Investing

The consumer staples section is filled with recognizable companies that many investors consider to be terrific investments. But does that carry over to the funds and ETFs who cover the space?

In part two of our series rating ETFs and mutual funds, we tackle the top and bottom funds over all sectors, giving a great overview of what to look for in an ETF or fund.

ALPS Files For New Dividend ETF

AdvisorShares May List Business Cycle ETF (DBIZ, HDGE, HYLD)

Shares of the two Silicon Valley giants fall, leading a tech-sector retreat.

Citigroup didn’t have a “bad” quarter, but let’s be honest: This bank has been given every advantage by regulators and taxpayers, and yet it produces flat results in a slow economy. This isn't Google or Apple, people.

My experience at Merrill Lynch shows how to serve customers without engaging in proprietary trading.

After getting rebuked by the Fed when it previously asked for permission to increase the dividend or buy back shares, Citigroup is weighing whether to try again.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday charged Chicago-based optionsXpress and four company officials for engaging in an "abusive" naked short selling scheme. The SEC alleged that the online brokerage and clearing agency specializing in options and futures failed to satisfy its close-out obligations by engaging in a series of sham "reset" transactions which promoted the illusion that the firm had purchased securities of like kind and quantity. "The firm and customer Jonathan I. Feldman engaged in these sham reset transactions in a number of securities, resulting in continuous failures to deliver," said the SEC in a statement. OptionsXpress' former chief financial officer Thomas Stern was also named in the SEC's proceeding along with optionsXpress and Feldman. Three other company officials, Peter Bottini, Phillip Hoeh and Kevin Strine, were named in a separate proceeding.

Many inexperienced traders (institutional and retail alike) are thinking they’re “smart” by buying volatility funds. But they are overpaying so much that it will be hard to make money.

Dollar index slips after a mixed batch of U.S. economic data, the euro rebounds after temporarily dipping below the $1.30 level for the first time since late January, and the yuan weakens after China’s latest move to widen the yuan’s trading band.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- China's central bank on Saturday said it will expand the daily trading for the yuan against the U.S. dollar to 1% in either direction from 0.5% starting Monday. The move is aimed at meeting market demand and to enhance the flexibility of renminbi exchange rate, the central bank said. "The People's Bank of China will continue to fulfill its mandates in relation to the renminbi exchange rate, keeping renminbi exchange rate basically stable at an adaptive and equilibrium level based on market supply and demand with reference to a basket of currencies to preserve stability of the Chinese economy and financial markets," it said in a statement.