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In the wide and varied family of the thousands and thousands of funds out there, the exchange-traded fund is one of the more consumer-friendly ones.
Unlike mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, behave more like stocks. You can buy
into an ETF at any time, and sell it whenever you feel like it. And like a stock, an ETF's value can rise and fall--depending
on what the ETF is invested in.What do ETFs invest in? Well, they're typically linked to an index like the Dow Jones Industrial
Average or the S&P 500. So, if you had an ETF that trades the same companies that make up the Dow or the S&P, it will
rise and fall in value pretty much the same amount as the Dow or S&P.
You can also buy ETFs that invest in other
types of products, like bonds, currencies, gold or other commodities. The ETF market has grown considerably in the past few
years, so there is no shortage of ETFs to invest in.
Home / Markets / Industries / Retail
Monday, October 06, 2008
Filling the Grocery Cart Costing 10.5% More
Matt Andrejczak
MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO--Families have been feeling increasing financial pain at grocery-store cash registers, exacerbating their difficulties in the souring U.S. economy.
Here's how much it hurts: A basket of 16 basic food items cost $48.68 over the past three months, up 10.5% from a year ago, the American Farm Bureau Federation said Thursday.
The latest survey from the nation's largest farm organization underscores the pressures reverberating throughout the food chain, from the American farm to the executive suites of the largest U.S. packaged-food manufacturers.
Besides the elevated costs for basic food ingredients, rising energy prices have boosted processing, hauling, and refrigerating expenses for food makers including Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) and Campbell Soup Co. (CPB)
Potatoes, cheddar cheese and apples posted the largest price gains from the second quarter of this year. A five-pound bag of potatoes cost $3.38, up 83 cents. Cheddar was $4.91 a pound, up 31 cents. Apples fetched $1.80 a pound, up 26 cents.
Among other items that rose are the following: pork chops, up 22 cents to $3.62 a pound; ground chuck, rising 10 cents to $2.95 a pound; and whole milk, costing 4 cents more at $3.92 a gallon.
On the downside, large eggs fell for the second consecutive quarter to $1.71 a dozen, down 11 cents, while a 20-ounce loaf of white bread also dropped 11 cents to $1.79. Bacon fell 6 cents a pound to $1.43.
The American Farm Bureau conducts its informal survey on a quarterly basis. The latest reading of how stretched the American grocery budget has become was done by 72 volunteer shoppers in 32 states during the month of August. Americans spend about 10% of their disposable income on food each year -- the lowest of any country worldwide, according to the U.S. government.
Grocery-chain operators Supervalu Inc. (SVU) , Safeway Inc. (SWY) and Whole Foods Markets Inc. (WFMI) all have been grappling with more frugal shoppers as job losses and the housing downturn have pinched consumers.
Shoppers have been trading down some to what are called private-label products, while discounters Costco Warehouse Corp. (COST) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) have been seeing a pickup in their grocery aisles.
Copyright © 2008 MarketWatch, Inc.
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