If you haven’t heard yet, then you probably will some point on Monday: Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed in the red on Friday, marking its 12th consecutive decline, the longest since a 15-session losing streak in April-May 1954 during a time of “economic uncertainty” after the end of the Korean War. However, the current losing streak is likely to end over the next day or two, as buyers emerge and tip the close into positive territory. No plunge protection team at work that we know of and largely unnecessary, because even though the Nikkei 225 has declined just over 8.5% during the losing streak, over half of the losses have been limited to double-digits, with most of those being very small in percentage terms. That said, we’re not expecting a strong bounce back, although maybe, perhaps a gradual one, since recovering even 14,500 remains a big hurdle. Know that there’s ...

Today, Vanguard’s new Total World ETF (VT), tracking the FTSE All World index, became available to trade. It’s too early to get into the ETF, because there is virtually no volume, but this fund deserves watching. The FTSE All World Index covers 47 countries and 2,908 companies, including both developed and emerging markets. FTSE says the index covers 98% of the investable world universe. The ETF from Vanguard charges a 25 basis point fee. The sister mutual fund (VTWSX) has a higher expense ratio and charges a 2% fee for redemptions in the first two months (not a factor for the ETF). In the short term, the mutual fund would be a better choice if you have a time horizon over 2 months, because of the liquidity factor. The mutual fund will definitely execute at NAV on the day you place your buy order and will definitely execute at NAV on ...