After starting the day strong, most equity markets slumped in afternoon trading before finishing the day with a surge. This stretch of positive returns, the sixth in a row for the Dow, came after continued jubilation regarding Federal Reserve monetary policies. “There’s no question the Fed being easy continues to feed this. Easy money is creating massive misallocations everywhere, and that party can continue. As long as you have Ben the bartender manning the tap, anything is possible,” said Peter Boockvar. [click to continue…]
March got off to a hot start on Monday, as equity markets posted gains on a positive manufacturing outlook and multiple reports of M&A activity. Most notably, UK-based Prudential PLC agreed to buy AIG’s Asia operations for $35.5 billion in cash and stock. Elsewhere, the Institute of Supply Management reported that its index of manufacturing activity reflected an expansion for February, while the employment index grew for the third consecutive month. Chilean stock markets reopened for business as usual on Monday following a devastating earthquake over the weekend. The iShares MSCI Chile Investable Market Index Fund (ECH) lost 1.4% on the day, while the iPath Copper Total Return ETN (JJC) jumped 1.8% on concerns of prolonged supply disruptions in the world’s largest copper producing country. [click to continue…]
Equity markets snapped a two-day losing streak on Wednesday, as comments from Ben Bernanke indicating that interest rates could remain low for the foreseeable future caused a buying spree on Wall Street. Elsewhere, General Motors announced that it would begin winding down Hummer operations after Chinese regulators rejected a proposed deal while Toyota’s president apologized [...]
Markets trended higher in the holiday shortened week, as the S&P 500 flirted with and then crossed the 1,100 mark. The dollar strengthened throughout the week as debt clouds continue to hang over the euro zone and after the Fed raised the discount rate to 75 basis points. Below, we offer our picks for the [...]
Investing in emerging and frontier markets can often help investors to diversify equity holdings and provide exposure to growth opportunities not available in advanced economies. But with any opportunity for big gains often comes significant risk, including the potential for political instability, currency revaluation, and government intervention in the private sector. There’s also the issue [...]
Markets finished the day flat, as continued fears over sovereign debt and Chinese credit markets weighed on global equities. This comes despite a promise to bailout Greece, as the lack of details regarding the bailout plan scared off some investors who fear for the future of the common currency union. The market decline was led [...]
Usually the monthly release of ETF trading data from the National Stock Exchange provides a good opportunity for those covering the industry to feed the hype machine just a little more. Big asset growth and cash inflows have become as certain as death and taxes, with each month adding momentum to the runaway freight train [...]
Investors returned from a long holiday weekend with an optimistic outlook, as news of mega-deals in the food and beverage and insurance industries boosted confidence. IBM delivered solid earnings, further bolstering hopes of a strong year for the technology sector, while investors turned their attention to Massachusetts to evaluate the potential impact of a shifting [...]
The tremendous increase in the number of ETFs launched in recent years has seemingly brought cheap, efficient access to nearly every corner of the globe within reach of U.S. investors. There are now funds devoted to Vietnam, Turkey, Israel, Colombia, among countless others. But while the breadth of international options has expanded significantly, the exposure [...]
After a dull couple of weeks, the action on Wall Street picked up on Tuesday, highlighted by a rare public warning from Berkshire to Kraft. It was an eventful day on the data front as well, with a slip in housing data and solid domestic automotive sales numbers the biggest news of the day. Most [...]
After watching their portfolios take devastating blows in 2008, many investors hoped that a new year would bring a reversal of fortune and a recovery of lost assets. After the first two months of the year tested resolve, things finally took a turn for the better in March, and long climb upwards began. Most equity [...]
Following a year that saw some of the worst performances in recent memory, many asset classes have bounced back in 2009. But some have performed better than others, and as the year draws to a close we take a look at some of the best-performing ETFs. The year’s top gainers include a few of the [...]
