Turnaround Thursday?
After sinking early in the day, the stock market had a nice bounce this afternoon. The S&P 500 turned around slightly above its December 1 low point. Is this the bottom? Is the long-anticipated bear market rally about to begin? I don’t think so, and here are my reasons why: 1. The...
Complete List of New ETFs for 2008
There were 231 new exchange-traded product launches in 2008, consisting of 164 new ETFs and 67 new ETNs. The 58 closures during the year produced a net increase of 173 listed products for 2008. The table below lists all 231 sorted by launch date. The launch date, or IPO date, is the first day...
Mid-Tier Restaurants Struggling: Short CAKE
Ask any successful retail shop owner about the three most important factors for their success and you’re likely to get the answer: location, location, location. You never see a Starbucks stationed on a lonely stretch of country road. Instead Howard Schultz built his company near busy intersections...
CAKE is TOAST
The economy is still facing great pressures. There is no quick fix. The Obama honeymoon period, or Santa Claus rally – whatever you want to call the markets short-lived recovery into early January, is officially over. The slope of hope is now replaced by grim reality. Seeking to take advantage...
Connecting the Dots: Is Citi Going Down?
Citigroup, whose ticker symbol is a memorable and simple C, is the classic “Too Big To Fail” financial institution. If you are unfortunate enough to be a shareholder, though, you probably do not feel like you’ve been rescued. Two years ago, your shares were valued north of $50. ...
Washington’s Fiscal Profligates
Sometimes I wonder if I’m stuck in a bad dream. As I contemplated Patrick’s comments on the government’s latest contribution to the national debt, I wondered about our nation. What have we become? We seem to have exalted our government to savior of the world’s economy. We’ve...
National Debt Hangover
In considering the economic mess we are currently enduring, I jump on the bankers and politicians as much as anyone. I must admit, however, that both groups simply responded to demand from their customers/constituents. The fact is we – all Americans collectively – spent the last couple of...
Direxion Announces First New ETFs of 2009
Two new 3x ETFs are slated to start trading today as Direxion launches products based on the Russell MidCap Index. The “bull” version is designed to provide +300% the daily move in the index, while the “bear” version provides -300% the daily move. Direxion, the boldest newcomer...
Obama’s Infrastructure Is Your Opportunity: URS
People are once again optimistic in this first full week of 2009. Having gained a few pounds during the holidays, wives think they can shed the weight by mere will power and diet. Not completing the last set of home improvement projects, husbands think they can knock out those undone tasks. There’s...
Five ETF Industry Predictions for 2009
Whenever the subject of predictions or forecasts comes up, I’m always reminded of one of my favorite quotes: “We have two types of forecasters: Those who don’t know – and those who don’t know they don’t know.” – John Kenneth Galbraith With that disclosure...
