Thursday's ETF To Watch: MSCI Spain Index Fund

LONDON: World stocks marched higher on Thursday, lifted by Greece's confirming it will pay a 450 million-euro loan tranche to the International Monetary Fund and growing expectations the US will not raise interest rates until the latter part of the year. European markets also welcomed German industrial output and trade data, which showed the continent's largest economy ticking along nicely in February. The Greek news and US interest rate outlook soothed global bond market sentiment, too. The benchmark euro zone bond yield on 10-Germany's 10-year Bund fell to a record low of 0.146 per cent.

Greece may have a bailout deal, but the debt relief that the country actually needs is bigger than any of the participants is admitting — and without it, the country will be stuck in a semi-permanent depression.

Jarred Cummans submits:The fixed income ETF space has grown considerably over the past two years, as investors worried about a slowdown in developed markets have bought up bonds despite record low yields. The first 11 months of 2010 saw cash inflows of approximately $100 billion into the ETF industry, and about $29 billion of that total went to bond products.

ETF Database submits: Equity markets finished a rough quarter yesterday, as most major indexes fell back sharply after surging higher to start the year. The quarter was especially difficult for Europe and in particular the PIGS of Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain.

By Jarred Cummans:After a miserable four day stretch, markets were able to open higher yesterday, as Alcoa (AA) started off earnings season with a positive report. For the next few weeks, the biggest and most important companies in the country will be shedding light on their performance in what was the best first quarter in roughly 14 years.

By Jarred Cummans:With the second quarter underway, stocks have gotten off to a rough start after a promising opening session. Two straight days of sell-offs sparked fears that Q2 may not fare quite as well as the previous three-month stretch. Many investors were distraught to hear that the Fed has no formal plans for a third quantitative easing program fearing that the U.S. economy may be unable to stand its ground without the helping hand of Ben Bernanke.

By Jarred Cummans:Tuesday saw a welcomed bull run on Wall Street as it was announced that a number of major banks had passed their respective stress tests, meaning that they would have enough capital to endure even the most severe scenarios. Investors cheered on the news with a buying trend that show the Dow up to its post-crisis high, as our economy has been showing signs of life as of late. But while the U.S.

By Jarred Cummans:Natural gas has been one of the most talked about commodities this year, as its prices have been on a slippery slope, bringing them down to historical lows. NG futures have sank more than 17% on the year as investors have been scrambling in and out of positions which have continually turned sour. The issues for this fossil fuel started late last year, when winter failed to show up for all intents and purposes.