Today saw a conflicting swirl of data that ultimately brought markets down. April retail results came in lower than expected as many blamed the cooler than average temperatures for warding off shoppers and consumers willing to open their wallets. The disappointing results came from Target, Costco, and Macy’s among several other names. General Motors, though meeting expectations, provided bad guidance which sent their shares tumbling. At the same time, jobless claims came in rather low, so markets were unsure of how to react at first. Eventually, things headed south as the Dow and S&P 500 posted losses of 0.5% and 0.8% respectively [see also How To Profit From Rising Gasoline Prices]. [click to continue…]
Markets opened higher yesterday as strong earnings from Apple (AAPL) and others brought some much needed momentum to major benchmarks. While most investors are hoping for bad news in the euro-zone to subside, that may not be realistic. It seems that Spain may be the next Greece and any developments in the debts of those [...]
Profit taking pressures swept over Wall Street this past week as the bulls retreated following the latest FOMC meeting. Investors started to scale back on their risk exposure early in the week after the Fed made no hints of an upcoming round of stimulus; with no mention of QE3, investors gave into broad-based selling pressures, [...]
The FocusShares lineup of ETFs hit its one year milestone this week, marking the anniversary of the launch of 15 products focusing on U.S. equities. When FocusShares made its entrance 12 months ago, it marked the latest development in an ongoing “price war” in the ETF industry; many of the FocusShares ETFs launched as the [...]
Equity indexes on Wall Street oscillated between gains and losses throughout the majority of the trading week as slightly disappointing economic data releases were enough to encourage broad-based profit taking. Investors were displeased with a slow down in durable goods orders, although better-than-expected consumer sentiment on Friday helped to restore confidence. This week will see a host [...]
Today capped off a rather strong week on a rather sour note. The Dow was able to end flat, while the S&P 500 sank 0.3%. Despite its losses, the S&P posted its third consecutive weekly gain as well as its eighth winning week out of the past nine. This week was primarily focused on U.S. [...]
This week got off to a rocky start as Greece and Germany remained at odds regarding the fiscal future of the currency bloc. Many investors fear that without a significant aid package, Greece will endure a widespread default which has the potential to sink markets around the world. Despite the issues persisting overseas, the focus [...]
AdvisorShares, one of the largest issuers of actively-managed ETFs, has forged a partnership to bring an active sector rotation ETF to market. The new Rockledge SectorSAM ETF (SSAM), which began trading Thursday, will seek to generate stable and consistent returns in all market conditions, developing a dollar neutral portfolio comprised of sector ETFs. The new ETF [...]
Vanguard, the Pennsylvania-based provider of ETFs and mutual funds known for its low management expenses, has further enhanced the cost efficiency on its lineup of sector-specific ETFs. The company announced that the expense ratios on a handful of its sector funds have been cut to 0.19%, making them slightly cheaper than the popular lineup of [...]
Today saw markets hold their ground after yesterday’s strong performance. The day finished out with the Dow adding 32 points and the S&P 500 jumping 0.22%. 10 year bonds saw a healthy jump of nearly 2%, giving investors hope that the positive figures that have been rolling in for the U.S. are starting to piece [...]
The ETF industry has grown quickly in recent years; there are now more than 1,300 products. In many cases, investors and advisors find themselves with several choices for exposure to a desired asset class or investment strategy. While the options may be generally similar, there are nuances to each that impact the risk profile and [...]
