dow

When investors see a day like Thursday, with a drop of more than 500 points in the Dow Jones Industrials, they can’t help but wonder if we face a replay of the 2007-2009 market plunge. However, though today’s situation could turn out badly, that’s not inevitable. It’s much different from a few years ago. The 2007-2009 drop was mostly about the collapse of the housing boom and everything that went with it. Today there is no boom that could deflate and bring down the economy. Today’s problem grows out of government attempts at ‘fixing’ the economy in recent years. These fixes, which were mostly unsuccessful, bloated government spending and created huge debts. Today’s main market worry is how the U.S. federal government will attempt to fix its budget deficit and bring its debt down to a manageable level. To top things off, the Obama administration has also brought in big changes in health care, union and environmental rules and so on. Some of these changes face court challenges and political opposition. But some are sure to survive and go into effect. Others are sure to follow....

When investors see a day like Thursday, with a drop of more than 500 points in the Dow Jones Industrials, they can’t help but wonder if we face a replay of the 2007-2009 market plunge. However, though today’s situation could turn out badly, that’s not inevitable. It’s much different from a few years ago. The 2007-2009 drop was mostly about the collapse of the housing boom and everything that went with it. Today there is no boom that could deflate and bring down the economy. Today’s problem grows out of government attempts at ‘fixing’ the economy in recent years. These fixes, which were mostly unsuccessful, bloated government spending and created huge debts. Today’s main market worry is how the U.S. federal government will attempt to fix its budget deficit and bring its debt down to a manageable level. To top things off, the Obama administration has also brought in big changes in health care, union and environmental rules and so on. Some of these changes face court challenges and political opposition. But some are sure to survive and go into effect. Others are sure to follow....

When investors see a day like Thursday, with a drop of more than 500 points in the Dow Jones Industrials, they can’t help but wonder if we face a replay of the 2007-2009 market plunge. However, though today’s situation could turn out badly, that’s not inevitable. It’s much different from a few years ago. The 2007-2009 drop was mostly about the collapse of the housing boom and everything that went with it. Today there is no boom that could deflate and bring down the economy. Today’s problem grows out of government attempts at ‘fixing’ the economy in recent years. These fixes, which were mostly unsuccessful, bloated government spending and created huge debts. Today’s main market worry is how the U.S. federal government will attempt to fix its budget deficit and bring its debt down to a manageable level. To top things off, the Obama administration has also brought in big changes in health care, union and environmental rules and so on. Some of these changes face court challenges and political opposition. But some are sure to survive and go into effect. Others are sure to follow....

Aceto Corp., $6.24, symbol ACET on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 25.2 million; Market cap: $162.4 million; www.aceto.com), distributes over 1,000 chemical compounds that are used in a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals and agriculture. Aceto sells its products in the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Malaysia, France, Canada, Germany, Vietnam, Greece, Australia, the U.K. and the Netherlands. The company’s customers include Costco, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Dow Chemical, McKesson, L’Oreal, Bausch + Lomb, 3M, Kodak and Agrium. Aceto’s compounds include active ingredients for generic drugs, vitamins and nutritional supplements. In addition, the company sells specialty chemicals that are used to make plastics, resins, adhesives, coatings, food, flavour additives, fragrances, cosmetics, metal finishing, electronics and air conditioning systems....

ISHARES DOW JONES CANADA SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX FUND $21.64 (Toronto symbol XDV; buy or sell through a broker; ca.ishares.com) holds 30 of the highest-yielding Canadian stocks. Its selections are based on dividend growth, yield and payout ratio. The weight of any one stock is limited to 10% of assets. The fund’s MER is 0.50%. It yields 2.7%. The fund’s top holdings are CIBC, 6.4%; Bonterra Energy Corp., 6.0%; National Bank, 5.2%; Bank of Montreal, 5.2%; TD Bank, 5.1%; Telus, 4.6%; IGM Financial, 4.5%; AG Growth International, 4.2%; Royal Bank, 3.9%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 3.8%; BCE, 3.7%; and TMX Group, 3.6%. The fund holds 51.8% of its assets in financial stocks. Utilities are next, at 24.0%. The top Canadian finance stocks have sound prospects. However, if you invest in this ETF, be sure to adjust the rest of your portfolio so it won’t be overly concentrated in the financial sector....

SPDR DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE ETF $126.09 (New York Exchange symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The fund’s top holdings are IBM, ExxonMobil, Chevron Corp., 3M, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald’s Corp., Coca-Cola Co., Caterpillar Inc., United Technologies and Boeing Co. The fund’s expenses are about 0.18% of its assets. SPDR Dow Jones ETF is a buy....

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may have a place in your portfolio. That’s because, unlike many other financial innovations, they don’t load you up with heavy management fees, or tie you down with high redemption charges if you decide to get out of them. Instead, they give you a low-cost, flexible, convenient alternative to mutual funds. ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. Prices are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You’ll have to pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell ETFs. However, ETFs’ low management fees still give them a cost advantage over most conventional mutual funds. As well, shares are only added or removed when the underlying index changes. As a result of this low turnover, you won’t incur the regular capital-gains bills generated by the yearly distributions most conventional mutual funds pay out to unitholders....

ISHARES DOW JONES CANADA SELECT DIVIDEND INDEX FUND $21.65 (Toronto symbol XDV; buy or sell through a broker; ca.ishares.com) holds 30 of the highest-yielding Canadian stocks. Its selections are based on dividend growth, yield and payout ratio. The weight of any one stock is limited to 10% of assets. The fund’s MER is 0.50%. It yields 1.9%. The fund’s top holdings are CIBC, 6.9%; Bonterra Energy Corp., 6.3%; Bank of Montreal, 5.2%; National Bank, 5.0%; TD Bank, 5.0%; AG Growth International, 4.9%; IGM Financial, 4.2%; Telus, 4.1%; Royal Bank, 4.0%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 3.9%; BCE, 3.5%; and TMX Group, 3.4%. The fund holds 52.9% of its assets in financial stocks. Utilities are next, at 22.5%. The top Canadian finance stocks have sound prospects. However, if you invest in this ETF, be sure to adjust the rest of your portfolio so it won’t be overly concentrated in the financial sector....

SPDR DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE ETF $120.45 (New York Exchange symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The fund’s top holdings are IBM, ExxonMobil, Chevron Corp., 3M, Procter & Gamble, McDonald’s Corp., Coca Cola, Caterpillar Inc., United Technologies and Boeing Co. The fund’s expenses are about 0.18% of its assets. SPDR Dow Jones ETF is a buy....