Portfolios Malkiel, Swedroe And Others Suggest

In this interesting story in the Washington Post, Bob Frick of Kiplinger.com notes that cutting fund costs is important in volatile times like these. Index funds and exchange-traded funds, he says, are great ways to go.

He talks to Burton Malkiel and Larry Swedroe, among others, about how they use index funds and ETFs and lists model portfolios that they're actually using. 

You can read the story here. 

Examining Put/Call Options & Indexes

An index put/call ratio can be an effective tool in predicting short-term market moves, concludes this RealMoney analysis on TheStreet.com. 

But there are some caveats that investors should keep in mind, says the author. He takes readers through an example of how well these metrics hold up under closer scrutiny. 

You can read the story here.

ETFs Holding Relative Strength

In this new Investor's Business Daily piece, markets reporter Trang Ho looks at ETFs that are positive this year and have the best relative strength and accumulation/distribution technical ratings as defined by the CAN SLIM investment methodology. 

You can read the story here.

Another Big Options Play On Utilities ETF

For the second time in nearly a week, a large options trade took place on Wednesday involving the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLU).

You can read about the bullish activity in this Reuters story here.