The Absolute Best Way To Choose The Right ETFs

By: David Sterman of Street Authority

The rapid proliferation of the exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry has been a boon for investors.

Many folks now simply focus on a key sector or trend, and buy the most suitable ETF to hit their target. For these folks, the time and energy of individual stock research just isn't worth it. Yet the process of picking the right ETF can be downright confusing.

Let's say you want to own an ETF that focuses on industrial companies. Do you choose the SPDR Industrial Select Sector ETF (NYSE: XLI), the Vanguard Industrials Index ETF (NYSE: VIS) or the iShares Dow Jones U.S. Industrial Sector Index ETF (NYSE: IYJ)? Before you answer that question, know that there are also more than a dozen other industrial ETFs, with a niche focus on China, multinationals, small caps... the list goes on.

Frankly, we may have reached a point of too many ETFs, and some funds will simply wither away from a lack of interest. According to XTF.com, investors can now choose from more than 1,600 ETFs that collectively control more than $150 billion in assets. In just the month of June, 24 new ETFs were launched. It's getting hard to keep score.

Many new ETFs are falling under the category of "smart beta," which I discussed a few months ago. These funds tend to be pricier than traditional passive ETFs, which have less portfolio turnover and, typically, much lower expense ratios. Continue reading "The Absolute Best Way To Choose The Right ETFs"

Doug Casey: "America Has Ceased to Exist"

By Doug Casey, Chairman

“America is a marvelous idea, a unique idea, fantastic idea. I’m extremely pro-American. But America has ceased to exist,” says Doug Casey. Watch him in this fascinating interview with Reason TV’s Nick Gillespie discuss the political, social, and economic challenges the US must conquer as well as lessons we can learn from failed states.

A severe economic and/or political crisis can sneak up on you before you know it. Learn from the three harrowing stories of international crisis survivors—and the insightful comments of experts like Doug—how to recognize a crisis in the making. You may need those skills soon because it can, and will, happen here… Watch Meltdown America, a 30-minute free documentary that predicts the economic and political unraveling of the US.

 

The article Doug Casey: “America Has Ceased to Exist” was originally published at caseyresearch.com.

Weekly Futures Recap With Mike Seery

We've asked Michael Seery of SEERYFUTURES.COM to give our INO readers a weekly recap of the Futures market. He has been Senior Analyst for close to 15 years and has extensive knowledge of all of the commodity and option markets.

Michael frequently appears on multiple business networks including Bloomberg news, Fox Business, CNBC Worldwide, CNN Business, and Bloomberg TV. He is also a guest on First Business, which is a national and internationally syndicated business show.

Silver Futures

Silver futures in the September contract rallied $.35 cents this week as tensions between Israel and Hamas have sent prices to 4 month highs at 21.48 with the next major resistance at $22 as I’ve been recommending a long position when prices hit a 4 week high breaking above 20.02 about 3 weeks ago so continue to place a stop below the 10 day low as the chart structure is outstanding as that level currently stands at 20.82 risking around $.70 or $3,500 per contract at these price levels. Silver has been going higher in recent weeks as this commodity has solid demand due to electronics and many other products that currently use silver and if you’ve been following any of my previous blogs for the last several months I thought prices were extremely cheap especially compared to the rest of the commodity markets so continue to be long while placing your stop at the 2 week low as prices are trading above their 20 and 100 day moving average telling you that the trend remains higher.
TREND: HIGHER
CHART STRUCTURE: EXCELLENT

Continue reading "Weekly Futures Recap With Mike Seery"

Good Way To End The Trading Week

We're coming to the end of a rather dismal trading week as far as many traders are concerned, so let’s take a look at a positive way to end the week.

As this is Friday, I want to look for markets that are making new 52-week highs, particularly when they're going against the general grain of the market.

Within MarketClub, under the SmartScan tab, I'm going to use the link for 52-week highs. I'm also going to be filtering the results by "Equities," "last price less than $50" and "volume greater than 2 million shares traded a day." I'm also only going to search on US exchanges.

With the filtering completed, I came up with a list of about 16 stocks that meet my criteria. From your own scan of the stocks that meet your criteria, you could choose what you would like to trade, or you could trade all of them. Your next step is to scan 15 minutes before the close looking for stocks that are trading close to their highs for the day. You only want to trade those stocks that are closing strong for the day and the week.

If a stock is making new highs on Friday, it potentially means that something is going on behind the scenes that the general public is not aware of. It could be merger talks, a new product announcement or simply news that comes up that's viewed as positive for that particular stock or sector. Once you pick out the stock and buy it, you want to take profits on the opening on Tuesday. You're looking for the market to continue its strong upward momentum on Monday and early on Tuesday when the stock opens. Continue reading "Good Way To End The Trading Week"

Your Trading Business: Learn to Keep it Emotion Free

Forex trading successfully involves careful analyzing of data that is changing 24/7. This is not the forum for split-second decisions nor blind calls. You need to be consistently working a well thought out strategy that has been derived from real life data. If you suddenly find that you don’t know why have entered a trade, then you have most likely fallen victim to emotional trading.

Learning to control your emotions is a pivotal point in every young trader’s career. Once you are able to differentiate between trading from the gut and trading with sense, the losses stop and the gains begin.
To help you reach that point sooner, there are a few strategies you can employ: Continue reading "Your Trading Business: Learn to Keep it Emotion Free"