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Keith Fitz-Gerald: Initial U.S. retail sales figures released on Wednesday showed sales growth for the holiday season was the worst since 2008. Read more…
Jeff Nielson: U.S. Thanksgiving has become a highly ritualized holiday with a large segment of the American population. Eat turkey. Watch football. Go shopping. And then listen to the media lie about the shopping the next day. Read more…
“Over 1,400 NYSE stocks changed from Stock Trends Bullish to Stock Trends Weak Bullish amid the fray, with Weak Bullish stocks now accounting for 41 per cent of stocks trading on the Big Board Read more…
“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…
“While retail earnings have diverged this week, the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) continued to perform well because of its balanced approach. The relatively affordable ETF, with a 0.35% gross expense Read more…
“Retailers are set to unleash their fourth quarter earnings on the market, with Wal-Mart’s(WMT) report due before the market opens on Thursday. Next week, Target (TGT), Home Depot Read more…
“Despite a weak economy and a growing fear that consumer spending remains slow, the retail sector is proving to be an impressive hot spot within the market Read more…
The dot com boom and the real estate bubble gave consumers confidence and a way to spend like it would never end. The bubbles have burst Read more…
“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…
Those who are rich or relatively rich in America are responsible for much of our consumption. By some estimates, the top 20% of income earners in the U.S. are responsible for more than half of all money spent.
In an effort to cash in on that elite group, one exchange-traded fund, the Claymore/Robb Report Global Luxury fund (ROB), focused in on companies that generate most of their revenue from sales of luxury goods. In hindsight, it couldn’t have come public at a worse time.
Why it seemed like a good idea
When the fund started back in mid-2007, investors’ views about America and the world were fundamentally different than they are now. Many expected the rich to keep getting richer, with new wealth being created in emerging countries that would lead to increased consumption throughout the world. If that had happened, luxury purveyors would probably have seen their top lines continuing to grow, and their stocks would likely have continued to perform well.
In particular, the fund offered a quick way to get instant diversification into dozens of companies. The stocks the ETF holds include both American and international companies, including Mercedes maker Daimler (NYSE: DAI), luxury retailers such as Coach (NYSE: COH) and Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN), and casino operator Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN). About a quarter of its holdings are U.S.-based, with European stocks making up 60% of the fund’s portfolio.
Full Story: http://www.fool.com/investing/etf/2009/05/19/can-you-get-rich-off-of-the-rich.aspx
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