In our previous examination of micro-cap exchange traded funds (ETFs), we highlighted the PowerShares Zacks Micro Cap ETF (NYSE: PZI), noting this well-established was one of just a three ETFs that are exclusively devoted to tracking stocks with the micro-cap designation. We also noted that when traversing into the micro-cap universe, investors face … [read more]

In the Rear View Mirror: It was another strong week for U.S. stocks as a slew of earnings reports were met with open arms, for the most part at least, and economic data remained good enough to keep fanning the flames of the January rally. The three-week winning … [read more]

In the Rear View Mirror: For the first four days of the week, U.S. stocks looked pretty good. Then along came Friday. When the dust settled and the market closed on Friday, the good news was U.S. stocks rose for a second consecutive week. The bad news is Europe … [read more]

Emerging Markets Carnage! That’s at least one way to describe the landscape investors faced when it came to Chinese stocks in 2011. And that’s just the large-caps. Broadly speaking, the small-caps were a mess unto themselves, attracting controversy at nearly every turn. Muckraking financial journalists and eager short-sellers … [read more]

In the Rear View Mirror: It was a decent start to the year for U.S. stocks. Or was it? The S&P 500 closed higher by 1.6% in the first trading week of 2012 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.2%. By comparison, the Nasdaq looked quite impressive with a 2.7% gain … [read more]

Imagine for a moment that 2011 was a normal year for investors and by “normal” we mean that Europe wasn’t pressuring global financial markets on an almost daily basis and emerging markets generated solid alpha as they did in 2010. While that obviously wasn’t the case this year … [read more]