The steady decline of the U.S. dollar has been one of the major stories of the second half of 2009, with a “perfect storm” of economic conditions sending the greenback to new lows against many of its major rivals. While a declining dollar isn’t nearly the problem that some make it out to be – a weak currency actually makes U.S. imports more attractive to foreign consumers – worries about a continued slide have all walks of investors, both hedgers and speculators, looking for efficient ways to achieve short exposure to the dollar. There are a number of ETFs that do just that, with each offering a unique risk and return profile.
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Last week, Deutsche Bank announced that it will increase the fees of seven PowerShares exchange-traded funds, citing “increased costs of managing the Funds due to changing regulatory requirements.” The changes will be effective beginning January 4, and will affect five commodity funds and two currency products. [click to continue…]
Over the last several months, a perfect storm has been brewing over the U.S. dollar, with record low interest rates, a still unstable financial system, and uncertainty over reserve currency status all contributing to a prolonged slide in the greenback against its major rivals. But those who subscribe to the Warren Buffett investment philosophy of [...]
Each new day seems to bring more downward pressure for the U.S. dollar, an unwelcome development for some investors who have seen the greenback slide near the $1.50 level against the euro in recent months. On Tuesday, two very powerful forces in the global economy expressed their doubts on the dollar’s future prospects: Warren Buffett [...]
It’s been an interesting week the world of ETFs: Gold finished the week around $1045/oz and President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Here are the ETF Database staff picks of the week’s most important and interesting stories from around the Web:
U.S. investors must be beginning to feel as if they’re plugging holes on a sinking ship: as soon as one breach is remedied, another bursts open. It appears that the worst of the recession is behind us, as consumer confidence (and more importantly, spending) have begun to show signs of life. But now the U.S. [...]
Gold is quickly approaching its 52 week high of $1,011/oz after finishing up more than $19 at the end of trading on Thursday. The yellow metal, which is traditionally an inflation hedge and a safe store of value in difficult times, has gained close to $50 an ounce this week alone and is threatening to [...]
On September 4th and 5th the finance ministers and central bank governors of the 19 most powerful countries (along with the finance minister and central bank governor of the European Union) will meet in London to discuss preliminary ideas for preventing another financial crisis and steps for removing the trillions of stimulus dollars from the [...]
Even the most vocal supporters of passive management and indexing have to admit that certain investor track records are far too stellar to attribute entirely to luck. While I’ve frequently disparaged the concept of active investing, I’m still eager to hear what trends legendary investors are following. The Wall Street Journal’s Gregory Zuckerman recently compiled some [...]
