There have already been 41 announced U.S. deals worth an estimated $47.5 billion in November.  Those who stand to benefit from this trend are large Wall Street banks and some boutique financial firms, states Jessica Papini of The Wall Street Journal.

An increase to access to capital markets is what most think is driving the pickup in the M&A market. The industry suffered over the past year as a result of the financial crisis and the inability of firms to access the capital markets. (Click here for more on capital markets).

For more stories on financials, visit our financial category.

There will soon be two ETFs to play activity in corporate mergers and acquisitions.

IndexIQ will soon be launching the IQ ARB Merger Arbitrage ETF (NYSEArca: MNA), which tracks a basket of companies with publicly announced takeovers, says Benzinga. Merger arbitrage is purchasing stocks of targets for takeover for less than what the transaction price will be, then theoretically pocketing the difference.

This rebound in M&A could also benefit the SPDR KBW Capital Markets ETF (NYSEArca: KCE), which is up 40.7% year-to-date.  KCE holds stocks that stand to benefit from an increase in M&A activity, such as Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS); GS is 9.9% and MS is 8.1%.

Kevin Grewal contributed to this article.

Congress voted to extend the tax credit and President Barack Obama signed it into law this morning, according to The Wall Street Journal. (ETFs get a lift from economic report).

An $8,000 line of credit will apply to contracts entered before April 30, 2010, and closed by June 30 for homes up to $800,000. The law will also create a new $6,500 credit for homebuyers who lived in their previous home for at least five consecutive years.

Income limits for eligible buyers are increased to $125,000 for single buyers and $225,000 for couples.

Economists for the National Association of Realtors calculated that the tax credit has contributed $22 billion to the economy and an estimated 2 million people will use the tax credit this year. NAR president Charles McMillan says the government incentive has helped stabilize the housing market, stimulate the economy and create jobs.

Naysayers think prolonging the tax credit will artificially keep home prices high.

The expansion and extension of the tax credit may also be advantageous for homebuilder ETFs as more house hunters jump into the market. (Positive signals for real estate ETFs)

For more information on homebuilders, visit our homebuilders category.

• iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction (NYSEArca: ITB): up 18.5% year-to-date

• SPDR S&P Homebuilders (NYSEArca: XHB): up 21.7% year-to-date

• MACROSHS HOUSING UP (NYSEArca: UMM): up 16% since inception

Max Chen contributed to this article.

The 10.2% unemployment figure is far worse than what economists had expected, and they don’t see any sign of relief until next year. While the pace of layoffs has slowed, the unemployment rate is continuing to climb, reports Javier C. Hernandez for The New York Times.

Unemployment isn’t just as issue here, either; millions around the world don’t expect to see relief in the form of jobs anytime soon. The European Union forecast unemployment in the eurozone to rise to 10.7% in 2010, up from 9.5% this year. Unemployment ranges from 3.5% in the Netherlands to 18.3% in Spain, reports Greg Keller for the Associated Press. In China, the official urban unemployment rate is 4.3% in the third quarter. Brazil’s unemployment was 8.1% in August, almost unchanged from the previous month.

Gold futures have soared to a record $1,100 an ounce today. While some profit-taking briefly sent gold lower, it resumed its course and analysts expect it to continue to move higher, reports Allen Sykora for The Wall Street Journal. SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD) is up about 0.4% year-to-date. (More on gold can be found here).

Businesses slashed inventories for a record 13th straight month in September, although sales rose for the sixth consecutive time. Many hope that improving sales figures will encourage businesses to start lifting production, although a rising jobless rate heightens fears that consumers won’t start spending anytime soon, reports Martin Crutsinger for the Associated Press. (An ETF to play holiday shopping).

The world’s largest insurer, AIG (NYSE: AIG) reported that it was profitable for the second consecutive quarter. Although things have stabilized, the company’s CEO said that earnings will remain choppy while they restructure.  SPDR KBW Insurance (NYSEArca: KIE) is up about 0.6% this morning.

G20 Finance Ministers are meeting this week to discuss financial reform and economic recovery. While these economies have put in place certain policies in order to push along a recovery, they’re not policies anyone wants to keep in place forever. The general consensus is that it’s too soon to reverse the measures, but it’s not too soon to begin talking about when and how it would happen. Government debt in developed G20 countries is likely to reach 118% of annual national income in 2014, reports Andrew Walker for the BBC.

For more stories on the global economy, visit our global ETF page.

Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) announced this week that it plans to buy Burlington Northern Santa Fe (NYSE: BNI) for $100 a share, writes Jack Hough for SmartMoney. Buffett named rail car loadings as his favorite economic indicator.

• iShares Dow Jones Transportation Average (NYSEArca: IYT): up 7.2% year-to-date ; BNI is 11.4%

According to records, Berkshire Hathaway sold shares of Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) after the ratings firm signed off on mortgage securities that turned toxic. During the second quarter, Berkshire dumped Constellation Energy (NYSE: CEG) and reduced holdings in ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and United Health Group (NYSE: UNH). The money was used to purchase preferred shares of General Electric (NYSE: GE) and Harley Davidson (NYSE: HOG).

• Vanguard Industrials ETF (NYSEArca: VIS): up 12.5% year-to-date; GE is 12.5%

• First Trust Large Cap Value Opp AlphaDEX (NYSEArca: FTA): up 28.5% year-to-date; HOG is 1%

Berkshire also bought two common stocks that are more widely available: Becton Dickinson (NYSE: BDX), distributor of medical supplies,  and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), maker of drugs, consumer products and medical supplies. Value investors should noted that both BDX and JNJ have increased dividends each year for more than three decades. (How healthcare overhaul affects ETFs)

• iShares Dow Jones U.S. Healthcare (NYSEArca: IYH): up 10.3% year-to-date; BDX is 1.2%

• Pharmaceutical HOLDRs (AMEX: PPH): up 3.5% year-to-date; JNJ is 25.2%

Max Chen contributed to this article.

Among the utilities banding together include New Jersey’s Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE: PEG), FPL (NYSE: FPL) and PNM Resources (NYSE: PNM). On top of that, some retailers have joined in, including The Gap (NYSE: GPS); Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and PG&E (NYSE: PCG) left the Chamber and Nike (NYSE: NKE) has quit the board.

Cassandra Sweet for The Wall Street Journal reports that the new group is formed by utility companies across the United States. The goal is for Congress to enact a strong climate-change  legislation, and as one CEO puts it, it’s not about just a few associations saying “stop this.” (10 ways to play Obama’s energy plan).

Today, 10 of the 12 Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee supported the measure to reduce U.S. greenhouse emissions through a cap-and-trade bill. Simon Lomax for Bloomberg reports that Senate Democrats won approval over Republicans, who feel the plan is being rushed.

For more stories about utilities, visit our utility category.

• iShares Dow Jones U.S. Utilities (NYSEArca: IDU): up 2% year-to-date;  PEG 3.6%; FPL 4.5%; PCG 3.6%

• Vanguard Utilities ETF (NYSEArca: VPU): up 0.9% year-to-date; FPL 5.2%; PCG 3.5%

• iShares S&P Global Utilities (JXI): down 1% year-to-date; FPL 2.3% FPL; PCG 1.7%

• PowerShares Dynamic Utilities (NYSEArca: PUI): down 4.9% year-to-date; FPL 4.6%

• iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy Index (NYSEArca: NUCL): up 30.6% year-to-date; FPL 5%

• PowerShares Dynamic Retail (NYSEArca: PMR): up 20.8% year-to-date; GPS 5.7%

The Labor Department has reported that the number of newly laid-off workers last week dropped to 512,000, the lowest point since January. It’s also 4,000 fewer than what economists had forecast. The report has a downside, though: worker productivity in the third quarter rocketed by 9.5%. This means that employers are becoming more efficient and more productive, so companies will have little reason to hire more, report Martin Crutsinger and Christopher S. Rugaber for the Associated Press.

The European Central Bank kept interest rates at a record low today, as expected. Later, the bank’s president will hold a press conference that many expect will give hints as to when the ECB will begin to cut back on bank lending and whether it intends to charge them more for 12-month money, reports Jana Randow for Bloomberg. iShares MSCI EMU (NYSEArca: EZU) is up about 1.5% this morning. (How Europe can keep the ball rolling).

The outlook for retailers brightened somewhat in October. Chain-store sales notched their second consecutive gain, and it was the best performance for the industry in more than a year. The industry reported an overall 1.8% sales jump at stores open for at least a year, reports Stephanie Rosenbloom for The New York Times. Not entirely surprisingly, chains that sell designer brands at a discount were the strongest performers. SPDR S&P Retail (NYSEArca: XRT) is down about 0.7% this morning. (Brand names boost consumer staples).

Climate legislation received a boost today as Senate Democrats received approval of a cap-and-trade bill that aims to reduce U.S. greenhouse gases. Republicans object to the legislation because they feel that it’s being rushed, reports Simon Lomax for Bloomberg. The House bill seeks to reduce emissions by 17% below 2005 levels by 2020; the Senate bill is calling for a deeper cut of 20%. iShares S&P Global Clean Energy Index (Nasdaq: ICLN) is up nearly 2% this morning.

For full disclosure, Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of EZU.

Holdings: EEG holds companies domiciled in emerging markets; some of the top companies in the fund include Russian natural gas company Gazprom, Brazilian energy company Petroleo Brasileiro, Latin American wireless provider America Movil and Bank of China.

Objective: EEG seeks to track the Dow Jones Emerging Markets Titans Composite Index, which is an index composed of a representative sample of 100 emerging market companies deemed by Dow Jones to be leaders in each of 10 sectors.

Things to Know

• Brazil is the top country, with 24.9% of the weighting. China has 24.3%, Russia has 13.4% and India has 13%. Other countries include Mexico, South Africa, Chile and Indonesia.
• Oil and gas is the top sector, weighted at 30.8%; financial is 22.1%; telecommunications is 11.6%; and basic materials is 9.3%.
• The expense ratio is 0.75%.
• EEG is a relative newcomer on the ETF scene – the fund launched on July 22.

The Latest News

• Emerging Global Advisors CEO Bob Holderith feels that interest in emerging markets should continue to expand. “It’s a 25-year growth story in its sixth year.” The positive growth outlook for emerging markets goes hand-in-hand with the changing demographic picture in these countries.
• Holderith notes that in most of these countries, there’s a huge young population, all looking for the “Western experience”: cell phones, iPods, dining out and more. (More on Emerging Global Advisors).
• Although the pace may eventually slow down, Barron’s reports that emerging markets still have room left to grow in the long haul. And for the time being, they may be the place to hide out as developed markets still work toward normalcy.
• Emerging markets already account for one-third of the global GDP and 10% of the world’s market capitalization.

The Federal Reserve policymakers are anticipated to leave interest rates at record lows in order to entice Americans to continue to spend. They’re also expected to address the financial and economic strides the country has made in recent months, reports Jeannine Aversa for the Associated Press.

The service sector grew for the second consecutive month. The reading didn’t meat analysts’ forecasts, but the reading was above 50, indicating expansion. There was also encouraging news about the labor market: the number of private sector jobs lost in October was down for the seventh consecutive month, report Sara Lepro and Tim Paradis for the Associated Press.

Retailers had their best month in ages in October. Individual chains will report sales tomorrow, and the numbers are expected to be their strongest yet, The New York Times reports. Enthusiasm is on the restrained side; after all, consumers still aren’t spending at the level that economists would like. Sales of women’s clothing, for example, are 12.2% lower than they were in October 2007. SPDR S&P Retail (NYSEArca: XRT) is up about 0.25% this morning. (Why name brands are back in favor).

Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) posted a quarterly profit and stated that its business outlook had improved in the third quarter. The television and film units outperformed, but media subscriptions and ad sales are down, reports David Goldman at CNNMoney.

Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) also reported earnings this morning, noting that they jumped 22% in the third quarter. Losses in television subscriptions were offset by gains in their Internet and voice divisions, reports Lance Whitney at Cnet News. PowerShares Dynamic Media (NYSEArca: PBS) is up about 1% this morning; Time Warner is 5.2%; Comcast is 4.9%.

Energy demand around the world is rising, making it an ideal time to address where nuclear power fits into the equation. There are about 70 new plants under construction globally, and there could be more as the world searches for a clean-energy solution. (Will nuclear stocks and ETFs be able to benefit from the talks?)

Hannah Fairfield and Karl Russell for The New York Times report that many companies are concerned that the credit crisis has dealt a critical blow to nuclear power in the United States, which had been perceived as undergoing a renaissance since 2004. (Why nuclear is gaining favor).

There are about 26 plants under construction in the United States right now, but most of the action is coming from overseas. Companies that design reactors, such as General Electric (NYSE: GE), are experiencing rapid growth as Emerging Asia and Europe seek out their business. (Learn more about this sector).

For more stories about nuclear energy, visit our nuclear energy category.

• PowerShares Global Nuclear (NYSEArca: PKN): up 21.3% year-to-date

• Market Vectors Nuclear Energy (NYSEArca: NLR): up 15.8% year-to-date

• iShares S&P Global Nuclear Energy (NYSEArca: NUCL): up 28.3% year-to-date

Leveraged and inverse ETFs aim to have the funds’ movements correspond to the inverse of the relevant market indicator on a daily basis.  One must keep in mind that these ETFs come with risks, as well. The biggest issue to understand is the meaning of the word “daily” when it comes to these ETFs: daily, they will track their benchmarks. The further out an investor gets, the greater the risk that the fund won’t track its benchmark perfectly. This effect is heightened in volatile markets. (Check out our special report on these investment tools).

There are a growing number of providers of such ETFs today, including Direxion, ProShares and Rydex.

These funds can be appealing to investors with the risk appetite for several reasons:

• They can be used as a hedge if an investor believes the market is due for a short-term correction. If an investor is holding a position, but doesn’t necessarily want to sell it, then a leveraged or inverse ETF can be used to hedge against any potential loss.
• They can be used to capitalize on market movements. If an investor believes that the S&P 500 is due for a nice run, a leveraged ETF to maximize this movement might be just what the investor wants. (How leveraged ETFs are misunderstood).

These funds aren’t for everyone – always be fully aware of the risks and know how they work before you invest.

For more on leveraged and inverse ETFs, visit our leveraged ETFs category.

Some examples of common inverse and leveraged ETFs are:

• ProShares Short S&P 500 (SH), which seeks to give 100% of the inverse daily performance of the S&P 500.

• ProShares Ultra S&P 500 (SSO), which seeks to give 200% of the daily performance of the S&P 500.

• Emerging Markets Bear 3x Shares (EDZ), seeks to give 300% of the inverse daily performance of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index
  

• Technology Bull 3x Shares (TYH), seeks to give 300% of the daily performance of the Russell 1000 Technology Index

• Rydex 2x Russell 2000 (NYSEArca: RRY), seeks to give 200% of the daily performance of the Russell 2000 Index

• Rydex Inverse 2x S&P MidCap 400 (NYSEArca: RMS), seeks to give 200% of the inverse daily performance of the Mid Cap 400 Index

Kevin Grewal contributed to this article.