47 ETPs Had Zero Volume Friday
The NYSE traded 1.29 billion shares on Friday (7/17/2009), and the Nasdaq saw 1.91 billion shares change hands. Yet 47 ETFs and ETNs that attracted no attention, turning in a total volume of zero for the day. There was nothing unique about Friday’s market action. In fact, it is not uncommon to...
ACWI or VT: Which the Best World ETF?
Want to own the world stock market with one trade? Are you a keep it simple stupid (KISS) investor? Tired of the daily spin regarding what to buy or sell? Then I have the answer for you. Two answers, actually, if you’re convinced the worldwide bear market is over. Both are nearly identical,...
DRN, DRV: Direxion Offers 3x Real Estate ETFs
The leveraged and inverse ETF parade continues today with the launch of DirexionShares Daily Real Estate Bull 3x Shares (DRN) and Daily Real Estate Bear 3x Shares (DRV). Both track an MSCI index of U.S. real estate investment trusts, with 3x daily leverage. DRV is the inverse version. Unlike the widely-panned...
Microsoft: A Sleeping Giant Ready To Rise Again? (MSFT)
Microsoft was once the kind of stock investors dreamed of owning. Rising thousands of percent from its IPO in the mid-1980s to the late 1990s, Microsoft was at one point the largest U.S. company by market cap. As technology evolved and Microsoft matured, Wall Street turned its focus to “sexier” areas...
First Alpha ProShares ETF Launched: CSM
The ProShares Credit Suisse 130/30 Large-Cap Index ETF (CSM) (fund overview) began trading today. It becomes the second exchange-traded product to employ a 130/30 strategy. Using the 500 largest U.S. market cap equities as its universe, and applying a rules-based ranking and weighting methodology,...
The Two Faces of Brazil
Brazilian stocks were once Wall Street darlings as the number of Brazilian ADRs traded on US exchanges started to increase in 2007. Thanks to investor interest in the so-called BRIC markets (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and a surge in commodity prices, Brazilian stocks gave investors tidy returns...
ETF Billion Dollar Club – July 2009
The size of the ETF Billion Dollar Club held steady this month at 15 for the second month in a row. However, once again, there are changes in the roster. HOLDRS Oil Services (OIH) is back on the list after barely missing the cutoff the past three months, and iShares MSCI EAFE (EFA) is back after a...
UNG Stops Issuing New Shares and is Now Trading at a Premium
The $3.7 billion U.S. Natural Gas Fund (UNG) had to stop issuing new shares earlier this week due to a regulatory snafu. Unfortunately, the fund may be caught in a controversy that is not of its own making. Like other ETFs, the normal practice is for UNG to issue and redeem shares in order to keep...
DirexionShares Announces Reverse Split For FAS, FAZ
Effective Thursday morning two of the DirexionShares ETFs began trading with a reverse split. Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) split at 1-for-5 while Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ) had a 1-for-10 split. For every five shares of FAS you owned as of Wednesday’s close, you now have just...
Feeling Bearish? Try a Short Index ETF on for Size (SH)
After the stunning rally in March, many market experts think the summer doldrums have set in and stocks may languish for the next couple of months. Second-quarter earnings may not be much help while charts for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 are showing the infamous head-and-shoulders...
