Karen Schenone: Looking at the iShares app on my iPad this weekend, I was surprised to discover that the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB) has been a top performing fund year-to-date.  While past performance is certainly not indicative of future returns Read more…

NYSE:CMBS, NYSE:MBB, REM, REZ, RTL

Eric Dutram: With income inequality issues and economic protests dominating the headlines as of late, the so-called ‘one percent’ have been in focus. These wealthy individuals—in case you have been living under a rock the past few months—consist of the richest 1% Read more…

NYSE:MUB, NYSE:SDY, REM

Jared Cummans:  Investors have enjoyed the bull market that has been 2012, as a number of asset classes have experienced marked gains. But many are also aware that the growth in major equity benchmarks could come to a screeching halt at any time, especially if (and when) euro zone fears spark up again. Read more…

NYSE:HYLD, NYSE:KBWB, NYSE:SDIV, PCEF, REM

Michael Johnston:  Perhaps the most popular fad among investors over the past couple of years has been interest in dividend-paying stocks; with yields at record lows and risk aversion regularly spiking, portfolios have shifted towards stocks of companies known for making regular distributions of their cash Read more…

NYSE:BDCL, NYSE:KBWD, NYSE:MLPL, NYSE:SDIV, REM

JT McGee:  Tracking error happens when a fund’s performance deviates from the performance of an index it seeks to track. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca:SPY) is supposed to track the performance, before fees and expenses, of the S&P 500 index. Should the fund perform above or below the Read more…

NYSE:EEM, NYSE:SPY, NYSE:UNG, PSLV, REM

Jared Cummans: The past few weeks have seen a nice rally to start off the new year. With a number of encouraging earnings and data reports, stocks have been on a tear, with the S&P hitting 1,300 for the first time in several months. But last Friday’s GDP report, though representing strong growth, may have Read more…

NYSE:PPH, NYSE:UNG, REM

Ron Rowland: I’ve spent my investment career following sector momentum, and it’s worked out pretty well. ETFs make it even better. Right now my indicators show a lot of short-term strength in real estate. Personally, I find it hard to believe the housing market has truly bottomed. My colleague Read more…

NYSE:DRV, NYSE:ITB, NYSE:IYR, NYSE:SRS, NYSE:XHB, PKB, RWX

Stocks closed lower on Monday on light trade. Despite posting early gains, all five major indices ended in the red, with higher beta issues leading the decline. The small-cap Russell 2000 (NYSEARCA:IWM) dropped 1.9% while the S&P MidCap 400 lost 1.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Read more…

NYSE:EUO, REM