Tepid Video Game IPO Means A Better Price: GAME
Last week we discussed a unique type of bond. Today we turn more speculative. This week Shanda Interactive (SNDA), a Chinese purveyor of interactive entertainment and media technology, offered U.S. investors a piece of its video game business, Shanda Games (GAME) in one of the most widely-anticipated...
A Trio of Russell 200 ETFs
A new trio of mega-cap ETFs from Barclays were launched last Friday (9/25/09), but investors failed to take notice and the first trades didn’t cross the tape until Monday. The new ETFs are all based on Russell 200 indexes, which track the largest 200 US-based companies: iShares Russell Top 200...
The G-20 Pittsburgh Summit
The G-20 heads of government and finance ministers met in Pittsburgh last week. Officially named “The Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors,” the organization was established in 1999. According to their website the G-20’s purpose is “to bring together systematically...
PIMCO Quietly Launches TENZ
Without any fanfare, PIMCO quietly launched another Treasury ETF. The PIMCO 7-15 Year U.S. Treasury Index Fund (TENZ) was listed for trading on September 11, 2009. The lack of announcement from PIMCO has resulted in numerous zero volume days for TENZ. The underlying index is the Merrill Lynch 7-15...
The Second VRDO ETF Hits the Market: VRD
State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) launched the SPDR S&P VRDO Municipal Bond ETF (VRD) yesterday (September 24, 2009). The underlying S&P National AMT-Free Municipal VRDO Index tracks investment grade variable rate demand obligations (“VRDOs”) issued by municipalities. A VRDO is a short-term...
New Inverse Crude Oil Fund Now Trading: DNO
The stream of new product launches continued today with United States Short Oil Fund (DNO) on NYSE/Arca. This product’s goal is to deliver a return inverse to that of near-term crude oil futures. DNO is actually not an ETF; it is a limited partnership registered with the Commodity Futures Trading...
Build America Bonds Pay Out Stimulus
Every week we highlight a stock or an ETF that we think makes sense in the current market. Today we break the routine slightly to discuss a new fixed income investment: Build America Bonds. You are probably unaware of these instruments unless you’re privy to a particular state or municipal project...
CRBQ: It’s Not Your Father’s Commodity Fund
When is a commodity fund not a commodity fund? When is an ETF with CRB (three letters that are virtually synonymous with commodities) in its name and CRB in its ticker symbol not a commodity ETF? The answer is when it’s the Jefferies | TR/J CRB Global Commodity Equity Index Fund (CRBQ). The key...
Banks Want Another Hidden Bailout
The New York Times reports that unnamed “senior regulators” are considering a plan to have healthy banks pay to bail out the sick ones. I suspect this is a trial balloon – leaked to selected reporters so the administration can gauge reaction before actually doing anything. Read the...
Online Media Investing: Four Ways To Play
Traditional media has been in upheaval for over a decade. The shift of advertising dollars from print to online is continuing to affect newspapers, magazines, yellow pages, and more. The Wall Street Journal blames the slowdown in online advertising growth on the economy, not underlying factors in their...
