ETF short interest provides some great insights into what the market really thinks.

I’m going to ignore Matt’s twitter-length rebuttal of my last post, and instead point to an excellent set of data that just appeared in my inbox. State Street Global Advisors publishes (as many firms do) a monthly report on the ETF industry. What grabbed me this time was the short-interest report.

It should come as no surprise that ETFs are heavily shorted. After all, one of the great things about ETFs is that phrase “exchange-traded.” It means you can fold, twist and mutilate an ETF just like you can any other stock, and that means that if you can find it to borrow, you can short it. And since many ETFs are phenomenally liquid, they can be pretty easy to locate for shorting.

Overall, short interest in ETFs as reported on Oct. 15 was 11.84 percent. This is substantially

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U.S. stocks rose strongly Thursday, reversing a four-session losing run, after a government report said the economy grew more than expected in the July-September quarter.  Investors shunned Treasuries and jumped back into stocks after the report signaled the economy had emerged from the worst recession since the 1930s. 

The positive surprise was enough to propel benchmark indexes to their biggest advance since July and send safe havens like Treasuries and dollar lower.  Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) and Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) advanced at least 5.1% after the Commerce Department said the economy returned to growth following four straight quarters of decline.  Crude prices jumped $2.44, or 3.1%, to $79.87 and gold was up $16.50 to $1046.40.

The S&P 500 registered its biggest one-day gain since July 23, jumping 2.2% to close at 1,066.11.  The 30-share Dow Jones industrial average shot up by 199.89 points, or 2.05%, at 9,962.58 and the tech-heavy

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• Aetna (NYSE:AET) reported third quarter earnings of 69 cents a share, 3 cents better than Zacks estimates, on revenues of $8.72 billion, up 14.4%.  The company sees full year earnings of $2.75 a share

• OfficeMax (NYSE:OMX) posted third quarter earnings of 8 cents, 6 cents below Zacks estimates on inline revenues of $1.83 billion, down 12.6%. The firm issued cautious guidance, anticipating macro employment trends will not turn positive well into 2010

• Nintendo (NASDAQ:NTDOY) posted first half profits off 52% to $768 million, while sales dropped 34.5%. The company slashed its dividend for the first half by 37%

• Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) reported third quarter earnings of 79 cents a share, 24 cents above Zacks estimates, as revenues of $2.05 billion, up 49.5%, bested Zacks estimates of $1.78 billion

• Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) reported a 73% drop in net profit, with earnings ex-items of $2.62 billion slightly ahead of estimates

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Renewed fears that the global economic recovery is faltering shook investors across Asia, sending stock markets in the region sharply lower Thursday.  The Nikkei fell below the 10,000 mark for the first time in three weeks.  Dollar and yen rose as hedge funds sold off risky positions and traders trimmed their appetite for risk. 

The Nikkei 225 stock average fell 1.8% to 9,891.10 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plunged 2.3% to 21,264.99 points. In Mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 2.3% to close at 2,960.47.  All other major indices in the region ended in the red.   

On Wednesday, US stocks tumbled after a weaker-than-anticipated new home sales report aggravated concerns that the seven-month old rally has gone ahead of any economic recovery.  To add to the bearish sentiment Goldman Sachs lowered its projection for the third-quarter gross domestic product.  The government's report on third-quarter GDP is due

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The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) reported results for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 with earnings of 97 cents per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate but down 5.8% year-over-year. Net sales for the quarter declined 5.6% year-over-year to $19.8 billion, as a 3% benefit from pricing and 1% benefit from product mix was fully offset by a 3% decline in unit volume -- a 7% unfavorable impact of foreign currency and a 1% impact of divestitures. However, successful product launches, supported by marketing initiatives, contributed to the top line. Organic sales grew 2% during the quarter driven by pricing and product mix. All three Global Business Units (GBU) witnessed revenue declines during the quarter. The Beauty segment declined 5%, with the low single-digit growth in retail hair care volumes offset by the double-digit decline in Professional salon volume and mid-single-digit decline in female ...

Ryder System Inc. (R) reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 50 cents for the third-quarter 2009, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 45 cents. However, adjusted EPS declined 60% year over year from $1.26, due to lower earnings from the Fleet Management Solutions (FMS) segment.

The supply chain, warehousing and transportation solutions provider reported adjusted net income from continued operations of $28.2 million, down from $71.2 million a year ago, due to sustained declines in the commercial rental business, full service lease and used vehicle sales in the FMS segment.

Consolidated revenues from continued operations, which declined 20% year over year to $1.26 billion, continue to be affected by lower fuel prices and unfavorable exchange rate swing. Operating revenue, which is revenue excluding FMS fuel and all subcontracted transportation, declined 13% year over year to $1.04 billion.

Following is a snapshot of segment-wise results:

Fleet Management Solutions (FMS):

Revenue from the FMS

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Traders were back on the buying table Tuesday, adding to their holdings even as they remained glued to the Fed for its take on the economy, interest rates and inflation.  Banks and industrial companies led the advance as stocks zoomed to new highs for 2009.  Nevertheless, uncertainty remained if the Central Bank will offer any detail on an exit strategy. 

The 30-share Dow Jones industrial average finished higher by 51 points, or 0.52%, at 9,829.87. The broad Standard & Poor's 500-stock index gained 7 points, or 0.66%, at 1,071.66 and the technology-laden Nasdaq composite index gained 8.26 points, or 0.39%, to 2,146.30.  Treasury prices rallied after the government’s successful auction of $43 billion in two-year notes.

Meanwhile, dollar continued its downward spiral against other major currencies, sending energy and material shares higher.  Gold and crude prices also advanced.  Gold reached $1014 per ounce, up $12.50, and oil, after a

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• Palm (NASDAQ:PALM) reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss, but its outlook disappointed.  The company also announced plans for a 16 million common share offering.  The firm reported a loss ex-items of 10 cents a share, under Zacks estimates of a 25 cent per share loss, on revenues of $360.7 million versus estimates of $289.1 million

• Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) topped the list of yesterday's S&P500 gainers, up 6.6%, as Credit Suisse's (NYSE:CS) analyst asserted US refiners likely to see renewed interest based on the increase expected in energy demand

• Citigroup (NYSE:C) analysts upgraded Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) shares to "buy" from "hold," lifting the price target to $66 from $54 

• Piper Jaffray raised its rating on Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) to "overweight" nad upped the price target to $24 from $13. The analyst expects earnings to grow at least 17% over the next two years

• JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) raised its rating on KB

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U.S. stocks rose for a fifth day on Thursday as a larger than expected drop in U.S. jobless claims and an upbeat forecast from consumer goods maker Procter & Gamble added to enthusiasm that the economy is on track for a rebound.  Energy shares advanced, helped by rising forecasts for oil demand.  Nevertheless, given September’s weak track record, market participants have been bracing for a pullback.

On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 80.26 points, or 0.8%, to 9,627.48, its highest close since October 6.  The broader S&P 500 index advanced 10.77 points, or 1%, to 1,044.14, its first five-day climb since November.  The Nasdaq composite index rose 23.63 points, or 1.2%, to 2,084.02.  With traders eschewing safe havens, yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.35%. The yield on the 30-year notes declined to 4.20%.

As the holiday-shortened week comes to an end today, investors

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• Warner Chilcott (NASDAQ:WCRX) has bought Procter & Gamble's (NYSE:PG) prescription drug unit for about $3 billion

• Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) told US regulators that Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) voice app was not approved for use on Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone because it interferes with "user experience"

• According to Nokia (NYSE:NOK) the firm expects to regain market share against Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) rival iPhone and Research in Motion's (NASDAQ:RIMM) Blackberry, mentioning a new device with a Linux operating system and a netbook product likely

• Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) promised Wi-Fi in all of its planes by next year

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