sold-off hard [...]
ProShares, the Bethesda, Maryland-based ETF issuer best known for its suite of leveraged and inverse products, announced plans to expand its offering in the Treasury bond space with its latest SEC filing. In the document, the company detailed four new funds that are vastly different from anything else in the market, giving investors new ways [...]
Stock markets around the globe plunged last week following the Fed’s decision to proceed with “Operation Twist“, which sent waves of fear and panic-selling across every corner of the market. Long-term U.S. Treasury bonds were the only securities that didn’t get slaughtered last week, the S&P 500 shed more than 6% while the MSCI Emerging [...]
The summer of 2011 is shaping up a lot like that of 2010. Yet again, fears in the euro-zone have sparked massive sell-offs in global equities, as more countries become at risk of defaulting this year. Worries over the U.S. economy are also a major factor in the market slump, as many analysts have slashed [...]
As the U.S. economy continues to struggle despite record low interest rates and strong growth in emerging markets, Ben Bernanke and the rest of the Fed team have been forced to get more creative in their attempts to stimulate job creation and sustainable economic expansion. With interest rates already near record lows, the Fed took [...]
