Homebuilders were among the hardest hit sectors during the recent recession, as steep declines in demand for new properties brought this once-booming industry to a standstill. However, the combination of legislative initiatives (such as the home buyer tax credit) and record low interest rates have breathed life into a sector that was recently left for dead. This optimism is visible in the performance of two homebuilder ETFs that are currently available to U.S. investors; the SPDR Homebuilders ETF (XHB) and iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction Index Fund (ITB). Both of these funds have gained at least 10% so far this year, outpacing broad markets by a wide margin. While these two funds are similar in many ways, they are far from identical; below, we take a look at how XHB and ITB stack up side-by-side. [click to continue…]
With just over a month in the books for 2010, equity markets have already been taken on a wild ride. After an initial jump, concerns over a government-imposed slowdown in China weighed on global stocks, particularly emerging markets and commodity-intensive businesses. As we enter February, many equity ETFs find themselves in the red for the year, attempting to claw back to break-even.
But we profile a seven funds that are off to a hot start in 2009. Many of 2009’s best performers–such as emerging markets and technology ETFs–are clustered far down the list, while many of the laggards of 2009 have surged ahead. [click to continue…]
The U.S. housing market, having been battered and bruised during the recent recession, had staged an impressive recovery in recent months as belief that the market has finally hit bottom seemed to gain support. But new data reveals the true fragility of the housing recovery, and indicates that the potential for a “double dip” in [...]
The National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) gauge of confidence of new home sales fell for the first time in four months in October, declining to 17 from a reading of 18 in September. All three components of the index slipped – a first since the peak of the recession in November 2008. The component [...]
