ETF Database » IEZ

Friday’s ETF To Watch: iShares Oil Equipment & Services Fund (IEZ)

Eric Dutram — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 09:00:47 +0000

One of the biggest stories in the world of finance over the past few weeks is undoubtedly crude oil’s ascent to near 52 week high levels. The important commodity has benefited from a surge in optimism in a number of developed markets as investors bought up shares in America and the debt crisis in Europe cooled. Yet concerns still remain for the price of black gold as some fear that the commodity may have reached a top for the time being and that tightening measures in a variety of developed markets may lead to a sharp correction in the near future. In fact, prices slumped more than $2/bbl. in yesterday’s session, falling below the $90 mark for the first time in a week, calling into question when oil will again approach the $100 level. While disappointing for integrated oil firms, the drop has been especially troubling for oil equipment firms [...]

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Five ETFs To Watch Ahead Of Obama’s Oval Office Address

Michael Johnston — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:06:07 +0000

President Barack Obama is scheduled to address the nation from the Oval Office on Tuesday night, a setting historically reserved for speeches made during times of crisis. With the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico reaching an “inflection point,” the president will aim to silence critics who have bashed the White House for being too passive in its handling of the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Much of the address is expected to focus on the government’s efforts to hold BP accountable for the spill cleanup and compensation of those impacted by drilling moratoriums, polluted fishing water, and quiet tourist seasons. But the speech is also expected to address larger issues facing the U.S. energy industry, and could outline far-reaching reforms that change the way oil companies do business and domestic companies power their operations. Joining environmentalist groups and Gulf Coast residents in rapt attention to the [...]

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Oil ETFs Slide As “Top Kill” Fails, Obama Lashes Out

Eric Dutram — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 18:57:34 +0000

When the Deepwater Horizon oil platform exploded in late April, few expected the story to be dominating headlines almost six weeks later. However, as oil began to spill out and BP’s numerous efforts to contain the problem failed, it became increasingly clear that this would become one of the worst environmental disasters in world history. In its latest attempt, BP tried to plug the leak using a ‘top kill’ method, which sought to pump mud into the well. More than 1.2 million gallons of mud were used, but BP retreated from the plan over the weekend as it became clear that the “top kill” was not going to be successful due to most of the mud escaping out of the damaged riser. The spill, which is by some estimates the largest in U.S. history, has no end in sight and appears likely to last until August at the earliest. Currently, [...]

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Finding The Right Oil ETF For A Crude Rally

Michael Johnston — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:33:22 +0000

As storm clouds continue to gather over the euro zone, the repercussions of a rise in uncertainty have been felt in nearly every corner of the global economy. All assets denominated in euro have fallen out of favor. Financial stocks with exposure to European debt have been sold off. Even South American emerging markets have been battered by a wave of risk aversion as investors seek out the security of safe havens. Crude oil has also felt the weight of uncertainty in recent weeks, as front-month futures contracts have now declined in ten of the last 11 trading days, the longest losing streak since October 2003. After an early rally dissipated on Tuesday, crude settled below $70 per barrel. The United States Oil Fund (USO), which offers exposure to crude through a futures-based strategy, has now lost more than 16% over the last month and 10% over the last week [...]

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Deepwater Spill Contaminates More Than Just Water: Oil ETFs Plunge

Jared Cummans — Mon, 17 May 2010 20:02:49 +0000

In recent weeks, no news story has dominated headlines as much as the ongoing saga playing out in the Gulf of Mexico, better known as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It has been nearly a month since an oil well blowout caused an explosion 40 miles southeast of the Louisiana coast, sparking what has already become one of the worst environmental disasters ever. Conflicting reports over the size of the leak have come out in recent weeks, with some groups claiming that the amount of oil spilling into the ocean is significantly greater than initial estimates. As teams scramble to contain the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico, some investors are feeling the repercussions on Wall Street. The price of crude oil wasn’t materially effected by the spill–the massive quantities pouring into the ocean represent only a fraction of global supplies–but several ETFs have been hit hard by the [...]

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ETF Plays For $100 Oil: USO, EEO, and IEZ

Michael Johnston — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:10:19 +0000

After surging from about $35 per barrel at the end of 2008 to $70 at the halfway point of 2009, crude oil traded within a relatively tight range of $70 and $80 for the last eight months. But many analysts have become bullish on oil prices in recent weeks, anticipating a rally spurred by seasonal factors, strong demand from emerging markets, and an uptick in manufacturing and factory activity in the U.S. Oil prices cracked through the $80 level on Monday, but that threshold has proven to be a difficult resistance level, and prices retreated to finish below $79. Crude once again teased the $80 mark on Tuesday, crossing over during morning trading. Some analysts who correctly called the breach of the $80 level anticipate crude prices going considerably higher, predicting prices of $100 per barrel by the summer. Two major banks recently joined the crowd predicting $100 oil some [...]

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The Definitive Oil ETF Guide: List of Oil ETFs and More

Andy H — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:00:56 +0000

Direct investment in crude oil products used to be limited to major financial institutions and oil companies themselves, but the development of the ETF industry in the U.S. has democratized the investment process in many ways, including making investments in various oil products accessible to average investors. There are a number of exchange-traded products that offer exposure to prices of various types of oil utilizing an array of investment strategies. Whether you’re looking to bet on short-term movements in oil prices or hedge against skyrocketing prices, ETFs offer an efficient, cheap, and easy way to gain exposure to commodity prices. How Oil ETFs Work At a high level, oil ETFs function just like any other exchange-traded product: they track an underlying index. But unlike traditional equity ETFs that hold a basket of securities comprising the underlying indexes, most oil ETFs achieve exposure in a very different manner. Because physically buying [...]

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Energy ETFs: Global Or U.S.?

Michael Johnston — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:23:26 +0000

Over the last two weeks, crude oil prices have crept higher on hopes of a continued recovery and increasingly strong demand from China. With some analysts anticipating that crude will continue to rise, many investors have begun tilting their portfolios more heavily towards energy ETFs, hoping that higher margins will lead this sector to outperform the broad market. Those looking to make an ETF play on the energy sector will be quickly overwhelmed with options. There are several funds that offer direct exposure to crude oil through futures contracts (see our guide to crude oil ETFs for complete details). In addition, there are a handful offering more targeted exposure to the energy industry, including funds focusing on oil equipment and services (IEZ) and exploration and production (IEO). But one of the biggest distinctions in energy ETFs is geographical. While most funds focus exclusively on U.S. companies in the energy sector, [...]

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BP Strikes Black Gold: Energy ETFs Set To Rise?

Michael Johnston — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:04:49 +0000

Last week, BP PLC announced the discovery of a “giant” new oil field about 200 miles off the coast of Louisiana. The oil field is an an area that was once known as the “Dead Sea” in the oil industry, but has since witnessed several discoveries of massive reserves and become one of the most exciting oil exploration regions. Of the Tiber well, a BP spokesman noted, “we believe it’s the deepest well ever drilled by the oil and gas industry.” The amount of oil that will ultimately be pulled from the Tiber well and other recent discoveries is extremely difficult to predict with any degree of accuracy, given the significant infrastructure requirements that must first be put in place. Each well requires miles of pipeline, floating facilities, and other expensive materials. And the drilling process in incredibly complex given the depths at which the oil is located. But the [...]

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Commodity ETFs: Know What You’re Getting Yourself Into

Michael Johnston — Thu, 14 May 2009 09:00:39 +0000

With the rapid declines in the equity markets over the past year and increasing worries about inflation, many investors have been looking for alternative ETF investments to reduce volatility in their portfolios and establish at least a partial hedge against deteriorating economic conditions. One of the most popular options for doing so has been commodity ETFs. But there is some confusion over what qualifies as a “commodity ETF,” with many resources expanding the definition to include ETFs holding equities of commodity intensive companies. The “Underlying” Issue The most important characteristic to consider when evaluating a potential commodity ETF investment is the nature of the underlying assets held by the fund. It seems like a no-brainer - commodity ETFs hold commodities, right? Not always. Commodity ETFs can gain exposure to the movements in the prices of natural resources in two ways: (1) directly holding futures contracts on gold, silver, livestock, etc. and (2) indirectly holding commodities through [...]

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ETF Database » IEZ

Friday’s ETF To Watch: iShares Oil Equipment & Services Fund (IEZ)

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Oil ETFs Slide As “Top Kill” Fails, Obama Lashes Out

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Finding The Right Oil ETF For A Crude Rally

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Deepwater Spill Contaminates More Than Just Water: Oil ETFs Plunge

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ETF Plays For $100 Oil: USO, EEO, and IEZ

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