Even the worst economy since the Great Depression and a president who chastises white-collar financial workers for not “making anything” hasn’t stopped the intense pace of innovation in the ETF space, where no fewer than 250 funds await regulatory approval. These aren’t the usual bevy of large-cap lookalikes full of Exxon Mobil (XOM: 66.67, -1.77, -2.58%) and Google (GOOG: 395.97, +4.50, +1.14%). Previously unattainable markets, from commodities, currencies and real estate will soon be as easy to trade as General Electric (GE: 12.65, +0.43, +3.51%)… if the SEC ever gets around to permitting them to list. Here are a few of the upcoming products I’m anticipating the most.

1. ETFs Palladium Trust (No Ticker Yet)
Palladium, a sister metal to platinum, is used extensively in auto catalysts, which accounts for roughly 55% of the total demand. It’s also used in dentistry, electronics and jewelry, giving it somewhat of a split personality. It’s an industrial metal that’s often closely correlated with gold and silver. The majority of supply comes from Russia and South Africa, where disruptions in production can often lead to sharp spikes in price.

Longtime readers know I’ve had some success in the past with palladium-related equities such as North American Palladium (PAL: 1.81, +0.07, +4.02%) and Stillwater Mining (SWC: 4.51, +0.01, +0.22%). Not unlike SPDR Gold Trust (GLD: 87.27, -1.06, -1.20%) or iShares Silver Trust (SLV: 12.21, -0.34, -2.70%), the ETFs Palladium Trust will aim to simply track the price of palladium, less expenses, making it easier and less cumbersome to trade than futures contracts or actually taking physical delivery. A small and comparatively illiquid market, palladium likely will move quite quickly once signs of an economic recovery begin to appear. For those interested in this unusual opportunity, the prospectus is an informative read.

Full Story:  http://www.smartmoney.com/Investing/ETFs/Three-New-ETFs-Worth-Waiting-For/

ETF BASIC NEWS, PALL

The markets and exchange traded funds (ETFs) in April had their fair share of ups and downs, but in the end, it was a positive month for several sectors and the major indexes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7.3% for the month. The Nasdaq gained 12.7%, and the S&P 500 increased 9.4%. While there are some areas that are still struggling, a few sectors are also showing signs of improvement and crossing above their long-term trend lines (200-day moving average). This includes retail (up 20.9% in April), Taiwan (up 26.6%) and networking (up 29.7%).

Full Story:  http://www.etftrends.com/2009/04/april-etf-performance-report.html

ETF BASIC NEWS

One of the hottest investment trends is ETF investing. Exchange traded funds can be traded on the stock market like stocks, but they track index funds. ETFs bundle securities on an index, eschewing mutual funds. It is relatively easy to trade ETFs, and there are ETFs that track bond indexes, commodities and currencies. Because they track indexes, they are normally relatively low cost to trade since there are no load fees involved. ETFs can be incorporated into long-term investment portfolios, as well as used by day traders. If you are looking to learn more about ETFs, here are 50 blogs, newsletters and tools that can help you on your way.

Full Story:  http://www.etfexpert.com/etf_expert/2009/04/the-etf-investing-toolbox-top-50-etf-blogs-newsletters-and-tools.html

ETF BASIC NEWS

Lower prices for copper and gold hit Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEM) hard in the first quarter of 2009. Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX) is also getting hit after its report, and all of this is acting to drag down even the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX).

Compared with the same period a year ago, Newmont’s EPS was cut in half, from $0.80 to $0.40. Excluding items, Newmont’s EPS came in at $0.44, better than estimates of $0.42.  Newmont topped revenue expectations of $1.4 billion, reaching $1.552 billion in the quarter, which was down from $1.943 billion in the same period a year ago.

The company sold 1.27 million ounces of gold in the quarter for $906/ounce. The outlook for 2009 is for total gold sales of 5,200-5,500 ounces of gold with cost applicable to sales of $400-$440/ounce.

Full Story:  http://247wallst.com/2009/04/30/gold-miners-struggling-with-costs-gold-prices-nem-abx-gdx/

NYSE:GDX

ETF BASIC NEWS

The International Securities Exchange, in a preemptive move to protect its market share, will eliminate its customer fees for options on exchange-traded funds and indexes, starting tomorrow. The exchange is doing this to compete more aggressively for flow in an increasingly cutthroat trading environment.

“We don’t want to give customers a reason to look elsewhere,” said Boris Ilyevsky, head of the ISE’s options market. “We wanted to make sure we’re competitive.” Although the 18-cents-per-contract fee for these products is being scrapped, the ISE will continue to charge customers for trades in its own proprietary indexes.

Nasdaq OMX PHLX and NYSE Amex Options do not charge customers for the vast majority of ETF options. However, the ISE and Chicago Board Options Exchange, for several years, have charged customers fees for most premium ETF and index products (except the QQQQ). All of these exchanges earn the bulk of their transaction fees from broker-dealers, firms and market makers.

For the ISE, the decision to retire its customer fees for premium products was perhaps inevitable, given increasing customer interest in ETF options compared with single-stock options, against the backdrop of a fiercely competitive marketplace. “This was not an easy decision to make because ETFs are a large percentage of the pie of options volume,” Ilyevsky said. “It’s not a revenue-friendly move cutting our fees this way, but it was the right time. We’re hoping to benefit in market share and increased trading activity.”

Full Story:  http://www.tradersmagazine.com/news/-103696-1.html

ETF BASIC NEWS

Investing Strategies industry news provided by Financial News USA. iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF – IWM: High 2-period RSI readings in the IWM in early January helped signal a short term reversal to the downside in this ETF.

Anyone who has followed the research of Larry Connors & Cesar Alvarez knows how much we appreciate & rely on the 2-period RSI. We have gone so far as to suggest that it might be the best short term indicator available for traders, especially high probability mean reversion traders.

How do we use the 2-period RSI to spot overbought and oversold conditions? When it comes to ETFs – as opposed to stocks – we use levels very close to the standard overbought and oversold levels used by most technical analysts: over 70 signifies overbought conditions and under 30 signifies oversold conditions. The key difference is in the shortness of the tracking period – two trading days – instead of the default 14 days. [Read the full article]

Full Story:  http://www.financialnewsusa.com/news/how-to-find-and-trade

ETF BASIC NEWS

I think the market is heading south for the summer, and I want to take advantage of it. We are already about two-thirds in cash in the main portfolio and about half cash in the income portfolio. These recommendations are based on my belief that it will be hard to make money in the market for the next few years, and taking some risks may be expedient.

Our new long position is in natural gas. It may be a bit early, but I plan to accumulate a position over the next few months. Natural gas is at lows it hasn’t seen in many years. Spot natural gas at Henry Hub was going for $3.56/mcf [last week]. The historical average price for the last five years is around $7, and it was $13 as recently as July.

At its current price, it’s selling at less than its average finding cost; so producers are shutting in capacity. That will eventually cause a rebound in prices. I expect them to make a nice move by December and be back in the $7 range within three years. We’ll use the United States Natural Gas Fund ETF (NYSE: UNG). It seeks to duplicate one for one the performance of natural gas prices in America by buying futures contracts.

Full Story:  http://www.moneyshow.com/investing/articles.asp?aid=tptp043009-16702

UNG

BOSTON, Apr 30, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the investment management arm of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), today announced that the SPDR(R) KBW Mortgage Finance ETF (Symbol: KME) began trading on the NYSE Arca on April 30, 2009. It is the first exchange traded fund (ETF) to provide US investors with precise access to equities in the mortgage finance industry.

The SPDR KBW Mortgage Finance ETF seeks to track the total return performance of the KBW Mortgage Finance Index, a modified market-capitalization weighted index of the stocks listed on US stock markets comprising of pure mortgage players, mortgage processors, title insurers, homebuilders, and banks and thrifts where mortgage loans dominate the loan book.

Created and maintained by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., a full-service investment bank specializing in the financial services industry, the KBW Mortgage Finance Index included 24 stocks as of March 31, 2009. The Fund’s expense ratio is 0.35 percent.

“As the first ETF to invest in the mortgage finance industry, the SPDR KBW Mortgage Finance ETF provides investors with an unmatched opportunity to gain diversified, cost-effective exposure to the real estate finance industry,” said Anthony Rochte, senior managing director at State Street Global Advisors. “The introduction of KME strengthens our suite of SPDR KBW ETFs, which are designed to help investors express a tactical view on industries within the financial services sector.” The SPDR KBW family of exchange traded funds include: SPDR KBW Bank ETF (Symbol: KBE), SPDR KBW Capital Markets ETF (Symbol: KCE), SPDR KBW Insurance ETF (Symbol: KIE), SPDR KBW Regional Banking ETF (Symbol: KRE), and SPDR KBW Mortgage Finance ETF (Symbol: KME). Assets under management in these innovative financial services sector ETFs totaled about $1.2 billion as of March 31, 2009.

Full Story: http://www.cnbc.com/id/30497657/site/14081545

ETF BASIC NEWS

The rise of exchange traded funds has been one of the key developments in the investment world during the past 10 years. It is a popularity that has gained further impetus since the collapse of Lehman Brothers as ETFs are seen as safer and more cost efficient than their actively managed rivals.

ETFs have grown dramatically since 1999 from assets totalling $39bn to $593.3bn in February this year – a 15-fold increase, according to Barclays Global Investors (BGI).

The total amount of assets has fallen from the peaks of 2007, when the industry was worth $796.7bn – but, as markets worldwide have crashed, key data on fund flows and a rising share of trading volumes point to an industry on the up.

ETFs now account for 25 per cent of all trading in US markets compared with 15 per cent a year ago, according to Credit Suisse.

In Europe, according to Source, ETFs managed to attract net inflows of $47bn in 2008, in spite of the financial shocks, while European mutual funds saw outflows rising close to $250bn. (Source is a specialist provider of exchange traded products set up by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.)

But it is in the past seven months, since the demise of Lehman in September and as volatility on the financial markets has hit levels not seen before, that investors have shown even greater interest in ETFs 

Full Story: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6e89a514-34e9-11de-940a-00144feabdc0.html

ETF BASIC NEWS

Mark Luschini, an equity strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott, has an all-ETF portfolio designed to be a solution for investors trying to rebuild their investments.

It’s always worth deconstructing these exercises to learn from strengths and weaknesses. That way, we build better portfolios for ourselves.

Here’s the portfolio:

Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF(VTI Quote): 30%

SPDR S&P Dividend Aristocrat(SDY Quote): 18%

SPDR S&P World ex-US(GWL Quote): 9%

iShares iBoxx Invesment Grade Corp Bond(LQD Quote): 20%

Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF(BND Quote): 20%

SPDR Gold Trust(GLD Quote): 3%

The positives include inexpensive access to many asset classes, a conservative mix that isn’t overly dependent on a single outcome and the realization that price inflation looms as a threat with the inclusion of the SPDR Gold Trust.

There are a couple glaring omissions as well. There is virtually no small-cap exposure. Total stock market proponents will tell you that Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF covers the entire market, which includes small companies. But the fund is heaviest in mega-cap names like ExxonMobil(XOM Quote), AT&T(T Quote) and Microsoft(MSFT Quote). The ETF’s small-cap stocks have miniscule weightings and are unlikely to move the needle.

Full Story: http://www.thestreet.com/story/10493259/1/picking-apart-a-pros-all-etf-portfolio.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEFI

ETF BASIC NEWS, NYSE:EWZ, NYSE:FXI, NYSE:GLD

April 29 (Bloomberg) — Taiwanese stocks traded in the U.S. rose the most in five months after the island allowed Chinese investments for the first time and United Microelectronics Corp. said computer-chip shipments may double.

The iShares MSCI Taiwan Index Fund jumped as much as 14 percent before trading was halted. American depositary receipts of United Microelectronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. rallied at least 8.7 percent as China Mobile Ltd. agreed to buy 12 percent of Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., the first investment by a Chinese state-owned company in Taiwan since a civil war ended in 1949. Taiwan’s main stock index climbed 0.3 percent.

“It’s the perfect marriage,” said Paul Justice, an exchange-traded fund analyst with Chicago-based Morningstar Inc. “You have Taiwan with great technology expertise and China with huge manufacturing potential. It gives the sentiment that more institutions are putting money to work, which is a very positive sign for the market.”

Ties between Taiwan and China have improved since President Ma Ying-jeou took office in May and dropped the pro-independence stance of his predecessor, Chen Shui-bian. The two sides signed agreements on April 26 to allow financial institutions invest and operate across their borders, expand direct flights and cooperate in combating crime.

After the close of local markets, China Mobile said it will pay NT$40 a share, or 14 percent higher than Far EasTone’s closing price, for the stake in Taiwan’s third-largest phone company. China Mobile, the world’s biggest wireless-phone carrier, rose 1.6 percent to $43.99 in New York trading.

Full Story: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aALgMtXSBFpc

NYSE:EWT

After months of being fed doomsday scenarios, investors are now starting to take a look at stock market utopia.
In this land, bad news, like Wednesday’s dismal GDP numbers, don’t matter.

Here, housing prices stabilize, banks are resuscitated, corporations offer positive earnings guidance, and economic data points start showing signs that things are actually improving and aren’t just less horrible than before.

A total fantasy land? Maybe not, say some experts who believe the market’s best-case scenario isn’t too shabby.

“I’m very impressed at how strong the market has been in the past several days. We’ve had every opportunity to sell off,” says David Twibell, president of wealth management for Colorado Capital Bank in Denver. “Objectively, you’ve got to be somewhat surprised by that and certainly impressed.

“Are we really seeing a bottom in the market or a substantial bear market rally?” he adds. “This looks more and more like there are some real legs to this thing.”

‘Green Shoots’ or Just Weeds?

In the case that the so-called “green shoots” of the economy—as delineated by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke—are real, then so are the realities that accompany the mild improvements in some areas.

One of the starkest is that anyone who thinks this market will see its historic highs from October 2007 anytime soon is dreaming.

“Are we going to get back to 14,000 on the Dow this year? That is highly, highly, highly unlikely,” says John Buckingham, chief investment officer at value-based Al Frank Asset Management in Laguna Beach, Calif. “But you have to be realistic. If stocks doubled in the next five years, that’s a phenomenal return from here.”

Full Story: http://www.cnbc.com/id/30478135

ETF BASIC NEWS

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Gold futures rose Wednesday for the first session in three, climbing above $900 an ounce as the U.S. dollar fell after a worse-than-expected U.S. economic report, raising gold’s investment appeal.
 
Meanwhile, copper futures rallied nearly 5% to above $2 a pound, pacing strong gains in crude oil and U.S. stocks as inventories at London Metal Exchange showed another decline.

Gold for June delivery gained $6.90, or 0.8%, to end at $900.05 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. May copper gained 9.4 cents, or 4.9%, to $2.01 a pound. After floor trading closed, gold reduced part of today’s gains in electronic trading after the Federal Reserve said that the economic outlook had improved over the last six weeks, although the economy was likely to remain weak for a time. The Fed also kept its key interest rate unchanged at 0 to 0.25%.
Gold for June delivery fell $4.70, or 0.5%, to $895.80 an ounce in recent trading.

U.S. GDP
Gains in commodities and stocks came after economic data showed the U.S. economy contracted at a bigger-than-expected rate, pushing the U.S. dollar sharply lower.

Full Story: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/gold-rises-first-day-three/story.aspx?guid=%7B53F50E44%2D76B0%2D4252%2DB8EC%2D70C5CDDADF4B%7D&siteid=yhoof

NYSE:GLD

Market Wrap-Up
The Federal Reserve left a key interest rate as low as zero and the market responded with a substantial bump. Despite a 6.1% decrease in GDP, investors responded to news that the federal funds rate would remain between 0.00% and 0.25%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 169 points to close at 8186. Wednesday’s gain puts the Dow on track for its best monthly showing in more than six years.

Winners
Signs that Taiwan’s major computer makers and semiconductor manufacturers appeared to have reached an inflection point in the bottoming process made the iShares MSCI Taiwan fund (EWT: 9.80, +1.06, +12.12%) one of the best performing ETFs on Wednesday. Shares rose 12.9%. Vanguard’s Emerging Markets Stock fund (VWO: 27.50, +1.41, +5.40%) gained 5.4%. Expectations of revived commodities demand pushed up shares of the SPDR S&P Metals & Mining fund (XME: 30.88, +1.45, +4.92%) by 4.8%.

Losers
A drop in natural gas prices nipped shares of the United States Natural Gas fund (UNG: 13.01, -0.39, -2.91%) by 2.6%. Betting against the rally did a bit of damage to skeptical investors, as the ProShares Short S&P 500 fund (SH: 70.29, -1.45, -2.02%) shed 2.1%. The big move to equities knocked back shares of the safe haven iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond fund (TLT: 98.47, -0.88, -0.88%). It shed 0.7% Wednesday.

Full Story: http://www.smartmoney.com/Investing/ETFs/Fed-Rate-Call-Boosts-ETFs/?afl=yahoo

NYSE:EWT, UNG, VWO, XME