How Record Corn Prices Are Impacting Food-Related ETFs

ETF Database submits: With the stock market surging as of late, many investors are finally convinced that the economy has turned a corner and the recovery is a sustainable one. Quality data and earnings reports have boosted this theory recently, as a better-than-expected housing report saw new home sales rise to a level unseen since the early 70’s.

Jefferson Starship submits: One of the biggest stories of the last week was Apple's (AAPL) drop below their 200 day moving average. This was quite significant since it showed some wavering faith from investors. It also spurred a number of articles regarding other companies who have been able remain above this mark.

Fast-casual restaurants like Chipotle and Panera are just a slice of the restaurant market, but they are steadily building a following among customers looking for better quality and moderate prices.Fast-food eateries are in the throes of drive-through Darwinism as more upscale upstarts, such as Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread Co., grab market share from the likes of Taco Bell, Subway and Wendy's.

Finally, after an adventurous (and painful) romp through the commodities arena and a bit of contrarianism last week involving Healthcare and China, my ETF Pullback strategy (see Appendix below for details and performance information) has taken cover in areas traditionally known for relative safety. Here’s the current list :

Tom Lydon submits: Although exchange traded funds provide an easy way to gain broad exposure to different market sectors, not all of them are created equal. ETFs that track the same sector, related indexes, and even the same index will vary in performance because of a number of different factors.

By Tom Lydon: Van Eck Global's Market Vectors exchange traded fund division launched the first U.S.-listed ETF that follows Indonesia's small-cap equities market Wednesday.

By Stone Fox Capital:The fast casual dining sector has been on fire this year basically picking up where it has been ever since the March 2009 bottom.

By Benjamin Goldman:The Wendy's Company (WEN), when compared to McDonald's (MCD), has surprisingly weak financials. Wendy's 2011 revenue is expected to be $2.43 billion compared to $27 billion for McDonald's. Wendy's $1.95 billion market cap looks miniscule to McDonald's $103.25 market cap.