This week in ETFs, two new issuers made their debut: BioShares by LifeSci Index Partners and Reality Shares. The two new BioShares funds offer investors a compelling way to make a more targeted play on the fast-growing biotechnology sector. Reality Shares’ new actively-managed ETF provides a new twist on dividend investing, focusing more on the expected growth of dividends instead of yield. [click to continue…]
After getting off to a shaky start in 2014, U.S. equity markets managed to continue their upward trend, with positive domestic economic data fueling bullish momentum. While major U.S. benchmarks are on track to log in another year of impressive returns in 2014, several corners of the market fared much better than others [see also The Best […]
U.S. equities got off to a slow start this week, after weak manufacturing data overseas and disappointing Black Friday weekend sales results weighed on stocks. On Tuesday, however, markets managed to shift directions, buoyed by a rebound in the energy sector and stronger construction spending data. Private payrolls, on the other hand, came in below […]
With one of the busiest retail weekend behind us, and with Cyber Monday in full swing, the retail industry continues to be in focus in December, as consumers prepare for the holidays. Analysts are quite optimistic about this year’s retail sales in December, and given just how much certain retailers rely on this season, we take […]
Since the start of 2014, Wall Street has witnessed one of the most active mergers and acquisition booms in some time. With only a little more than a month to go, so far this year’s global merger tally already tops $3 trillion, with U.S. M&A activity accounting for $1.5 trillion. According to Dealogic, the current dollar […]
Wall Street started off the week on a relatively positive note, with the S&P 500 managing to log in a record close. Though Tuesday saw another day of record closes by the S&P 500 and the Dow, equities cooled off from highs by Wednesday in anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s minutes release. In economic news, the […]
The exchange-traded fund industry has certainly come a long way since the debut of SPY in 1993. Now there are over 1,600 products to choose from, with assets totaling over $2 trillion. The rise and popularity of these products are in part thanks to their key advantages over mutual funds, which include lower expenses, intra-day tradability, […]
U.S. equities traded slightly higher on Wednesday, following the conclusion of the midterm elections, where Republicans managed to take control of Congress. In economic news, ADP’s private sector payrolls rose by 230,000 in October, coming in above the expected 220,000 gain. The Institute for Supply Management reading on U.S. services was also reported, coming in […]
U.S. equities have experienced several volatile trading sessions over the last few weeks, as global economic concerns and this season’s earnings results continue to weigh heavily on investors. So far, over 200 of the S&P 500 companies have reported their quarterly results, putting the benchmark on track to log in a 5.6% growth in earnings for […]
Following a three day rally, equity markets took a breather on Wednesday, after what has been a tumultuous few weeks on Wall Street. On the earnings front, International Business Machines (IBM), McDonald’s (MCD) and Coca-Cola (KO) reported worse-than-expected results, while Boeing (BA) and Apple (AAPL) managed to beat analyst estimates. In ETF news, newcomer ValueShares […]
This week, Wall Street got off to yet another sour start, with major equity indexes closing in the red. On Wednesday, stocks took a small breather after two straight down days. The third quarter earnings season also kicked off this week, with aluminum producer and bellwether Alcoa (AA) posting its results on Wednesday after the closing […]