The attention of investors shifted from the Middle East to Japan late last week, as the natural devastation caused by a massive earthquake trumped the manmade chaos that has been playing out in Libya, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere in the oil-rich region. With rescue efforts intensifying in the north of Japan after a magnitude 8.9 quake and resulting tsunami, a potential nuclear crisis has emerged as another threat that could impact the entire country. The death toll had climbed to nearly 1,600 on Sunday, but by some estimates that figure will reach as high as 10,000 as rescue efforts continue. [click to continue…]
As investors have grown uneasy over the prospects for global growth and the odds of a double dip recession have seemingly shortened, many safe haven investments have seen sudden uptick in interest. Investors have been snapping up Treasuries and other investment grade bonds as risk appetite has waned, looking to protect themselves against future volatility [...]
With ongoing weakness in Europe pushing the euro to double digit losses against major rival currencies this year, many investors have sought out safe havens such as the U.S. dollar to ride out the storm. The presence of general economic uncertainty has sent the greenback sharply higher against virtually every major currency year-to-date. However, a [...]
The first half of 2010 was a very interesting period for currency ETFs, which look to remain in focus as the second half of the year gets underway and attention turns to central bank rate hikes. One of the biggest news stories from the first half of the year in the world of finance was [...]
On the issue of currencies, investors are somewhat divided. Some prefer to avoid currency investing altogether, likening the activity to high-stakes gambling that can lead to big swings in fortunes in a matter of minutes. While this might be an accurate portrayal of leveraged forex trading, proponents of including currencies as an asset class within [...]
With a roller coaster six months behind us that saw no shortage of interesting twists and turns and unsuspected headlines, we’ve finally reached the midway point of 2009. Ahead of us is the highly anticipated “second half of 2009,” which for months we’ve heard will hold returns to growth, a recovering economy, and enough green [...]
Perhaps you’ve noticed that many of the investment vehicles in the ETF industry are technically referred to as exchange-traded notes, or ETNs. While ETNs are similar to ETFs in many ways, there are also some key differences that should be considered before investing.
