ETF Database » USO

Oil ETF Review: CRUD Crushing Competition

Michael Johnston — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:00:06 +0000

For advisors utilizing ETFs in client portfolios, the details matter. Whether it be the difference in product structure, weighting methodology, or degree of currency exposure, seemingly minor details often end up having a rather significant impact on bottom line returns and overall volatility. The importance of nuanced elements of product structures is particularly important when it comes to commodities: the choice between ETF and ETN can have a major impact on tax consequences, and the composition of broad-based commodity ETPs between the various families can result in very different returns [see Special Report: In Search Of The Best Commodity ETP]. Even within single-resource ETPs that utilize similar structures, the manner in which exposure to the underlying product is achieved can end up being quite significant. Products implementing futures-based strategies–which includes the majority of commodity ETPs–often vary in the duration of their underlying holdings and the frequency with which those holdings [...]

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Daily ETF Roundup: XLU Climbs On Encouraging Data, USO Slips On Crude’s Weakness

Jared Cummans — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:00:46 +0000

Markets were finally able to snap their losing streak with mild gains on the day, though they were nowhere near enough to erase the losses the past few days have seen. With euro zone fears heating up around the world, this week has seen most major asset classes exhibiting something of a tailspin. Today saw the Dow scrape up a 45 point gain while the S&P 500 jumped 0.3%. 10 year bonds were able to hold on to meager gains, but gold and oil were not so lucky. Oil endured another tough day amid economic uncertainty, but gold is what has most analysts talking [see also 11 Best ETFdb Stories Of 2011]. Gold seemed to be on a never-ending upward trend for the majority of the past year or so, with its price breaking through the $1,900/oz. earlier in 2011. But now that the metal has declined all the way [...]

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Three ETFs To Watch This Week: PSCC, USO, VGK

Jared Cummans — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:00:59 +0000

This week was yet another volatile one as investors weighed in their opinions on the euro zone and how its actions would shape the global economy. Though the EU eventually came through with a deal, not all countries agreed, with the U.K. outright opting out, creating some concern that the deal did not go far enough to fix the issues that are afflicting the nation-bloc. Equities started off the week strong but eventually suffered major losses on Thursday, as it seemed that the euro deal had a chance of failing altogether. Markets turned things around on Friday, but the coming week will tell a lot about how Europe will move forward from here. Below, we outline three ETFs to keep an eye on as the coming week unfolds [see also Dividend ETF Gets A Makeover]. S&P SmallCap Consumer Staples Portfolio (PSCC) Why PSCC Will Be In Focus: PSCC tracks an index which is comprised [...]

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Three ETFs To Watch This Week: IAH, TLT, USO

Jared Cummans — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:00:42 +0000

This past week presented yet another frustrating set of circumstances for investors to digest. Not only have European woes been weighing heavily on markets, but the U.S. debt committee has until Wednesday to pass an important budget haircut and for the time being, all signs point to a deadlock. August saw equities tumble when the committee nearly failed to reach an agreement as investors endured one of the most volatile months in recent history. Overall, equities had a rough week, with two straight days of heavy losses that could not be recovered from. Perhaps the biggest story on the week came from oil smashing through the $100/barrel mark, though crude would subsequently fall the following two days. Though the coming week is relatively sparse as far as data is concerned, all eyes will be fixated on Congress as they will be something of market makers for the majority of the week [see [...]

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Daily ETF Roundup: USO Surges On Crude’s $100 Milestone, VGK Tumbles On More Euro Drama

Jared Cummans — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:00:01 +0000

Today started off on a rough note, as more troubles in Europe combined with the still unresolved debt crisis that has only a week left in its timetable. Stocks made a climb during midday to nearly break even, but then tumbled to finish out the day. The Dow lobbed off nearly 200 points while the S&P saw a decrease of 1.7%. Gold exhibited a similar trend to equities as the commodity has been frustratingly correlated as of late; the precious metal finished out the day with losses nearing $10/oz. Finally, the euro saw another dip against the dollar, losing 0.5% and is presenting what many feel is one of the reasons for gold’s lackluster performance [see also Gold And Silver In A Correlation Bubble?]. All eyes have now shifted to the U.S. “Super Committee” that has just days to agree on a massive budget cut that will total somewhere around $1.2 trillion. As we [...]

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Time To Buy The Airline ETFs?

Eric Dutram — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:45:07 +0000

Although Hurricane Irene wasn’t nearly as devastating as some had feared, the storm did knock out power to millions and ground thousands of flights across the Northeast. Yet, the worst of the storm now appears to be over as flights are returning to the skies in major airports in New York, Washington D.C., and Boston, suggesting that the revenues lost to the airline industry could be much less than some had expected [see Three ETFs To Monitor As Hurricane Irene Wreaks Havoc]. In fact, major airline stocks such as Delta, American Airlines, and United-Continental were all up significantly in the first two days of the week, with AMR leading the way higher with a nearly 9% gain. These solid gains are in sharp contrast to earlier in the month when airlines stocks were slumping across the board including double-digit plunges through the first eight days of August. This includes a nearly 20% [...]

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Morgan Stanley Rolls Out Oil-Linked S&P 500 ETN (BARL)

Michael Johnston — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 11:00:08 +0000

Morgan Stanley has rolled out a new ETN that combines access to large cap U.S. equities with exposure to a futures-based investment in crude oil. The new S&P 500 Crude Oil Linked ETN (BARL) will offer returns of the S&P 500 Oil Hedged Index. That benchmark provides exposure to the S&P 500 Total Return Index along with positions in short-term NYMEX Crude Oil and ICE Brent Crude Oil futures contracts. BARL is essentially a combination of the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY), United States Oil Fund (USO), and United States Brent Oil Fund (BNO), all rolled up into one. It’s important to note that BARL provides equal exposure to both stocks and commodities; a $100 investment in BARL provides both $100 worth of exposure to the S&P 500 and $50 worth of exposure to both Brent and WTI futures contracts. So if the S&P 500 gained 10% and each oil position [...]

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ETF Insider: Beating The Market In A Rocky Week

Eric Dutram — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 10:34:33 +0000

This past week was another rocky one for global markets as worries over Greece temporarily subsided in the middle of the week only to reappear in Friday trading. This resurgence came as a result of several members of Parliament declaring their intentions to vote against the austerity bill, leaving the measure uncertain to pass to say the least. Investors also focused on worries over Italian debt and banks in Italy as well; some are fearing that a credit downgrade is coming not only to the largest banks in the nation but to the country itself as well. Thanks to these fears over a contagion spreading to one of the world’s ten largest economies, many investors were running for cash before the bell to close out the week. To top things off, the Federal Reserve also met this past week, announcing an end to the QE2 program as anticipated at the end of the month. However, [...]

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Commodity ETFs: It Takes Two To Contango

Jared Cummans — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:00:25 +0000

Futures-based investing has long been a popular option for those looking to gain exposure to commodities that were otherwise difficult to reach. But with the introduction of ETFs came increased granularity in this investing segment, as there are now exchange traded products that offer exposure to a wide variety of commodities through a single ticker. This alleviates the stress and complexities that are involved with managing a futures account, while allowing investors to sometimes gain access to multiple commodity futures with just one fund. Still, for everything that ETFs have opened up for the everyday investor, these funds are by no means perfect. The biggest issue with numerous futures-based funds is contango. When futures markets are contangoed–near month futures are cheaper than those expiring further into the future–the roll process can mean selling low and buying high, thereby creating some significant headwinds for investors. Exchange traded commodity products are powerful [...]

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ETF Insider: Risks Remain In Europe

Eric Dutram — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 23:37:26 +0000

This week saw many investors go bargain hunting in the first two days of the week as fears over a Greek default temporarily subsided. Many had focused in on the Greek Prime Minister and a crucial vote that took place earlier in the week in which the Parliament voted on if it had confidence in his leadership. Thanks to being the chairman of the largest party in the legislature, George Papandreou passed this crucial test. Markets rose in anticipation of this event as most had expected him to remain in power, however, the real test comes next week when the government must push further austerity measures through in order to secure more bailout funds from the richer European powers. Thanks to this slight reduction of risk, investors scooped up equities across the board in Monday and Tuesday trading, as well as the beginning of Wednesday’s session as well. Yet this did [...]

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ETF Database » USO

Oil ETF Review: CRUD Crushing Competition

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Daily ETF Roundup: XLU Climbs On Encouraging Data, USO Slips On Crude’s Weakness

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Three ETFs To Watch This Week: PSCC, USO, VGK

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Three ETFs To Watch This Week: IAH, TLT, USO

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Daily ETF Roundup: USO Surges On Crude’s $100 Milestone, VGK Tumbles On More Euro Drama

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Time To Buy The Airline ETFs?

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Morgan Stanley Rolls Out Oil-Linked S&P 500 ETN (BARL)

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ETF Insider: Beating The Market In A Rocky Week

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Commodity ETFs: It Takes Two To Contango

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ETF Insider: Risks Remain In Europe

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