Equity markets oscillated between minor gains and losses throughout most of the week as profit taking pressures were abundant after investors digested a number of mixed economic data releases. Investors were frustrated with reports from the housing market which showed that the real estate market recovery is still sluggish at best. Consumer-confidence and durable goods orders data also missed analyst expectations. Nonetheless, investors on Wall Street ended the week on a positive note after consumer sentiment and spending data both surpassed analyst expectations on Friday.
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Stock markets retreated last week as sparse economic data releases paved the way for profit taking. This week will see a host of important fundamental news on the home front as investors digest durable goods orders, GDP, and consumer spending data. Markets are off to a hot start as Ben Bernanke’s speech on Monday morning lifted hopes [...]
As the lineup of exchange-traded products has expanded dramatically in recent years, financial advisors have found themselves with more tools at their disposal than ever before. The extreme granularity of many of the equity products out there allows for cheap, low maintenance targeting of specific corners of the investable universe, while the development of some [...]
Just a few years ago there were only a handful of bond ETFs available to U.S. investors, and almost all of them focused on securities from U.S. issuers denominated in U.S. dollars. One of the most noteworthy innovations to shape the ETF industry over the last several years has been a significant growth in international [...]
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 [...]
by Jared Cummans on November 22, 2011 | Updated November 23, 2011
Interest in achieving fixed income exposure through exchange-traded funds has been a hot topic in recent years, with some advisors expressing serious concerns over the potential shortcomings in bond ETFs while others have fully embraced the efficiencies of the exchange-traded structure [see Are Bond ETFs Broken?].
After a record-setting October gave investors hope that 2011 would finish on a strong note, the first couple weeks of November have effectively taken any wind out of those sails. The culprit–surprise, surprise–has been the cash-strapped PIIGS economies of Europe, with Italy now grabbing the spotlight as a serious credit risk and a grave threat [...]
Equity markets have taken investors for a wild ride over the past three months with chaotic trading dominating virtually every nook and corner of Wall Street. Amidst the volatility, investors have been seeking out refuge and fleeing to “safer” asset classes; although rational, this approach inevitability overlooks certain corners of the market that may in [...]
iShares, the firm behind the most popular ETF in the Emerging Markets Bonds ETFdb Category, rolled out another similar product to complement EMB on Thursday. The new Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond Fund (LEMB) will offer investors exposure to debt of emerging markets issuers that is denominated in local currencies, such as the South Korean [...]
Wall Street started and ended last week on a positive note. Investors came back to the equity markets on Monday after French and German policymakers voiced their support to come up with a viable plan for restoring stability in the Euro zone by November. Meanwhile, on the home front, domestic equity indexes extended gains throughout [...]
Domestic equity indexes having been climbing higher all week, posting seven consecutive sessions in green territory. Investors are showing confidence in European lawmakers to bring forth a concrete plan of action in due time, while at home, corporate earnings have gotten off to a solid start. Yet, FOMC minutes from the most recent Fed meeting revealed [...]
