Stocks drifted lower to start the week as resurfacing Euro zone debt woes brought back the bears. Domestic equity indexes retreated into red territory after European leaders put pressure on Greek lawmakers to meet and accept the conditions of the proposed $171 billion bailout. Investors were spooked as worries intensified after Greek leaders failed to reach a unified agreement, further delaying the ongoing debt drama. Uncertainty in equity markets overseas paved the way higher for the U.S. dollar in the currency markets; likewise, gold prices encountered selling pressures and settled near $1,720 an ounce for the day [see ETF Insider: Will Euro Woes Rain On The Bull's Parade?].
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Markets seem to be in a state of confusion, as positive news and data is offset by just as many negative factors. Some investors feel that 2012 will continue to see its nice rally, as this past month was the best January for equities since 1997. Others think that the fun is over as a [...]
Despite some rather significant bumps along the road in 2011, many asset classes are now well into positive territory on a one year trailing basis as January draws to a close, riding high thanks to a strong finish to last year and start to 2012. Included on that list are a number of leveraged ETFs that [...]
After an up-down performance across equity markets last week, investors will look to revive bullish momentum on Wall Street as earnings season continues full speed ahead. The spotlight will also turn to Fed Chair Ben Bernanke as he is set to testify before Congress on Thursday, an event that usually comes away with a detailed [...]
The GLD-Free Gold Bug ETFdb Portfolio is now available to ETFdb Pro members and those with a free 7-day trial of the Pro subscription. This new portfolio, one of more than 40 all-ETF model portfolios available at ETFdb.com, is designed for investors who wish to construct a gold-centric portfolio that rounds out exposure across various [...]
Stocks oscillated between positive and negative territory on Thursday as investors reacted to mixed economic data. Despite the early morning rally, investors gave into selling pressures following a number of disappoint earnings reports; AT&T and SanDisk both missed analyst expectations, tipping the tech sector lower for the day. Bearish sentiment was rekindled after the latest [...]
It is no secret that the ETF industry is dominated by just a handful of products. The majority of the $1 trillion plus assets are confined to roughly 100 funds, leaving the other 1,300 ETFs in the dust. But as growth in the industry continues to pick up, more and more funds are entering elite [...]
The ETF industry finished 2011 with assets of about $1.06 trillion according to data recently released by the ETF Industry Association. Total assets grew by about 5% over the previous year, when the industry stood at $1.01 trillion. Net cash inflows for the year totaled about $117.6 billion, a slight decrease from 2010 when the [...]
The year 2011 is without a doubt going down in the books as one of the most tumultuous periods in recent financial history, with everything from natural disasters to looming debt drama sparking waves of uncertainty throughout the year. Despite its safe haven reputation, even gold fell victim to volatile trading; the precious metal has [...]
For most investors, 2011 was a frustrating year; after some strong early gains seemingly pointed to a continuation of the recovery that took root in 2010, the appearance of some major obstacles sent many major indexes back towards negative territory. The impressive late December rally closed the year on a high note, but there is [...]
Domestic equity markets staged a solid comeback today following yesterday’s dismal sell-off. Better-than-expected housing market data bolstered markets higher on the second to last trading day of the year; the Dow Jones Industrial Average led the way higher, gaining 1.12% on the day, while the Nasdaq lagged behind, posting gains 0.90%. Upbeat economic data on [...]
