Consumer Staples Select Sect. SPDR (ETF)

• Tobacco Industry: A Healthy Investment?

  By Daniel Murray - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: MO, XLP, PM, VDC

  For all the negative publicity, hefty legal settlements, and push to get people to stop using its products, one would think the tobacco industry should be avoided.

  But if your conscience allows you to own the stock of a company that produces cigarettes and other tobacco products, you may be surprised at the returns you receive.

  Consider the two biggest names in the industry: Altria Group (NYSE: MO) and Philip more »

• Selling in May? Here's Where to Go

  By Jordan Wathen - May 1, 2013 | Tickers: XLP, CSJ, SPY, XLU

  It seems that nothing can get in the way of this bull market.

  The S&P 500, as measured by the SPDR S&P 500 Trust (NYSEMKT: SPY), is up more than 12.5% year-to-date with dividends included. The market is crossing historic nominal levels, and now trades at 23.38 times cyclically-adjusted earnings, according to multpl. That's almost 40% higher than history's median valuation.

  Lofty valuations are more »

• Gold's Future Does Not Look Shiny

  By Federico Zaldua - March 14, 2013 | Tickers: XLP, GLD, XLU

  I have always liked assets that yield steady streams of cash because I can (more or less) grasp the value of such a stream of cash flows. That is the reason to explain why I avoided gold (or, for instance, Art) as an investment. I simply never really knew how to value it. The gold value yardsticks I have heard were always somewhat esoteric. I remember that in his excellent more »

• Protecting Your Purchasing Power

  By Federico Zaldua - March 6, 2013 | Tickers: XLP, KXI, SPY

  I just read Bill Grosss's column in the Financial Times today, Feb. 27. He writes about a common theme nowadays: currency wars. It's evident that there is a global trend towards currency debasement. Most G10 central banks are printing paper money, and hence re-inflating real assets in nominal terms. As a matter of fact, nominal currency depreciation might be one of the main factors behind the 35% price more »

• Where to Invest as Inequality Increases

  By where-to-invest-as-inequality-increases - November 16, 2012 | Tickers: XLP, PG, SPY, WMT

  Income inequality is not a common theme among investors, but it is a powerful force and investors should be aware of its effects. The income gini ratio shows how much of a nation's income is controlled by the rich and poor. A gini coefficient of 1 means that one person owns all of the wealth in a nation, while a 0 means total equality. As the chart below shows more »

• The Biggest Investing Mistake You Need to Avoid

  By Andrés Cardenal - September 13, 2012 | Tickers: AAPL, XLP, FB, SPY, VIG

  The biggest, most expensive, investing mistake a lot of people are painfully making right now is staying completely away from stocks. Unless you are investing with a short time horizon for your portfolio - less than three years, for example - avoiding equities can cost you a lot of money in terms of lost opportunities. Unfortunately, this seems to be the case for many families nowadays.

  USA Today reported last week:

  A more »

• Dividend ETFs for Income and Diversification

  By Andrés Cardenal - May 21, 2012 | Tickers: XLP, DVY, XLU, VNQ, DEM

  Interest rates are at record lows as investors seek refuge from the global economic turmoil in US Treasury bonds and other low-risk assets: 10-year US bonds are yielding around 1.7%, which hardly constitutes a convenient entry price from a long-term point of view.

   

  If the European crisis keeps getting worse, or if we see another round of quantitative easing from the Federal Reserve, interest rates could get even lower more »

• Energy Sector Shines

  By Declan Fallon - February 16, 2012 | Tickers: CVX, XLP, DV, XLE, XOM

  Events in the Middle East continues to stoke fears on rising gas prices, not just in Iran but Saudi Arabia too. This uncertainty spills into the broader market, suppressing demand for stocks. However, one sector which is certain to benefit is energy. The leading energy exchange-traded product, Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEMKT: XLE), enjoyed increased volume buying over February, without sparking a rally in price.  This controlled buying in more »