'Trouble Brewing' At State Street?

Anyone expecting State Street Corp. to remain relatively unscathed by the ongoing global credit crisis might want to pay attention to the money manager's fourth-quarter earnings, notes the Wall Street Journal.

The parent of exchange-traded funds provider State Street Global Advisors is expected to report an earnings gain when it releases quarterly earnings on Tuesday. But the paper points to an early filing last week by State Street that signals multibillion-dollar losses in some of its most conservative money, such as investment funds, stable value funds and conduits of asset-backed commercial paper. 

You can read the story here.

Direxion White Hot

While introduction of new exchange-traded funds is hardly a hot topic these days, Direxion's entrance on the scene has drawn lots of attention.

Ian Salisbury takes a look at the fund family in a piece running in the Wall Street Journal . You can see it here.

Maintaining A Low-Cost Fund Portfolio

Russ Wiles of the Arizona Republic  writes an interesting column looking at what investors need to check and focus on following a 15-month slide in stock market indexes. 

He takes readers on a checklist of questions they might have, including the pros and cons of keeping savings and contribution levels up, as well as what diversification means in markets like these. 

You can read the story here.

Giant Silver ETF Sets Another Record

What's billed as the largest silver-backed ETF hit another record high as silver bullion levels gained 1%, according to this Reuters report.

You can read the latest news about the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) here.