Mike Burnick: The worst of the “fiscal cliff” impact may have been averted, at least for the moment. But now investors face a new concern: The debt ceiling drama. Read more…

NYSE:BND, NYSE:BOND, NYSE:SHV, NYSE:TBT, NYSE:TLT

Shah Gilani: The Federal Reserve’s multi-year prescription of targeting super-low interest rates on federal funds, along with various quantitative easing programs, has pushed yields down on all fixed-income instruments to the benefit of issuers and the detriment of investors. Read more…

NYSE:SHY, NYSE:TBF, NYSE:TBT, NYSE:TLT

Jack Crooks:  If you are wondering why the euro (NYSEArca:FXE) rallied sharply over the last couple of weeks, hitting a two-month high against the dollar (NYSEArca:UUP) on Thursday, the answer is that Read more…

NASDAQ:EUFN, NYSE:EWG, NYSE:FXE, NYSE:GREK, NYSE:VGK

Jim Trippon:  While perhaps in print QE 2 looks like the algebraic notation of a chess game which would show the strategic move of a chess player moving his queen to a certain space on the board Read more…

NYSE:GLD, NYSE:SLV, NYSE:USO

NYSE:GLD, NYSE:HYG, NYSE:MOO, NYSE:PFF, NYSE:PMF

The proliferation of ETFs has long been talked about and now there is basically an ETF for just about any investing situation you can think of.  The rise in popularity for managed ETFs has now opened the door for managers to make the ridiculous now possible. Need to find an ETF that tracks Uzbekistan goat-herding clean bio-fuel companies? No problem, we’ll slap one together for you!    But the arms race in ETFs has seemed to have taken a new turn—anti-American sentiment. 

There is no shortage of bad news surrounding the US economy and foreign governments have made no secret of the fact that they would LOVE to see the US lose its place at the head of the table and fall back to “equal footing” with their own economies. The call for a new world currency is just the beginning of this sentiment.   Read more…

NYSE:TMV, NYSE:TYO