Odds N Ends

Yesterday on CNBC Asia, a graphic ran across the bottom of the screen quoting Australian treasurer Peter Costello as saying a single Asian currency is still a long way off. That it might be a long way off means it is on the table. I have been hearing about this for a while. I'm not sure which countries would be interested and which countries would not but a strong single Asian currency would yet another challenge to the US' role as currency superpower down the road.

I stumbled across this article on IndexUniverse.com about some new ETFs that have been filed for by a company called Ferghana-Wellspring.

FW Autoimmune-Inflammation Index Fund
FW Cardiology Index Fund
FW Central Nervous System Index Fund
FW Derma And Wound Care Index Fund
FW Diagnostics Index Fund
FW Gastrointestinal/Genitourinary/Gender Health Index Fund
FW Infectious Disease Index Fund
FW Metabolic-Endocrine Disorders Index Fund
FW Ophthalmology Index Fund
FW Respiratory/Pulmonary Index Fund
FW M-Cancer Index Fund
FW T-Cancer Index Fund

That is some pretty narrow action. According to the article each of the ETFs would have twenty stocks and be equal weighted. I'm not sure I could name twenty ophthalmology stocks but I assume that Ferghana-Wellspring has found that many.

I forget who, maybe State Street, is going to have a medical device ETF which I can see, most clients own a device stock but do most folks need a wound care ETF? I don't know.

On issue I see with these would be that the diversification could actually create more risk than owning one company. I imagine that in the endocrine ETF there would be one or two huge winners and a lot of stocks that end up struggling. This is not an impossible scenario and I could see it repeating in several of the ETFs if not the endocrine ETF.

Narrow to a point can be useful but for now I am skeptical on the utility of these proposed funds.

Now there is chatter that John Snow will not be the treasury guy too much longer. Hmm, first Paul O'Neill (smoke stack CEO) then John Snow (another smoke stack CEO). My hunch is that Bush will yet again shun anyone with capital markets experience for an economic related post. Regardless of your politics you gotta think Bush could have found an easier path for a lot of the decisions he's made since being first elected.

One last thing is the country breakdown for the Templeton Emerging Markets Fund (EMF), an equity fund.

CHINA                 10.8%
HONG KONG              3.2%
INDIA                  2.8%
INDONESIA              0.5%
MALAYSIA               2.2%
PHILIPPINES            0.8%
SINGAPORE              2.5%
SOUTH KOREA           18.4%
TAIWAN                13.7%
THAILAND               3.2%
TURKEY                 4.0%
AUSTRIA                0.5%
CROATIA                0.8%
CZECH REPUBLIC         0.1%
FINLAND                0.4%
HUNGARY                2.7%
POLAND                 1.5%
PORTUGAL               0.2%
RUSSIA                 5.7%
SWEDEN                 0.8%
UNITED KINGDOM         1.9%
BRAZIL                 9.8%
MEXICO                 3.6%
PANAMA                 0.3%
SOUTH AFRICA           9.5%
UNITED STATES          0.3%