There’s a bright light at the end of the tunnel— finally. Most of the really well respected, long term investors are advising their audiences to hang in there, to stop the panic selling, and to look for the great companies that have withstood the economic downturns of the past.

Buffet, Bogle, Gross, Schwab, and company offer sound advice— don’t run and hide, it’s time to hit the Wall Street Mall and go shopping! They’ve seen the indicators; they’ve been there before. So have many of you. Clearly, it’s time for action.

With IGV stock prices down 50% or more, and income securities as low or lower, Chuck Jaffe points out in MarketWatch that the case for loading up on managed Closed End Funds (CEFs) is a strong one. The great companies are in garage sale mode, and managed CEFs are selling at …

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Add the bond discounts to the growing list of ETF debacles in the current market volatility.

An 8% daily discount to the NAV in the supposedly the broadest bond index ETF (AGG) in the business? You've got to be kidding me.  When it feels like you have no idea of what you are looking at in the markets, my inclination is to just stay away.  Why would you use such a fund for safety when you've got no idea what's going on?  Put it in an FDIC-insured savings account or a CD, maybe (zero paying) treasures. But not in something that's trading all over the place like a lot of the bond ETFs are right now.

So the answer to Matt's "Can you trust bond ETFs? " question would appear to be "no" right now. 

In the current scenario, my money would

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Short sales are (maybe) back to the market tomorrow. Has doomsday arrived? A look at the market through ETFs.

First, conventional wisdom is that despite the meltdown (and yes, Matt I will stand up here and call it that with pride, because if THIS isn't a market meltdown, what would be?) I've seen markets plunge before and I've felt this same raw fear, but I never think I've quite felt this complete capital freeze feeling that is in the air.  I mean, where did all the money go?

First on the short sales thing, I think I'll put my odds with Matt that the financials short sales ban will not be allowed to expire, though conventional wisdom is that allowing it to do so would not cause a meltdown of markets as

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Short sales are (maybe) back to the market tomorrow. Has doomsday arrived? A look at the market through ETFs.

First, conventional wisdom is that despite the meltdown (and yes, Matt I will stand up here and call it that with pride, because if THIS isn't a market meltdown, what would be?). I've seen markets plunge before and I've felt this same raw fear, but I think I've never quite felt this complete capital-freeze feeling that is in the air. I mean, where did all the money go?

First, on the short sales thing, I think I'll put my odds with Matt that the Financials short sales ban will not be allowed to expire, though conventional wisdom is that allowing it to do so would not cause a meltdown of markets as you now actually have to have a locate on a borrowed share to sell it short. That will slow

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Since exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were first introduced in 1993, interest in them has grown steadily. In one year alone, ETF assets increased by a staggering 49% to reach $588.2 billion.

Although ETFs resemble index mutual funds, they actually have a lot in common with individual shares of stock. ETFs can be purchased on margin, sold short, and traded any time the markets are open. If you are seeking an investment that can offer the benefits of both mutual funds and stocks, an ETF may be an option to consider.

An ETF is a passively managed portfolio of securities that is initially sold by an investment company and thereafter traded in individual shares on a stock exchange. The underlying securities may all be from a certain sector or country, or they may track a broad market index.

Taking Stock

ETF share prices are more likely to be based on the demand for the shares themselves

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Let's see quick comparison between emerging markets and developed economies. I used ETF as a tool. IShares MSCI EAFA (EFA) as a benchmark for international stocks from developed economies. And IShares MSCI E.M.I.F. (EEM) for emerging markets. You can see there is only slight difference in P/E valuation.P/E ratio:EFA 11,5EEM 12,8Someone can say EEM is not real ETF to measure emerging market performance. That's partially true. More than half (53%) holdings are listed on US markets as ADR. In addition to that big share is from already developed countries like South Korea, Taiwan.The important thing is to compare EPS growth. From attached chart you can see that estimated earnings growth for 2008 is by 4,6 % faster than for EFA. Moreover both ETF are traded currently with premium against ...