Bernard Madoff: Small Time Fraud
By now you have probably heard about the arrest of Wall Street titan Bernard Madoff. The firm that bears his name is a top market-maker in Nasdaq stocks. Madoff himself has been a prominent leader in all kinds of industry groups for decades. Now he is a free man only because his wife posted a $10...
Sorry Johnny
I am confused. Let’s say I can’t pay my bills next month. Could I hit up friends and family for a loan? Could I borrow elsewhere, at reasonable terms? What would the lenders say? For example: “Hey Dad, I know times are tough and your net worth just took a 25% hit this past...
A Market Leader, At A Discount: SCHW
Lance Armstrong is a special breed of cyclist. A seven-time Tour de France champion, Lance has proven his abilities time and again. Scientists have even studied his physiological makeup. According to a National Geographic article, Lance has an oversized heart that can beat 200 times a minute, “his...
Treasury Borrows At Zero
Today the Treasury Department sold $30 billion of four-week T-bills at an interest rate of zero percent. Yes, zero. Investors are now loaning money to government and receiving no interest at all. Experts suggest that this is just a year-end phenomenon and will not be repeated. Maybe so. Here’s...
A Look Back And A Look Ahead
As we enter the 2nd week of December, we’re taking a moment to assess how the month began and where it’s headed. As you might expect, the roller-coaster continues. Even as convulsions reverberate on the Street, the lows are still holding. Bad News Bear Last Monday, the National Bureau of...
WisdomTree Launches First GARP ETF
WisdomTree LargeCap Growth (ROI) is the newest ETF on the block and the first product to provide a Growth At A Reasonable Price (GARP) investment strategy in an ETF format. ROI began trading yesterday, December 4, bringing the number of ETFs currently listed in the U.S. to 848. Capitalization-weighted...
Four New Gold & Silver ETFs from ProShares Now Trading
On Dec 3 ProShares announced the availability of four new Exchange Traded Funds designed to give investors 2x leveraged and 2x inverse exposure to the price movements of gold and silver. These are the first leveraged and inverse ETFs designed to track the price of silver. Although, there are other...
Firearms in a Fearful Market: RGR
It’s difficult to stay positive in a market like this. On Monday, the indexes suffered their worst one-day drops since October. Although the November lows are in place, fear is now the dominant emotion on The Street. The feeling of uncertainty is spreading to everyday Americans as well. ...
135 ETFs on Deathwatch
This month’s ETF Deathwatch list surged to 135 entries versus 84 at the end of October. The list includes any ETF (or ETN) that is at least six months old and failed to have an Average Daily Value Traded (ADVT) of at least $100,000 during the month of November. The recent market turmoil led to...
What Black Friday Tells Us
Ahh, Black Friday. Flat screens marked down 30%. Everything else off 50%! Twenty people waiting in every line when you’re ready to check out? This beloved (or not-so-beloved, depending on your perspective) day-after-Thanksgiving can bring out the best in people looking to give gifts. Unfortunately,...
