Just weeks after a devastating earthquake sparked a humanitarian crisis in Haiti, another natural disaster has hit the South American nation of Chile. Early Saturday morning, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake, the fifth strongest ever measured in the country, occurred off of Chile’s coast, causing massive destruction throughout the region. At least 100 aftershocks of magnitude 5.0 or greater have hit since the quake, complicating relief efforts significantly. The death toll has already topped 700, and is expected to rise as aid workers scramble to reach the areas hit hardest. “We’re facing an unthinkable catastrophe that will require an enormous effort in resources,” said Chilean President Michelle Bachelet in a televised address. [click to continue…]
The reasons for the rise of the ETF industry are numerous: intraday liquidity, (potentially) superior tax efficiency, and enhanced transparency relative to traditional actively-managed mutual funds have all contributed to the billions of dollars of inflows that these funds have seen in recent years. But the real attraction for most ETF investors is the reduced expenses these products offer, often only a fraction of the fees charged by mutual funds. [click to continue…]
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 [...]
Copper, one of the world’s most versatile metals, saw prices crash in late 2008 and early 2009 amidst the prolonged housing slump and decreased demand from China and other emerging markets. However, prices have come roaring back and are now up over 100% from its lows and within striking distance of the $3 per pound [...]
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 [...]
