This past week was another rocky one for global markets as worries over Greece temporarily subsided in the middle of the week only to reappear in Friday trading. This resurgence came as a result of several members of Parliament declaring their intentions to vote against the austerity bill, leaving the measure uncertain to pass to say the least. Investors also focused on worries over Italian debt and banks in Italy as well; some are fearing that a credit downgrade is coming not only to the largest banks in the nation but to the country itself as well. Thanks to these fears over a contagion spreading to one of the world’s ten largest economies, many investors were running for cash before the bell to close out the week. To top things off, the Federal Reserve also met this past week, announcing an end to the QE2 program as anticipated at the end of the month. However, while Bernanke and Company didn’t feel the need for another round of QE, they did say that the economy is still very weak and that worries remain for the global economic picture. So with this Fed meeting and uncertainty over Europe it was an eventful week to say the least in the markets, potentially creating a very interesting period once trading begins on Monday.
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This week saw many investors go bargain hunting in the first two days of the week as fears over a Greek default temporarily subsided. Many had focused in on the Greek Prime Minister and a crucial vote that took place earlier in the week in which the Parliament voted on if it had confidence in [...]
Thanks to stock markets managing to finish in the green for the week, at least in the S&P 500 and the DJIA, some are beginning to think that the recent downtrend in markets is finally over. However, any hope of a surge this week could be cut short by a continuation of the Greek debt crisis, especially [...]
As the ETF industry has continued to expand at a breakneck pace, the introduction of first-to-market products has become somewhat commonplace. Well more than 100 ETFs have debuted this year, many of them targeting an asset class or investment strategy not previously accessible within the ETF wrapper. Recent weeks have seen the debut of the [...]
In recent years interest in achieving exposure to emerging markets has intensified tremendously, as the developing economies of the world have established themselves as the clear leaders of GDP growth while advanced economies have struggled to regain their footing. While there are dozens of countries that fall under “emerging” status, exposure to this investment strategy [...]
When considering the equity allocation of an investor portfolio, perhaps the most common bifurcation made is between developed and emerging markets. The distinction between developed and emerging markets has become a hot topic in recent years thanks to the tremendous gaps in growth and risk between the two groups. As developed markets have struggled to [...]
Over the last year, a tremendous increase in the amount of ETF education has significantly reduced the likelihood of misuse by professional or amateur investors. By now, hopefully everyone knows that the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) doesn’t actually buy and hold natural gas and that USO’s underlying assets don’t include barrels of crude [...]
It’s been an interesting week in the world of ETFs: U.S. equity markets ended the week on a sour note with most benchmarks down about 2%. Here are the ETF Database staff picks of the week’s most important and interesting stories from around the Web:
by Eric Dutram on October 28, 2009 | Updated April 30, 2010
With sluggish growth forecasted for the next few quarters an unemployment rate quickly approaching 10%, many U.S. investors are looking beyond their borders for new investment opportunities. While developed European and Asia Pacific economies have received a significant amount of attention, the most popular investment destinations remain the four largest emerging market countries: Brazil, Russia, [...]
The Cold War may have ended decades ago, but relations between the U.S. and Russia have never fully recovered. In recent years, tensions between these world powers have been particularly strained, as the countries clashed on issues including democracy, missile defense, NATO expansion, and independence for Kosovo. Concerns of armed conflict and nuclear war are [...]
Even the most vocal supporters of passive management and indexing have to admit that certain investor track records are far too stellar to attribute entirely to luck. While I’ve frequently disparaged the concept of active investing, I’m still eager to hear what trends legendary investors are following. The Wall Street Journal’s Gregory Zuckerman recently compiled some [...]
