A new “smart grid” industry is coming about and First Trust/Clean Edge Smart Grid ETF (NasdaqGM: GRID) aims to be the first to target the emerging sector, according to Maureen Brody for Ignites. GRID seeks to reflect the NASDAQ OMX Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index, which includes companies engaged in all components of the smart grid. (More plays for Obama’s energy plan).

The fund will have a higher weighting, around 80%, for companies that are smart grid “pure plays” and a lower weighting, about 20%, for big companies that only have a smaller vested interest in the smart grid enterprise.

The ETF is made up of 29 companies. Companies are required to have a minimum float-adjusted market capitalization of $100 million and a three-month average daily trading volume of $500K.

The top 10 holdings include: SMA Solar Technology AG, 11.6%; Schneider Electric S.A., 9.0%; NGK Insulators, 7.4%; ITC Holdings Corp. (NYSE: ITC), 7.3%; Quanta Services Inc. (NYSE: PWR), 7.2%; Itron Inc. (NasdaqGS: ITRI), 4.3%; Echelon Corporation (NasdaqGM: ELON), 3.9%; EnerNOC, Inc. (NasdaqGM: ENOC), 3.8%; American Superconductor Corporation (NasdaqGS: AMSC), 3.6%; Power-One Inc. (NasdaqGM: PWER), 3.6%. (“Smart Grid” plans power up tech sector).

For more information on utilities, visit our utilities category. The evolution of the smart grid can also be played with other utility ETFs, including:

• iShares Dow Jones U.S. Utilities (NYSEArca: IDU): up 4.2% year-to-date

• Vanguard Utilities ETF (NYSEArca: VPU): up 3.4% year-to-date

• iShares S&P Global Utilities (JXI): up 2.0% year-to-date

Max Chen contributed to this article.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated that Poland’s “limited reliance on exports, flexible exchange rate and contained external and internal balances” allowed the country to avoid a recession this year, reports Meena Thiruvengadam for The Wall Street Journal. The IMF estimated that Poland’s economy may expand 1.1% this year and 1.9% in 2010.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) expects the Polish economy to grow 1.4% this year and 2.5% in 2010, according to Warsaw Business Journal. The economy was aided by a sound banking sector, unleveraged private sector, tax cuts as well as  other fiscal measures and infrastructure investments. But activity will remain below potential and the government deficit will greatly distend, says the OECD.

Van Eck announced its intent to launch a Market Vectors Poland ETF (PLND), which is expected to come out later this month, writes Don Dion for TheStreet. The fund will focus on small- and mid-cap companies, with an index made up of stocks that have a market cap of at least $150 million and daily trading averages of a minimum of $1 million. PLND’s most heavily weighted sectors are reported to have allocations of financials at 40%, energy at 14% and industrials at 11% within the fund’s portfolio.

Country-specific ETFs are useful in diversifying an international portfolio, or tracking short-term trends in international economies that would otherwise not be available to an average investor. However, investors should note that narrowly themed and emerging market ETFs have greater volatility.

While there currently isn’t a Poland single-country ETF, there are a selection of emerging market/frontier market ETFs that do have Poland as a large component. These types of region-specific ETFs also have the added benefit of spreading risk between the economic outcomes of countries included in the ETFs. (How to play Poland’s handsome recovery).

For more information on Poland, visit our Poland category.

• Claymore/BNY Mellon Frontier Markets (NYSEArca: FRN): up 55.7% year-to-date; Poland is 15.1%

• SPDR S&P Emerging Europe (NYSEArca: GUR): up 79.1% year-to-date; Poland is 12.2%

• iShares Emerging Markets Eastern Europe Index Fund (NYSEArca: ESR): up 14.7% since inception; Poland is 12.9%

Max Chen contributed to this article.

Could the industry’s run be winding down? A poor economy, very low natural gas prices and lower export demand have all contributed to the diminished total demand for coal, according to The Business Insider. Additionally, producers failed to match the market with production cuts and inventories are estimated to stand at a minimum of 50 million tons of excess inventory in the United States.

Nevertheless, coal equities have done quite well for the year, with coal companies doubling or tripling off spring lows. The industry is currently trying to salvage revenue by drastically cutting production and an optimistic forecast puts the resolution of the glut by mid-2010.

A heavier hand by federal regulators has improved miner safety, but the high costs attached to the regulations has put many small companies out of business in Central Appalachia. The Environmental Protection Agency is also scrutinizing mine permits, which will likely raise production costs and restrain supply in the future. (Why Coal ETFs?)

Meanwhile, coal ETFs could be adding a new holding if Rio Tinto’s (NYSE: RTP) IPO of its U.S. coal business, Cloud Peak (NYSE: CLD), goes through, Benzinga reports.

For more information on coal, visit our coal category.

• Market Vectors Coal ETF (NYSEArca: KOL): which is up 133.1% year-to-date

• PowerShares Global Coal Portfolio (NASDAQ: PKOL): which is up 125.8% year-to-date.

Max Chen contributed to this article.

Gary Gordon of the ETF Expert states that the sector still remains weak because of the ongoing issues with the credit crisis, toxic assets, TARP, residential and commercial real estate defaults, foreclosures and subprime, just to name a few. (More on the challenges faced by financials).

Banks continue to fail in record numbers.  To prevent this from happening again, regulators are pushing for tougher changes in U.S. financial regulations, as the Senate’s top banking legislator on Tuesday proposed a new super-cop to police banks, a systemic risk agency and strong consumer protections, reports Kevin Drawbaugh of Reuters. At the end of the day, this new policy would create a single bank regulator and eliminate two. (More on financials).

Only time will tell if the proposed regulation passes and the sector benefits, but as of now, some think financials are weak.  The SPDR Select Sector Fund Financial (NYSEArca: XLF) is up 19.4%  year-to-date.

If you’re itching to play in the sector, mind the trend lines and have your strategy in place in case hiccups hit the funds. (How to follow trends).

For more stories on financials, visit our financial category.

Kevin Grewal contributed to this article.

As the markets become more volatile, investors are realizing they need to protect themselves in the future instead of riding out the bumps for the long haul. After suffering losses upwards of 50% in their retirement accounts in the recession, how willing are investors going to be to ride out the dips in the future? (Why buy-and-hold is dead).

If you are going back into the market, Jeffrey R. Kosnett for Kipinger has outlined several ways in which your money is never going to be the same again. Here are three:

1. Less Risk. A typical aggressive portfolio used to allocate about 80% to equities. The “new normal” might see an aggressive portfolio holding closer to 60%-70% in stocks. And someone who accepts only moderate risks may be comfortable with 40% or 50%. It’s going to take time for some investors to become comfortable with big bets again.
2. More Volatility. We could continue to see swings in the market, especially as we’re still a nation fearful of negative news about the economy. Cope by having a strategy and looking at the big picture. Don’t panic and sell, but wait until you’ve hit your stop loss points.
3. More Diversification. There will be more variety in the  markets. Some of these new options might be considered highly risky, but they’ll be uncorrelated to ordinary assets. Areas such as currencies, commodities, real estate and energy will be more accessible to retail investors. (How to trade ETFs).

Our last point: investors will recognize the importance of a strategy. We use the 200-day moving average, which has set entry and exit points. You can read more about trend following here.

For more stories about ETFs, visit our ETF 101 category.

Brazil’s policymakers’ fiscal and monetary actions enabled the country to regain its footing in the first half of this year. Leading indicators suggest that the there could be a speedy return to Brazil’s recent growth rates, reports Latin Business Chronicle. (Why this is just the start of the trend).

As the real has picked up its value, other countries and economies are not faring as well. Spain’s economy has lagged most of the other Euro nations, despite the return of investors. That’s despite Banco Santander raising $8 billion – more than three-quarters of which came from international investors – in early October when its local unit made its stock market debut. It was the world’s largest IPO this year. Read more on Spain here.

Brazil’s exports have been strong, thanks to demand from China for soy and iron ore. The improvement is also in part because of improved trade links with Asia and Africa. (Why ties like this are important for future growth.)

With the continued export diversification and active trade policy, along with a large and growing domestic market, the unique structure of Brazil’s economy could keep the country on top. (What else is shifting in Brazil to support economic growth.)

For more stories about Brazil, visit our Brazil category.

• iShares MSCI Brazil Index (NYSEArca: EWZ): up 118.4% year-to-date

• iShares MSCI Spain Index (NYSEArca: EWP): up 39.7% year-to-date

• SPDR S&P China (NYSEArca: GXC): up 64% year-to-date

President Barack Obama and Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, both told Chinese officials that letting the yuan appreciate would help the global economy. Chinese President Hu Jintao and other Chinese officials and economists,  however, continue to defend the country’s current currency policy, reports Andrew Batson for The Wall Street Journal. (Why strong yuan may be a good thing)

With exports for the year down about 20% and many manufacturers closed, China is loath to let the yuan appreciate because it would make exports more expensive overseas. Currently, the Chinese economy is recovering at the expense of European and Asian competitors since the U.S. dollar, along with the pegged yuan, is falling. Most private analysts don’t see any changes to China’s policy with the yuan anytime soon.

Strauss-Kahn has stated that China needs to “look more forward to investment and to long-term stability.” A stronger currency would help a Chinese household’s purchasing power, which would support economic growth from within the country.

Not everyone agrees. World Bank Chief Economist and former Chinese government adviser Justin Yifu Lin argues that a stronger yuan could hamper China’s export sector and possibly China’s entire economy, which would have a negative affect on global growth.

According to WisdomTree, there are several factors that favor an appreciating yuan relative to the dollar in years to come:

• Long-term economic growth potential.
• Emerging role as an economic leader in the world arena.
• Diversification away from the dollar by arranging trade agreements using the yuan with other countries.
• A gradual transition from an economic model focused on exports to one focused on domestic consumption.
• Rising yuan valuation as China develops even further. Emerging market currencies are often valued at a discount to long-term purchasing power because of risks associated with emerging markets.

For more information on the Chinese currency, visit our Chines yuan category.

• WisdomTree Dreyfus Chinese Yuan Fund ETF (NYSEArca: CYB): up 1.8% year-to-date; expense ratio is 0.45%

Max Chen contributed to this article.

Stocks and many exchange-traded funds (ETFs) lost ground for a third straight day as investors grew increasingly uneasy about a recent move away from riskier assets and into U.S. Treasuries.

As investors moved money out of stocks, they moved money into safer investments like Treasury bills, report Stephen Bernard and Tim Paradis for the Associated Press. The yield on the three-month T-bill today was 0.02%, after falling to a yield of 0.005% late Thursday. In fact, yields briefly turned negative Thursday as demand jumped for this safest of short-term investments. The SPDR Barclays Capital 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF (NYSE: BIL) has a year-to-date return of 0.22%, with a yield of 0.28%. (For more stories on Treasuries, see our treasury bonds category).

Disappointing results from Dell (NASDAQ: DELL), the world’s number-three PC brand, weighed on investor sentiment. Dell is recovering from the global slowdown a bit slower than its competitors because of its reliance on commercial versus consumer business, writes Kelvin Soh for Reuters. Dell did say, however, that PC demand has picked up following the launch of Windows 7 from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). The Technology Select SPDR ETF (NYSE: XLK) and the iShares Dow Jones U.S. Technology Index Fund (NYSE: IYW) are both just down fractionally for the day. However, Dell’s stock is currently down more than 8%. (For more stories on the technology sector, see our technology category).

Home-building giant DR Horton (NYSE: DHI) said today that orders surged 26% on a unit basis and that it narrowed its fiscal fourth-quarter loss. However, the company did miss analyst estimates and took hefty land-related charges, reports Dawn Wotapka for the Dow Jones Newswires. The company went on say that conditions are still challenging in the industry because of rising unemployment, weak consumer confidence and high inventory levels. The stock is currently down more than 9%, while the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (NYSE: XHB) is down 2% today. (For more stories on the homebuilding industry, see our homebuilders category).

Tony D’Altorio contributed to this article.

On the one hand, unemployment rates remain elevated, companies continue to implement lean measures and overall consumer confidence is down. On the other hand, the largest four investment banks have earned $22.6 billion so far for this year, recovering much faster than anyone had envisioned they would. (More on banks).

Two reasons behind Wall Street’s success this year are the demise of several firms, leaving only the fittest around, and low interest rates, which makes borrowing relatively cheap, states Walter Hamilton of The Los Angeles Times.

How can you go about dusting yourself off and rebuilding your portfolio? Here are six strategies you can use. While you’re thinking about the rebuilding process, it’s also important to evaluate your past and figure out where you went wrong and where you went right. Here are 10 tips for becoming a better investor.

As a result of the recent uptrend seen on the Street, one can capitalize by investing in some of the firms that are showing renewed vigor.  The SPDR KBW Capital Markets (NYSEArca: KCE) is one such tool. KCE focuses its holdings on some these investment banks and is up 45.2% year-to-date. (More on financials).

For more stories on strategy, visit our trend following category.

Kevin Grewal contributed to this article.

Three reasons the fund could continue to move as we enter into the thick of the holiday season:

• First, the Associated Press recently announced that Viacom (NYSE: VIA) won exclusive rights to air “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” on its MTV and BET cable networks starting in 2011.  The movie depicting the life of Michael Jackson has already drawn an astonishing amount of revenue. (More on leisure & entertainment).

• Secondly, Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) is expected to release a new version of A Christmas Carol, which is expected to gross nearly $200 million. (Disney’s change of pace).  Additionally, in more good box-office news today, Sony reported that 2012 collected $5 million more overseas than it estimated yesterday, giving the disaster flick a final worldwide weekend gross of $230.4 million, reports The Los Angeles Times.

• Lastly, it appears that consumers are starting travel and book trips more, but are still counting their pennies.  This is evident in the performance of Priceline (NASDAQ: PCLN), which reported third-quarter sales and profits which topped analysts expectations and sent the company’s stock price to a nine-year high. Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) also reported earnings rose 23% on increases in car and hotel revenue in the third quarter.

A good way to play this is through the PowerShares Dynamic Leisure & Entertainment (NYSEArca:PEJ), which is up 39% year-to-date; VIA is 5.2%; DIS is 4.8%; PCLN is 5%.

For more stories on leisure and entertainment, visit our leisure and entertainment category.

Kevin Grewal contributed to this article.