24/7 Wall St. » RSX

Eight Countries With Credit Ratings Set to Rise Next Year

Administrator — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:14:50 +0000

It seems that all of the nations around the world are facing sovereign credit ratings downgrades or warnings of downgrades. After the United States lost its prized “AAA” rating, the threat of downgrades hangs over all of Europe. Before assuming that the whole financial system is going down the drain with Europe, it is important to realize that some key developing nations are still growing strongly and have better credit metrics. More than 15 nations may even see one or more of the top three ratings agencies upgrade their sovereign credit ratings.

24/7 Wall St. has focused on the ratings with a “positive” outlook from Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and/or Fitch with a bias towards nations that investors can easily invest in via ADR shares, closed-end funds, and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The featured nations that may be upgraded in 2012 are Brazil, Chile, China (with Hong Kong), Indonesia, Peru, Russia, South Korea, and Turkey.

Read: Nations Set For Credit Ratings Beyond Upgrades, Beyond The Euro Crisis

There is another slew of countries for which S&P has a “positive” outlook stance: Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Latvia, Panama, and Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, these nations are almost impossible for Americans to invest in due to their size, the small number of public companies, and a lack of ETFs or mutual funds covering them.

The 24/7 Wall St. list is presented alphabetically and features relevant ratings. Also included are economic details and important developments to consider. Lastly, we have provided a list of the key closed-end funds, ETFs, and ADRs specific to each nation. Population estimates and purchasing power parity GDP for 2010 were taken from the CIA World Factbook.

Filed under: ADR, Austerity, Banking, Bonds, China, Commodities, Currency, Economy, Editor's Picks, Emerging Markets, ETF, International Markets, Labor & Unions Tagged: BAP, BBD, BCH, BRF, BRFS, BVN, BZF, CEE, CH, CHN, CZZ, ECH, EIDO, EPU, ERJ, ERUS, EWH, EWY, EWZ, FXI, GOL, GXC, IDX, IF, KEF, KEP, KF, LFL, MBT, MTL, PBR, PEK, PKX, RBL, RSX, RSXJ, SAN, SCCO, SKM, SKOR, SQM, TDF, TKC, TKF, TLK, TRF, TUR, VALE, VIP

Top ETFs for the Market (FAS, RSX, RUSL, JNK, GLD)

Administrator — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:49:54 +0000

The market is surging on European hopes of the beginning of the end to the financial crisis, despite credit rating bantering out of credit ratings agencies. Now we just have to hope that Europe actually lives up to the hope. Here are some key ETFs on the move, with the emphasis not just around leveraged ETFs.

Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (NYSE: FAS) is proving that financials can still manage to rally with the market. The move is up 9.% at $53.87, mostly erasing the damage of last week.

Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSE: RSX) is a beneficiary if Europe’s woes may find a beginning of the end. This ETF is up 5.8% at $29.12, and the triple-leveraged Direxion Daily Russia Bull 3X Shares (NYSE: RUSL) is up a whopping 17.1% at $40.39.

SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond (NYSE: JNK) is winning as spreads of junk bonds (and investment grade) tighten over Treasuries. These often act more like stocks than real treasury-tracking bonds, particularly when credit spreads are so wide.

SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) proves yet again that it is not just tracking gold as the fear trade. Gold is becoming a risk-asset again and now mat be more tied to the performance of the S&P 500 Index rather than as “the fear trade” which we were so used to seeing.

JON C. OGG

Filed under: ETF, Trading Alert Tagged: FAS, GLD, JNK, RSX, RUSL

Special Report: Chart Deaths of BRIC & Emerging Markets (EEM, VWO, EWZ, BRF, ECH, CH, RSX, TRF, CEE, EPI, PIN, IFN, IIF, FXI, GXC, TAO, HAO, CHN, TDF)

Administrator — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:46:14 +0000

The old saying goes, “When the U.S. sneezes, the rest of the world catches a cold.” But what about when Europe gets the flu and when China and India drink the tap water from Latin America? There have been many books about the Post-American economies and about the rest of the world catching up to America’s fiscal dominance. It turns out that our leverage isn’t so bad when you consider some of the other great nations. The recession in America is still only an unofficial and debated recession, but the recession in Europe and the equivalent of a recession is heading back to the developing nations.

All you have to do is look at the exchange-traded funds and closed-end which track the emerging markets and the BRIC nations (and those surrounding the BRICs). Ugly is not quite the right description and we will explain more after showing just how bad the carnage is. Greece is no emerging market, but it is on the path to default faster than emerging markets used to default.

The ETFs for the broad emerging markets is not a good signal for their equity markets. The revolutions of early 2011 did not help, nor did the food inflation, but the economic slowing is taking a hit here left and right. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSE: EEM) closed down 2.1% at $34.36 and the 52-week trading range is $34.29 to $50.43 (52-week low was Monday). Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock ETF (NYSE: VWO) closed down 1.75% at $35.20 and the 52-week trading range is $35.13 to $50.92 (52-week low was Monday).

We have included the most active ETF chart on each from Stockcharts.com at the end of this report. The data on the BRICs is almost shocking…

BRAZIL

Brazil may have energy independence and the Olympics headed its way, but the implosion there has been massive. The BOVESPA lost 2.9% of its value on Monday and let’s just say that its high-flyers are now grounded due to more than just weather. It seems that minerals and forestry are not going to generate cash, just like it missed out on royalties from the term “Brazilian” in personal grooming.

iShares MSCI Brazil Index (NYSE: EWZ) closed down 2.1% at $50.89 and the 52-week trading range is $50.71 to $81.77 (52-week low was Monday). Market Vectors Brazil Small-Cap ETF (NYSE: BRF) closed down 3.15% at $37.96 and the 52-week trading range is $37.73 to $63.78 (52-week low was Monday). iShares MSCI Chile Investable Market Index (NYSE: ECH) closed down 3.8% at $51.16 and the 52-week trading range is $50.92 to $80.38 (52-week low was Monday). Aberdeen Chile Fund, Inc. (NYSE: CH) closed down 4.9% at $13.45 and the 52-week trading range is $13.37 to $26.56 (52-week low was Monday).

Filed under: ADR, Brokerage Firms, Charts, China, Commodities, Corporate Governance, Currency, Defensive Stocks, Economy, Editor's Picks, Emerging Markets, ETF, Exchange News, Index, International Markets, Most Actives, Mutual Funds, Personal Finance, Trading Alert, Value Investing Tagged: BRF, CEE, CH, CHN, ECH, EEM, EPI, EWZ, FXI, GXC, HAO, IFN, IIF, PIN, RSX, TAO, TDF, TRF, VWO

Favorable ETF Trends Showing Inflows (FAS, FAZ, SPY, QQQQ, IJH, VWO, EEM, RSX, EWW, JNK, HYG, TBT)

Administrator — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 15:07:49 +0000

The end of this last week and weekend reviews showed how the highly volatile Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (NYSE: FAZ) and the Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (NYSE: FAS) were putting record volume for combined trading for the year 2010. After looking around at many of the weekend ETF reviews, while FAZ triple-bear grew and the FAS triple-bull saw outflows, it was interesting to see a report from Morningstar’s John Gabriel showing that Q1 was a period of strong inflows in ETF products. Not all categories, short-term and government bonds for instance, showed gains; but some funds on the larger list of ETF inflows was seen in SPDRs (NYSE: SPY), PowerShares QQQ (NASDAQ: QQQQ), and iShares S&P MidCap 400 (NYSE: IJH). In emerging markets, Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock ETF (NYSE: VWO) is seeing inflows while the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSE: EEM) is seeing outflows. Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSE: RSX) and iShares MSCI Mexico Investable Market Index (NYSE: EWW) saw inflows in emerging market trends. On bonds, SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond (NYSE: JNK) and iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond (NYSE: HYG), and then the double-short UltraShort 20+ Year Treasury ProShares (NYSE: TBT) were all capital inflow winners. These are just some of the winners, and the full article shows many of the losers with some obvious and some surprises in the outflows.

Morningstar’s John Gabriel noted, “Investors plowed some $19.7 billion into ETFs in March. Those inflows helped push total net inflows for the ETF industry to $7.7 billion for the first quarter of 2010.”

Read Full Article

Filed under: Bonds, Emerging Markets, ETF, Index, Mutual Funds Tagged: EEM, EWW, FAS, FAZ, HYG, IJH, JNK, QQQQ, RSX, SPY, TBT, VWO

Russian ADR’s, ETF’s, Funds Hit On Military Actions (TRF, CEE, RSX, MBT, MTL, ROS, VIP, WBD)

247wallst — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:56:30 +0000

Russian shares in ETF’s, closed-end funds, and ADR’s are taking a little beating this morning after Russian forces have rolled in with tanks, troops, and air raids into Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia region. Deciding who is responsible is up to you, particularly as Russia and its former Soviet Union states are known for information not coming out at all or not coming out in a timely and accurate manner. Here is a list of the reactions we are seeing in these stocks, funds, and ETF’s.

INDIVIDUAL RUSSIAN STOCK ADR’s:

Mobile Telesystems OJSC (NYSE: MBT) -6.8% at $66.29 on 1.88M shares
Mechel OAO Company (NYSE: MTL) -4.2% at $23.05 on 3.6M shares
Rostelecom OAO (NYSE: ROS) -3.75% at $68.35 on 64,000 shares
Vimpel-Communications (NYSE: VIP) -3.3% at $23.50 on 2.4M shares
Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods (NYSE: WBD) -6% at $76.10 on 164,000 shares

EXCHANGE TRADED FUND:

Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSE: RSX) -5% at $40.15 on 946,000 shares

CLOSED-END FUNDS:

Templeton Russia and East European Fund Inc. (NYSE: TRF) -2.9% at $45.19 on 35,000 shares
Central Europe & Russia Fund Inc. (NYSE: CEE) -4% at $43.33 on 45,000 shares

The open ended mutual funds won’t really see any pricing changes untilthe net asset values update at the end of the day, so where thosereally trade at an end of day hypothetical net asset value might beguesswork. OPEN ENDED FUNDS:

ING Russia A Fund (LETRX)
JPMorgan Russia C Fund (JRUCX)
JPMorgan Russia Select Fund (JRUSX)
JPMorgan Russia R5 Fund (JRURX)
Third Millennium Russia Fund (TMRFX)
TEMPLETON RUSSIA AND EAST EUROPE Fund (XTRFX)
JPMorgan Russia A Fund (JRUAX)

Jon C. Ogg
August 8, 2008

Cramer Tours Kremlin & Politburo (MTL, WBD, CTCM, SEDC, CETV, TRF, RSX)

247wallst — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:07:05 +0000

This week on CNBC’s MAD MONEY, Jim Cramer highlighted how Russia has many very promising prospects for emerging markets investors. He gave many ways to play the country with ADR’s of public Russian companies that trade in the U.S. We only wanted to run a single summary since this was his fixed series going all week. Here were his picks this week for Russia:

Cramer’s Russian pick from Monday was in metals and mining pick of Mechel (NYSE: MTL) for steel demand being driven in Russia, China, and the Middle East.
On Tuesday, Cramer picked Russian food producing giant Wimm-Bill-DANN (NYSE: WBD) with more than 30%of Russian dairy and as the number 2 and number 3 producer of baby foods and juice products.
Cramer’s pick on Wednesday, he gave his top pick that night as CTC Media (NASDAQ: CTCM), the fourth largest television broadcaster in Russia with 42 television stations and 30% longterm growth.
On Thursday, Cramer picked Central European Distribution (NASDAQ: CEDC) as a vodka and liquor distributor in Russia and Eastern Europe.
Friday’s Cramer pick from Russia was Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ: CETV), which invests in, develops, and operates national commercial television channels and stations in Central and Eastern Europe.

As far as going abroad, you’ve always heard 247WallSt.com talk about ETF’s and Closed-End funds as trading vehicles that offer significant upside without as much individual portfolio risk due to a single company. The longest running fund we used for investing in Russia is the Templeton Russia and East European Fund Inc. (NYSE: TRF) and the Market Vectors Russia ETF (NYSE: RSX).

If you have followed Cramer, he’s given many similar country category picks over the course of a week, particularly in BRIC countries. As far as another BRIC series Cramer has run for Brazil, Russia, India, and China:

Here were his top Brazil picks.
Here were his top 5 China picks.
One time he did BRIC+ME, from BRIC plus the Middle East.

You can join our open email distribution list to hear about special financings, secondary offerings, IPO’s, M&A, and more previews for other special situations in various stages.

Jon C. Ogg
April 11, 2008

Jon Ogg produces the Special Situation Investing Newsletter. He can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com and he does not own securities in the companies he covers.