Investments

The markets in 42 of the 48 countries included in the index posted positive returns last year.

The two exchange-traded funds will seek to match the performance of VIX futures indexes.

The Dow Jones Economic Sentiment Indicator jumped 2.2 points to 46.1 in December, after holding steady at 43.9 in October and November. In December 2009, the indicator stood at 38.7.

The U.S. economy will muddle through 2011 even as domestic stocks rake in double-digit percentage returns for the third straight year, said Robert C. Doll, the chief equity strategist for fundamental equities at BlackRock, in a breakfast briefing in New York Tuesday.

Fairholme Funds has launched the Fairholme Allocation Fund, which will seek long-term returns from capital appreciation and income by investing in equities, fixed income, cash and cash equivalent securities.

ProShares on Tuesday launched two volatility exchange-traded funds, the ProShares VIX Short-Term Futures and the ProShares VIX Mid-Term Futures funds.

For more yield, consider actively managed funds with broad discretion and floating rate funds

The CM Commodity Index Fund takes on contango with staggered maturities.

Investors are now pulling money out of bond funds at fastest rate in two years, and U.S. stock funds see their first positive net weekly inflows since April.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch in 2010 reclaimed its title as the top underwriter of municipal debt, thanks mainly to its dominance in the competitive market.

Despite the government’s insider trading case against expert consultants and hedge funds, flows to hedge funds should be strong in 2011, predicts Agecroft Partners, basing its findings on interviews with 300 hedge funds and 1,500 institutional investors.

Despite the government’s insider trading case against expert consultants and hedge funds, flows to hedge funds should be strong in 2011, predicts Agecroft Partners, basing its findings on interviews with 300 hedge funds and 1,500 institutional investors. Agecroft is an alternative investments consultancy.

Nuveen Investments on Dec. 31 completed its acquisition of FAF Advisors, with FAF’s parent company, U.S. Bancorp, receiving a 9.5% stake in Nuveen, plus cash consideration in exchange for investment management of the FAF mutual funds.

WTP Advisors, a tax and business advisory firm, has acquired Sala Associates, an operations consultancy for hedge funds and investment banks.

The economic rebound in 2011 will be slow but steady—but not strong enough to prompt employers to begin hiring again, according to the findings of the latest Turnaround Management Association survey.

Steadfast Networks said Monday it acquired Radius IT, in a bid to create a network for financial trading.

The outlook for the U.S. economy in 2011 appears to be ... slow and unsteady as she goes.

On the ninth day before Christmas, money invested in U.S.-listed exchange traded funds and exchange-traded products crossed $1 trillion for the first time. The total actually was $1.027 trillion, with $887.2 billion in ETFs and $115.5 billion in ETPs, as tabulated by BlackRock's Global ETF Research and Implementation Strategy Team.

2010 was a year of many challenges. The May 6 Flash Crash and the fallout of the December 2009 arrest of Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff kept investors away from stock funds. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was passed. Mutual funds and their sales intermediaries were charged with more accurately calculating the cost-basis of original investments in securities, and funds prepared for the Jan. 1, 2011 XBRL deadline.

As part of this transaction, U.S. Bancorp, FAF Advisors’ parent, received a 9.5% stake in Nuveen Investments and other cash considerations for FAF’s long term fund family.