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HEADLINES:

Investors Stay Focused On Their Silver Linings Playbook
Scott Martindale • Thu, May 16 • 3 Comments
A Financial Services ETF Buffett Would Like
Benzinga • Wed, May 15 • 1 Comment
S&P 500 Sector Breadth Levels
Bespoke Investment Group • Mon, May 13 • 3 Comments
Bulls Start Their Move Into Cyclicals
Scott Martindale • Thu, May 9
S&P 500 Sector Trading Range Charts
Bespoke Investment Group • Fri, May 3
Stronger Equity And Housing Markets Give Boost To Financials
Morningstar • Sun, Apr 28
The Invidious 'Down Payment Requirement' Meme
Felix Salmon • Thu, Apr 25 • 6 Comments
Mid-April Sell-Off: Echoes Of February 2007, Or A One-Off?
Jim Kelleher • Thu, Apr 25 • 1 Comment
Stocks May Stumble, But Will Not Fall
Scott Martindale • Thu, Apr 25
S&P 500 And Sector Trading Range Charts
Bespoke Investment Group • Wed, Apr 24
American Express: It's Still About Bottom Line Improvement
Nick Chiu • Fri, Apr 19 • 4 Comments
Credit Inflation Has Definitely Returned
John M. Mason • Fri, Apr 19 • 25 Comments
Tech Slips Into The Red
Bespoke Investment Group • Thu, Apr 18
Stocks Succumb To The 'New News'
Scott Martindale • Thu, Apr 18 • 1 Comment
Extreme Overbought Territory
Bespoke Investment Group • Fri, Apr 12 • 5 Comments
Bulls Reclaim Their Mojo As Healthcare Leads
Scott Martindale • Thu, Apr 11 • 2 Comments
Bank Lending: Helping The Recovery?
John M. Mason • Mon, Apr 8 • 2 Comments
Skittishness Neutralizes Bullish Conviction
Scott Martindale • Thu, Apr 4
Weak Breadth
Bespoke Investment Group • Tue, Apr 2 • 1 Comment
Transports Try To Prod Bulls Ever Forward
Scott Martindale • Thu, Mar 28 • 6 Comments

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2011 May See Even More Litigation for Financials
Susan Mangiero • Tue, Feb 1, 2011 • 1 Comment
Traversing the Financial Sector ETF Maze
David Trainer • Fri, Jan 21, 2011
Do Those in the Financial Industry Deserve Their High Incomes?
Scott Sumner • Mon, Jan 3, 2011 • 5 Comments
Financial Sector Breaks Out
Bespoke Investment Group • Fri, Nov 5, 2010 • 2 Comments
The New Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Changes Ahead but Already Under Fire
Wall Street Strategies • Fri, Sep 17, 2010 • 3 Comments
Narrowing TED Spreads Point to Lower Default Risk
Prieur du Plessis • Mon, Aug 9, 2010 • 1 Comment
Subversive Government Economists
Annaly Salvos • Wed, Jul 28, 2010 • 5 Comments
Ben Is 'at Bat' Tomorrow as He Goes Before Senate Banking Committee
Bruce Krasting • Tue, Jul 20, 2010
What Problems Were Solved by Financial Reform Legislation?
Mark Thoma • Sun, Jul 18, 2010 • 7 Comments
The Rise and Fall of Global House Prices
Donald Marron • Wed, Jun 30, 2010 • 8 Comments
Financials Hold Back Full-Scale Rally
optionMONSTER • Mon, Jun 14, 2010
How Should We Respond to Regulatory Failure?
Mark Thoma • Fri, Jun 11, 2010
The Worst Thing About the Financial Reform Bill
Tom Brown • Fri, Jun 4, 2010 • 8 Comments
Papagianis, Zingales on CDS Resolution Reform
Rortybomb • Fri, Apr 16, 2010 • 1 Comment
Venture Capital Creating Systemic Risk???
Fred Wilson • Sat, Apr 10, 2010 • 5 Comments
Americans Now Back to Overconsumption Norm
Edward Harrison • Mon, Mar 29, 2010 • 23 Comments
The FSOC's Veto Over Consumer Finance
Rortybomb • Wed, Mar 24, 2010
Parsing the Fed's Z.1 Flow of Funds Report
Annaly Salvos • Wed, Mar 17, 2010 • 3 Comments
Financial Reform and How Special Interests Weaken It
Rortybomb • Mon, Mar 15, 2010 • 2 Comments
Credit Default Swaps: Three Different Views on How We Got the Bad News
David Warsh • Mon, Mar 15, 2010 • 2 Comments

Investors Stay Focused On Their Silver Linings Playbook
Scott Martindale • Thu, May 16 • 3 Comments
A Financial Services ETF Buffett Would Like
Benzinga • Wed, May 15 • 1 Comment
S&P 500 Sector Breadth Levels
Bespoke Investment Group • Mon, May 13 • 3 Comments
Bulls Start Their Move Into Cyclicals
Scott Martindale • Thu, May 9
S&P 500 Sector Trading Range Charts
Bespoke Investment Group • Fri, May 3
Stronger Equity And Housing Markets Give Boost To Financials
Morningstar • Sun, Apr 28
The Invidious 'Down Payment Requirement' Meme
Felix Salmon • Thu, Apr 25 • 6 Comments
Mid-April Sell-Off: Echoes Of February 2007, Or A One-Off?
Jim Kelleher • Thu, Apr 25 • 1 Comment
Stocks May Stumble, But Will Not Fall
Scott Martindale • Thu, Apr 25
S&P 500 And Sector Trading Range Charts
Bespoke Investment Group • Wed, Apr 24
American Express: It's Still About Bottom Line Improvement
Nick Chiu • Fri, Apr 19 • 4 Comments
Credit Inflation Has Definitely Returned
John M. Mason • Fri, Apr 19 • 25 Comments
Tech Slips Into The Red
Bespoke Investment Group • Thu, Apr 18
Stocks Succumb To The 'New News'
Scott Martindale • Thu, Apr 18 • 1 Comment
Extreme Overbought Territory
Bespoke Investment Group • Fri, Apr 12 • 5 Comments
Bulls Reclaim Their Mojo As Healthcare Leads
Scott Martindale • Thu, Apr 11 • 2 Comments
Bank Lending: Helping The Recovery?
John M. Mason • Mon, Apr 8 • 2 Comments
Skittishness Neutralizes Bullish Conviction
Scott Martindale • Thu, Apr 4
Weak Breadth
Bespoke Investment Group • Tue, Apr 2 • 1 Comment
Transports Try To Prod Bulls Ever Forward
Scott Martindale • Thu, Mar 28 • 6 Comments

There are no Transcripts on IYF.

Mark Hulbert: Why it pays to sell in May

at MarketWatch.com (Apr 5, 2013)
Pros' Picks Amid Dow's 3rd Record Day

at CNBC.com (Mar 7, 2013)
Don't ignore diversified financial ETFs

at MarketWatch.com (Jul 19, 2012)
Mark Hulbert: Independent thinkers are buying banks

at MarketWatch.com (Jul 2, 2012)
Popular ETFs You Should Never Use: Pro

at CNBC.com (Jun 13, 2012)
John Nyaradi's ETF Edge: Here comes Lehman 2.0

at MarketWatch.com (Sep 7, 2011)
John Nyaradi's ETF Edge: Three financial funnel clouds ahead

at MarketWatch.com (Jun 28, 2011)
Earnings Watch: Updates, advisories and surprises

at MarketWatch.com (Apr 21, 2011)

IYF vs. ETF Alternatives

IYF Description

The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Financial Sector Index Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the financial and economic sectors of the U.S. equity market, as represented by the Dow Jones U.S. Financials Index.
See more details on sponsor's website

Sector: Financial

Country: United States

Key Info

In Your Portfolio: A Guide to Sector ETFs, Financial Sector ETFs
Asset Class Performance: Sectors

All
| Earnings
| Dividends
| M&A
| On the move

Friday, May 17, 5:56 AM UBS upgrades global financials to Overweight from Underweight on a healing global economy, rebuilt capital, and the sector's shift "from being a net issuer to a net distributor of cash." Furthermore, the U.S. banking sector (XLF) is taken to Overweight as balance sheet strength and attractive valuations play well with the housing market recovery to create compelling opportunities. European banks (EUFN) are lifted to Neutral "with a preference towards Nordic and U.K. banks." Financials respond in London with LLoyds Banking Group (LYG) +2.3%, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) +3.3%, and Barclays (BCS) up 0.5%. 5 Comments [Financials, Global & FX]
Wednesday, May 15, 7:54 AM "You're getting cost cuts as a means of sustaining performance and that's not a great sign," says analyst Simon Maughan. "What HSBC (HBC) is showing you (job cuts earlier) is that there is very little growth in the banking industry (XLF) for years to come." CEO Stuart Gulliver notes HSBC has met its savings target, but hasn't met a goal to reduce costs as a percentage of revenue because revenue hasn't grown. 1 Comment [Financials]
Wednesday, April 24, 3:58 PM Richard Pzena (PZN) - still heavily overweight financials (XLF) and mature tech (XLK) - makes his case for global banks in today's earnings call (transcript): With capital levels of 11-13% at JPM, C, and BCS double what they were pre-crisis, will regulators allow banks to earn a decent return on said capital? A definite "yes," says Pzena, seeing no reason demand for financial products won't continue to grow faster than GDP, and noting bank managers' "laser-like focus" on improving returns. An average price-to-book ratio of 0.7x combined with a modest ROE of 12-13% suggests fair value more than double current prices. Comment! [Financials, Tech, Quick Ideas]
Thursday, April 18, 7:37 AM Coming alongside a rise in lender earnings are calls for tougher regulation, including even more stringent capital requirements. Bank profits have thrived the past few years even with all the new rules, but maybe at the expense of economic growth. "The government aimed a Stinger missile at the banking industry and missed and hit the consumer as well," says Dick Bove. The XLF has about matched the S&P's 120% rise since the March 2009 bottom. 1 Comment [Financials]
Monday, April 15, 12:28 PM The Brown/Vitter bill being rolled out in Congress is essentially Armageddon to the TBTF banks, says Goldman, seeing it as mandating another $1.1T in equity for the banking system. Banks would need 12 years of earnings to build this amount organically, though the bill would give just 5 - say goodbye to lending. Break up the banks? BAC, C, JPM, and WFC all have multiple divisions with more than $400M in assets - the level at which the bill gets tough on lenders. 22 Comments [Financials]
Monday, April 15, 11:24 AM A 2.5% move up in Citigroup following earnings is allowing the banks (XLF) to tread water or even move higher in an otherwise bright red tape. Leading the S&P on the downside is the resources sector, XLE -2.9%, XLB -2.5%. S&P 500 (SPY) -0.7%. Comment! [Financials]
Friday, April 12, 12:09 PM "Expect more pronounced slowing" in mortgage banking and loan demand, says Sterne Agee's Todd Hagerman after this morning's earnings from Wells Fargo and JPMorgan. Mortgage banking income fell as expected, but both banks reported slowing application volumes as well, suggesting future cuts to earnings estimates. XLF -0.8%. 7 Comments [Financials]
Wednesday, April 10, 3:59 PM In comments with potential implications for the banking sector, CLSA analyst Mike Mayo says he sees a rebirth of shareholder rights in the sector with institutional investors taking control of their ownership stake. A "country club sort of attitude" has been prevalent for too long among bank boards, with directors getting fired one out of 3,000 times, Mayo says. (video) Comment! [Financials]
Tuesday, April 9, 6:43 PM A Goldman Sachs note helps explain some of the recent weakness in big bank stocks and adds a warning signal: Banks that gain more than 10% in Q1 usually give back nearly all those profits in Q2 when future earnings estimates begin falling. Goldman's top concern heading into Q1 earnings is that "lackluster fundamentals could lead to a negative EPS revision cycle (which has been the trend the past few years)." 5 Comments [Financials, Quick Ideas]
Tuesday, April 9, 9:48 AM JPMorgan Chase (JPM) will lead big U.S. banks in job cuts with 17K expected through 2014, according to Bloomberg, after the six largest U.S. banks announced cuts to 1.8%, or 21K positions, during Q1. The housing rebound means many of the cuts will come in foreclosure units. Banks may tell more about their personnel plans starting this Friday when JPM and Wells Fargo (WFC) report Q1 results. 1 Comment [Financials]
Thursday, March 14, 5:14 PM After hours movers in the banks: JPM -2.5% and GS -2.1% after the two had their capital proposals approved but were asked to submit new plans "to address weakness in their capital planning processes." WFC +0.4%, BAC +3.8% after no dividend hike, but a whopping $10.5B in share repurchases and redemption of high-yielding preferreds. Morgan Stanley +0.9%. The XLF +0.1%. 18 Comments [Financials, On the Move]
Thursday, March 7, 11:01 AM The big U.S. banks are considering defying the Fed and announcing capital return plans shortly after stress tests are released this afternoon, reports Bloomberg. The Fed wants the lenders to wait another week, but bank lawyers worry the plans will leak out. It's under discussion, JPM CFO Lake told an investor conference (transcript) Tuesday. XLF +0.6%. 34 Comments [Financials]
Monday, March 4, 11:55 AM Expect gradual, but not outsized jumps in capital returns from the banks this year, says Goldman (stress tests results are due Thursday, capital return decisions due March 14). Management teams are likely to be conservative in their requests from the Fed as "taking a mulligan" - i.e., resubmitting a plan after being shot down - is not seen as a viable option. 6 Comments [Financials]
Tuesday, February 19, 11:42 AM The technicians call it resistance and the financial sector (XLF, KRE) is up against it in a big way, says BAML (h/t John Melloy). Comment! [Financials]
Friday, February 15, 9:32 AM New FASB proposals could give banks more room to value certain assets on their books with models, rather than market values. The proposals would also eliminate the perverse DVA adjustment, in which banks record a profit as their credit situation worsens (and a loss as it improves). Stakeholder comments are due by May 15. Comment! [Financials]
Wednesday, February 13, 7:45 AM Are more gains in store for the banks after the President last night gave a push to the stalled Menendez-Boxer bill which would streamline the refinancing process for Fannie and Freddie borrowers? BAC +0.9%, C +0.3%, JPM +0.5% premarket (no trades for WFC). 6 Comments [Financials]

Wall Street Sector Selector
Chicago Purchasing Managers Index Fizzles (XLI) (XLB) (XLP) (IYF)
10/31/12
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Jacob Wolinsky
Morning News: Oil Prices Surge | ValueWalk.com http://bit.ly/x8wUWV $C $UBS $WFC $BAC $GS $XLF $IYF $ERO $GREK $BNP
2/22/12
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Jacob Wolinsky
LOL!! Henry Paulson Blames Government For The Financial Crisis http://bit.ly/wRDMyx $XLF $IYF
2/15/12
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Jacob Wolinsky: Ur insane
2/16/12
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Jacob Wolinsky
#SEC Looks To Expand Definition of Insider Trading | ValueWalk.com http://bit.ly/zs0jVG $XLF $IYF $$
2/15/12
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Jacob Wolinsky
JAMIE #DIMON TELLS FBN PAUL VOLCKER DOESN'T UNDERSTAND "CAPITAL MARKETS" http://bit.ly/w7ZBDo $JPM $XLF $IYF $GREK $ERO
2/13/12
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Jacob Wolinsky
Volcker Files Comment Letter Against, Yes, the Volcker Rule | ValueWalk.com http://bit.ly/zbk4Fp $GS $XLF $IYF
2/13/12
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Jacob Wolinsky
Fine Capital Down 12% in 2011, Was Big Investor in MF Global http://stks.co/2NQe $XLF $IYF $MF $CME $QQQ
2/13/12
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Jacob Wolinsky
Charles Royce "Virtually Impossible to Understand Banks" http://bit.ly/yKBkIM $PENNX $XLF $IYF $LAZ $VIX $VXX
2/11/12
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Jacob Wolinsky
$HSBC Insurance Unit Up For Bid [Morning Update] ValueWalk.com http://bit.ly/vZ7T6h $AXA $ACE $CS $PG $DMND $XLF $IYF $BRK-A $GLD $CS
2/9/12
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Jacob Wolinsky
Banks Paying Cash to Homeowners to Avoid Foreclosures http://bit.ly/AcJFG2 $XLF $IYF $XHB
2/7/12
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LATEST REPLIES

Jacob Wolinsky
LOL!! Henry Paulson Blames Government For The Financial Crisis http://bit.ly/wRDMyx $XLF $IYF
2/15/12
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Jacob Wolinsky: Ur insane
2/16/12
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Jacob Wolinsky
Investigations against MBSs Gain Momentum http://bit.ly/wHHEQq $XHB $XLF $IYF $JPM $GS
1/30/12
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losbronces: Too little & too late. And led by Eric Holder, the incompetent who put arms into the hands of the Mexican drug cartels.
1/30/12
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Jacob Wolinsky
New post: Has the #Housing Market Finally Bottomed Out? http://bit.ly/ABY3bV $XHB $XLF $IYF
1/26/12
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jason2788: ^Like^
1/26/12
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1980XLS-2.0: Banksters training the sheeple that is good. All to protect their balance sheets,from their bad bets.What's bad for JPM is good 4 america
1/26/12
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Jacob Wolinsky
Wilbur #Ross: #Obama 'Seems to Hate' Big Banks; EU Has 'Dysfunctional' Economies http://bit.ly/v4G204 $XLF $IYF $ERO $DXY $IRE
12/21/11
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1980XLS-2.0: I'm sure congress and the tea party will be happy, when they find out the fed is buying $300B worth of Pizza next year.
12/22/11
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Hillbilly Stock Star: LOL!
12/22/11
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Jacob Wolinsky
Tuesday (12/20/11) Pre-Market News: RBS Shrinking iBanking Division $RBS $XLF $IYF $MDLZ $CVS $PDG $T $S $GS $SPY $NAV $OSK $WINN
12/20/11
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samsam2: They've already OKd the new logo: SprinT-Mobile Shouldn't they?
12/21/11
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Jacob Wolinsky
Did The Fed Quietly Bail Out A Bank On Tuesday? http://bit.ly/tbCUbB $XLF $IYF
12/17/11
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Jacob Wolinsky: Nothing surprises me anymore, and with all these banks and money markes having huge exposure to European sovereign debt and banks who knows?
12/18/11
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humahuaca: my guess is they did. The evidence looks convincing to me. ZH often blows things out of proportion, but I think they have this one right
12/18/11
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Jacob Wolinsky
Bankers cost each one of us £8.40 for every £1 they produce [STUDY] http://bit.ly/w0RlIN $XLF $IYF
12/12/11
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1980XLS-2.0: That's why they are called Banksters.
12/12/11
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Jacob Wolinsky: LOL
12/13/11
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Jacob Wolinsky
Finance sector is 8.4% of GDP, bigger than pre-crisis http://stks.co/1TxT $XLF $IYF
12/10/11
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Jacob Wolinsky: I dont think anyone misses Lehman but I think it was a catastrophe to let Lehman fail, there was almost a run on money markets that week
12/11/11
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Jacob Wolinsky: Now they could have done the bailouts diff (and should have), also auto bailout was done illegally by Obama team to help UAW. My 2 cents
12/11/11
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Jacob Wolinsky
Michael Moore: "Wall Street Has Their Man And His Name Is Barack Obama" http://bit.ly/t1Qxcj $XLF $IYF
12/8/11
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USisCorrupt: The Bankers have upgraded the strings to fishing wire you don't even see them when his arms and mouth move.
12/8/11
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Jacob Wolinsky
Occupy Wall Street: Is It Really The 99%? http://bit.ly/uBovtU XLF IYF GS JPM MS
11/13/11
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loganm111: no..it is the 50% that do not pay taxes and suck the blood out of working americans.
11/13/11
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Ocean Man: A bunch of people who realized too late that philosophy and history are interesting reads, but worthless as a major in college.
11/13/11
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Jacob Wolinsky
Banks - Lehman Brothers 2.0 and Earnings Hocus Pocus http://bit.ly/tYhSz5 BAC XLF IYF
11/2/11
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JCH57: Good informative article, thanks!
11/2/11
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Jacob Wolinsky: Thanks!
11/2/11
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IYF iShares Dow Jones US Financial Sector ETF

IYF

iShares Dow Jones US Financial Sector ETF