The global financial crisis sent bond yields tumbling, but as investors pull out of the most stable of government debt, some bonds look like prime buys in an irrational market. While analysts expect the US dollar to plummet in value over the next few years, investors can earn both through high-yield debt and exposure to other currencies.

Troubles in the United States are not so prominent overseas, even in developed nations. European bonds are still earning high yields, and the central bank is concerned about deflation, not inflation, which could ultimately drive bond prices higher, creating a quick capital gain while still yielding considerable returns.

BusinessWeek reports that German and French debt may be the most lucrative, despite their financial crises. Low debt to GDP ratios ensure stability in prices and allow the German and French government to sell debt without the default fears quickly growing in the United States.

The SPDR Barclays Capital Intl Treasury Bond (BWX: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) may be a perfect fit for investors looking for global exposure. The ETF has fallen 5% year to date while yielding 2.41% to investors.

A new index and corresponding ETF is set to launch, focusing on 100 of the largest European companies that emit the smallest amount of carbon dioxide. The NYSE Euronext had partnered with various environmentally friendly groups to develop the index. Michael Szabo of Reuters reports that the index is made up of companies averaging 42% lower carbon emissions when compared to 300 of Europe’s largest corporations.

BNP Paribas, a French bank, is scheduled to launch an exchange-traded fund to track the performance of the new index. The Reuters article points out that the new ETF will be named the EasyETF Low Carbon 100 Europe. Euronext’s deputy CEO, Jean-Francois Theodore, mentioned in the article that investors are much more interested in ‘carbon efficient’ products.

Credit Agricole Structured Asset Management (CASAM) has been given the reins to develop an exchange-traded fund based on the successful Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50 Index. A GlobeNewswire press release reports that the previously mentioned index launched early in 1998 and has since grown by more than 188%. EURO STOXX 50 Index is made up of 50 supersector leaders among twelve European countries, such as France, Germany, and Italy. Valerie Baudson, Managing Director of ETF Development at CASAM, is quoted in the release, saying, “With the launch of our ETF on the Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50, we offer our clients simple, liquid and transparent access to equities in the euro zone.” The index offers investors an intelligent benchmark to European stocks, according to Werner Burki, chairman of STOXX supervisory board. The upcoming ETF is due to trade on the NYSE Euronext Paris platform.

The NYSE Euronext’s Paris market is now the trading platform for the first ETF designed to follow the global hedge fund segment. SGAM Alternative Investments has developed the new vehicle, known as SGAM ETF T-Rex, to track the Hedge Funds Research Index (HFRI), according to Mondo Visione. The HFR index is made up of more than 2000 hedge funds, and the SGAM quantitative model is built to automatically correlate the positions every month for diversification purposes. The Mondo Visione article explains that SGAM ETF T-Rex, which stands for Total Return Exposure, invests in assets such as equities, bonds, and currencies. SGAM successfully released the same type of T-Rex concept for mutual funds in August 2007, and the new ETF version is allowing the real-time flexibility of a typical stock.

The Deutsche Boerse is the home of 22 new Dow Jones ETFs that have just been licensed to Commerzbank AG. The GlobeNewswire press release has identified the indexes as: Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50, Dow Jones EURO STOXX Select Dividend 30, Dow Jones STOXX 600, all 18 Dow Jones STOXX 600 Supersector indexes and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. With the access to this extensive list of indexes through ETFs, investors will have broad exposure to U.S. and European markets, as well as various sectors. Werner Buerki, chairman, STOXX supervisory board confirms that point by saying, “The 21 Dow Jones STOXX indexes chosen by Commerzbank for their lineup of ETFs offer investors broad varieties to participate in the performance of the core European markets and sectors.”

The broad market indexes are described further in the article. For example, Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50 Index is comprised of 50 sector leaders within twelve European countries, such as France, Germany or Spain. Similarly, the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index provides a broad exposure to Europe by investing in 18 European markets like Ireland, Italy, or the United Kingdom. The other main type of index is the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Supersector Index. There are 18 of this indexes that are based on companies of the Dow Jones STOXX 600 but are specific to various sectors such as Financials, Health Care, or Technology.