Williams Companies (WMB) will separate into two stand-alone, publicly traded corporations. The plan calls for Williams to separate its exploration and production business via an initial public offering in 3Q 2011 of up to 20% of its interest and, in 2012, a tax-free spinoff to Williams shareholders of its remaining interest. Overall option implied volatility of 41 is above its 26-week average of 37, according to Track Data, suggesting larger price movement.

MSCI Brazil Index (EWZ) overall option implied volatility of 26 is near its 26-week average of 27, according to Track Data, suggesting nondirectional price movement.

Options Update is by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: Williams Volatility Up; Separates into Exploration and Production Businesses originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

U.S. stocks closed lower yesterday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index losing 0.90%.

Continue reading U.S. Stock Futures Signal Lower Start on Wall Street

U.S. Stock Futures Signal Lower Start on Wall Street originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 12 Nov 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MSCI Brazil Index (EWZ) closed up $1,01 to $75.40. The Brazilian general election of 2010 will be held on Sunday, October 3. The Presidency of the Republic, all Chamber of Deputies seats, and fifty-four of the Federal Senate seats, will be contested in this election, along with all 26 states (plus the Federal District) governorships and the state legislatures.

October put option implied volatility is at 28, November is at 29, December puts are at 31. This versus its 26-week average of 31 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Continue reading Options Update: MSCI Brazil Index Volatility Flat into Brazilian Elections

Options Update: MSCI Brazil Index Volatility Flat into Brazilian Elections originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Anyone familiar with international investing knows about Brazil; it's hard to ignore the fifth largest country in the world by geography and population," says Ron Rowland.

The contributing editor to Money and Markets explains, "Although the ride will not always be smooth, Brazil still looks much more attractive compared to any broad-based U.S. investment. Meanwhile, there are six ways to gain access into Brazil's burgeoning economy using easy-to-buy ETFs.

"With a mixture of agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, Brazil is one of the more diversified emerging markets.

Continue reading Six Ways to Bet on Brazil

Six Ways to Bet on Brazil originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Options Update: MSCI Brazil Index Volatility Elevated originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jun 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Brazil has long been our favorite of the BRIC countries," says Carl Delfeld. In his Chartwell Global Wealth Letter, the advisor looks at two favored Brazilian equity ETFs.

"Brazil seems to have confounded its critics, who view it as a boom and bust economy; the country has been upgraded to investment grade status by Moody's.

"The US ratings agency cited the resilience of the Brazilian economy to the financial crisis for the upgrade of its sovereign debt ratings one notch to Baa3, its lowest investment grade rating.

"This elevation of quality is well earned after years of reform in the country that led to lower inflation and a stronger currency as well as lower levels of government debt.

Continue reading ETF expert bets on Brazil

ETF expert bets on Brazil originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE) closed at $10.54. Unilever (NYSE: UN) agreed to buy SLE's personal-care and European detergent unit for $1.88 billion. SLE's board of directors authorized a $1 billion share repurchase program. SLE October option implied volatility is at 39, November is at 38; near its 26-week average of 38 according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

MSCI Brazil Index (NYSE: EWZ) is recently up 37 cents to $65.04 in pre-open trading. Brazil Bovespa Stock Index is up 0.1%. EWZ call option volume of 14,379 contracts compares to put volume of 22,765 contracts. EWZ October option implied volatility is at 37, October and January is at 38; below its 26-week average of 45, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options Update: Sara Lee January volatility flat into personal care sale originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MSCI Brazil Index (NYSE: EWZ) closed at $55.63. Brazil Bovespa Stock Index is up 54%. EWZ June option implied volatility is at 58 July is at 53; below its 26-week average of 61, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement this summer.

Financial Select Sector (NYSE: XLF) overall volatility at 49; 26-week average is 65.

ISE Sentiment Index-ISEE closed at 144 on 6/8/09. ISEE 10-day moving average is 135.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options Update: MSCI Brazil Index July volatility low at 53 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Despite a 46% gain since adding iShares MSCI Brazil (NYSE: EWZ) to his portfolio, global expert Keith Fitz-Gerald still sees upside potential. Here's the latest from Money Map Reporter.

"History tells us that the best gains come to those who have the courage to buy undervalued companies in the face of extreme pessimism - and that sounds a lot like right now. So while we may not be at the very bottom, we are nonetheless pretty darn close.

Continue reading Money Map points to Brazil

Money Map points to Brazil originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"We have been recommending iShares MSCI Brazil (ASE: EWZ) in our speculative portfolio," says mutual fund and ETF expert Mark Salzinger.

In The Investor's ETF Report, he adds, "But we now think Brazil's solid long-term economic fundamentals and the ETF's 'scompelling valuation and well-positioned companies offer exceptional return potential as a portion of some investors'core portfolios, too."

"Brazil's stock market was assailed on all sides in 2008, when EWZ declined by about 55%. Robust gains in the previous five years had priced Brazil's stocks dearly, and investors'decreased tolerance for any perceived risk saw them abandon emerging markets stocks in droves.

Continue reading ETF expert looks to Brazil

ETF expert looks to Brazil originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

From TheStreet.com Network

• Does Mark-to-Market Matter That Much?
• Leadership Matters: 'Less Worse' Ain't Bad

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says if you don't want to wait for a pullback, look abroad for the next leg or find values at home.

What do you do when everyone knows we have come up too far, too fast; no one knows who is actually buying; and we are going into earnings season?

What do you do when the animal spirits are taking up the market and yet other than a handful companies -- Research In Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) (Cramer's Take), Xilinx (NASDAQ: XLNX) (Cramer's Take), Corning (NYSE: GLW) (Cramer's Take), Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) (Cramer's Take) and Taiwan Semi (NYSE: TSM) (Cramer's Take) -- almost all companies that have spoken during the "off-season" earnings reports have been dismal?

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: So you missed the recent run -- now what?

Cramer on BloggingStocks: So you missed the recent run -- now what? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"The acronym 'BRIC-standing for Brazil, Russia, India, and China-is in vogue as shorthand for the emergence of the developing world.

"But we're herewith proposing an emended version: 'BRAC'-standing for Brazil, Russia, Australia, and Canada.

"That's because these four countries are the ones most brimming over with essential natural resource, with each one a net exporter of fuels and other natural products. In a world where resource shortages will only get worse, these countries will stand out from the pack.

"Don't get us wrong. China and India remain the largest and fastest growing emerging economies and still face exceptional futures.

"But their major resources are cheap labor, which will become less cheap as their economies keep growing. Indeed, labor costs in these countries already have begun to rise relative to the rest of the world.

"Meanwhile, continued gains in commodities mean that Australia and Canada are gaining relative to the rest of the world. It's hard to overstate just how important relative resource independence is in a world where resources are becoming ever more scarce and expensive.

Continue reading Changing BRIC for BRAC: A new look for global investors

Changing BRIC for BRAC: A new look for global investors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"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.

For 25 years, Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, has surveyed the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is one of 100+ ideas in the Best Stocks for 2008 report.

"There's no question that this booming growth in the emerging countries has been a huge factor driving the strongest markets," explains Pamela Aden, editor of The Aden Forecast.

"Three billion people are now participating in the global economy who weren't involved before and that's a dramatic force.

"As these countries build their infrastructure, demand for raw materials has soared. Again, this mega-trend is poised to continue, along with strong growth.

"My favorite conservative way to play this trend is with the Materials Select SPDR (ASE: XLB), which moves with the raw materials sector. Instead of picking individual stocks, this provides a good way to generally profit from what's happening globally.

Continue reading Best Stocks for 2008: ETF favorites with Materials (XLB) and Brazil (EWZ)

Best Stocks for 2008: ETF favorites with Materials (XLB) and Brazil (EWZ) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Dec 2007 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.