If you're in the macro know, there's no beating around the bush: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's statements this week were major market movers. But as the Dow dipped and the S&P shuddered, long-term investors have a huge reason to celebrate. Here's why.
Bernanke's big mouth
Analysts couldn't care less about financial forecasts and official press releases. When it came to this week's Federal Reserve statements, every eye was on Bernanke's Q&A session. Here, the man behind the money would be forced to leave his script and give off-the-cuff remarks to potentially revealing questions.
Did Ben burst into tears? Did he hint that his heyday was over? Did he recommend Bitcoins? Hardly. But he did make mention of a potential end: "In the next few meetings, we could take a step down in our pace of purchases" of mortgage-backed securities and long-term Treasuries.
That statement was enough to send bears roaring to the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) dropped 1.35%, while the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC ) slumped 1.39% by the end of the day.
Best Industrial Conglomerate Companies To Watch For 2015: General Finance Corporation (GFN)
General Finance Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the lease and sale of portable storage containers, portable container buildings, and freight containers. It offers mobile storage containers, including general purpose units, double pallet-wide high cube units, hazardous goods containers, and refrigerated containers; portable building containers, such as site offices and cabins, workforce accommodation units, luxury accommodation units, restroom blocks, blast-resistant units, and specialized office and infrastructure suites; and freight containers consisting of curtain-side containers, hi-cube containers, pallet-wide containers, side-opening door containers, and bulk containers. The company provides its products for various storage applications, including retail and manufacturing inventory, construction materials and equipment, documents and records, and household goods. It also leases and sells storage trailers and other storage structures, container office s, mobile offices, and modular buildings, as well as ancillary products comprising steps, furniture, portable toilets, security systems, and other items for use in connection with its equipment. In addition, the company offers delivery and installation, return and dismantle, and other site services. As of June 30, 2012, it operated a fleet of 23,855 mobile storage containers, 3,294 portable container buildings, and 9,348 freight containers. The company serves various industries, such as mining, road and rail, construction, moving and storage, manufacturing, transportation, defense, retail, utilities, education, and services sectors, as well as small and medium-size entities in New Zealand, North America, and the Asia-Pacific regions of Australia. General Finance Corporation was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Pasadena, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lisa Levin]
General Finance (NASDAQ: GFN) shares touched a new 52-week high of $8.12 after DA Davidson lifted the price target on the stock from $8 to $11.
Mattress Firm Holding (NASDAQ: MFRM) shares reached a new 52-week high of $47.03 after the company reported upbeat Q4 earnings and raised its FY14 forecast.
Best Financial Stocks To Invest In 2014: Ishares Gold Trust (IAU)
ishares Gold Trust (the Trust), incorporated on January 21, 2005, is to own gold transferred to the Trust in exchange for shares issued by the Trust (Shares). Each Share represents a fractional undivided beneficial interest in the net assets of the Trust. The assets of the Trust consist of gold held by the Trust�� custodian on behalf of the Trust. The sponsor of the Trust is BlackRock Asset Management International Inc. (the Sponsor). The trustee of the Trust is The Bank of New York Mellon (the Trustee) and the custodian of the Trust is JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., London branch (the Custodian).
The activities of the Trust are limited to issuing Baskets of Shares in exchange for the gold deposited with the Custodian as consideration; selling gold as necessary to cover the Sponsor�� fee, Trust expenses not assumed by the Sponsor and other liabilities, and delivering gold in exchange for Baskets of Shares surrendered for redemption. It does not engage in any activities designed to obtain a profit from, or to ameliorate losses caused by, changes in the price of gold.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Pham]
Although the Fed doubled its bond buying last September, the top gold exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, including SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEMKT: GLD ) , iShares Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: IAU ) , and ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (NYSEMKT: SGOL ) , have dropped around 25% each over the last 12 months, which speaks to gold's extreme vulnerability to QE tapering. Even the mere mention of tapering seems to send gold into a tailspin, as seen with SPDR Gold Shares, which has plunged 24% year to date and also suffered massive losses with its physical holdings. Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEMKT: GDX ) has suffered a massive drop of 48% so far in 2013, making it one of the worst-performing ETFs this year.
- [By Sean Williams]
The first method is by purchasing an ETF that closely tracks the underlying price of gold. The iShares Gold Trust (NYSEMKT: IAU ) and SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEMKT: GLD ) are two easy ways of buying into an ETF that holds physical gold without having to go through a physical gold dealer and taking delivery of the product. Also, both ETFs are extremely liquid, which means that you can access your money through your favorite brokerage by buying or selling anytime you need. The downside, of course, is that physical gold offers no dividend yield, so it's all about the price appreciation potential here.
- [By WilliamBriat]
For those investors who agree with this position that gold bullion should be a part of their portfolio, you may want to look at exchange-traded funds (ETFs) like the iShares Gold Trust (NYSE: IAU). This ETF provides investors with exposure to gold bullion, and it’s a cheaper alternative to the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) ETF.
- [By Quoth the Raven]
The other common way to invest is through ETFs such as iShares Gold Trust (IAU), which basically track the price of the commodity by physically purchasing bullion. The ETFs asset price reflect the price as which it trades for. If the underlying asset is silver, the ETF trades proportional to what the silver's worth.
Best Financial Stocks To Invest In 2014: Ashmore Group PLC (ASHM)
Ashmore Group plc (Ashmore) is engaged in providing investment management services. The Company is a fund manager across six core investment themes, such as external debt, local currency, corporate debt, blended debt, equities, multi-strategy, alternatives and overlay/liquidity. External debt is a diversified portfolio of emerging market debt assets. Local currency takes advantage of the expanding local currency and local currency denominated debt market. Corporate debt focuses on the developing corporate debt asset class. Blended debt mandates specifically combine external, local currency and corporate debt measured against tailor-made blended indices. Multi-strategy is a dynamic asset allocation across other investment themes. Equities Focuses on liquidity and top down macro country selection in publicly traded. Overlay/liquidity helps to separate and centralize the currency risk of an underlying emerging market asset class. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Inyoung Hwang]
Ashmore Group Plc (ASHM) jumped 5.3 percent to 382.2 pence. The U.K. fund manager that invests in emerging markets reported full-year pretax profit and revenue that exceeded estimates. The London-based company also raised its dividend.
Best Financial Stocks To Invest In 2014: Powershares Dynamic Pharmaceuticals Portfolio (PJP)
PowerShares Dynamic Pharmaceuticals Portfolio seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield, before fees and expenses, of the Dynamic Pharmaceuticals Intellidex Index (the Pharmaceuticals Intellidex). The Fund will normally invest at least 80% of its total assets in common stocks of pharmaceutical companies. The Fund will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in common stocks that comprise the Pharmaceuticals Intellidex. PowerShares Capital Management LLC (the Adviser) is the investment adviser for the Funds.
The Pharmaceuticals Intellidex comprises stocks of 30 United States-based pharmaceutical companies. These are companies that are principally engaged in the research, development, manufacture, sale or distribution of pharmaceuticals and drugs of all types. These companies may include, pharmaceutical companies and other companies involved in the research, development, manufacture, sale or distribution of drugs, including companies that facilitate the testing or regulatory approval of drugs.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jim Lowell]
Meanwhile, the PowerShares Dynamic Pharmaceuticals (PJP) has grabbed the top spot among sector ETFs.
The fund seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance of the Dynamic Pharmaceuticals Intellidex Index, which is made up of 30 US companies involved in the research, development, production, sale, or distribution of pharmaceuticals and drugs.
- [By Gary Gordon]
On behalf of most of my clients in 2013, I chose to overweight tech and health care. However, I did so with areas that are traditionally less volatile. I continue to own Powershares Pharmaceuticals (PJP) and/or SPDR Select Healthcare (XLV). I’ve been a proponent of “old tech” with the attractive prices and dividends; First Trust NASDAQ Tech Dividend (TDIV) fits the bill. Additionally, I have remained faithful to iShares Small Cap Value (IJS) for small-cap exposure, rather than hop on the IWO express.
Best Financial Stocks To Invest In 2014: Spdr S&P Pharmaceuticals Etf (XPH)
SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals Exchange Traded Fund (The Fund) seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before expenses, the performance of an index derived from the pharmaceuticals segment of a United States total market composite index. The Fund uses a passive management strategy designed to track the total return performance of the S&P Pharmaceuticals Select Industry Index (the Pharmaceuticals Index).
The Pharmaceuticals Index represents the pharmaceuticals sub-industry portion of the S&P TMI. The S&P TMI tracks all the United States common stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), American Stock Exchange (AMEX), National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation (NASDAQ) National Market and NASDAQ Small Cap exchanges.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Selena Maranjian]
Exchange-traded funds offer a convenient way to invest in sectors or niches that interest you. If you'd like to add some pharmaceutical stocks to your portfolio, the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSEMKT: XPH ) could save you a lot of trouble. Instead of trying to figure out which companies will perform best, you can use this ETF to invest in lots of them simultaneously.
The basics
ETFs often sport lower expense ratios than their mutual fund cousins. The SPDR ETF's expense ratio -- its annual fee -- is a relatively low 0.35%.
This ETF has trounced the world markets over the past three and five years. As with most investments, of course, we can't expect outstanding performances in every quarter or year. Investors with conviction need to wait for their holdings to deliver.
Best Financial Stocks To Invest In 2014: Two Harbors Investment Corp (TWO)
Two Harbors Investment Corp. (Two Harbors), incorporated on May 21, 2009, operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company is focused on investing in, financing and managing residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS), residential mortgage loans, residential real properties, and other financial assets. The Company focuses on security selection and implements a relative value investment approach across various sectors within the residential mortgage market. Its target assets include Agency RMBS, Non-Agency RMBS, residential mortgage loans, residential real properties and other financial assets comprising approximately 5% to 10% of the portfolio. The Company has designated certain of its subsidiaries as taxable REIT subsidiaries (TRSs). Capitol Acquisition Corp. (Capitol) is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Two Harbors. The Company is externally managed and advised by PRCM Advisers LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pine River Capital Management L.P. (Pine River).
The Company invests primarily in mortgage pass-through certificates, collateralized mortgage obligations and other residential mortgage-backed securities representing interests in or obligations backed by pools of mortgage loans issued by Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) (collectively GSEs). The Company also invests in residential mortgage-backed securities that are not issued by the GSEs (non-Agency RMBS) and United States Treasuries. At December 31, 2011, the Company had total assets of approximately $8.1 billion, of which $6.2 billion, or 77.1%, represented its RMBS portfolio. At December 31, 2011, $5.1 billion, or 80.9%, of its RMBS portfolio was comprised of Agency RMBS, $0.9 billion, or 14.9%, of its RMBS portfolio was comprised of senior non-Agency RMBS, and the remaining $0.2 billion, or 4.2%, was comprised of other non-Agency RMBS. The remaining $1.9 billion of assets consisted p! rimarily of United States Treasuries classified as trading instruments, cash, restricted cash, mortgage loans held-for-sale, receivables, derivative assets and prepaid assets.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Lee Jackson]
Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO) is a very wounded mortgage REIT that may offer big gains for investors. The company trades well below book value and has a nicely hedged portfolio. Merrill Lynch has a Buy rating on the stock and an $11 price target. The consensus target was not available. The stock closed yesterday at $9.65. Investors are paid an outstanding 11.3% dividend.
- [By David Hanson]
This week at the Barclays Capital Global Financials Conference, droves of CEOs, CFOs, and CIOs trotted on stage to address a room full of eager analysts. One of the lone mREITs represented was Two Harbors (NYSE: TWO ) . CEO Tom Siering and CIO Bill Roth weighed in on the current environment.�
- [By Robert Hsu]
Two of the worst mortgage REITs to own right now also happen to be two of the most widely held ones, and they are Annaly Capital Management Inc (NYSE: NLY-C) and Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE: TWO).
Best Financial Stocks To Invest In 2014: Renasant Corporation(RNST)
Renasant Corporation operates as the bank holding company for the Renasant Bank that provides various financial and insurance services to retail and commercial customers. The company offers checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, time deposits, individual retirement accounts, and health savings accounts. It also provides commercial, financial, and agricultural loans; construction loans, including loans for the construction of single family residential properties, multi-family properties, and commercial projects; residential mortgage loans; home equity loans or lines of credit; consumer loans; and equipment leasing, as well as safe deposit and night depository facilities. In addition, the company offers various fiduciary services; and administers qualified retirement plans, profit sharing and other employee benefit plans, personal trusts, and estates. Further, the company provides annuities, mutual funds, and other investment ser vices through a third party broker-dealer. Additionally, the company offers commercial and personal insurance products through carriers. As of October 21, 2011, it operated approximately 75 banking, mortgage, financial services, and insurance offices in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. The company was founded in 1904 and is based in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Financial services specialist�Renasant� (NASDAQ: RNST ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.17 per share, the same rate it's paid since 2007.
- [By Monica Gerson]
Renasant (NASDAQ: RNST) is expected to post its Q3 earnings at $0.31 per share on revenue of $60.87 million.
Posted-In: Earnings scheduleEarnings News Pre-Market Outlook Markets
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