Stoyan Bojinov: Rising yields in Spain and the possibility of Greece leaving the eurozone after the next round of elections have added to the cloud of uncertainty looming over the debt-burdened currency bloc. Surprisingly, optimism prevailed on Tuesday as investors focused Read more…

NYSE:XRT

Stoyan Bojinov: Stock markets have endured an up-down week thanks to looming Euro zone debt woes plaguing investors’ confidence. Volatility levels remain elevated as the threat of Greece Read more…

NYSE:XRT

ConvergEx Group, a leading technology company, today announced that it has been named exclusive transition manager in Van Eck Global’s exchange of certain Merrill Lynch-sponsored Holding Company Depositary Receipts (HOLDRS) into Market Vectors exchange traded funds (ETFs). These include: Oil Services Read more…

NYSE:BBH, NYSE:OIH, NYSE:PPH, NYSE:RKH, NYSE:RTH, NYSE:SMH

“If you’ve kept an eye on the progress of the economic recovery, then you have seen the recent string of positive data regarding the U.S. consumer and the retail sector. Most recently, the Read more…

NYSE:XRT

Reuters reports that, “The SPDR S&P Retail exchange-traded fund appeared to have attracted a large 25,000 lot put butterfly combination, indicating near-term weakness for retailing share prices, said Andrew Wilkinson, market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group. The ETF fell 1.73 percent to $26.19 in afternoon trade after earlier standing at $26.34. Read more…

NYSE:XRT

“ALTHOUGH THURSDAY’S pre-Independence Day holiday volume was light, the retail sector’s decline that day was significant. Not only did the widely followed Merrill Lynch Retail HOLDRs Trust ETF (ticker: RTH) shed 2.9%, but it closed below the bottom of its three-month trading range. Read more…

ETF BASIC NEWS, NYSE:RTH

The shortened 4th of July holiday week begins with warnings from the World Bank, a consumer who would rather save than spend. In what will be a volatile low volume week, we have included some key technical market indicators to look at for your ETF trading. Read more…

NASDAQ:QQQQ, NYSE:XLE, NYSE:XLF, NYSE:XRT

If you can’t always beat them, it’s time to join them.  Low-fee index mutual funds and ETFs (exchanged-traded funds) are creeping into fund of funds portfolios. And these offerings appear to mimic moves by pension managers, which invest in active and passive strategies as well as other assets like real estate whose values do not necessarily move in tandem with stock markets.

Manulife Mutual Funds recently launched three index funds – Manulife Canadian Equity Index, Manulife U.S. Equity Index and the Manulife International Equity Index – but they are not sold as standalone funds.

They are being incorporated into its existing Simplicity asset allocation program, which offers actively managed fund portfolios ranging from conservative to aggressive. Read more…

ETF BASIC NEWS

The news hasn’t been good so far this week for retail stocks, and big put activity in the SPDR Retail Exchange Traded Fund (XRT Quote) today could suggest investors are hedging against a further downturn.
Looking at the Sept. 20 puts, we see that more than 15,300 of those contracts changed hands for around $1.00 vs. open interest of 18,100 during the first 10 minutes of trading today. The bulk of that volume happened even earlier when one customer wasted little trading time and bought 15,000 Sept. 20 puts for 98 cents with the stock around $25.50.

What’s interesting about this trade is the current stock price for XRT is up 46 cents so far today to $25.98, which is about 25% higher than the strike price.

In order for the customer to make money, the ETF needs to be trading below $19.00 at September expiration, which is the difference between the strike price and the premium the customer paid. XRT shares have not hit $19.00 since March 9, but the stock price has dropped about $1.00 since the beginning of the week.

Full Story:  http://www.thestreet.com/story/10501355/1/options-put-buying-in-spdr-retail-etfs.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEFI

NYSE:XRT

An option trader takes a position that will pay off if this retail sector ETF takes a 15% tumble in coming weeks.

Retail Select Sector SPDR ( XRT – news - people ): The retail exchange-traded fund appeared on our ‘most active by options volume’ market scanner after one investor appears to have initiated a ratio put spread in the near-term May contract. Shares are slightly off by about 1% for the fund to $27.45. The sale of 6,600 puts at the May 25 strike price for 36 cents apiece was spread against the purchase of 3,300 puts at the May 27 strike for about 97 cents each.

The net cost of the bearish position amounts to 25 cents and yields a maximum potential profit to the trader of 1.75 if shares decline to $25.00 by expiration this month. Shares would need to fall by about 9% from the current price in order for maximum gains to be realized. Losses needn’t accrue until shares breach $23.25 to the downside.

Full Story: http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/01/retail-owens-illinois-personal-finance-guru-insight-walt-disney.html

NYSE:XRT

Cheap is the new black. The changing face of consumerism is America is leading to a value-oriented shopper, leaving low-cost retailers in a position to prosper, and it is displayed in the performance of retail exchange traded funds (ETFs).

The Family Dollar Store (FDO) is a low-cost retail chain that has fared well in this down economy. It has outperformed other retailers such as Macy’s (M) and J.C. Penney (JCP), as consumers are trading down and wanting their dollar to go a lot further. Most items sell for under $10 in these shops.

Full Story:  http://www.etftrends.com/2009/04/how-discount-shoppers-are-helping-retail-etfs.html

NYSE:XRT

Ultra Consumer Services ProShares (UCC) is an ETF that bets on the consumer spending money.  UCC includes companies like Home Depot, McDonald’s, CVS, and Walmart, etc…  If the consumer is Read more…

NYSE:SCC, NYSE:UCC