Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (NYSEArca: TAN) and Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (NYSEArca: KWT) fell 11% last month, writes Kevin Baker for TheStreet.

First Solar (NYSE: FSLR) dropped in February after Chairman Michale Ahearn dumped 1.3 million shares, or 40% of his holdings. Demand may diminish as Germany may start cutting photovoltaic-panel subsidies.

The sector may not be dark for long, though:

• Mitsubishi Electric also plans to triple solar-cell production in the next two years.

• SolarCity has received $90 million in new funding and it will be used to finance SolarCity’s SolarLease and power purchase agreement offerings, which allow customers to make monthly payments with zero money down for their solar installations, according to Environmental Leader.

• Utility Xcel Energy is offering a SolarRewards program that will give customers a one-time payment of $2.25 per installed watt of generating capacity to help offset the cost of small- to medium-sized installations.

• Customers may also sign up for rebates from federal, state and local government agencies.

• In India, the government included the National Solar Mission in their budget, which has a target of 20,000MW of installed solar power by 2022, report Ameet Shah and Sourabh Sen for The Wall Street Journal. The budget for the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has increased by 61%.

For more information on solar power, visit our solar category.

• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (NYSEArca: TAN)

• Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (NYSEArca: KWT)

Max Chen contributed to this article.

Despite the Federal Reserve’s confidence in the recovery, promises to keep interest rates low for the time being in order to further encourage recovery and a stellar report on gross domestic product, the markets simply couldn’t muster gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 4.6% for the month. The S&P 500 lost 4.7% and the Nasdaq declined 6.3%.

One standout sector this month was regional banks. President Barack Obama is looking to crack down on major financial institutions. Sensing impending weakness among the major banks, investors looked to the healthier regional banks for returns. Solar was the weakest sector, down about 15% for the month.

To view our full January ETF performance report, click here.

To view all of our past performance reports, click here.

Health Care. The vote to fill the seat of late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy shifted power in the Senate. Scott Brown won the race against Democrat Martha Coakley 52% to 47%, costing Democrats their 60-vote majority. Brown has been an opponent of health care legislation, and many fear it’s a death knell for the effort. [Massachusetts race.] The health care bill would bring in more patient business to hospitals if it were to pass legislation. But Obama is not giving up, and appealed to lawmakers to “take another look at the plan we’ve proposed” and not to walk away from reform.

• iShares Dow Jones U.S. Health Care Sector (NYSEArca: IYH)

• Vanguard Health Care (NYSEArca: VHT)

• Health Care Select Sector (NYSEArca: XLV)

Regional Banks. Obama is pushing to limit the size of the nation’s largest banks, although he limited the amount of time spent on this aspect of the economy last night. Smaller banks won’t face the regulations and restrictions the big banks might, giving them more appeal than ever. Banks that stuck to their traditional business models throughout the crisis are already demonstrating their health through strong earnings. Regional banks do need some caution, though, because a high unemployment late could lead to more consumer default on credit lines. [Why regional banks could come out ahead.]

• SPDR KBW Regional Banking (NYSEArca: KRE)
  



• Regional Bank HOLDRs (NYSEArca: RKH): USB is 17.5%

• iShares Dow Jones U.S. Regional Banks (NYSEArca: IAT)

Energy. Oil futures are up today following the State of the Union address, thanks to the sense of optimism about both the domestic and global economy that some feel the speech gave. As the world stabilizes, demand for fuel is expected to once again rise. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has released a few proposals on commodity investments. The CFTC cited United States Natural Gas (NYSEArca: UNG) and United States Oil (NYSEArca: USO) as examples for the new “Proposed Position Limit Rule.” The CFTC has called for tighter rules on energy trading and stricter definitions of traders who are exempt. [The CFTC's new proposal.]

• United States Natural Gas (NYSEArca: UNG)

• United States Oil (NYSEArca: USO)

Green Energy. It’s no secret that Obama is firmly on the side of fixing climate change. In last night’s speech, he specifically called for more “safe, clean” nuclear plants. He also reiterated his call for developing solar cells, clean coal, biofuels and rebates for Americans who boost their homes’ energy efficiency.  [Socially responsible ETFs gaining in popularity.]

• PowerShares Global Clean Energy (NYSEArca: PBD)

• First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy (NYSEArca: QCLN)
  

• Market Vectors Nuclear Energy (NYSEArca: NLR)

• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (NYSEArca: TAN)

Our economy. Despite huge rallies in the stock markets, Treasuries are still in high demand as a safe haven. Bonds serve to reduce volatility in a portfolio while generating income – the quarterly, semi-annual or annual fixed income is generally more than dividend payments from stocks. [What's the deal with bond ETFs?] Obama also said he wanted to see exports double in the next five years, as well as tax cuts that would put more cash in the hands of small business owners.

• iShares Barclays 7-10 Year Treasury Fund (NYSEArca: IEI)

• iShares Russell 2000 Index (NYSEArca: IWM)

• SPDRs (NYSEArca: SPY)

Inflation? The Federal Reserve yesterday said that inflation is expected to remain low for the time being, and Obama didn’t address the issue much in his speech, choosing to focus on job creation. With practically every country in the world rolling out billions to ease the burdens of the financial crisis, the possibility of high inflation has a lot of people seeking a safe haven in gold. Furthermore, many countries are not yet in good fiscal health, the United States included. Additional sovereign-debt downgrades from ratings agencies are but one potential trigger of a currency crisis, which could make gold an appealing store of value. [Reasons gold may still have life left.]

• SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD)

Max Chen contributed to this article.

In an effort to boost jobs and tackle climate change in one decision, Obama unveiled a $2.3 billion tax credit for clean energy. The clean energy manufacturing tax credits will benefit 183 manufacturing facilities that create clean energy products in 43 states, reports Energy Efficiency News. [How to approach Obama's other policies with ETFs.]

The provision of a 30% tax credit for the recipients is aimed at supporting the development of renewables and energy efficiency technologies. In order to qualify, the facilities will need:

• To produce solar, wind and other renewable energy equipment, microturbines, electric grid and storage technologies, energy conservation technologies, plug-in electric vehicles and their components, fuels cells, and energy storage systems for electric and hybrid vehicles. [Why solar is expected to take off in 2010.]
• Biofuel refining and blending technologies and carbon capture and storage equipment also qualify.
• Beneficiaries include smart meter company Itron, W.L. Gore & Associates, which produces an advanced membrane for high-efficiency fuel cells, and TPI Composites, which is investing in a new facility to manufacture wind turbine blades.

Michelle Chen for In These Times says that the failure in Copenhagen and the anemic jobs report is an opportunity for lawmakers to combine climate change and tackle unemployment. The Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits is intended to create tens of thousands of high-quality clean energy jobs and the domestic manufacturing of advanced clean energy technologies. [How to play the climate change movement with ETFs.]

For more stories about green investing, visit our alternative energy category.

• iShares S&P North American Natural Resources Sector (NYSEArca: IGE)

• PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy (NYSEArca: PBW)

• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (NYSEArca: TAN)

• Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy (NYSEArca: GEX)

Availability of sunlight, social and political values, disposable income, as well as state and local incentives all provide the necessary push for consumer interest in home solar power, writes Brian Clark Howard for The Huffington Post. [Solar ETFs primed to heat up.]

It is no surprise that sunny states like California, where reports show that the state connects to 40% of all solar panels in the United States, Arizona and Florida are more heavily solar connected than other places. States like New Jersey and Colorado have become hotspots with incentive systems that promote the adoption of solar technologies. Then, there are the areas that may surprise observers:

• Washington State. Tech enthusiastic and green-minded people in Seattle, along with rural and eastern areas in the state, have jumped on solar tech despite living in the cloudiest state.
• Minnesota. The Twin Cities are progressive and affluent. Like Washington State, Minnesota is also quite cloudy but that hasn’t deterred the strong interests seen in farm country.
• Chicago. Mayor Richard Daley has been pushing for a kind of green renaissance that has helped build up solar power in the Windy City.
• The Rust Belt: Ohio, Michigan and Indiana. Indiana is accepting the idea of solar power. Ohio and Michigan are also very sunny states so it may not be such a leap to see them accept solar tech.
• Southeast Appalachians. Rural Kentucky, Tennessee, the Western Carolinas and Northern Georgia are showing interest in renewable energy.
• Upstate New York. This area is cloudy, cold and still feeling the effects of the economic decline. Yet, it has been embracing solar technology. [Solar ETFs light up the green energy sector.]

In other solar news, General Electric (NYSE: GE) has made a deal to sell photovoltaic operations to Taiwanese PV cell manufacturer Motech Industries. This may be the start of increased merger and acquisitions in the solar and wind power industries, remarks Mark Burger for Gerson Lehrman Group. GE has decided to focus on wind power for its renewable energy development. There are probably many more deals like this out there, with companies that are willing to buy instead of develop their own methods. [Play the climate change conference.]

For more on solar power, visit our solar category.

• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (NYSEArca: TAN): up 13.1% in the last month

• Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (NYSEArca: KWT): up 15% in the last month

Max Chen contributed to this article.

Wall Street analysts have been excoriating the solar energy sector for much of the year and they expect the poor times to continue into 2010, with as much as half the world’s solar companies predicted to incur losses, writes David Fessler for Investment U. But are they right?

The analysts make a specious argument, believing that there is a “huge” oversupply of polysilicon – the material used make the panel assemblies – and that companies producing the new thin-film designs will be overshadowed by the cheaper and more oversupplied poly-based panels.

• The reality is that the solar energy sector, especially thin-film panels, is rapidly growing, Fessler says. In fact, China’s largest manufacturer of thin-filmed based solar modules, Trony Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. (NYSE: TRO), is expected to go public in a few weeks.
• Ron Kenedi, vice president of the Solar Energy Solutions Group at Sharp Electronics (Nasdaq: SHCAY), sees expansions in the residential sector, utility-scaled projects and mainstream solar energy.
• Zhengong Shi, Chairman and CEO of Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP), is even planning on building a new manufacturing plant in the United States.
• Jerry Wolfe, CEO of privately held groSolar, observes that a cultural change and acceptance of solar energy is taking place. (Solar lighting up green energy sector).

For more information on the solar energy sector, visit our solar category.

• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (TAN): up 14% year-to-date

• Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (KWT): up 6.9% year-to-date

Max Chen contributed to this article.

Climate change is a worsening problem. The World Meteorological Organization said that it’s a trend with no signs of slowing. The aughts, in fact, are said to be the warmest decade on records dating back 150 years, report Andrew C. Revkin and James Kanter for The New York Times. (How to play the Smart Grid plans).

The nearly 200 nations gathered in Copenhagen appealed for urgent action. Hopes are rising at the conference that President Barack Obama will formally commit the United States to cutting its emissions. One thing the United States won’t be doing, however, is ratifying the Kyoto Proticol because of Senate and Bush administration opposition.  (Play Obama’s policies).

Among the things sought at the conference include broad cuts in emissions and commitments from wealthy nations to deliver billions in financing to poor nations. (China helps wind ETFs).

More stories on alternative energy can be found here.

Five ETFs to watch as the conference progresses are:

• PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy (NYSEArca: PBW): up 24% year-to-date

• iPath Global Carbon ETN (NYSEArca: GRN): down 7.4% year-to-date

• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (NYSEArca: TAN): up 15.1% year-to-date

• PowerShares Global Wind Energy (NASDAQ:  PWND): up 35.6% year-to-date

• Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy (NYSEArca: GEX): up 8.1% year-to-date

Last year, financing seized up and demand went off a cliff. Today, demand for solar modules, a unit of interconnected solar cells, is so high that most of the industry is sold out. Germany is leading the way, making up about 36% of market demand. France, Italy, the United States and Japan are seeing their own demand rising quickly, reports Jessica Rao for CNBC.

On the supply side, the shortage of polysilicon, the building block for solar panels, is a thing of the past. (Why solar ETFs will shift to a brighter future). A massive oversupply of the material is anticipated over the next three years, giving solar panels a dramatic drop in cost to produce, and therefore utilize. This could lead to greater adoption of solar energy on the consumer level. (Read about the green energy sector here).

For more stories about solar energy, visit our solar category. If you want the scoop on anything and everything energy-related, sign up for our newest special report.

• Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (NYSEArca:KWT): down 5.4% year-to-date



• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (NYSEArca: TAN): up 1.7% year-to-date

ETFs are a good way for investors to capitalize on policy initiatives of the Obama administration while reducing the day-to-day volatility compared to other investment options, such as stocks, remarks Daniel Harrison for IndexUniverse. (Play Obama’s new energy plan).

Health Care opportunities. Jim Oberweis, chief executive of Oberweis Asset Management, believes that “there is a possible positive [outcome] for pharmaceutical companies” since sales of prescription drugs will increase as health care coverage widens. Furthermore, Oberweis argues that health care providers may benefit from more patient visits and biotechs are in a more positive position than previously thought. (More on the health care sector).

Broad-based and niche market ETFs that could benefit from the growth in the number of patients receiving coverage include:

• Health Care Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLV): up 14.3% year-to-date
• iShares Dow Jones U.S. Healthcare (NYSEArca: IYH): up 15.1% year-to-date
• iShares Dow Jones U.S. Medical Devices (NYSEArca: IHI): up 32.4% year-to-date; IHI is well-diversified, with 58% of assets under management in its top 10 holdings, and a maximum single-stock weighting of 10%. Companies included should benefit from the increase in the number of hospital patient visits.
• PowerShares Dynamic Pharmaceuticals (NYSEArca: PJP): up 10.3% year-to-date; PJP is a well-diversified ETF on large, mostly dividend-paying pharmaceutical companies that have lots of cash on hand and may see an increase in sales of core prescription drugs.
• SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals (NYSEArca: XPH): up 19.2% year-to-date; XPH is more broadly diversified.
• iShares Dow Jones US Pharmaceuticals (NYSEArca: IHE): up 22.2% year-to-date; IHE focuses more on the oversold traditional pharma brands like PJP.
• SPDR S&P Biotech (NYSEArca: XBI): down 4.3% year-to-date; XBI is well-diversified, with 45% of its funds invested in its top 10 holdings. The fund is also mostly invested in nontraditional pharma companies.
• iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (NasdaqGM: IBB): up 11.2% year-to-date; IBB has a higher weighting in its top holdings and it focuses exclusively on Nasdaq-listed securities; some large biotech companies may be excluded.

Clean energy. It is no big secret that clean energy is a big policy initiative of the Obama administration. The more notable technologies being pushed into the forefront of the sector are nuclear and solar energy. Solar tech investing is still considered risky because of the industry’s mini boom/bust cycles, but ETFs help minimize volatility. (More on alternative energy).

• Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (NYSEArca: KWT): down 6.5% year-to-date
• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (NYSEArca: TAN): up 0.3% year-to-date
• Market Vectors Nuclear Energy ETF (NYSEArca: NLR): up 19.7% year-to-date

Max Chen contributed to this article.

All over the world, governments have set aside money for the green energy sector to help get their economies on course, writes Charlie Thomas for FTAdviser. The combined allotment for “green money” in global stimulus packages may be more than $500 billion.

Earmarked funds are being spent on climate change-related investments, such as improvements to railway, grids and water infrastructure.

• The European Recovery Plan involves investments in energy, including offshore wind and carbon capture and storage.
• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will improve renewables, building efficiency, low-carbon vehicles, mass transit, grids and water.
• In December, a climate change meeting in Copenhagen will try and bring more countries, such as China and India, into the environmental accord. Energy efficiency and alternatives will also be addressed. Even if a global agreement on key issues is not met, individual countries will likely continue on with their own projects.

Green technology is becoming popular, but investors should be wary of a possible “green” bubble that could form as a result of hype. (Read how to protect yourself from bubbles). This sector is more of an emerging technologies sector, and investors should note the possible high volatility and risks involved. Find out how to follow trends here.

For more information on green energy, visit our alternative energy category. Among the many ETFs to choose from in this sector include:

• Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy (NYSEArca: GEX): up 7.8% year-to-date

• iShares S&P Global Clean Energy Index Fund (NYSEArca: ICLN): up 7.4% year-to-date

• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (NYSEArca: TAN): up 12.7% year-to-date; FSLR is 10.8%

• iPath Global Carbon ETN (NYSEArca: GRN): down 5.1% year-to-date

• PowerShares Global Wind Energy (PWND): up 38.8% year-to-date

Max Chen contributed to this article.