There are more than 1,400 ETFs covering very narrow emerging market segments to much larger indexes in developed nations. But more than 87 percent of the money invested in ETFs are with four providers; iShares, State Street, Vanguard and PowerShares. Does the size matters when investing in ETFs? Buying ETFs are easy. But liquidating or […]
Economy
A case for dividend growth companies
Thanks to Federal Reserve’s latest attempt dubbed as QE3 (Quantitative Easing three), the low dividend paying companies may increase their dividend payments. According to Barron’s the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) which has a 4.1 percent yield only paid out 30 percent over the past two years. Companies are sitting […]
Effects of QE3 (Quantitative Easing three)
It has been more than a month since the introduction of QE3 by the Federal Reserve. It intends to purchase $40 billion of mortgaged-backed securities a month with an aim to boost employment and housing. Some expect the program to continue until the end of third quarter of 2013. Since QE3, the mortgage interest rate […]
Bond market is thriving even with low returns
Even with high unemployment and looming fiscal cliff, the U.S. stock market is steaming ahead. The just ended third quarter results prove this. The $3.9 trillion strong U.S. diversified-stock funds that contain 7,857 funds gained 5.29 percent in the third quarter and 25.5 percent gain for the last 12-month period. Meanwhile the bond funds gained […]
Apple’s iPhone 5
The much anticipated Apple iPhone 5 finally went on sale on Friday, September 14, 2012 on Apple Stores and on-line as well as its carriers including AT&T, Verizon Communications and Sprint Nextel. The Apple stock, ticker: AAPL, reached a new all-time high as a result. Some Wall Street analysts were quick to declare that the […]
The U.S. tax payers to profit from an earlier bailout
At a time where Feds announcing new quantitative easing to stimulate job growth and bring down the stubbornly high unemployment, some of the earlier bailout efforts are bringing in profits for the U.S. tax payers. Four years ago, the U.S. Government bailed out several Wall Street behemoths amid heavy criticism and controversy. One of those […]
Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow)
The Dow announced that it is replacing the current Kraft Foods (KFT) in the index with UnitedHealth Group (UNH) at the close of market on Friday, September 21, 2012. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is also known as Dow, Dow 30, Industrial Average, DJIA and Dow Jones. It is one of the stock market indexes. […]
Quantitative Easing 3 (QE3)
On Thursday, September 13, 2012, the Federal Reserve Bank (Central Bank or Feds) of the U.S. announced that it is initiating a plan to buy $40 billion a month worth of mortgage-backed securities for an indefinite time period. It is intended to stimulate job growth and speed-up the stagnating economic recovery. Since this is the […]
What is happening with the Euro (€)?
Member states of the European Union (EU) have adopted the Euro (€) as the common currency and the sole legal tender. The EU consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. The monetary policy of the EU is set by the European […]
The U.S. unemployment rate and the job growth
The U.S. unemployment rate stubbornly hover around 8.3 percent according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate is fluctuating between 8.1 percent and 8.3 percent so far this year. However, it is still lower than the highest rate of 10 percent encountered in October 2009. The jobless rate […]