ETFdesk's  Instablog

There are a gazillion ways to play the energy sector with exchange traded funds, but you’re not just limited to oil, natural gas or solar power. Utilities might be an off-the-beaten path way to invest in the nation’s changing energy picture. ETFDesk users see this as a potential opportunity to: buy Rydex S&P Equal Weight Utilities ETF (RYU) buy Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU) buy iShares S&P Global Utilities Sector Index Fund (JXI) buy iShares DJ US Utilities (IDU); Check out how others are using ETFs to capitalize on this news or add your own opinion

Analysts at Deutsche Bank attempt to answer the question “Rent of Buy?” in a new research piece out today. While falling home prices and declining interest rates have narrowed the rent-buy gap, home affordability is not high by historical standards. ETFDesk users see this as a potential opportunity to: sell iShares DJ US Real Estate (IYR); Check out how others are using ETFs to capitalize on this news or add your own opinion

ALTHOUGH THE FED HAS reaffirmed its low short-term interest rate policy, it cannot control long-term interest rates. In fact, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note has risen from a low of 3.23% at Thanksgiving of last year to its current level 3.87%. ETFDesk users see this as a potential opportunity to: sell iShares Lehman 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund (TLT) sell iShares Lehman 7-10 Year Treasury Bond Fund (IEF) sell iShares Lehman 10-20 Year Treasury Bond Fund (TLH) buy UltraShort Lehman 7-10 Year Treasury ProShares (PST) buy UltraShort Lehman 20+ Year Treasury ProShares (TBT) sell PIMCO 7-15 Year U.S. Treasury Index Fund (TENZ); Check out how others are using ETFs to capitalize on this news or add your own opinion

Mergers and acquisitions boomed in Asia in the first quarter in sharp contrast to a slump in deal volume in Europe and the US, underlining a global shift in activity in the wake of the credit crisis. ETFDesk users see this as a potential opportunity to: buy Gabelli Global Deal Fund (GDL) buy IQ ARB Merger Arbitrage ETF (MNA); Check out how others are using ETFs to capitalize on this news or add your own opinion

The idea for this comparison of Oil to Big Macs, is that a Big Mac is representative of a basket of agricultural goods and thus compares the relative advantage of trading food for oil. Whats interesting about this is that theoretically, it should be a somewhat inflation-adjusted measure of oil prices. As of now it appears agricultural goods is undervalued relative to Oil. ETFDesk users see this as a potential opportunity to: sell United States Oil Fund LP (USO) buy ELEMENTS - Rogers International Commodity Index Agriculture Total Return (RJA); Check out how others are using ETFs to capitalize on this news or add your own opinion