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Tuesday, June 18, 1:55 PM Not all consumer staples funds (XLP, FXG, VDC, KXI, PMR) are created equal, according to S&P Capital IQ. Fund managers' weighting toward certain sub-sectors or their willing to invest globally or lean on fundamentals can create varying rates of return in the staples group. If there is some common ground, it's with the propensity of staples favorites Procter & Gamble (PG +0.1%), Coca-Cola (KO +0.5%), Philip Morris (PM +0.2%), and Wal-Mart (WMT +1%) to show up as top ten holdings. Comment! [Consumer]
Monday, May 6, 7:27 AM The S&P 500 (SPY) is fairly valued, says Goldman, but opportunity lies in cyclicals (XLY, XLE, XLI, XLB) which are more undervalued vs. defensives (XLU, XLP, XLV, XTL) than at any time in the last 15 years. "Given the 4 P/E multiple point head start, even a slight valuation normalization should translate into outperformance of cyclicals over defensives during the next 12 months." 1 Comment
Friday, April 26, 8:34 AM The beginning of a bigger move? Two of the year's three strongest performing sectors - healthcare (XLV) and consumer staples (XLP) - are down on the week as the three weakest sectors - energy (XLE), materials (XLB), and tech (XLK) - post gains of 3%-4.5%. 2 Comments
Wednesday, April 24, 10:48 AM The rough patch hit by Procter & Gamble in emerging markets isn't giving unnoticed by some of its peers with Kimberly-Clark (KMB -1.2%), Colgate-Palmolive (CL -1.7%), and Clorox (CLX -1.5%) all showing weakness. ETF watch: Is the frothy run of consumer staple ETFs (XLP, FXG, VDC) at risk of running out of steam as sector rotation picks up? 2 Comments [Consumer, On the Move, Quick Ideas]
Wednesday, April 24, 9:20 AM "To say that the advance has gotten ahead of fundamentals is an understatement," says iShares' Russ Koesterich, suggesting investors lighten up on red-hot consumer staples (XLP, IYK) holdings. He questions the conventional wisdom saying staples are not immune to consumer spending slowdowns, and further, he argues, how many companies are really pure staples plays? Comment! [Consumer]
Friday, February 15, 2:41 PM The XLP, XRT, and XLY all give up gains and turn lower following Wal-Mart sounding the warning over the effects of the payroll tax hike. It's fascinating that it took markets until just now to react to what was crystal clear 6 weeks ago. 2 Comments [Consumer, On the Move]
Wednesday, January 16, 4:33 PM Tech (XLK) is the new defensive sector, its 14.8 PE ratio continuing to trail traditional cautious plays like telecom (IST), consumer staples (XLP), and utilities (XLU). At a lofty 22 PE ratio, telecom leads all S&P sectors - it's a pretty fancy multiple for a slow-growth sector, but investors are attracted by the lofty yield. The S&P (SPY) as a whole has creeped up to a 14.8 ratio. 2 Comments
Monday, January 14, 7:56 AM Li & Fung - the world's largest supplier of clothes and toys to retailers - plunged 15.4% in Hong Kong trade after reporting a 40% drop in operating income thanks to weak U.S. orders. Major customer Wal-Mart -0.5% premarket. Comment! [Global & FX, U.S. Economy, Consumer]
Tuesday, January 8, 3:29 PM Vanguard's recent expense reduction means 9 of its 10 sector ETFs are now the cheapest available to U.S. investors. With an annual expense ratio of just 0.14%, VOX, VPU, VCR, VDC, VDE, VHT, VIS, VGT, and VAW stack up favorably vs. the 0.18% charged by State Street's Sector SPDRs (XLU, XLY, XLP, XLE, XLF, XLV, XLK, XLI, XLB and XTL which charges 0.35%) and the 0.47%-0.48% iShares sector ETFs (RXI, KXI, IYE, IYF, IYZ, IYH, IDU, IYW, IYM, IYJ) charge. At 0.19%, Vanguard Financials (VFH) is still slightly more expensive than the Financial SPDR (XLF). 2 Comments
Tuesday, January 8, 9:59 AM Just before New Year's, Vanguard cut fees on more than a third of its U.S.-listed ETF lineup while raising fees on just 2 ETFs. Its sector ETFs saw the biggest price cuts (from 0.19% to 0.14%) while its 2 small cap funds (VIOO, VIOV) actually saw slight fee hikes. Comment!
Monday, January 7, 3:48 PM Maybe what's got Wal-Mart (WMT) and Consumer Staples (XLP) so down in the dumps relative to the general market over the last month is the payroll tax hike allowed by the fiscal cliff deal. A FRBNY study finds workers spent 28-43% of 2011's payroll tax cut - that's money now going to D.C. instead of retailers. "We continue to be baffled that politicians on both sides agreed ... this was a good idea," writes Cardiff Garcia. 8 Comments [U.S. Economy]
Friday, January 4, 11:25 AM Omega Advisors' Leon Cooperman is no fan of consumer staples stocks as his hedge fund moves to short Procter & Gamble (PG +0.1%), Unilever (UL -0.1%), and Nestle (NSRGY.PK) in the new year. The investor says he isn't convinced by the margins and growth of the group. If he's right on his call, the Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF (XLP) also looks dicey. 8 Comments [Consumer, Quick Ideas]
Thursday, January 3, 9:32 AM "Stocks soar on news of rapidly shrinking paychecks" is a headline you won't see today, but Nick Colas points out 79% of households make under $100K/year and are subject to the full brunt of the higher payroll tax which kicked in on Jan. 1 - removing 4% of their annual spending power. He sees it as a 50 bp drag on GDP growth in 2013. 15 Comments [U.S. Economy]
Friday, December 28, 2012, 7:37 AM A port strike looms this weekend that could paralyze cargo traffic from Maine to Texas. Nearly all retailers could be affected, but none more than Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's (LOW) as Christmas comes in spring for the home-improvement industry. The President has the power to force workers back on the job, but the White House is mum at this point. 9 Comments [U.S. Economy]
Wednesday, December 26, 2012, 7:20 AM Early results suggest a weak holiday season for retailers, with MasterCard's SpendingPulse reporting sales just 0.7% higher than a year ago. "It's a lost season," says the group's Michael McNamera. Not too surprising, major discounting was common in the days leading up to the holiday, and even greater bargains are expected after. 5 Comments [Consumer]
Friday, December 7, 2012, 10:25 AM More on Consumer Sentiment: The 74.5 read wasn't just sharply below the 83 consensus, it was 5 points underneath the lowest estimate out there. It was led by a 13 point plunge in expectations to 64.6. Double-digit declines are very rare, say the report authors, and point to a "sudden pessimism" as the final surge of the holiday shopping season approaches. The XLY, XRT, and XLP can't be bothered, all with moderate gains today. 7 Comments [U.S. Economy]

VDC Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF

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Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF