"Some 20,000 or more million-dollar block trades are made each day," says Peter Way in Block Traders ETF Monitor, which assesses the activity of these trades. Here's some current top "big block" bets.

"Since it's these big dollar pressures that move markets, we want to know what they are likely to do next. Our analysis determines what the pros' expectations are for the coming prices of stocks, from the way
they protect investments they have or are making.

"Based on our proprietary analysis of this big block activity, we determine the prospects for each ETF sector to determine where prices will be in the next 3 months. We seek the best balance of upside risk and downside exposures.

"We don't want to buy anything that doesn't offer a net payoff of better than 5% over three months, or an annual rate of +22%. International and global ETFs. and emerging markets still hold appeal, with MSCI Brazil iShares (NYSE: EWZ), the best bet.

"Where's the beef? Must be in MOO, the Market Vectors International Agricultural ETF (ASE: MOO). Prospects for it are the best combined odds & payoffs in the group.

"The ETFs that have been providing the most reliable and productive gains of late have been in commodities. Without any leverage, there are currently a number that appear attractive, given the volume market-makers' appraisals. The PowerShares DB Agricultural Index ETF (ASE: DBA) outranks just about all of the 2,500 issues we cover. PowerShares DB Commodities Index ETF (ASE: DBC) also offers strong buy credentials."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

Best bets from big block traders originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Powershares DB Agriculture Fund (ASE: DBA) is a new addition to the capital gains portfolio at TheMoneyMan.com Market Newsletter. Here the latest by BizRadio host Daniel Frishberg.

"An area of the market that hasn't been affected by the economic slowdown and isn't correlated with the equities has been the commodity markets. Global demand for commodities has continued to increase.

"This has lead to record highs for most commodities, including soft commodities. We expect this to continue. There are several reasons for this.

"First, emerging markets are developing at a rapid pace and their populations are becoming richer and can now afford to eat better. That leads to higher prices in soybeans, corn, wheat, etc. Second, there are government mandates for producing ethanol which has driven up the price of corn.

Continue reading MoneyMan sees growth in agriculture

MoneyMan sees growth in agriculture originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.