[ETFguide] - SAN DIEGO - Not too long ago, there was widespread belief the U.S. dollar's demise as the world's reserve currency was imminent. But ever since...
In many instances, ETFs have allowed more active investors to change their strategy for allocating assets and alter the manner in which they seek to generate alpha. Instead of seeking to identify undervalued companies through detailed analysis of financial statements, many now implement a more high level approach that includes identifying sectors, regions, or even general asset classes that will outperform in the short- to intermediate-term.
ETFs are ideal for such a strategy because of the immediate diversification they provide; spreading assets across dozens or even hundreds of individual...
The domestic economy might be stumbling in some areas, but agriculture is not one of them. Exports have surged enough in recent months to make agriculture exchange traded funds (ETFs) look meaty.
U.S. farmers will export $107.5 billion in agricultural products for the year ending Sept. 30, the second-highest number on record. Grains and meats are leading the rebound, reports William Neuman for The New York Times. In addition, export numbers for next year are expected to total $113 billion.
Yesterday was in general a “reboot” kind of day, two days before the Employment report. Overnight, Tuesday night, equity futures launched higher; according to Bloomberg this was because the Chinese economy had some marginally stronger numbers. That seems to me unlikely in the extreme to have caused such a violent reaction. More plausible, but still of the wrong scale, was the report that Burger King (BKC) is shopping itself (are they telling prospective partners that they can “have it your way”?) – recently, M&A...
Below we highlight our trading range charts of ten major commodities. In each chart, the green shading represents between two standard deviations above and below the 50-day moving average. Moves above or below the green zone are considered overbought or oversold.
Both oil and natural gas have moved well into oversold territory recently. After trying to recover in 2010, natural gas appears right back to its old ways of consistently going down. Gold and silver have both moved higher recently as worries about the...
The ETF industry has gained the momentum of a runaway freight train in recent years, raking in billions of dollars every month as more and more investors embrace the benefits of the exchange-traded structure. Over the last 20 months or so, the commodity ETF space has been the engine of that train, accounting for a significant portion of new industry assets. In 2009, commodity ETFs took in more than $30 billion as dozens of new funds popped up and grew rapidly. That pace has slowed considerably in 2010, but commodity...
The production of crops is being affected by a summer that’s been unusually hot. The degree of damage varies between regions, but to some analysts, it remains clear that there will be a shortage of food in the years to come. If such dire predictions ring true, crop based exchange-traded funds are sure to benefit.
According to Jeff Wilson of Bloomberg, corn and soybean futures gained on speculation that the hot Midwest summer this year will not provide enough rainwater for a plentiful harvest. The...
In today's hyperintensive securities markets we can find a lot of corollaries to the highest echelons of science. One of my favorites is a theorem in quantum mechanics known as the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. This theorem revolutionized our understanding of the behavior of particles at the atomic level and ultimately led to the Nuclear Age.
Two years ago I examined the history of commodity prices just as the peak in the CRB raw materials index was being reached. I had the following highlights and questions at that time:
1. The cyclical history of commodity prices placed August 2008 in the middle of the time window when a new minimum should occur, and we were at an all-time high. (In less than a year we reached a new minimum.)
As this chart shows, the commodity correction that started last May has now been completely reversed. This index of non-energy-related spot commodity prices is now at a post-recession high, and it is only 7% below its all-time high, registered in mid-2008.
This means that a) monetary policy is accommodative and inflation risks are not negligible, and/or b) global economic growth is at least strong enough to keep the U.S. economy from suffering a double-dip recession. In other words, the market is overly concerned about the health of the U.S. economy....
What do coffee, orange juice and wheat all have in common? Besides the fact that they are all breakfast foods (or used in them), their prices and related ETFs have all been affected by nature.
If you’re skipping breakfast these days, it might be because it’s just gotten so expensive. Look at what’s been happening:
In many instances, ETFs have allowed more active investors to change their strategy for allocating assets and alter the manner in which they seek to generate alpha. Instead of seeking to identify ...
NEW YORK (Market Intellisearch) -- Unusual volume of call and put contracts crossed the tape today. Total of 1,787 call contracts and 104 put contracts were traded in the marketplace. Today's ...
iShares S&P GSCI Commodity-Indexed Trust (GSG) [Chart - Analysis - News] gained some ground during trading yesterday, but it appears there is some bearish pressure building up in the background ...
By Kevin Grewal, Contributor 08/06/10 - 12:16 PM EDT NEW YORK (TheStreet) --As the crisis in Europe continues to take its toll on the markets and bank borrowing costs rise, a nation's debt and ...
BECAUSE THEY CAN BE BOUGHT or sold at any time during the day, offer access either to broad or thin slices of a market at relatively low cost and facilitate hedging strategies, exchange-traded ...
As investors look to diversify their portfolios away from traditional asset classes like stocks and bonds, commodities are becoming more prevalent. Broad-based commodity futures funds like the ...
by Motley Fool - July 14, 2010 - 0 comments Together, we are all trying to build our fortune by finding well-run companies at bargain-basement prices. But it takes work -- scouring company ...
By Chip Brian SmarTrend has detected shares of iShares S&P GSCI Commodity Indexed Trust (NYSE:GSG) have bullishly opened above the pivot of $28.32 today and have reached the first resistance level ...
One of the fastest growing sectors for new investment has been the rise of commodities based funds. Over $100 billion went into such investment vehicles through 2009 and so far 2010 is shattering ...
By Chip Brian SmarTrend has detected shares of iShares S&P GSCI Commodity Indexed Trust (NYSE:GSG) have bullishly opened above the pivot of $28.77 today and have reached the first resistance level ...
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