On the one year anniversary of the market bottom, most major markets finished the day flat. Financial stocks were mostly higher after rumors surfaced out of D.C. that the government would ban short-sales on companies in which the government owned a stake. This rumor helped to send financial firms such as AIG and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac higher. Meanwhile, most commodities were lower as a stronger dollar weighed on precious metals and sent oil down more than $1.60 in Tuesday trading. [click to continue…]
ETFs started March on a high note, as major indexes gained over 1% for the week. This increase came after a job market report saw the unemployment rate hold steady, slightly exceeding expectations. Industrials and technology stocks were some of the best performers as 1,000 jobs were added to the American manufacturing industry and Apple reached an all-time high in share price. Below, we offer our picks for the week’s most important and interesting ETF stories from around the Web: [click to continue…]
A recent survey released by InvestmentNews highlighted the ten ETFs financial advisors researched the most, based on data provided by Morningstar. It’s tough to know exactly what to make of the list, but at the very least it gives some interesting insights into the minds of investors. The list included many of the usual suspects: [...]
Once again, investors around the world turned their attention to Greece on Wednesday, as the heavily indebted nation unveiled a new round of budget cuts and tax increases to gain control over its rapidly-swelling budget deficit. Measures included a 2% bump to the VAT, additional taxes on tobacco and fuel, a freeze on civil servant [...]
March has gotten off to a start similar to January, as another strong performance Tuesday has investors hoping the recent run-up will prove more sustainable than mini-rally that started the year. A showdown in the tech sector caught the attention of investors, as Apple filed a patent infringement lawsuit against HTC, the maker of Google-based [...]
U.S. markets continued to take their cues from Europe on Thursday, as fresh concerns about Greece’s financial mess weighed on Wall Street. Domestic jobs data did little to create a bullish mentality among investors, as the Labor Department announced that weekly jobless claims unexpectedly jumped by 22,000 last week. Economists had been expecting a decline [...]
Equity markets sunk to start the last week of February, with most indexes finishing down more than 1%. This came after a sharp decline in consumer confidence, as the widely-followed index fell to 46 from a reading of 56.5 in January. A reading of 55 was expected, indicating that the data release was a major [...]
Last week saw impressive volatility in equity ETFs, as investors focused their attention squarely on the debt crisis of Greece and the reaction of wealthy euro zone neighbors. While Wall Street will continue to monitor any developments in the region going forward, there are a number of major events ahead this week that could have [...]
A pledge from EU leaders to provide “coordinated action if needed” to support Greece through its debt crisis gave global markets a lift on Thursday. The commitment from European Council President Herman Van Rompuy eased concerns that Greece’s woes could spread to the highly-leveraged economies of Spain and Portugal, and fears of a far-reaching “contagion [...]
Still scarred by memories of the not-so-distant recession, many investors have been spooked by recent volatility in equity markets, wondering if they should bail on the market before another double dip. But even fresher are the memories of the bull market of 2009, especially for those who regretfully watched from the sidelines as equity markets [...]
Global equity markets received a much-needed bump on Tuesday, as rumors of a backstop to Greece’s financial mess calmed fears and sent stocks sharply higher. Elsewhere, Iran announced that it had begun enriching low-grade uranium for use in a medical research reactor, setting the stage for another round of warnings from the international community.
More red ink washed over Wall Street at the start of a new week, as jitters over the state of public finances in Greece, Portugal, and Spain continued to weigh on European economies and rippled throughout global markets. In the U.S., the financials sector led the day’s decline after the Fed announced plans to detail [...]
