The competitive landscape of the ETF industry has evolved rapidly over the last several years, with several new players–both big and small–making a push into the space. From financial giants such as RBS and Citi to relative unknowns such as Javelin and Precidian, the roster of active ETF issuers has grown to nearly four dozen. Now, mirroring a trend playing out in the lineup of exchange-traded products, it appears that some contraction is in order. Coming months could see a few ETP issuers wiped off the map, as a series of fund closures and mergers should reduce the number of companies that market exchange-traded products [see also ETF Update: Pipeline Continues To Fill]. [click to continue…]
Last week marked a shortened trading week in observance of Good Friday, but that does not mean that investors were left with an uneventful four days. On the contrary, markets went haywire last week as a downgrade of the outlook on U.S. debt crushed markets one day, only to see them rally on strong earnings [...]
Global financial markets experienced significant volatility last week as the tragic earthquake and devastating tsunami that struck Japan continue to ripple throughout the global economy. The G-7 intervened in the foreign exchange markets last Friday in a truly historic fashion, selling Japanese yen to help contribute to the formation of a stable exchange rate following [...]
The past week was marked by a flurry of activity in the U.S. as all eyes were fixed on the federal government with Congress’ session nearing a close. The legislative branch was finally able to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for another two years, with Obama signing the law late Friday. The passing of this [...]
With low growth prospects in the U.S. and uncertainty building in Europe, earnings have been hard to come by for many firms. As a result, many arch-rival companies have engaged in price wars in order to subdue the competition and continue growing in this harsh environment. While most companies seek to beat the competition far [...]
The holiday shortened week did Wall Street a world of good, as U.S. markets rose for the second straight week–a nice change of pace from the rough August that equities experienced. This week’s gains were led by solid performances from the technology, financials and health care sectors, which all surged higher on a 7.6% gain [...]
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 [...]
Microsoft reported solid earnings earlier today, sending shares more than 7% higher in early trading. Although sales were down more than 14% compared to last year and net profits fell more than 18%, investors were encouraged by strong early results for Windows 7 (which created $1.5 billion in deferred revenue from customers who bought a [...]
