Now that three months have past since the signing of President Barack Obama’s stimulus bill, some of his proposed projects are finally breaking ground. What effect has this had on infrastructure exchange traded funds (ETFs)?
The first transportation project to start is a mile-long stretch of a pot-holed road in Silver Spring, MD. The effect that taxpayer dollars have had on the local economy is evident. With the repaving of this road, general contractors who were once unemployed are now employed and American Infrastructure, the company in charge of the project, has 60 people working on the job, 20 of whom were previously unemployed, states Tamara Keith of Marketplace.
This is just the beginning of a massive infrastructure spending package that the Obama administration has put together to repair the country’s beaten and bruised roads and bridges. It’s hoped that as more projects break ground, more jobs will be created chipping away at the unemployment rate, more dollars will circulate in local economies and overall public safety will increase for all of us.
- iShares S&P Global Infrastructure (IGF): which is up 26.3% over the past three months, despite being down 4.1% year-to-date
- SPDR FTSE/Macquarie GI 100 ETF (GII): which is up 14.9% over the past three months, despite being down 8.8% year to date
Kevin Grewal contributed to this article.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.