GOE Trading at 1,000% Premium – Sell Now
Anyone who owns Elements MLCX Gold ETN (GOE) needs to be aware that the price is likely to drop more than 90% very suddenly. The one thing that separates ETFs (and ETNs) from closed-end funds is the ability to keep price and “indicative value” closely aligned through a creation/redemption...
Falling Banks and Standing Senators
Senators John McCain and Richard Shelby just became my nominees for persons of the week. Yesterday, Shelby discussed the banking crisis on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos”. On speaking about America’s largest banks, “If they’re dead, they ought to be...
Dead ETF Walking
They are still listed. There have not been any press releases announcing closure. Trading volume has gone to zero. In some cases, the market maker has abandoned his post. These are the living dead of the ETF world – products abandoned by their sponsors, shunned by the public, or both. It...
Market Maker – Home Edition
Do you ever dream about being a market maker? You know, one of those “savvy” traders making a few pennies from other people’s trades and keeping the markets liquid. I bet you thought only the big dogs could do that. Not anymore. Now it’s possible for everyone to be a market...
ETF Stats for February 2009
The month of February 2009 produced four new ETFs and no new ETNs. There were 17 closures during the month as Northern Trust closed and liquidated all of their NETS brand ETFs. With a net decrease of 13, the overall count of U.S. listed ETFs and ETNs dropped to 843 at the end of February, which is...
Citigroup: Dangerous Penny Stock
For decades, agencies like the SEC have warned investors about the dangers of “penny stocks.” There is even a special statement your broker is required to give you before you can buy such a stock. It tells you scary things like this: “Penny stocks are low-priced shares of small...
Cash Under Your Mattress: The SAFE T Bed
The reality of the worldwide economic plight is reflected in stock prices. We have been trumpeting cash as the best position until economic conditions stabilize. However, we don’t even have a guess as to when “stabilization” will occur, nor does anybody else. It could be years...
ETF Liquidity Tiers – March 2009
True liquidity is hard to gauge, especially for ETFs. For stocks, liquidity is typically a combination of Average Daily Value Traded (ADVT), current market conditions, and the number of shares outstanding. We cannot apply the same approach to the world of ETFs because the number of shares outstanding...
ETF Deathwatch – March 2009
The number of exchange-traded products on Deathwatch jumped to 171, an increase of nearly 12% from a month ago and another new record. The current list consists of 134 ETFs and 37 ETNs that are at least six months old and failed to have an Average Daily Value Traded (ADVT) of at least $100,000 during...
Growth In Technology: Cloud Computing
Scanning the headlines, it’s easy to get discouraged. With stocks approaching 12-year lows, unemployment at 25-year highs, and a President warning of an impending Second Great Depression, it’s not hard to feel a little down. And yet, all is not lost. CNN/Money posted an encouraging article...
