Extreme Makeover – ETF Edition
Last Friday (7/24/09), one ETF died and a new ETF was born. However, you won’t see these events in most ETF statistics because it was the same fund. Claymore/Great Companies Large-Cap Growth Index ETF was launched on 4/3/07 under the ticker symbol XGC. The ETF did not perform very well. From...
Insincere Concern – the Banning of Leveraged ETFs
Some brokerage firms are banning the sale of leveraged and inverse ETFs. They claim to be taking these steps out of concern for their clients, but the facts paint a different picture. This story has been 16 years in the making. Why all the fuss now? In June, FINRA issued a warning to brokers and...
Why One Biotech Is Turning Heads: CELG
Some sectors tend to do better than others in tough times. Healthcare is one such area. Moreover, the biotechnology sub-sector often surprises investors in good times and bad. This sometimes-perilous niche can make or break a portfolio depending on several factors: drug pipeline, continued investment,...
Why Materials May Be Worth Buying
Last week’s breakout was encouraging to investors. After averting another sudden downtrend in mid-July, the larger uptrend appears to be in place for now. Bloomberg reported recently, though US economy shrank in the first three months of 2009, the recession may be bottoming. According to the...
ASO to Become 117th ETF Delisting
Last Thursday (7/23/2009), XShares Advisors announced intentions to close and liquidate the AirShares EU Carbon Allowance Fund (ASO) effective July 31, 2009. The fund has already begun the liquidation process, so the price of ASO will not likely track its indicative value this week. Shareholders...
ETF Securities Launches Its First US ETF (SIVR)
ETF Securities Ltd (ETFS), one of the world’s largest commodity-based ETF providers, launched their first US-listed product (press release) last Friday (7/24/2009) with the introduction of ETFS Silver Trust (SIVR). Realizing that they do not enjoy first mover status here in the US, the London-based...
A Bi-Polar Market
The lucky few Americans who are finishing up a two-week vacation tomorrow may be surprised when they next check their brokerage account balances this weekend. Assume for a moment they packed up the station wagon, loaded the kids, and headed to the lake on Friday, July 10th. Maybe our nuclear couple...
Emerging Market Titans ETF Starts Trading: EEG
Emerging Global Advisors continued the rollout of their Emerging Markets Sector Titans ETFs today (press release). The launch of the Emerging Global Shares Dow Jones Emerging Markets Titans Composite Index Fund (EEG) is the third in the planned series of a dozen ETFs focused on the economic sectors...
A Conservative Pick in an Uncertain Market (PRWCX)
Almost two weeks ago, the technicians were out in force. We had tested and broken the intermediate market lows. Collapse seemed inevitable. But signs of a CIT Group (CIT) creditor-rescue and modest earnings have proven a boon to a shaky market. Even crude oil is rising with the tide. It may be...
Is the Sun Rising For Japan?
While Japan is the second largest economy in the world, investors seem to have passed the island nation over in favor of other Asian markets, particularly China. Japan’s export-dependent economy has been hampered for years by artificially low interest and monetary policy that can only be deemed foolhardy....
