A slew of upbeat earnings reports and encouraging labor data helped boost U.S. equity markets, with the S&P 500 logging in its fifth advance in a row. According to the Labor Department, jobless benefits applications fell below expectations to 339,000 last week, marking the second lowest level since January of 2008. In earnings news, oil giant ExxonMobil (XOM) reported earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ expectations, United Parcel Service (UPS) and Dow Chemical (DOW) also beat analyst estimates, while 3M (MMM) declined after the conglomerate reported profit and revenue that missed the mark and slashed its 2013 earnings forecast [see What Can You Buy With Apple's Cash?].
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Gold is certainly the most popular precious metal to invest in. ETFs are available that cover every sector of this enormous market, but some investors may wish to achieve more broad-based exposure to precious metals. Few corners of the exchange-traded product world have seen more explosive growth in recent years than precious metals, as investors have embraced […]
This could be it, the beginning of the end. One of the most popular folklore tales in recent years, the world is scheduled to come to an end tomorrow, December 21, 2012. Many believers have prepared with emergency supplies and shelters, and Hollywood has even immortalized the event with a film depicting a doomsday scenario. […]
Dr. Doom has diagnosed the global economy once again, except this time the symptoms are pointing to something far worse than many pessimists could have expected. Nouriel Roubini, perhaps best known for predicting the 2008 financial meltdown, recently outlined his forecast for 2013, which looks to be centered around a towering list of uncertainties. He made […]
Over the last few years, issuers have been waging their own little war in the ETF industry: the battle of the ticker symbol. Some of the most popular and intriguing funds are being caught on investors’ radars simply because of their cleverly named ticker symbols. And with over 1,400 products to choose from the exchange-traded fund lineup, […]
ETFs have emerged as popular tools for establishing exposure to a wide variety of asset classes, ranging from U.S. Treasuries to Vietnamese equities. But few corners of the exchange-traded product world have seen more explosive growth in recent years than precious metals, as investors have embraced these vehicles as the most efficient way to access […]
ETF Securities, the Europe-based ETF issuer responsible for a series of ultra-popular physically-backed precious metal ETFs, recently made an SEC filing detailing plans for a series of physically-backed exchange-traded products targeting the industrial metal space. In total, the filing calls for seven funds with one targeting each of aluminum, copper, lead, nickel, tin, and zinc, […]
Thanks to increased worries over the fiscal health in a variety of developed markets, many investors have sought to protect their portfolios from declining fiat currencies by buying up commodities. In response, a host of ETF issuers have created a variety of new products allowing investors to establish exposure to precious metals, including both commodity-specific […]
It’s baaaaaaaack. After a brief hiatus that saw investors rushing to determine the best ways to battle deflation, inflationary concerns have begun to surface again. The cause of the latest bout of inflationary anxiety is of course the QE2 program recently announced by the Federal Reserve that calls for the purchase of hundreds of billions […]
One of the biggest stories in the financial world over the past few weeks has been the development of “QE2,” the Federal Reserve’s decision to once again attempt to breathe life into the U.S. economy through injections of capital designed to drive down interest rates. The Fed plans to spend about $600 billion on the […]
As the ETF industry has exploded in recent years, observers have had some very different takes on the pace and nature of the expansion in the product lineup. Some have cheered every first-to-market product, noting that the current offerings have only scratched the surface of what the ETF industry can offer. Others have pointed to […]
