The ETF industry is off to a good start for 2010 with several new funds launching this week. In other news, Barack Obama proposed a new tax on banks in order to shore up the $100 billion deficit from TARP. Markets finished the week on a sour note after JP Morgan posted weaker than expected fourth quarter revenue, further adding to banks’ pain in the new year. Below, we offer our picks for the week’s most important and interesting ETF stories from around the Web: [click to continue…]
For most investors, 2009 has been a very good year, with a surge in liquidity leading almost all asset classes to big gains. As many national economies emerged from recession, investors regained their appetite for risk, sending emerging markets funds through the rook (these funds dominated the list of the Top Ten Performing Equity ETFs). But less risky asset classes also jumped in 2009, and the vast majority of exchange-traded products are heading towards the finish line well in the black on the year. [click to continue…]
On Thursday and Friday, the leaders of 19 of the most powerful nations, as well as the leader of the European Union, will meet in the Steel City to discuss a variety of topics ranging from economic integration to energy policy. Pittsburgh was chosen to highlight the dramatic shift in fortunes following the city’s struggles [...]
In the summer of 1992, Eugene Fama and Kenneth French published “The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns” in The Journal of Finance, a groundbreaking analysis that prompted financial presses to run headlines declaring “beta is dead.” While the death sentence may have been a bit severe, it struck a significant blow to a widely-accepted and [...]
Over the past year, the financial sector has been a favorite target of criticisms, frequently accused of outrageous greed that sparked the mortgage meltdown in the U.S., eventually spreading to nearly all corners of the global economy. Moreover, the volatility of financial companies has skyrocketed, perhaps best evidenced by the fact that Direxion’s 3x leveraged Daily [...]
