Despite a sluggish economy, the Market Vectors Gaming ETF (BJK) has been on winning streak since the start of February, posting a gain of nearly 6% over the last week and a half. While some of the rebound is likely due to a slight increase in the confidence of an economic recovery, many gaming investors are betting on emerging Asian consumers to help lift up the profits for many of the stocks included in this fund. Furthermore, as states find themselves in increasingly difficult budget situations, they are turning to expanded gambling operations as a way to dig themselves out of massive budget holes. Over the past year, Delaware and West Virginia have legalized table games in casinos, while Maryland and Ohio have similar bills pending, suggesting that the future could be bright for the gaming industry. [click to continue…]
The ETF industry has expanded rapidly in recent years, with hundreds of new product launches covering various regions, sectors, and investment strategies. The surge in ETF product offerings–there are now nearly 1,000 exchange-traded products in our ETF screener–has sparked some speculation that the industry has reached a point of saturation–or perhaps has long since blown through that point. [click to continue…]
Whenever a company prepares for a public offering, executives have been known to spend an inordinate amount of time choosing the combination of letters that will serve as the company’s ticker and often nickname within the investment community. To many, the fixation on selecting the perfect ticker seems like an irrational obsession on par with [...]
Through the eyes of an investors, the consumer sector of the global economy is generally split into two segments: consumer staples and consumer discretionaries. Consumer staples stocks generally include those that manufacture and sell goods that are vital components of most household budgets, such as food and non-durable household goods. Companies producing goods that are [...]
Many investors will be sorry to see 2009 end. Following one of the most disruptive years in recent memory in 2008, almost every asset class participated in a stellar recovery this year. At the depth of the recession, fear trumped reason, and irrational anxieties pushed many assets, including ETFs, well below their intrinsic value. Much [...]
Michael Johnston, senior analyst for ETF Database appeared on live television earlier today to discuss underdog sector ETFs. Semi-conductors (SMH), gaming (BJK), and coal (KOL) are three of the less appreciated sectors that have been heating up lately. Johnston analyzed these sectors and more with show host Michael Hainsworth. Watch the complete interview at BNN.
Over the last few years, ETFs have seen a tremendous surge in use and popularity among all breeds of investors for a number of reasons. Some are attracted to the low costs. Others value the tax efficiency and liquidity. I love ETFs (in part) because they facilitate a “top-down” approach to investing. Picking individual stocks [...]
Over the last year, swine flu has been the news story that just won’t die. After an early initial scare, H1N1 faded into the background of the minds of many for several months, before returning in full force as flu season approached. Of course, the threat posed by the disease never really diminished, and health [...]
Casino operator MGM Mirage said on Tuesday that it plans to take a third quarter writedown of nearly $1 billion related to the company’s City Center project in Las Vegas. City Center is a 67-acre mixed-use complex on the Las Vegas Strip complete with residential, retail, and casino real estate. The project has been to [...]
Global X Funds, the New York-based ETF provider that was the first to offer funds focusing on Colombia and the Nordic region, has filed for approval with the SEC to launch six new ETFs that focus on various sectors of the Chinese economy. The proposed funds include:
