All Entries Tagged With: "ETFs"
Gold Has a Big Second Quarter
Demand for gold rose sharply in the second quarter of 2010 according to the World Gold Council’s Gold Demand Trends report. Demand for the shiny stuff rose 36% year-over-year in the second quarter, from 770 metric tons to 1,050 metric tons. Supply grew by 17%, from 963 metric tons in the second quarter of 2009 [...]
4 Emerging Market ETFs: Double-Digit Outperformers
The U.S. markets seem mostly range-bound at the moment, but according to CNBC, “Asian economies are hot again,” along with their stock markets. South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and others in Southeast and East Asia are benefiting from an export-driven regional boom, which, to varying degrees, is also lifting their stock markets. I took a [...]
Stock Investors Using ETFs For Currencies (FXY, FXE)
There is just about an ETF or ETN for every investment class now. This is true for currencies as well, where there for instance is the CurrencyShares trust series from Rydex. As currency or “forex” trading is the largest market in the world, $3.2 trillion a day per BIS data, it only makes sense there [...]
ETFs: Some Are More Indexy Than Others
ZeccoShare member Lucas left a comment on my recent post about the soaring number of ETFs now being offered to investors. I think ETF’s could almost be considered a dangerous phenomenon. In that people invest in them and pay very little attention to the underlying companies within it. Those companies are what drives the ETF’s [...]
Hypertensive Markets: Do ETFs Cause More Pressure?
Morningstar’s Scott Burns asks what impact ETFs will have on future market activity. In discussing “today’s hyperintensive securities markets,” he makes some good points on how greater access to ETFs may have “unintended consequences.” I’d actually describe the market as “hypertensive” – and ETFs may indeed add pressure to market action. Here are few points [...]
Africa: “A Continent of Misconceptions”
The August 2 issue of Barron’s featured a cover story on investing in Africa – specifically sub-Saharan Africa, the southern region of the continent. Barron’s editor Vito J. Racanelli points out that “investors will lose a huge opportunity if they avoid vibrant and changing Africa.” Racanelli talked to Miles Morland, chairman of a major private [...]
Weekly Options Update: CBOE Adds New Stocks and ETFs
It seems as if the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) is making weekly changes to its new “Weeklys” options. These are short-term options that are listed each week and that expire in about 7 days, as mentioned in this earlier post. There’s a link on the CBOE site called “Available Weeklys,” but it makes you [...]
Oil Services ETFs: Why OIH is Underperforming
In a recent ZeccoShare discussion, jeremiahcork said he was thinking about putting some money to work into Transocean (RIG). Transocean is part of the oil and gas equipment and services sector – a group that’s been hammered lately as you can see by the performance of one of the most popular funds in the sector, [...]
The ETF Deathwatch: Funds on the Brink
In a recent SmartMoney article, “ETF Report Card: Bullishly Treading Water,” Will Swarts notes that while ETFs as an investing instrument are growing in popularity, the ETF business is getting a lot more competitive. That means some funds “will be left by the wayside.” Swarts talked to Ron Rowland, who runs an “ETF Deathwatch” site. [...]
An ETF Deep Dive: Inside THD (iShares MSCI Thailand)
A few months ago, the news was filled with disturbing reports of violent street battles in Thailand. At some points, various areas of the country were operating under a state of emergency. At the time, I thought that there would be panic in Thailand’s stock market. But I was wrong – at least in terms [...]
