The last few weeks have been incredibly volatile in U.S. markets. Though major indexes have been trending upwards for the majority of 2011, last week saw a major blip in performance as commodities, namely oil and silver, took a nose dive bringing down equities across the board. The major sell off was due to an unexpected jump in jobless claims, as well as a reasonably stronger dollar, which was then followed by an unexpected dip in unemployment, helping to correct markets from their tailspin. This week will have its sights set on the closing days of earnings season as bellwether firms from around the world shed light on their most recent quarter’s performance [see also First Trust Wins Auto ETF Race, Debuts CARZ].
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Investors have become familiar with the term “contagion” in recent years, but most are accustomed to hearing the phenomenon discussed in relation to sovereign debt defaults in Europe or across U.S. municipalities. But in recent days the Middle East has seen a wave of revolutionary protests and rallies spread across the region, as what began [...]
Northern Trust, the one-time issuer that began making plans for a second run at the ETF industry last year, has joined the crowd of major financial institutions seeking approval to launch actively-managed ETFs. In a recent SEC filing, Northern Trust requested permission “to create and operate an actively-managed series of the Trust…that offers exchange-traded shares.” [...]
Last week saw the end of a year that was relatively kind to investor portfolios, as most major asset classes managed to post strong results in 2010. As the calendars flip to 2011, the outlook remains uncertain; lingering obstacles in the form of high unemployment and bloated debt loads certainly pose problems, but rapidly-expanding emerging [...]
Many of the world’s developed markets have struggled to return to solid levels of growth and have been weighed down by large budget deficits and high levels of unemployment. Due to this, many stock markets remain well below their 2008 lows, even when factoring in the large run-up in share prices over the past two [...]
In many instances, ETFs have allowed more active investors to change their strategy for allocating assets and alter the manner in which they seek to generate alpha. Instead of seeking to identify undervalued companies through detailed analysis of financial statements, many now implement a more high level approach that includes identifying sectors, regions, or even [...]
With the fallout from last week’s conflict between the Israeli navy and a flotilla seeking to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip still raining down on the Middle East, the next escalation of tensions may not be far off. An Irish ship carrying pro-Palestinian activists and supplies was closing in on Gaza Friday afternoon, and [...]
If you asked most U.S. investors to identify regions of the world where geopolitical tensions were running high, an overwhelming majority would probably point either to Korea, where a rapidly deteriorating relationship between the North and South threatens to escalate into a destabilizing conflict, or to Thailand, where months of clashes between the “Red Shirts” [...]
While the pace of GDP growth and strength of underlying economic fundamentals vary wildly between emerging and developed markets–and even from country to country–most global equity markets have moved in the same direction in 2010: up. Impressive earnings reports and data releases show that individuals and corporations are once again beginning to spend again, and [...]
As ETFs have transitioned from a closet industry to a mainstream investment vehicle, a growing number of investors has become familiar with the exchange-traded structure and the nuances of of the industry. Most advisors now recognize the “super tickers”–SPY, GLD, EEM, etc.–and have a good feel for the size and scope of the industry. But [...]
With the passage of the sweeping health care reform late Sunday night, many investors are scrambling to determine which sectors are likely to benefit from the new legislation. Although the timing and impact of changes remains to be seen, generic pharmaceutical firms will likely emerge as one of the big winners. Many big name drugs [...]
