With investors divided over the prospects for equity markets heading into the second half of 2010, another highly anticipated earnings season kicked off last week, with mixed results. After a flat Monday, markets surged higher following a slew of impressive reports, only to retreat after some disappointing numbers from the financial sector and a shockingly low reading from the consumer confidence index to close the week. That caused many who had been banking on a stellar earnings season to reevaluate their outlook, and hope for a new catalyst to emerge from reports still to come [see Three ETF Ideas For The Third Quarter].
This week, earnings season continues with a number of bellwethers due to release second quarter results; among the biggest names reporting are Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, 3M, Apple and Microsoft. Additionally, the European Union looks to release figures regarding its bank stress program on Friday, so look for financials to again be in focus to finish this week. Finally, central bank meetings in Canada and Brazil could make for some interesting developments in what is shaping up to be one of the most active trading weeks of the year. Look for another rocky, wild week on Wall Street as bulls and bears continue to duke it out. Below, we profile three ETFs that look to be in focus over the next several days as earnings season kicks into high gear [for more ETF ideas, sign up for our free ETF newsletter]: [click to continue…]
Heading into the second half of the year, investors are divided over where global financial markets are headed. There is no shortage of bears, who point to depressing unemployment and consumer confidence figures as evidence that the recovery is quickly losing momentum (or perhaps never really had any in the first place). Others believe that [...]
Overcoming a weak Wednesday, equity markets trended higher on the week; investors bought beaten-down shares as fears over the contagion in Europe temporarily subsided. The bulk of the week’s gain came on Thursday as the Dow gained 2.8% and the S&P 500 gained 3% on upbeat comments from the ECB as well as strong data [...]
Through almost six months, 2010 has not been kind to many of the world’s largest companies, as a choppy market has given investors plenty of reasons to stay on the sidelines; debt issues threaten to drag down bank profits and a massive oil spill in the Gulf has sliced BP’s shares nearly in half since [...]
So much for a smooth month of May. Recent weeks have taken investors on a roller coaster ride, with the Dow dropping more than 1,500 points last week before skyrocketing higher yesterday. Things have not been any better abroad; the Nikkei lost over 7%, while France’s CAC 40 sunk more than 8% last week week. [...]
Equity markets had a rough end to April, as debt downgrades across Europe weighed on the global markets last week. Spain and Portugal saw their credit ratings cut, while Greek debt fell into junk status as the world anxiously awaits news regarding a bailout package for the highly indebted Mediterranean nation. Although equity markets regained [...]
For the most part, ETFs are pretty similar regardless of which issuer is behind the fund. But as many investors know, there’s one notable exception to this rule. The HOLDRS products from Merrill Lynch are similar to traditional ETFs in many ways, but also feature some nuances that make them very different in others. HOLDRS [...]
With interest rates still hovering just above zero and growing concerns over an unavoidable uptick in inflation, many investors are anticipating that the Federal Reserve will have no choice but to raise rates from their historically low levels in the near future. Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Fed, recently unveiled a strategy to unwind [...]
It’s baaaaaaaaack. Or maybe more accurately, swine flu never left. The H1N1 virus, which has caused widespread concern on at least two occasions over the last year, is back in the headlines as many parts of the world begin to gear up for the traditional flu season. In recent days and weeks, we’ve seen a [...]
Healthcare reform has been in the news a lot lately, with constant finger-pointing, debate, and competing versions of comprehensive bills. Although the passage of comprehensive reform appears to be less certain that it was only weeks ago, it remains likely that major changes are coming before the end of the year. While many specifics are [...]
The World Health Organization on Thursday informed its 11 member nations that it is declaring an H1N1 (aka “Swine Flu”) pandemic. The declaration of a flu pandemic, the first since 1968, means that the WHO believes a global outbreak of H1N1 has begun. As a result of the declaration, all countries, including those with no reported [...]
