1. EGS Dow Jones Emerging Markets Titans Composite (NYSEArca: EEG): down 5.7% in the last three months. 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. [ETF Spotlight: EEG.]

Emerging Global Shares prides itself on having funds that are pure plays on emerging markets. Until recently, there haven’t been many sector-based funds focusing on emerging markets. This fund is a broad way to get that exposure if you want it.

Emerging markets productivity is improving, are a part of the next investment frontier, have greater economic freedom and account for a large portion of global GDP. [Reasons to stick with emerging markets.]

• 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%.

2. PowerShares Global Progressive Transport (NYSEArca: PTRP): up 69.9% in the last year. PTRP seeks to reflect the Wilder NASDAQ OMX Global Energy Efficient Transport Index. This ETF focuses on companies that promote the advancement of efficient transportation. More countries are becoming environmentally conscious and many have already set aside billions in infrastructure projects. [How climate change can boost transportation ETFs.]

This is a first-of-its kind ETF, focusing on a sector that could have some legs as the global climate change debate (ahem)…heats up.

• Top countries include: United States 28.5%, Canada 11.04%, United Kingdom 8.03%, Taiwan 7.9%.
• Sector allocations: consumer discretionary 19.4%, energy 6.7%, industrials 59.5%, information technology 5.9%, Materials 8.6%.

3. ELEMENTS S&P CTI ETN (NYSEArca: LSC):  How the S&P Commodity Trends Indicator provides returns is a simple matter of its construction, which follows trends. This allows commodities to be either long or short (except the energy sector which is long or flat, but never short). Rather than going down with a sinking ship, the indicator can adjust its positions on a monthly basis, depending on how the individual commodities are trending at month’s end.

This fund is interesting because of the long/short approach it takes to a basket of commodities. Commodities tend to move on their own trends (for example, agriculture may be trending down while gold is hitting record highs), and this fund takes the differences into account. [How this fund works.]

Note that LSC is an exchange traded note (ETN). [The difference between ETFs and ETNs.]

• The indicator goes both long and short in six areas: energy (long or flat only), softs, grain, livestock, industrial metals and precious metals. Using a seven-month weighted moving average, the indicator then determines in what areas it will be long and where it will be short.

4. PowerShares DB G10 Currency Harvest (NYSEArca: DBV): up 22.2% in the last year. The ETF seeks to capitalize on the theory that currencies with high interest rates generally tend to rise in value relative to currencies that have low interest rates. DBV looks at the three-month interest rates of the G10 currencies and goes long on the three with the highest rates and short on the three with the lowest, making it a carry trade play. [ETF Spotlight: DBV.]

The carry-trade involves for selling a currency from a low interest rate country and using the proceeds to purchase a currency from a high interest rate country. The idea is not to capture big moves, but to exploit the spread between the two countries’ interest rates. [Playing carry-trades.]

• DBV can hold positions in any of the following 10 currencies: The U.S. Dollar, the Euro, the Japanese Yen, the Aussie, Canadian and New Zealand Dollars, the Norwegian Krone, the Swedish Krona, the British Pound and the Swiss Franc.

5. Claymore/Clear Global Exchanges, Brokers/Asset Managers (NYSEArca: EXB): up 66.7% in the last year. EXB tries to reflect the performance of the Beacon Global Exchanges, Brokers & Asset Managers Index. The Index is made of around 100 equity securities traded on global exchanges, including MLPs, ADRs and GDRs of companies that operate security exchange or brokerage/asset manage firms. The financial sector has seen a handsome recovery off the market’s March 9 low, with most ETFs up at least 100% since then. However, fourth-quarter earnings have provided mixed sentiments. [Financial ETFs, struggling but improving.]

This is a fund that could give broad, global exposure to the financial sector as the global economy continues to recover. Just watch that trend line. [How to follow trends.]

• Top countries: United States 61.8%, Japan 9.8%, Britain 6.0%, Germany 5.1%, Hong Kong 4.9%.
• 100% Financials

Max Chen contributed to this article.

CNN Tech reports that as global climate change intensifies, many around the globe – from governments to companies to individuals – have also warmed to train travel. Traveling by rail is on average three to 10 times less CO2-intensive compared to road or air transport, according to the UIC, an organization of the railway sector based in Paris.

Among governments, China has been especially aggressive, spending heavily on its emerging high-speed nationwide rail network. As other countries join in on the transformation, related investments could grow along with the renewed awareness. [How is the shipping industry faring among the activity?]

The importance of railway transportation has recently increased due to widened environmental awareness, reflecting the fact that railway transportation has less environmental impact compared to other means of transportation. The global railway transportation systems market reached $7.1 billion and continues to expand, with emerging countries positioning railway transportation as a part of their important social infrastructure, reports BusinessWire on Your Story.org.

Mitsubishi Electric will strengthen its product competitiveness by developing products that contribute to lowering the impact on the environment and saving energy. Meanwhile, in Japan, where railway transportation is now well-established, there still is a growing demand for capital investment in environmental and energy-related fields. Can ETFs help bridge the gap for foreign investment? [Why is the transportation sector so important?]

For more stories about transportation, visit our transportation category.

• iShares Dow Jones Transportation Average (NYSEArca: IYT)
  

• PowerShares Global Progressive Transport (NYSEArca: PTRP): This ETF focuses on companies that promote the advancement of efficient transportation

Industries that make up the transportation sector include airlines, railways, package carriers, even oil and gas pipelines. Transportation is actually the most important sector we have, says David Fessler for Investment U. Why? Growth or contraction here serves as a proxy for both U.S. and global economic growth. (Why transportation is an “it” sector for the recovery). Transportation accounts for 3% of national GDP.

Warren Buffett seems to agree: the rail sector is one on which he’s bullish. (How to play what Buffett is buying).

The industry is highly correlated to consumers: as they buy more, there’s a need to transport more.

Changes are taking place, though:

• Intermodal shipping, which combines highways and rails, has become popular because it reduces fuel costs. Intermodal volumes have been flat, to slightly up, since June.
• Domestic container volumes are up slightly, by 1.3% in the third quarter. (Has the transportation sector hit bottom?)

For more storeis about transportation, visit our transportation category.

• iShares Dow Jones Transportation Sector (NYSEArca: IYT): up 16.7% year-to-date

• Claymore/NYSEArca Airline (NYSEArca: FAA): up 21% in the last three months

• Claymore Delta Global Shipping (NYSEArca: SEA): up 32% year-to-date

• PowerShares Global Progressive Transport (NASDAQ: PTRP): up 48.9% year-to-date

Activity in the shipping sector can send strong, indisputable signals about the state of the global economy. What’s the message it’s sending now? The signals seem to be mixed:

• Dry Ships (Nasdaq: DRYS) reported earnings on Monday, handily beating Wall Street’s estimates. The company said that increases in spot charter rates and higher revenues from drilling rigs helped the bottom line.

• The Baltic Dry Index last year shot up to a record high before collapsing. This year, the index has recovered, while still hovering below its 10-year average. Shipping prices also have remained flat, and could become more depressed as a new influx of ships come due for construction.

• Shipping demand is generally considered to be related to commodity demand, although commodities lately have struck out on their own, reports Mark Gongloff for The Wall Street Journal. (The shipping sector changes course).

Once global demand resumes, shipping prices should recover and an increase in available ships will be moot. (What challenges are facing the shipping industry?) Monitor the trend lines as this sector finds a firm footing. As consumers begin to spend more and nations struggle to rebuild, this sector will ultimately reflect a shift in tides. Read about trend following here.

For more stories about shipping visit our shipping category.

• Claymore/Delta global Shipping (NYSEArca: SEA): up 29.7% year-to-date



• PowerShares Global Progressive Transport (NYSEArca: PTRP): up 46.9% year-to-date

The sector could be hindered by the groundbreaking climate and energy bill that, at its heart, features a complicated cap-and-trade system that will set limits on the overall emissions of greenhouse gases.  Adam Violand for The Examiner reports that the The NASA researchers compared the climactic impacts of the transportation sector to the power generation sector and found, in short, that the most efficient way to tackle climate change is to regulate the transportation sector.

Meanwhile, the CSX (CSX) signaled Tuesday that it’s planning no let-up in its push to raise core prices despite a continued  slide in freight volume, aiming for a 2010 core rate increase that exceeds inflation. Bob Sechler for CNN Money reports that the transport sector has gone through a sharp decline in freight volume since late last year.

Chuck Lebeau for Minyanville reports on four transportation stocks that are worth watching, too: FedEx (FDX), UPS (UPS), Con-Way (CNW), Union Pacific (UNP).

• PowerShares Global Progressive Transportation (PTRP): up 22.1% year-to-date

• iShares Dow Jones Transportation Average (IYT): down 4.5% year-to-date

For more stories about transportation, visit our transportation cateogry.

If oil prices continue to rise and the economy continues to slowly make a recovery, it could wind up benefiting the transportation sector in two key ways:

• It’s much cheaper to transport via railway than air
• It’s cleaner and more fuel-efficient to use railroads than diesel-powered 18-wheelers

Over the previously mentioned time span, FedEx (FDX) and Union Pacific (UNP) both have performed very well, posting double-digit gains.  In fact, the iShares Dow Jones U.S. Transportation Fund (IYT) is up nearly 34.6% over the last three months, despite being down 7.7% for the year; FDX is 9.2%; UNP is 8%.

• PowerShares Global Progressive Transportation (PTRP) is up 25.4% year-to-date

Some believe that this rally has been ignited in hopes of an economic recovery while others suggest that it is just investor optimism, states Don Dion of theStreet.com.

If you do want to grab exposure to transportation, remember to watch the trend lines, do your homework and stay diversified.

For more stories on transportation, visit our transportation sector.

Kevin Grewal contributed to this article.

Some examples:

• PTRP has about 31% allocated to small-cap companies, which tend to do better coming out of bear markets. So, while investing in green transportation could be viewed as higher-risk, there is also more potential.
• It’s also a way to take advantage of a global recovery – while nearly 40% is in the United States, the other two-thirds of the fund is overseas.
• Green energy is catching on, too. This fund’s objective is to track companies that benefit from a societal transition toward using more efficient means of transportation.

When investing in such a fund, one should look at it from both a “bottom up” and “top down” perspective. By doing research on the financial state of the companies the fund holds, the demand for their products and industry trends, along with the direction the market is going,  investors can move through market cycles rather seamlessly with ETFs. Knowing what you own, how it can work for you and watching the trend lines may help make you a more successful investor.

There are many ETFs that help you play trends in the stock market – it’s just a matter of seeking them out.

• Global Progressive Transportation Portfolio (PTRP): up 19.3% year-to-date

Los Angeles and Long Beach port officials see the signs of retrenchment in the shipping industry, and feel that now is the time for expansion even if they are met with objections across the board, reports Ronald D. White for The Los Angeles Times.

The global economic slump has cut rates that cargo ships charge for shipping, cutting into profits, and outside the harbors of Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai dozens of cargo vessels are idled with no goods to carry.

This slowdown come at a time when projects in the Los Angeles and Long Beach areas are reaching critical stages and the ports’ director say it’s time to push the plans through. The projects, they contend, would reduce the pollution endured by neighbors by using newer, greener technologies.

What’s more, the harbor will be ready when the economy rebounds and the global trade heats up. This will also pave the way for other harbors and shipping transports to follow in this path if the projects get funded and everything goes smoothly. All of these efforts could very well pay off for shipping ETFs.

Areas in along the East Coast and down under are feeling the effects of the global shipping slowdown, as the Port of Melborne is breaking their long-term growth trend. Phillip Hopkins for Business Day reports that the Port of Melbourne, for  imports and exports, fell by 3.2% last month. Melbourne handles about 36% of Australia’s trade, and about a third of all containerized imports are consumer goods.

Looking around two years into the future, one shipping insider in Melborne thinks growth will be at 1%-2%.

• Claymore/Delta Global Shipping (SEA): down 47.7% since its Sept. 8 inception

• PowerShares Global Progressive Transport (PTRP): down 24% since Sept. 23 inception

Even if the goliaths of the shipping lanes are packed with sophisticated technologies, the ships still burn a thick sludge called bunker fuel and drain diesel to keep lights and air conditioning running at port, reports Ronald D. White for The Los Angeles Times.

Tugboats are a powerful instrument in the seas, but their potential is wasted most of the time idling or cruising. These boats tend to run on full power only 7% of the time and waste 5,000+ horsepower idling 50% of the time.

Foss Maritime Co. of Seattle has developed what they like to call the Prius of tugboats. Their tugboats consume less fuel and generate less pollution with the use of batteries for low-power needs. The system enables most existing tugboats to switch to the diesel-battery setup through retrofitting.

Recent tests have shown turning tugboats into hybrids cuts a tug’s particulate and nitrogen-oxide emissions by as much as 44%.

Ports have $5 billion in expansion projects that cannot be done without innovative ideas, such as the one from Foss Maritime Co., as a means to mitigate the impact of pollution. The Port of Long Beach also saw its first electric container ship, reports Kurt Helin for the Grunion Gazette. So far, only one dock supports it, but the port is planning to electrify the rest of the pier.

Both shipping and alternative energy ETFs could feel the green energy. Two shipping ETFs launched this year:

• PowerShares Global Progressive Transportation (PTRP): down 28.8% since Sept. 23 inception

• Clamore/Delta Global Shipping Index ETF (SEA): down 56.1% since Sept. 8 inception

The frozen money markets are driving away the ability of banks to raise funds, and shipping prices are dropping, says the industry’s largest lender.

Alaric Nightingale and Maher Chmaytelli for Bloomberg report that banks will provide around $100 billion to shipowners this year, $150 billion less than last year. Funding costs are up 1% above the London Interbank Offered Rate. The shipping industry needs around $300 billion over the next three to four years to fund construction vessels that are already ordered. Container ships are idle because of lowered U.S. demand for goods.

Commodity carriers are going to be hit the hardest with the tightening credit markets, along with dry bulk, where many of the vessels ordered were going toward.

ETFs that could be affected by the slashed lending:

• Claymore/Delta Global Shipping (SEA), down 55% since Sept. 8 inception (black line)
• PowerShares Global Progressive Transportation (PTRP), down 21.9% since Sept. 23 inception (green line)