ETF Spotlight on First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology (NYSEArca: FBT), part of a weekly series. Assets: $77 million Objective: Tracks the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index, which is an equal-weighted index designed to measure the performance of companies in the biotech industry. Holdings: Tom holdings...

Last year was one long coming-out party for bond exchange traded funds (ETFs), which managed to attract a cool $104.1 billion, according to Morningstar data. But if you’re expecting a repeat in 2010, that might be premature thinking. The bond ETF market heated up in 2009, but many anticipate...

Thanks to the promise of high growth, emerging market exchange traded funds (ETFs) have been the darlings of the investing world since the economic recovery first sprang to life. But whether it’s roundly true that emerging markets will always outperform developed ones is another question...

The Chinese yuan has been pegged to the fortunes of the U.S. dollar, but that may no longer last. There are two ways to play the yuan with exchange traded funds (ETFs), as interest-rate differentials widen and China adopts a more traditional model of growth. Yi Gang, head of the State...

We’ve all gotta eat, right? If you’re feeling especially hungry and looking for an investment with some promise, agriculture exchange traded funds (ETFs) could be just the ticket. Crop and trade forecasts issued by the U.S. Agriculture Department look promising, which has led many to...

Mergers and acquisitions are starting to be a sign of the times. An unexpected decline in wholesale inventories wasn’t enough to put the markets in the red in early trading, thanks to a slew of M&A deals in the biotechnology and financial sectors. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) is going...

Traders sure like the financial sector this morning; shares of AIG (NYSE: AIG) and Citigroup (NYSE: C) are leading the charge, thanks to AIG’s stepped-up efforts to repay billions in bailout cash. Here are more stories on the subject that may interest you: 8 Top ETFs Since the Market’s...

One year ago today, the markets finally hit bottom and brought us to where we are today. While we’ve come a long way since then, it’s important not to forget where we’ve been. A one-year anniversary is a convenient way to mark a milestone, but it’s important not to forget...

The line of mutual fund providers who want to launch exchange traded funds (ETFs) seems to get longer each passing day. Now you can add Eaton Vance Corp. to the fast-growing list. Eaton Vance, a Boston-based money manager, is one of the biggest players in the world of closed-end funds (CEFs). The...

State Street has filed for a new exchange traded fund (ETF) that’s also a first of its kind: a fund that tracks the international investment-grade corporate bond market. The new fund: Barclays Capital International Corporate Bond (NYSEArca: IBND). The ETF is meant to  track the performance of...

Emerging market exchange traded funds (ETFs) have been moving past the plain vanilla, all-purpose type that seek to give general exposure. The new breed is getting more specialized, giving investors a chance to drill down into specific sectors. There’s been a surge of new emerging market ETFs...

Much has been made of the differences and similarities between index mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs), but less has been written on which makes the most sense for investors, cost-wise. In the summer of 2003, Leonard Kostovetsky wrote an article titled “Index Mutual Funds and...

Uh-oh…you’ve probably noticed that gas prices are once again creeping higher, just in time for the driving season. As a motorist, it might have you cringing; but as an exchange traded fund (ETF) investor, it might have you looking for an opening. Gas has already crept up 5 cents a...

What a difference a year makes. At this time in 2009, it seemed that the markets and exchange traded funds (ETFs) couldn’t sink much further. Little did we know, a reprieve was to come. Here are eight of the strongest ETFs since that day. Market Vectors Coal ETF (NYSEArca: KOL) is up 224.9%...

Happy Anniversary! One year ago today, the markets hit their low. Stocks, exchange traded funds (ETFs) and the economy in general all look a lot different today than they did then. Wall Street seems to be taking a break to pause and reflect this morning in the absence of market-moving economic...

If actions speak louder than words, oil companies hardly have oil on the brain these days. It’s all about natural gas. The latest deal to come down the pipeline is one between Royal Dutch Shell and Petrochina, which have made a joint $3.26 billion offer for Arrow Energy, which is a natural...

One year after the market hit its lows, Claymore Securities, often best known as a provider of themed exchange traded funds (ETFs), is taking a different approach with three new offerings that track broad U.S. equities. Claymore’s three new funds are: Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index...

As anxious investors who have been shaken by Europe’s debt problems scrutinize France’s debt, the France country-specific exchange traded fund (ETF) may improve on the greater role the government will take in businesses. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has vehemently asked banks to...

Tom Lydon spoke to Donna Kardos at MarketWatch about the markets today. Read his comments here!

While it’s true that real estate exchange traded funds (ETFs) have doubled off their lows since last March, they’ve still got a long way to go before the sector can be considered “stable.” At the very least, real estate’s comeback from the lows is impressive. Investors...