The yuan rises, an ETF falters, and a bear market disappears

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A few items of note from around the markets:

-- In early trading Thursday in Asia, the dollar’s value fell below the level of seven Chinese yuan, to 6.99 yuan. That’s a milestone in the yuan’s appreciation, which is squeezing U.S. companies that have manufacturing operations in China, as Times staff writer Don Lee explains here.

-- A raft of exchange-traded funds have been created to allow investors to bet against specific market sectors. But they don’t always work as advertised, as this story explains about the MacroShares Oil Down fund.

-- The bear market of 2000-02 wasn’t what it seemed, and the bull market that began in 1982 is alive and kicking. So says Richard Russell, the octogenarian La Jolla-based editor of the Dow Theory Letters market forecasting service, as translated by Mark Hulbert in this story. (To avoid the possibility of choking, avoid food or drink while reading the piece.)