FYI: Buyers finally stepped into the U.S. market after stocks blundered through the start of March. The S&P 500 added 1.3% on Thursday, its best showing five weeks, and now is virtually flat for 2015. Retail sales were unexpectedly bad last month, but bad news is good news in this perverse environment where the biggest worry is an economy too strong to justify the Federal Reserve’s ultra-low interest rates. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) shot higher once it was clear that major banks didn’t embarrass themselves in the Fed’s “stress tests.” The Bank of Korea cut its key interest rate, fueling gains in the iShares MSCI South Korea Capped ETF (EWY).
Regards,
Ted
http://blogs.barrons.com/focusonfunds/2015/03/12/etf-market-vital-signs-march-12-stocks-strike-back/tab/print/Financial Sector Now Tops For Dividends In S&P 500:
Seven major banks got the Federal Reserve’s go-ahead to increase their dividends Wednesday, making financials the top dividend-paying sector of the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.
http://blogs.barrons.com/incomeinvesting/2015/03/12/financial-sector-now-tops-for-dividends-in-sp/tab/print/
