Barclays yesterday (9/1/2010) launched the Barclays ETN+ S&P VEQTOR ETN (VQT) exchange-traded notes (ETNs) that are linked to the performance of the S&P 500 Dynamic VEQTOR Total Return Index (press release).
Barclays takes “dynamic indexing” to a new level with VQT.  The underlying index can be dramatically reconfigured on a daily basis and employs a stop-loss mechanism.  The underlying index seeks to provide broad U.S.

Busy morning for me so far, so I'll have to keep this post brief. The market was already set to open higher after upbeat data out of Europe and Asia had those markets trading higher.

The market has been both lower and higher already in early trading, as a few economic releases swayed early trading. The CaseShiller Home Price Index for June rose to 148.0 from 146.5. That was a slight improvement, but most of the housing slowdown that has been talked about began in July, so this report will likely be taken with a grain of salt until we see how July fared.

In the forthcoming TSAA Review there is an article by GGU Adjunct Prof. Nolan Olhausen which reopened my eyes to a tight inverse correlation between stocks and bonds, primarily Treasuries. Since 2007 there has been a mirror image of these, as shown by comparing the TLT to the SPY on a daily basis - almost as though it were a zero sum game.

Another tight correlation, also coincident, is one I've espied for years in the IBD (Investors' Daily), on the chart page, between the DJIA and put/call trading Volume below it - also inverse.

Thanks for checking in with us this weekend.  Here are the items our readers clicked most frequently on Abnormal Returns Now and Abnormal Returns Classic for the week ended Friday, August 27th.  Where applicable the description is as it reads in the relevant linkfest.

Abnormal Returns Now: