Every month Merrill Lynch (or Bank of America Securities-Merrill Lynch for you scorekeepers) checks in with a bunch of big time money managers to take their bullish/bearish temperature. Collectively the 400 or so global managers in the May survey are pushing the buttons controlling portfolios worth nearly $1 trillion, so we’re not talking about a Beardstown lady survey here.
And these pros are getting their bull on. Seventy percent said they believe the world economy will improve over the next 12 months and so they are upping their equity stakes. The area getting the most attention: emerging markets. The report notes that 46% of the money managers are now overweight the emerging markets, compared to 26% back in April. The bullishness for China specifically is at its highest since the survey began tracking Chinese sentiment in 2003..... Has The Next Investing Bubble Begun With This ETF?
Every month Merrill Lynch (or Bank of America Securities-Merrill Lynch for you scorekeepers) checks in with a bunch of big time money managers to take their bullish/bearish temperature. Collectively the 400 or so global managers in the May survey are pushing the buttons controlling portfolios worth nearly $1 trillion, so we’re not talking about a Beardstown lady survey here.
And these pros are getting their bull on. Seventy percent said they believe the world economy will improve over the next 12 months and so they are upping their equity stakes. The area getting the most attention: emerging markets. The report notes that 46% of the money managers are now overweight the emerging markets, compared to 26% back in April. The bullishness for China specifically is at its highest since the survey began tracking Chinese sentiment in 2003..... Zions upgrade lifts regional banks, KRE XLF ETFs
A 12% jump in shares of Utah's Zions Bancorp sparked healthy gains in the broader financial sector on Tuesday, particularly among its fellow regional banks.
Morgan Stanley analyst Ken Zerbe upgraded Zions' (ZION) shares to overweight from equal weight, saying, "We believe the valuation of Zions has become quite compelling for long-term investors. We believe Zions has an attractive franchise and solid growth opportunities, making it an attractive investment for long-term holders."
Zions rose 12% to $14.20 Tuesday, topping all gainers among the financial stocks in the S&P 500. The gain helped lift the KBW Regional Banking ETF (KRE ) by 4.5%, and drove the Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) up about 2%.
Full Story: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/zions-upgrade-lifts-regional-banks Pick A Retirement Date With These ETF’s
The exchange-traded fund industry has enjoyed explosive growth in recent years due to the significant advantages of these investment vehicles over traditional mutual funds and individual securities.
Perhaps most notably, ETFs offer investors a cost-efficient mechanism to gain access to a diversified basket of securities. ETFs allow investors to create a well-diversified investment portfolio by holding only a handful of assets.
A relatively new ETF innovation, however, takes this efficiency to the extreme - offering access to a complete portfolio through a single ETF. Retail Funds Take Cue From Pensions
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. Crude falls on expectation OPEC will not cut production (ETF:USO)
Crude-oil futures fell Tuesday on expectations that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will not cut production quotas at a Thursday meeting.
Losses in oil, however, were limited by data that showed a jump in U.S. consumer confidence.
Crude for July delivery fell 24 cents, or 0.4%, to $61.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell to $59.53 earlier, moving below $60 for the first time since May 20. The loss came after it rallied more than 8% last week, mainly boosted by a weaker dollar.
"Further comments that there will not be a production cut at this week's OPEC meeting may be weighing on oil prices," said Brenda Sullivan, an analyst at Sucden Financial Research.
Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali Naimi Tuesday reiterated his desire for OPEC to "stay the course" with its production and called for better compliance with past output reductions, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
OPEC in April raised its oil production for the first month since September, as some member countries took advantage of a recent rally in oil prices, data from the International Energy Agency showed.
Full Story: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/crude-falls-on-opec-expectation?siteid=yhoof Gold Bulls in Peril? Silver?
ETF RoundUp: Oversold Asia and Tech in the Balance (QQQQ, SPY, DIA, IWM, QLD, RSU, DXD)
Going into the holiday shortened week, most U.S. equity index ETFs were in oversold territory. While the PowerShares QQQ Trust ETF (QQQQ) continues to be oversold above its 200-day moving average, both the S&P 500 SPDRS ETF (SPY) and Dow Diamonds ETF (DIA) remain oversold below the 200-day moving average.
The same can be said for other equity index ETFs such as the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM).
This means that leveraged equity index ETFs are especially oversold to start the week. These include leveraged ETFs like the ProShares Ultra QQQ ETF (QLD) as well as the Rydex 2x S&P 500 ETF (RSU).
Rallying into overbought territory below the 200-day moving average are a large number of inverse leveraged funds. Among the most overbought below the 200-day with 2-period RSIs in the 90s are the ProShares Short QQQ ETF (PSQ) and the ProShares Ultra Short Dow 30 ETF (DXD).
Full Story: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/TradingMarkets-ETF-RoundUp-tm-15345778.html?.v=2 Not All Alternative Energy ETFs Were Created Alike
A few months ago, I conducted analyses of the wind and solar power ETFs. I've recently turned my attention to the general alternative energy ETFs, or those that span several sectors.
The general alt energy ETFs fall into two categories: 1) US Only and 2) Global. The US Only ETFs are the First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge US Liquid (QCLN) and the PowerShares Clean Energy (PBW). The Global ETFs are the iShares S&P Global Clean Energy Index ETF (ICLN), the PowerShares Global Clean Energy Portfolio (PBD) and the Van Eck Global Alternative Energy Fund (GEX). A glance at 50 of the most in-demand listed gold stocks, busy running away from the rest of the global investment universe.
By now it can be argued that the most positive defining instrument of the global appetite for risk and reward is represented by gold bullion, as also seen in gold bullion exchange traded funds (ETFs), of which the biggest by far remains the SPDR Gold Shares ETF, which currently holds physical gold bullion of just less than 36m ounces, worth USD 34.5bn.
SPDR Gold Shares, which represent a proxy holding in physical gold bullion, is trading, like gold bullion itself, just 5% below dollar price highs, seen during March 2008. By the same token, silver bullion and silver ETFs are trading roughly 25% below the price high seen for the physical precious metal, also recorded just over a year ago.
The performance of gold bullion and gold ETFs has not only outclassed any other kind of publicly available and widely traded investment in absolute terms, but has also given a steadier 12-month return, defying the traditional perception of volatility attached to the metal. Established gold royalty companies such as Franco-Nevada have also performed very well, much in line with gold ETFs, in trading close to highs at this point in time. Housing prices fall 19.1% in March
The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for March, which looks at 20 major cities, showed a decline of 19.1% from the same period last year. That was worse than the 18.6% fall in February, and bad news for the economy. The news chilled investors; stock index futures indicate that U.S. markets will open lower.
Case-Shiller Home Price Index: http://www2.standardandpoors.com/spf/pdf/index/CSHomePrice_History_052619.xls Traders bullish on agriculture ETF “MOO”
Options traders are piling into the Agribusiness exchange traded fund, chasing rallies in commodity prices and related companies.
Volume in the July 41 calls leapt to 7,466 against no existing open interest by midday Friday, according to optionMONSTER's Heat Seeker monitoring system. The calls changed hands for $0.80 and $0.85.
Full Story: http://www.nasdaq.com/newscontent/20090526/traders_bullish_on_agriculture_etf__34212.aspx?storyid=34212 How To Find The Next China With ETF’s?
Lately, international investing, particularly emerging market investing, has been pretty poor. It's hard to believe that, only two years ago, investors poured more than $16 billion into various emerging market mutual funds and exchange products. But then, the global slowdown came and growth, as well as stocks, have plummeted.
While the recent market rallies have brought some of these assets back, the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index ETF (NYSE:EEM), the major proxy for these markets, is still well off of its highs. This has led to the questioning of the theory of decoupling. Emerging markets, at one time, offered low correlation to the developed world. However, as these nations grew in prosperity, their fortunes became inter-twined with global economy. For example, China is now the United States' second largest trading partner, contributing $387 billion worth of trade. China will continue to grow and prosper over the upcoming decades, and long-term investors should plan according in their portfolios. The real question is, where the next "Chinas" are, and is there a way to participate in their growth? Position Limits for Options on Exchange-Traded Funds and Registration Qualifications with Respect to Options Discretionary Accounts
FINRA is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. We oversee nearly 5,000 brokerage firms, 173,000 branch offices and 653,000 registered securities representatives. Our chief role is to protect investors by maintaining the fairness of the U.S. capital markets.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Act”),1 and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that on May 11, 2009, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) (f/k/a National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (“NASD”)) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) the proposed rule change as described in Items I and II below, which Items have been prepared by FINRA. FINRA has designated the proposed rule change as constituting a “non-controversial” rule change under paragraph (f)(6) of Rule 19b-4 under the Act,3 which renders the proposal effective upon receipt of this filing by the Commission. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons. Options Activity In Materials ETF Shows Room To Rise
The XLB materials exchange traded fund has risen 50 percent since its March lows, and options traders are betting that it still has some fuel left in the tank .
More than 71,000 calls changed hands at the June 28 strike on Wednesday last week, including a single chunk of 49,900 bought for $0.90, according to OptionMonster's tracking systems. The average daily volume at that strike is just 38 calls, and open interest was 1,072 contracts.......
........Yesterday's call activity suggests that traders believe that the XLB will climb at least to $28 by the time contracts expire in mid-June. The ETF, which combines agriculture, chemical, and metals names, has ramped higher along with the rise in commodities.
Full Story: http://www.cnbc.com/id/30863647
ETF: TBT’s Day Has Come
Investors who have been patiently waiting in the Proshares UltraShort 20-year Treasury (TBT), an ETF which shorts the 20-treasury note, are finally reaping their rewards as the fund is up 17% since mid March. As investors start to worry about the increasing risks of inflation, credit downgrades, or even a US sovereign default, they are demanding higher yields on US debt. Higher yields mean lower prices, and a higher TBT, as the leveraged fund aims to return 200% the inverse of long dated treasuries.
Rates above 5% would mean a healthy return for the fund. But the macroeconomic fundamentals of the American economy would suggest a 20 year note closer to 10%, meaning the potential for upside is huge.
Full Story: http://seekingalpha.com/article/139424-tbt-s-day-has-come?source=yahoo 
