The company, based in Chicago, had $33 million in assets at the end of last year. The board of trustees decided to close all 17 of the NETS funds, citing current market conditions, the inability of the funds to attract significant market interest and their future viability.

Their final day of trading will be Feb. 9, and any investor holding shares after that date will receive a cash distribution equal to the net asset value (NAV) of their shares as determined on Feb. 20.

If funds aren’t grabbing market share, closing them is the responsible thing to do.

The ETF provider was the first to launch a line of funds that tracked the major foreign market indexes. Some of their funds included:

One leading economist in Germany anticipates 700,000 job losses in their country for the year 2009, as the economy is set to shrink by 2%-2.7% within the year. This is a total reversal within the labor market, as 2008 proved to have immunity to some of the letdown experienced from the credit crunch. The Local reports that the most likely indicator will fall back this year, in what may prove to be a protracted recession.

The European Union has approved two measures that will help German firms affected by the financial crisis. Yan for China View says the first measure is a $20.4 billion plan that will give liquidity to undertakings affected by the current credit squeeze. It will give interest rate reductions and provide loans for finance investments. The second measure, a Federal framework scheme, allows economic policy actors at Federal, regional, and local levels to provide aid to firms in need.

German leaders met today to talk about a second stimulus package, as well. The initial package of $42.1 billion had been criticized as being too modest, Reuters reports. Any new measures agreed upon today won’t be finalized until at least Jan. 12.

• iShares MSCI Germany Index (EWG): up 20.8% in the last month

• NETS DAX Index (DAX): up 16.6% in the last month

But lawmakers are at work to find ways to combat the looming troubles. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing much criticism on her decision to reject tax cuts and take other action. There is the possibility, however, of another proposal from economist Karl Lauterbach, reports BusinessWeek. His proposal is along the same lines of the United States’ and the “Bush Money” stimulus checks.

In an effort to boost domestic demand, the parliament would issue a $633 check to every adult to spend as needed. The voucher would be valid only if the user kicked in $253 of their own, however, welfare recipients would be free of this stipulation.

There has been no party agreement on this proposal and the idea would cost the state $44 billion to $57 billion, financed through debt. Anther plan to remodel public buildings is also taking shape.

In response, the governor of one major party is criticizing the proposal because it sways citizens not to spend their own money this close to Christmas. Politicians are also being called upon to take action in an effort to float Germany’s ailing auto industry. Much of this is sounding all-too-familiar, as the economic downturn has infected many countries and industries.

• iShares MSCI Germany Index (EWG): down 51.8% year-to-date

• NETS DAX Index (DAX): down 511% since inception

In Europe, stocks soared on strong Wall Street performance, as well as big gains in Asia, reports Pan Pylas for the Associated Press. Markets in Europe reacted positively to the commitment of $2.3 trillion (all of which might not be needed) and the expectation that the United States would join forces with Britain and others to buy ownership stakes in troubled banks.

Germany’s DAX, Frances CAC-40 and Britain’s FTSE 100 rose higher. The FTSE managed to gain despite some bank shares falling sharply after they accepted help.

The 15 eurozone countries said they would guarantee new bank debt until the end of next year, and the government would buy preferred shares.

Britain, which doesn’t use the euro, injected $63 billion into some of the country’s leading banks, reports Jane Wardell for the Associated Press. The government said the ownership stake is strictly temporary.

• iShares MSCI United Kingdom (EWU), down 44.8% year-to-date (black line)
• NETS DAX Index (DAX), down 46.8% since May 22 inception (green line)

In Asia, the market performance was similarly good as countries rebounded off their worst week since at least 1987. Japan’s finance minister said he would consider a plan to guarantee all bank deposits. This would amend the current deposit insurance plan, which guarantees up to $100,000 for each account, reports Chris Oliver for MarketWatch. Japan’s financial markets are closed today for a public holiday.

China’s economic planning agency said local governments have been advised to maintain fair prices for utilities and transportation in earthquake-hit regions, and food prices will be kept stable.

Financial stocks in the region soared, sending the MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan (EPP) higher after a brutal week during which it lost 20%. The fund is down 48.2% year-to-date.

The EU’s 27 governments agreed to guarantee private savings up to 50,000 euro for one year and also to set up guidelines on how each country could rescue a failing bank, reports Robert Wielaard for the Associated Press.

This is the first sign of coordination among the EU, and many of the union are going to continue to talk daily in the future to ensure a quick and comprehensive response. In Germany, state-owned savings banks are reporting a flood of new deposits as citizens are looking for safety among the uncertainty.

The Associated Press reports that several state-owned banks – known as “Sparkassen” – said Tuesday that even with a government pledge to guarantee all savings they were seeing scores of new customers.

Australia made a stunning rate cut of 1% today, more than twice what had been expected. This helped diminish the impact of another bad day for bank stocks, reports Pan Pylas for Associated Press.

This is Australia’s steepest rate cut in 16 years, and investors hope that other central banks would follow suit and help to combat the crisis. Wayne Cole and Leika Kihara for Associated Press report that the Bank of Japan may be the only bank not to join the rate cut campaign.

Affected ETFs today include:

• iShares MSCI Australia (EWA), down 32.4% year-to-date (black line)
• NETS DAX (DAX), down 35.1% year-to-date (green line)

A forward-looking consumer climate forecast rose to 1.8% for October, up slightly from 1.6% in September, reports Patrick Mcgroarty for the Associated Press.

The confidence isn’t enough to go across the board, as business confidence has hit a three-year low, says Simone Meier for Bloomberg. In fact, overall the economy is not showing many signs of recovery and the impact of the U.S. credit crisis isn’t helped by rising oil prices and a falling euro.

Other European countries are seeing declining business confidence, too: Italy’s is at its lowest since October 2001, while France’s is at its lowest point in five years.

Germany is hopping mad about its own economic crisis, and is putting the full blame for it on the United States, reports Stephen Beard for Marketplace. German politicians have long been critical of our financial culture, but today’s words are particularly scathing.

They also delivered a grim prognosis for our economy, stating that the United States would lose its financial superpower status and Wall Street will never be the same again.

Affected ETFs include:

• iShares MSCI Germany (EWG), down 23.2% year-to-date
• NETS DAX (DAX), down 18.5% since May 22 inception

Stocks on both continents rose by varying degrees on the news, says Louise Watt for the Associated Press. The Group of Seven, an organization made of up the world’s leading economic powers, said today that they would do everything they could to help ease the crisis.

Across Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.22%, Germany’s DAX rose 0.42%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.27%. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.4%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.6% and in China, the Shanghai Composite jumped 7.8%.

Northern Trust’s line of ETFs offers exposure to the indexes of several countries around the world, all of which launched this year, including:

• NETS FTSE 100 (LDN), down 19.5% since April 10 inception
• NETS CAC 40 (FRC), down 17.5% since April 16 inception
• NETS DAX (DAX), down 18.5% since May 22 inception
• Nets Hang Seng (HKG), down 17.1% since April 16 inception

Other funds that offer exposure to these countries include:

• iShares MSCI France (EWQ), down 19.6% year-to-date
• iShares MSCI Germany (EWG), down 22.3% year-to-date
• iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 (FXI), down 30.4% year-to-date
• iShares MSCI Japan (EWJ), down 14.5% year-to-date

Two key surveys indicated that the business and consumer confidence is eroding in this one-time economic powerhouse, reports the Associated Press.

Two straight quarters of falling output defines a recession. June made for the third month of falling output, with a contraction of 0.5%. The business climate index fell from 97.5 points to 94.8 points this month. Although the country is experiencing falling unemployment, the trend has slowed and may put added pressure on consumer confidence.

German companies are cutting investment in equipment and construction during the second quarter, causing the economy to shrink for the first time in nearly four years. Christian Vits for Bloomberg explains that building investment dropped 3.5% from the year before, with investment in plant and machinery off 0.5% and consumer spending down 0.7%, according to the Federal Statistics Office in Wisbaden, Germany.

The stronger euro mixed with slower growth has stopped demand in Germany while inflation has threatened domestic spending. Exports and investments have slowed around the world, and this hits home in Europe’s largest economy.

Both NETS DAX Index (DAX) and iShares MSCI Germany (EWG) may feel the slowdown. The top weightings in EWG are in financial services (19%) and materials (17.8%), while DAX is heaviest in utilities (14.9%) and automobiles (14.8%). DAX is down 15% since its May 23 inception, while EWG is down 24.1% year-to-date.

The economy cooled in July and has experienced its longest decline since the reunification in 1990, reports Rainer Buergin for Bloomberg. On the bright side, the unemployment is taking a breather, although it fell at a slower pace last month.

The adjusted unemployment rate is now at 7.8%, a 16-year low.

Business confidence is down and companies are slow to hire as the outlook is not so well. Manufacturing orders are slow with a sixth straight decline, one of the largest declines in industrial production in more than nine years.

Metro AC, Germany’s largest retailer, reported second-quarter losses related to the costs of closing some of its superstores. Despite this, Metro kept forecasts for operating profit growth and sales for the year because of the rising electronics sales closing the gap off the stagnant German food market, reports Holger Elfes for Bloomberg.

Will the NETS DAX Index Fund (DAX) and iShares MSCI Germany (EWG) be able to withstand this slowdown? DAX is a new fund that launched on May 22. EWG, however, is down 17.9% year-to-date. Metro is 0.8% of DAX.

The drop comes as the markets fret over the latest news from the lending crisis and the overall state of the country’s economy, reports Matt Moore for the Associated Press. The currency that covers 15 nations rose to $1.6038 in European trading, topping the April 22 record of $1.6018.

The dollar rose against the Japanese yen.

The U.S. economy isn’t the only one in the doldrums: German investor confidence sank to its lowest point in 16 years as oil and food prices weighed down the mood. Germany is one of the Eurozone countries.

It’s all prompting concern for companies and politicians in countries that use the euro, because of worries that it will put the brakes on exports as European goods get more expensive for American consumers. German automaker Volkswagen AG is considering locations for a new plant in the United States, while BMW AG has said it will expand production in South Carolina.

The iShares MSCI Germany (EWG) was trading lower this morning. Volkswagen is 3.7% of the fund, which is down 19.6% year-to-date.

The NETS DAX Index Fund (DAX), which launched on April 9, tracks Germany’s benchmark index. It has 13.7% automotive exposure.

To gain exposure to currencies and hedge the falling dollar against the euro, there are a growing number of funds to choose from, including:

• PowerShares DB G10 Currency Harvest Fund (DBV), down 1% year-to-date
• ELEMENTS Euro (ERE), up 4.4% since March 4 inception
• CurrencyShares Euro Trust (FXE), up 11% year-to-date
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Euro Fund (EU), up 2% since May 22 inception
• iPath EUR/USD Exchange Rate ETN (ERO), up 11% year-to-date

Read the disclosure, as Tom Lydon is a board member of Rydex Funds.