Technical Analysis

While many investors (particularly those who subscribe to market efficiency) suggest that technical analysis is worthless, market participants still generally track charts, including resistance and support levels, as well as moving averages. With the market recently testing its support and bouncing to higher levels, technical analysts will continue to monitor charts to see if the positive momentum can continue. See article here, Reuters.

Levered ETFs

Levered ETFs are designed to track a particular benchmark, but in an exaggerated fashion. For example, the Pro Shares Ultra S&P500 (SS0) is a 2X fund, meaning its performance should be twice the level of the index. However, this performance only matches short term. In particular, since volatility reduces compounded returns, levered funds "lose" performance through time. In fact, some funds may actually produce a negative buy-and-hold return during even if the underlying benchmark was positive. Unfortunately, many retail investors are flocking to these funds without understanding their risks. (See article here, Reuters.)