As optimism over a quick return to growth in the U.S. has waned, many investors have begun to turn their attention to rising superpowers in the developing world. This trend, combined with ongoing speculation over further easing measures, have sent the U.S. dollar tumbling in recent sessions, as several rival currencies have touched new record highs against the greenback. The slide in the dollar has helped to fuel impressive rallies in nearly every corner of the commodity market, as precious metals and industrial metals, grains, and softs have all soared higher. [click to continue…]
This week brought more ups and downs to uphold the uncertainty of what investors are calling “Grim May.” An up-and-down week ended on a negative note, with a downgrade of Spain increasing investor anxiety over the spread of the debt crisis beyond Greece. This week features the close of a tumultuous month for markets all [...]
Citigroup made news this week when an analyst from the bank noted that the launch of a physically-backed aluminum ETF could cause a spike in the metal’s price. David Thurtell, an analyst in London, told Bloomberg that the launch of a physically-backed aluminum ETF could send aluminum prices higher by as much as 24%. Following [...]
U.S. stocks and aluminum represent very different asset classes, but some investors have begun to notice troublesome similarities between the two. Following a furious bull market rally on Wall Street over the last several months, it is beginning to appear that U.S. stocks have run too far too fast. By many measures, domestic equity markets [...]
While the ETF industry as a whole continues to experience tremendous growth, exchange-traded commodity products are particularly hot. Upcoming regulations expected to limit the ability of funds to invest in futures contracts have made investors cautious of funds that rely on these products to track commodity prices, but demand for physically-backed commodity products is at [...]
