Tuesday's ETF To Watch: Health Care Select Sector SPDR

Jarred Cummans submits:With midterm elections around the corner, the entire nation is sitting on the edge of their seats, awaiting what some believe will be a major shift in the political balance of power in the halls of Congress. Depending on how elections pan out, stocks could see a number of different reactions, making next Tuesday an important day for politics and markets alike.

Michael Johnston submits:Recent weeks have highlighted the “new normal” in the investing world, as concerns of a debt crisis in Europe have rippled throughout the global economy. On Wall Street, developments in the streets of Athens and the German Bundestag have trumped more local economic indicators, as U.S. markets have taken their cues from across the pond in recent weeks.

By Jarred Cummans:Stocks started off the week on the wrong foot yesterday, as more euro worries forced major benchmarks to stumble out of the gate. The first quarter of the year was generally positive, but that momentum has shifted for the worse in recent weeks as investors and analysts have begun to worry about our economic future not only in the U.S. but for many nations around the world.

By Tom Lydon: ETF Spotlight on Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV), part of an ongoing series. Assets: $4 billion

Michael Johnston submits:Continuing a very active month for the ETF industry, State Street rolled out three new sector-specific funds on Thursday. Each of the new products will provide more targeted exposure than the ultra-popular sector SPDRs that focus on the nine major industries of the U.S. economy. The new ETFs include:

Dr. Oliver Schwindler, CAIA submits: Last week I presented the concept of equally-weighted risk contribution (ERC) portfolios and showed that this risk-based indexation methodology can deliver alpha compared to classical benchmarks like the S&P 500. I want to give readers a quick update on the recent performance.

Gary Gordon submits: Analysts like Bob Doll at Blackrock believe that U.S. economic growth will accelerate, with GDP likely to come in at a vibrant 3.5% for 2011. Economists polled at the Economist Intelligence Unit may be a little less enthusiastic, but they have raised their forecasts from 3.0% to 3.1%.

Ron Rowland submits:State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) last Thursday (1/27/11) announced the addition of three new equal-weighted industry ETFs to their lineup.