Equity markets hit the ground running last week as investors came back from the holiday weekend with a fairly optimistic outlook for 2012. U.S. stocks started off the year with a solid rally as investors’ confidence was bolstered by multiple better-than-expected economic data reports; consistent improvements in the housing market coupled with a downtick in the unemployment rate were enough to reignite bullish momentum on Wall Street. Gold inched higher last week, climbing back over $1,600 an ounce, although the precious metal continues to face headwinds given the looming uncertainty stemming from the Euro zone.
As some financial advisors are now well aware, the term “ETF” is often used rather liberally to refer to a variety of different exchange-traded products that generally function in the same manner from the perspective of an investor. More accurately, ETFs can be described as a type of exchange-traded product, or ETP, an umbrella that [...]
As ETFs have burst on to the scene in recent years, just about every serious investor and professional money manager has taken a crash course in exchange-traded products, becoming familiar with the countless benefits and nuances of these products. Features such as enhanced transparency, upgraded tax efficiency, and low costs are generally well known at [...]
United States Commodity Funds, the company behind the ultra-popular natural gas (UNG) and crude oil (USO) products, has laid the groundwork for another unique exchange-traded commodity product. In a recent SEC filing, USCF outlined some details for a proposed Asian Commodity Basket Fund, which would include exposure to commodities deemed to maintain “systemic importance to Asian [...]
Though the entire ETF industry has grown at a blistering pace, certain segments of the market have expanded much more quickly than others over the past few years. Few types of financial products have seen stronger asset growth than commodity ETPs, as investors of all sophistication levels have embraced the exchange-traded structure as the most efficient means [...]
American equity markets rose again in Thursday trading as traders cheered better-than-expected economic data on the jobs front. As a result, the Dow finished ahead by 0.7% on the day while the S&P 500 rose by 1.1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.4% on the day. In commodity markets, gold managed to sneak by with [...]
The first half of 2011 is officially in the books, and many investors find their portfolios in approximately the same place as they were to start the year (though a furious rally in the final week of the quarter gave a nice boost at an opportune moment). Most major equity indexes are up slightly on [...]
Although markets plunged to start Thursday trading, thanks to a surprise report from the IEA and further weakness in the job market, investors bought up securities in the final few hours of the session on reports of a Greek bailout, pushing stocks well off their lows for the day. The Dow, which at one point [...]
Commodity ETPs can be extremely powerful tools for tapping into an asset class capable of providing both return enhancement and diversification benefits. With dozens of products available–there are more than 120 U.S.-listed commodity ETFs according to the ETF screener–picking the right fund for your investment objectives and risk tolerances can be challenging. Beyond the type [...]
Although American equities got off to a rough start, markets soon rebounded and finished Monday trading on a much higher note. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the big three, gaining 0.6% on the day while the S&P 500 rose by 0.5% and the Dow added 0.4%. These gains were largely fueled by solid performances out of [...]
American equity markets tumbled across the board in Thursday trading as a surprisingly high reading from U.S. jobless claims sent markets into a tailspin. The Dow finished the day down 140 points, or 1.1%, while the S&P 500 finished lower by 0.9%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, however, managed to finish the day down by just 0.5% [...]
