Euro-focused exchange traded funds (ETFs) may have had a solid couple of weeks recently, but the fact remains that the eurozone is still in some turmoil and no firm resolution to the trouble has been found yet.
Euro ETFs fell yesterday from a two-month high against the dollar and the yen. It’s all because of speculation that the European bank stress tests won’t do much to reassure investors that the economy is on solid footing, reports Catarina Sariva for BusinessWeek. What’s even more dire is that Spain, Portugal and Ireland face a 20% chance of having to restructure their public debt. Greece has a 40% likelihood and Italy has a 10% chance.
That has investors taking short positions on the euro currency, disregarding the recent rally. Using our Analyzer to find euro funds, there are two straight plays, one leveraged exchange traded note (ETN) and a short fund from ProShares:
- CurrencyShares Euro Trust (NYSEArca: FXE)
- WisdomTree Dreyfus Euro (NYSEArca: EU)
- ProShares UltraShort Euro (NYSEArca: EUO)
- Market Vectors Double Short Euro ETN (NYSEArca: DRR)
To put it bluntly, weaker states don’t like having their economic policies dictated by Germany, explains Alexander Green for Investment U. And stronger states don’t like spending billions to bail out their brethren from years of fiscal mismanagement. [Why Europe’s ETFs are Bearing the Brunt of Greece’s Debt.]
When the euro was first introduced, skeptics worried that the then-11-member states were too different to share a single currency and monetary policy. The euro is continuing to plunge on major exchanges is expected to continue to plunge, and some even boldly predict eventual parity with the U.S. dollar. [Currency ETFs Make Moves.]
For more stories about the euro, visit our euro category.
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Mr. Lydon serves as an independent trustee of certain mutual funds and ETFs that are managed by Guggenheim Investments; however, any opinions or forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Mr. Lydon and not those of Guggenheim Funds, Guggenheim Investments, Guggenheim Specialized Products, LLC or any of their affiliates. 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.