Chart of the Week Archive

UK Stocks Hit New Low

Hammered by weakness in the banking sector and a rapidly falling currency, UK stocks hit a new low on Friday.

The $500 million MSCI United Kingdom Index Fund (EWU) traded as low as $10.09 on Friday before closing at $10.43.  The previous low was on November 20, 2008 when ^{the exchange traded fund} closed at a dividend-adjusted $10.27.

Last week was especially harsh for UK banks despite the government's intervention into the marke

How Low will Oil Go?

One of the big stories in 2008 was the rise and fall of commodity prices including the biggest commodity of them all - oil.

After a short lived comeback at the beginning of 2009, spot prices for oil have dropped back to their December lows and threaten to go lower.

According to a report by the Associated Press, spot prices could weaken even further due to the combination of a declining global economy and a shortage of facilities to store oil as traders wait for price strength to return.

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Insurance Sector Recovers

Insurance stocks are up 50% after a near meltdown in November.

The KBW Insurance ETF (KIE) is trading near $27 after dropping to $18 on November 20.  The insurance sector came under pressure as the credit markets froze and bond prices fell.  Insurance companies are large investors in the bond market.

Since then, credit markets have eased and bond prices have partially recovered.

More improvement could be on the way.  According to the

Russell 2000 Finishes Strong

After a dramatic decline that began in late September, the Russell 2000 Index climbed 25% to finish 2008 down 30% on the year.

The Russell 2000 consists of the 2,000 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index which measures the performance of the largest 3,000 U.S. companies representing approximately 98% of the investable U.S.