The Debts of the Spenders: QGRI Update (Nasdaq Government Relief index)

Back in January of this year, NASDAQ released an index that tracks a list of companies receiving government aid. The ticker is QGRI.

The list is not meant to be all inclusive but it does a pretty good job of consolidating corporate charity cases. As the ranks of incompetent companies grows so does the extent and largesse of the US government (realists also point out that the byzantine backdoors of public aid continue to expand in logarithmic proportions).

The QGRI index only contains 25 stocks but these companies share one thing in common - massive exposure to the shadow banking system. Luminaries such as Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and General Motors are among the top index components.

For a complete look:

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/cp?s=%5EQGRI

Unsurprisingly, the index is generally green based on the 5 1/2 week US stock market rally built on mark to myth accounting and hedgie short covering. (For a more complete review of the stock market rally I recommend Tyler Durden of Zerohedge.blogspot.com who covers this aspect in painstaking detail). However, the index is still marginally down for the year when compared against the S&P 500 and DJIA.

*Speculators will be disappointed to learn that the index does not yet offer any options.

Do NOT confuse QGRI w/Qatar General Insurance which shares the same ticker.