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.

Blumenthal writes that short-term options are the best way to guarantee that the money you put in will be given back later. For long-term and intermediate-term investors, intermediate-term and high-yield funds might work fine over time. If interest rates rise, bond prices will crumble, hurting intermediate-term bonds if you need the money sooner rather than later.

If interest rates rise quickly, then longer-term bond  ETFs can serve a portfolio well. (How bonds can be part of your investment strategy).

While high yields are great, consider other factors before diving in. The fund should be right for you, your goals and your time horizon. As with any ETF type, it’s also wise to employ a strategy of exit and entry when buying and selling bond funds. (When it’s time to exit bond ETFs).

For more stories about bond ETFs, visit our bond category.

• SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond (NYSEArca: JNK): up 32.8% year-to-date; yields 12.5%

• iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond (NYSEArca: HYG): up 24.5% year-to-date; yields 9.8%

As you near retirement, bonds become more and more central to your portfolio. They’re hardly “sexy” investments, but they’re incredibly useful and they provide stability and lower risk. (Reasons you should consider bond ETFs.)  But where do you go to find out what bond funds are yielding and what dividends have been paid?

As an example, look at the Vanguard Total Bond Market (NYSEArca: BND). What is it yielding? On any of the sites below, you can find information on yield, dividends and more.

• You can find this information on the quote page of ETF Trends.

• If you go to an information page such as moneyusatoday and type in BND in the quote  box, you’ll find an entire section dedicated to the dividends paid by the ETF, labeled dividends.

• Dividends on Yahoo! Finance can be found by clicking on “historical prices” for any fund. (Bonds are the foundation to a solid ETF portfolio).

PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Strategy Fund (NYSEArca: MINT) is an actively managed ETF that will primarily invest in short duration investment-grade debt securities.

The portfolio’s average duration varies, depending on PIMCO’s economic forecasts and active investment process decisions. Normally, though, maturities will not exceed one year. Holdings will be disclosed daily. The expense ratio will be 0.35%.

The fund’s portfolio manager is Jerome Schneider, an executive vice president in PIMCO’s Newport Beach, Calif., offices. He joined PIMCO in 2008 and has 14 years of investment experience.

Read the prospectus here.

Invesco PowerShares’s ETF, PowerShares Build America Bonds Portfolio Fund (NYSEArca: BAB), will be the first to invest in taxable municipal bonds issued by the government’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. BAB will have a net expense ratio 0.28%. (PowerShares’s Build America ETF).

The Act will establish a Direct Payment Bond, which BAB will invest in. The federal government will give the bond issuer a direct payment of 35% of the interest rate on the bond, allowing municipalities to compete with the corporate bond markets. The bonds could entice nontaxable investors like pension plans and attract investors who are looking for corporate bond-style interest rates without the risk of defaults, writes Cinthia Murphy for IndexUniverse. (Why are muni bonds appealing?)

BAB will seek to reflect the BofA Merrill Lynch Build America Bond Index, which includes investment-grade bonds with a minimum one-year remaining term to maturity, fixed coupon schedule and a direct pay federal subsidy. BAB uses an optimization strategy that holds a sample of the index’s 1,800 issues.

Ben Fulton, executive vice president of global product development with Invesco PowerShares, believes BAB will be attractive because municipalities are looking for capital to invest in the country’s vast infrastructure projects.

The Build America Bond program is slated to mature at the end of 2010, Fulton notes, but there’s been discussion about the possibility of extending it. The prospectus is written to reflect the impact any potential changes to the program may have on the fund, whether it’s expanded or ended. Fulton says that nearly $50 billion in Build America Bonds has been issued to date, and estimates are it could reach close to $100 billion by the end of next year.

“BAB bonds have a life of their own. First they were viewed as tools for the government’s stimulus plan only. Now they are also marketed as a fixed income investment focused on rebuilding USA’s aging infrastructure. We believe this is a product that will appeal to the masses compared to only the highest tax bracket focus of tax free municipal ETFs,” Fulton says.

For more information on municipal bonds, visit our municipal bonds category.

Max Chen contributed to this article.

Worldwide, investors have purchased more than $2.7 trillion of new corporate bonds this year, reports Kate Haywood for The Wall Street Journal. Contrast that with $1.7 trillion in 2008, which is when the financial crisis all but brought the flow of cash to a standstill. (Why junk bonds are in demand).

Junk bond issuers have used about 75% of proceeds from sales to refinance existing debt, the highest proportion since record-keeping began in 1996. Corporate bond sales have been a boon to many companies, giving them a lifeline as they wait for banks to resume normal lending.

“Junk,” or high-yield, refers to a bond rated “BB” or lower because of a high default risk. The main reason junk bonds have had a good year is simply that investors have some risk appetite to spare again, explains Matt Krantz for USA Today. (Other types of bonds that have done well in this market).

After the terror of the March pullback and the major market meltdown leveled off this year, investors began to put their money into investment-grade and junk bonds and took a step back from the safety of government debt.

While junk bonds have higher risk, they will do fine so long as investors risk appetite is steady. If the economy doesn’t heal or if companies increasingly default on their debt, you could find yourself suffering large losses. (When is it time to exit the bond market?)

What can you do about it? Have an exit strategy when the trend turns. (Why stop losses matter).

For more stories about bond ETFs, visit our Bond category.

A sample of such ETFs:

• SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Junk (NYSEArca:JNK): up 30.9% year-to-date

• iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond (NYSEArca: HYG): up 24.4% year-to-date

• Vanguard Total Bond Market (NYSEArca: BND): up 3.8% year-to-date

In the third quarter, median home prices declined across the nation. One out of every 10 cities saw declines, and sales of distressed properties accounted for 30% of all sales, reports J.W. Elphinstone for the Associated Press. On the plus side, home sales continued to climb. Third-quarter sales were an improvement over both the second quarter and last year’s.

• MacroShares Housing Up (NYSEArca: UMM): down 8.6% in the last month

Sen. Chris Dodd introduced a financial overhaul bill this morning, which seeks greater changes than any envisioned by the White House or the House of Representatives. The 1,100-page draft would create an agency charged with identifying and removing systemic risks to the economy and consolidate bank regulation under a single regulator, report Michael R. Crittenden and Jessica Holzer for The Wall Street Journal.

• Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLF): up 20.5% year-to-date

Treasuries are rising ahead of a $25 billion auction this week of 10-year notes. Analysts say the auction could be challenging. One analyst noted that recent economic indicators, including the jobs report last week, should support bond prices, says Ben Rooney for CNNMoney.

• iShares Barclays 7-10 Year Treasury (NYSEArca: IEF): down 4.6% year-to-date

Investment-grade corporate bonds may have lagged the overall broad market’s gains, but from a bond standpoint, their performance has been outstanding. Jeffrey R. Kodnett for Kiplinger asks what can be expected from single-A to triple-B bonds. (Other types of bonds in high demand).

• Companies are issuing 60% more bonds than one year ago.
• Trading volume remains high while yields are down, which signals demand.
• It may be too early to sell, although we’re late in the bond cycle, Kodnett says. For corporates to lose their luster, the currently negligible yields for cash alternatives — such as Treasury bills, bank deposits and money-market funds — will have to improve.

Investors appear to be losing their risk appetite and instead seek a dependable, steady income, much like the bond market yields. Be sure to mind the trendlines if you decide to go into the market, and have a strategy in place to keep losses at a minimum. (How to follow trends).

• iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond (NYSEArca: LQD): up 8.9% year-to-date; yield 5.3%

For more stories about bonds, visit our Bond ETF category.

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

Municipal bond mutual funds increased 14.4% on average through Oct. 29 and yields have not experienced their current lows in more than four decades, reports Jonathan Burton for The Wall Street Journal. The surge in muni bonds may be over, but some believe this investment vehicle still have a place in many portfolios, especially as tax time looms. (The current bond hot spots).

Many states face deep budget deficits, potential downgrade risk and headline risk. Bonds usually drop in price when credit ratings are bad or when budget deficits are high.

Still, muni bonds appeal to investors because of of their tax-free income status. Munis are generally exempt from federal and state level taxes. Their tax-free status will become more appealing as federal income taxes become higher as the Bush administration’s tax cuts expire at the end of 2010.

Currently, the supply/demand imbalance is supporting the price of municipal bonds. Professionals suggest potential investors stick to bonds with at least a single-A rating. They also note that long-term bonds are more susceptible to interest rate changes and don’t provide enough to compensate. (What you need to know about bond ETFs).

For more information on municipal bonds, visit our municipal bond category.

• PowerShares Insured National Muni Bond (NYSEArca: PZA): up 16.3% year-to-date; yields 4.5%

• iShares S&P National Municipal Bond (NYSEArca: MUB): up 5.9% year-to-date; yields 3.6%

• SPDR Barclays Capital Municipal Bond (NYSEArca: TFI): up 8.1% year-to-date; yields 3.68%

• Market Vectors Long Municipal (NYSEArca: MLN): up 20.4% year-to-date; yields 4.49%

Max Chen contributed to this article.

The number of ETFs available in the market may be confusing, but there are so many choices that investors can customize their portfolios according to their personal preferences and strategy. The ultimate goal is usually the same (to make money), there are two primary categories investors fall into: those who use a fundamental strategy and those who prefer a sector strategy, explains Don Dion for TheStreet. We throw in a third strategy below, too.

Fundamental Strategy: Fundamental ETF portfolios are suitable for investors looking to take advantage of the cost efficiency and tax efficiency of ETFs over an extended time period. These portfolios are usually not traded very often and provide exposure to the broad market while meeting their needs for income.

Investors who find this strategy appealing often cite taxes as the primary lure.

• iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index (NYSEArca:DVY): up 4.8% year-to-date

• PowerShares QQQ (NYSEArca: QQQQ): up 42.9% year-to-date

Sector Strategy: A sector ETF strategy is designed to actively capture market trends. Some prefer  a momentum-based strategy to indicate the best times to enter and exit funds. ( The strategy you choose is just as important as the approach). These portfolios are considered active, as they are traded and monitored constantly.

• iShares iBoxx $ High Yield (NYSEArca: HYG): up 23.8% year-to-date

• PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Bullish (NYSEArca: UDN): up 8.1% year-to-date

A Blend Strategy. We use trend following by monitoring the 200-day moving average in order to find those areas that are moving. By getting in and out of the market at set signals, you give yourself the opportunity to be in the markets for any potential long-term uptrend. The stop loss enables you to put a cap on your losses. The benefit of relying on market signals to determine where and when you invest also removes the “noise” that emotions can generate and cloud your judgment. Any ETF works with this strategy, whether it’s a broad-based, plain-vanilla fund or a more exotic, niche ETF. (How to get in on the rebound).

Always do some research on what you are implementing and consider the liquidity, underlying stocks and pricing taking place in the ETFs you choose.

For more stories about trend following, visit our trend following category.