Tony Sagami: It  sure seems like the only thing that politicians in Washington, D.C. know how to  do is spend money … President Obama’s new jobs plan will cost almost another half-billion dollars. And Ben Bernanke didn’t want to feel left out. Read more…

NYSE:EWJ, NYSE:FXI, NYSE:GMF, NYSE:VGK

Jon D. Markman: The extremely volatile markets of late stem in part from news  suggesting Greece’s debt issues have made a default imminent – creating a  global black hole that’s sucking in a growing number of other economies with  it. Read more…

NYSE:EWG, NYSE:EWJ, NYSE:VGK

Another weekend, a new set of rumors that Greece is on the brink of default. The S&P rallied more than 5% last week as dovish statements from central banks world wide appeared to have calmed frayed nerves. I guess the weekend has caused levels of anxiety to rise once again. The European Finance Ministers along with our own Secretary of the Treasury met in Poland over the weekend. Very little was agreed upon and an out out Read more…

NYSE:EWG, NYSE:EWH, NYSE:EWJ, NYSE:EWP, NYSE:FXI

For the second consecutive day stocks finished near session highs but once again on lighter volume. Despite the positive price action there was disparity among the major indices. The small-cap Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) and the Nasdaq (NASDAQ:QQQ) led the advance as they posted gains of 1.7% and Read more…

NYSE:EWJ, NYSE:USO

For the second consecutive day stocks closed at the highs but trade was mixed. All five major indices saw sizable gains with the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) leading the way. By the closing bell the small-cap index had tacked on an impressive 4.2%. The S&P MidCap 400`and the Nasdaq Read more…

NYSE:EUO, NYSE:EWJ

Jared Cummans:  The Japanese economy has endured two rough decades after a period of high growth made it seem as though they would quickly surpass the U.S. with ease. Lately, however, the economy has had trouble finding its footing, as the country has tried various techniques to try Read more…

NYSE:EWJ, NYSE:FXY, NYSE:JGBL

Tim Seymour:  The world’s investment journals are bemoaning Japan’s revolving prime ministers and lack of long-term leadership. The question is where in the world this kind of political void  is not a factor. Read more…

NYSE:EWJ, NYSE:URA

Tim Seymour:  A three-day rally has traders wondering whether the emerging markets are safe to dive in again. We lay out both sides of the argument on today’s installment of Trading the Globe. Read more…

NYSE:EEM, NYSE:EWA, NYSE:EWC, NYSE:EWJ, NYSE:SPY

Stocks climbed for a second consecutive day as volume faded. All five major indices posted gains. Both the S&P MidCap 400 and the small-cap Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) advanced 1.4%. The S&P 500 (NYSE:SPY) and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) added 1.3% while the Nasdaq Read more…

NYSE:EWJ, NYSE:EWW

Stocks fell off a cliff as investors sprinted to the sidelines; the Dow Jones Industrial, S&P 500, and NASDAQ all declined upwards of 4% in Thursday trading. Nearly every corner of the market fell victim to profit-taking and rampant panic-selling as investors scrambled to close positions Read more…

NYSE:FXY

Despite a dismal month for most equity benchmarks, ETF assets climbed past the $1.1 trillion level in July thanks to another strong round of inflows into exchange-traded products. More than $13 billion flowed into ETPs last month, led by strong demand for U.S. equities and commodities. Read more…

NASDAQ:QQQ, NYSE:EWJ, NYSE:GLD, NYSE:IAU, NYSE:SLV, NYSE:SPY

Sy Harding:  It has been my expectation that slowing global economies, rising inflation, record government debt, austerity measures being undertaken globally, and the end of the Fed’s QE2 stimulus, would result in stock market corrections in this year’s summer season before the global Read more…

NYSE:EWJ, NYSE:EWZ

Alex Strashny:  The risk of all the funds that we follow remain extremely high. Some funds, such as energy (NYSE:XLE) or gold (NYSE:GLD), might make good investments in the coming weeks, but they’re not there yet. The risk of many funds, including large-cap stocks (NYSE:SPY) is actually still growing, even though it’s already very high. Read more…

NYSE:EWJ, NYSE:EWY, NYSE:GLD, NYSE:LQD, NYSE:SPY, NYSE:XLE

Precidian Funds, a New Jersey-based ETF newcomer, announced on Thursday the launch of the first U.S.-listed ETF offering exposure to the Nikkei 225 Index. The new MAXIS Nikkei 225 Index ETF (NYSE:NKY) will seek to replicate the widely followed benchmark of Japanese stocks, often referred Read more…

NYSE:EWJ, NYSE:NKY

Stocks fell for a third consecutive day yesterday as volume rose. All five major indices ended the session modestly lower but near the lows of the session. The Nasdaq (NASDAQ:QQQ) struggled the most as it shed over 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) and the small-cap Russell Read more…

NYSE:EWJ, NYSE:SLV