Coffee, Cocoa and Sugar Production Make Investors Hungry for Soft ETFs
August 27, 2008 – Cocoa exports from Nigeria doubled in the second quarter, making investors coo-coo for the cocoa exchange traded note (ETN). Nigeria is the world’s fourth-largest producer of the key chocolate ingredient, reports Dulue Mbachu for Bloomberg. The... Continue Reading »

Good Numbers Raining Down on India’s Index, ETFs
August 5, 2008 – A recent end to India’s dry spell could have something brewing for the coffee exchange traded note (ETN). Wait, what? Yes, we said India. Among the coffee-producing countries in Asia, India is the third-largest. A drought last... Continue Reading »

Kraft’s Earnings Could Fuel Consumer Staples ETFs
July 28, 2008 – The fond memories you have for your college diet might deliver an energy boost to consumer staples exchange traded funds (ETFs). Kraft Foods (KFT) reported its second-quarter earnings, which rose 4%, reports Emily Fredrix for the... Continue Reading »

Chinese Investment and ETFs Get a Jolt From Starbucks
July 21, 2008 – Starbuck’s Corp. (SBUX), the world’s coffee empire, has begun to shut down underperforming U.S. stores, but now they’re turning their attentions toward China, possibly jolting stock and exchange traded funds (ETFs) for the country. By focusing... Continue Reading »

A Morning Cup Of Coffee Becomes ETN Inspiration
July 14, 2008 – Can coffee deliver a jolt to your exchange traded note (ETN) portfolio? Sure, you can cut back on food as prices get higher. But give up the morning java? Never! As anyone who’s been to a... Continue Reading »

Commodity ETFs’ Growth Stunted After Supply Concerns Ease
July 8, 2008 – Commodities exchange traded funds (ETFs) took a wallop yesterday after news about the U.S.’s crop outlook was improved. They plunged by the most since March, as grain futures fell, while rain from Colorado to Pennsylvania... Continue Reading »

Commodity ETFs and ETNs Feel the Rising Demand
July 3, 2008 – Not only have returns in commodity exchange traded funds (ETFs) been taking off this year, so have the number of available funds. They cover every conceivable commodity now, from gold and silver to coffee... Continue Reading »

ETN Gives First Exposure to Carbon Credits Market
June 27, 2008 – iPath this week launched an array of exchange traded notes (ETNs), and one of the most interesting is the first such note linked to carbon credits. The iPath Global Carbon (GRN) is designed to provide investors with exposure... Continue Reading »

17 Commodity ETFs to Help Hedge Your Portfolio
May 28, 2008 – Americans are being hit by rising inflation and the subsequent explosion in commodity prices where it hurts most—at gas stations and grocery stores. Right alongside this growth have been the opportunities available to investors... Continue Reading »

Clean Energy, Health Care ETFs Looking for Revival
May 22, 2008 – Two exchange traded funds (ETFs) representing two different sectors - health care and clean energy - had a slow, rough start for the first part of 2008. These funds probably want to put those days... Continue Reading »

New ETN Line Gives Broad Range of Commodity Exposure
May 3, 2008 – UBS rolled into the exchange traded note (ETN) business last month with a line of commodity notes. The UBS E-TRACS CMCI Total Return (UCI) is designed to track the UBS Bloomberg Constant Maturity Commodity Index... Continue Reading »

BRIC ETFs Have Many Access Points for Investors
April 30, 2008 – A reader wrote in recently wanting to know more about BRIC and the related exchange traded funds (ETFs). We’re here to help! BRIC stands for four of the fastest-growing emerging markets out here: Brazil, Russia,... Continue Reading »

Rationing Leads to Hoarding of Rice and Possibly ETFs, Too
April 24, 2008 – The commodities craze spread to exchange traded funds (ETFs) awhile ago - now it’s reached Sam’s Club. A worldwide rice shortage has led the warehouse unit of Wal-Mart (WMT) to start rationing some types of... Continue Reading »

Agriculture ETFs May Mean If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em
April 21, 2008 – If you’ve ever strolled through the grocery store wondering if there’s anything you can do about those ridiculous prices, there is: agriculture exchange traded funds (ETFs). ETFs that invest in agriculture should benefit from global... Continue Reading »

Brazil ETF Benefits From Economics and Agriculture
April 21, 2008 – As exchange traded fund (ETF) investors look across the globe for investment opportunities, its hard to not take a second look at Brazil.  The economic leadership has enabled the country to grow and attract new... Continue Reading »

Menu of Agriculture ETFs and ETNs Expands
April 17, 2008 – Some crops might not be growing, but lots of agriculture-focused exchange traded funds (ETFs) and exchange traded notes (ETNs) are sprouting up. Deutsche Bank launched a smörgåsbord of ETNs this week, just in time for the... Continue Reading »

Financial News Has Domino Effect on Markets and ETFs
February 27, 2008 – Wall Street hardly waited for its coffee to kick in before a slew of news began sending stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) this way and that in a series of chain reactions. The dollar... Continue Reading »

Amex Lists Commodity Index With ETFs To Follow
January 25, 2008 – The American Stock Exchange announced they have launched trading in the Greenhaven Continuous Commodity Index Fund (GCC), as the company enters into the exchange traded fund (ETF) community. GCC tracks the performance of the Continuous... Continue Reading »

Agriculture ETF Ripe For The Picking
January 10, 2008 – It’s time to get back to your grassroots with commodities exchange traded funds (ETFs). Rob Carrick for the Toronto Globe and Mail explains that energy and metals stocks have produced soaring numbers over the... Continue Reading »

Evolving Smartphone Techology Gives Telecom ETFs a Lift
December 26, 2007 – Even though the U.S. seems to be bringing up the rear with telecommunications technology among developed countries, related exchange traded funds (ETFs) don’t appear to be suffering. You would think with the launch of the... Continue Reading »

Will There Be A Vietnam ETF Soon?
December 7, 2007 – In Vietnam the ingredients are in place for burgeoning prosperity, so the question investors may pose is when will we see a Vietnam exchange traded fund (ETF)? Andy Mukherjee for Bloomberg says 4 million... Continue Reading »

Stay Tuned for an ETF Based on the CRB Commodity Index
October 9, 2007 – The oldest commodity index in the world will be paired with the popular exchange traded fund (ETF) soon. Greenhaven Commodity Services has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch an ETF... Continue Reading »

Socially Responsible Business Practices Seep into ETFs
October 3, 2007 – Exchange traded funds (ETFs) could see more of their holdings take on socially responsible business practices. For example, Wal-Mart (WMT), McDonald’s (MCD) and Starbucks (SBUX) recently have started selling fair trade coffee, reports Andrew... Continue Reading »

Coffee ETF Could Give Portfolios a Jolt
August 11, 2007 – Starbucks (SBUX) might be included in an exchange traded fund (ETF) such as PowerShares Dynamic Food and Beverage (PBJ) soon because it’s likely to see an increase in coffee consumption with the good news... Continue Reading »

Excellent Coffee Aside, Where’s the Colombian ETF?
July 18, 2007 – Emerging market and country-specific exchange traded funds (ETFs) overall have been performing well. One superstar emerging market ETF is the SPDR S&P Emerging Latin America (GML), which is up 20.4% since its inception in... Continue Reading »

Aw, Shucks, Opponents of ETF Indexing Strategies Share a Virtual Hug
July 11, 2007 – Schwab Institutional hosted a webinar yesterday that addressed what seemed to be a hot debate on exchange traded fund (ETF) indexing strategies. It attempted to answer which indexing method is better: the new fundamental... Continue Reading »

Commodity ETFs Explained
June 21, 2007 – This morning Barclays offered a webinar to educate about commodities and exchange traded funds (ETFs) with David Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of S&P.  Blitzer went through the basics of commodities and futures contracts,... Continue Reading »

New Commodities ETF - Investing in Futures
February 6, 2006 – The first commodity-linked index fund launched on Friday - Deutsche Bank’s new exchange-traded fund is the Deutsche Bank Commodity Index Tracking Fund (DBC).  The ETF uses futures contracts to mirror the Deutsche Bank Liquid... Continue Reading »