We often look to the ETF marketplace for clues into the sentiment of investors. A few of the key data points that we review are total assets and fund flows; creations and redemptions, each quarter. Below, as a point of reference, are the top largest ETFs, as measured by total assets, as of the end of the 1st quarter. The constituents of this list have not changed much in recent quarters.Read more
On Friday, April 6, 2012, when U.S. markets were closed for the Good Friday holiday, the Department of Labor released a report indicating that U.S. companies added 120,000 new jobs in the prior month. While this would seem like positive news on the surface, it represented the first time in the last five months that less than 200,000 new jobs were created and fell significantly below the expectations of most economists who were expecting another increase of 200,000 + new jobs. U.S. markets thus opened decidedly lower on the following Monday after having time to digest the disappointing report and perhaps fearing that this report could be a sign of the underlying weakness in both the job market and the overall economic recovery.Read more