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CFTC.gov Commitments of Traders Reports Update
March 15, 2019--The current reports for the week of March 15, 2019 are now available.
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Source: CFTC.gov
The Effect of Government Debt on Interest Rates: Working Paper 2019-01
March 14, 2019--On average over the long term, each increase of 1 percentage point in federal debt as a percentage of GDP boosts interest rates by 2 to 3 basis points, CBO estimates.
Summary
Under current law, the level of federal debt relative to gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to rise significantly over the next decade. The relationship between debt and interest rates plays a key role in the Congressional Budget Office's economic and budget projections (especially long-term projections) and for dynamic analyses of fiscal policy, where the sensitivity of interest rates with respect to changes in the level of debt is vitally important. In this analysis, we use a reduced-form regression to estimate the relationship between projected federal debt and expected long-term interest rates. Our results suggest that the average long-run effect of debt on interest rates ranges from about 2 to 3 basis points for each increase of 1 percentage point in debt as a percentage of GDP. We also use a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model to illustrate how the response of interest rates to debt depends on the type of fiscal policy generating changes in the debt. In the context of that model, fiscal policies that bolster incentives for households and firms to invest in private capital or supply additional labor elicit a smaller interest rate response than the response suggested by the reduced-form estimates, which do not control for the nature of the fiscal policy change. Conversely, the results suggest that a fiscal policy that contains few or no incentives for households and firms to invest in additional private capital or supply additional labor elicits a larger interest rate response than that suggested by the reduced-form estimates.
view the The Effect of Government Debt on Interest Rates White paper
Source: Edward Gamber and John Seliski Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
John Hancock Investments Launches John Hancock Multifactor Media and Communications ETF Completing its Multifactor Sector ETF Suite
March 13, 2019--John Hancock Multifactor ETF Designed by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Provides Access to Companies in the New Communication Services Sector
John Hancock Investments today announced the John Hancock Multifactor Media and Communications ETF (nyse arca:JHCS) began trading on March 13, 2019.
The fund seeks to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the John Hancock Dimensional Media and Communications Index designed by Dimensional Fund Advisors. JHCS follows the recently revised sector classification scheme that expanded or replaced the narrowly defined telecommunication services sector with a broader mix of media, communications, and technology companies. This expanded definition of telecommunications has been embraced by multiple index providers, including MSCI, S&P, and FTSE Russell.
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Source: John Hancock
Blue Star Indexes-Israeli Stocks Maintain Outperformance vs. Major Market Indexes in 2019; Israeli Tech Hits New All-Time High; Cyber and Real Estate Continue to Shine
March 14, 2019--Israel Equity Review & Outlook-March2019
Israeli stocks, as defined by the BlueStar Israel Global Index(R) (BIGI(R)), outpaced all major market indexes in January, posting a solid 10.68% gain. BIGI(R), now nearly recovered from the December sell-off, extended its 2018 dominance against MSCI EAFE by an additional 4.09% YTD.
Israeli technology stocks, as defined by The BlueStar Israel Global Technology IndexTM (BIGITech(R)), bounced back strongly in January, erasing December woes, with an impressive 11.48% return to lead global tech markets YTD.
BIGI(R) outperformed the local TA-125 Index by 1.53% in January, as the TA-125 has missed out on the performance of some of Israel's top foreign-listed technology companies.
After a sharp bounce off the long-term support lines, the technical outlook for BIGI(R) is currently neutral; BIGITech(R) is well poised to resume an upward trend in 2019.
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Source: BlueStar Indexes
USCF Announces Options Trading on the United States 3x Oil Fund and the United States 3x Short Oil Fund (NYSE Arca: USOU, USOD)
March 14, 2019--USCF today announced the availability of options trading on the United States 3x Oil Fund (NYSE Arca: USOU) and the United States 3x Short Oil Fund (NYSE Arca: USOD) on NYSE American Options. Both USOU and USOD are exchange-traded products that are designed to reflect 3x and-3x, respectively, the daily price movements of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light, sweet crude oil.
Both issue shares that may be purchased and sold on the NYSE Arca. The investment objective of each of USOU and USOD is for the daily changes in percentage terms of its shares' NAV to reflect 3x and -3x, respectively, the daily changes in percentage terms of a specified short-term futures contract on light, sweet crude oil called the "Benchmark Oil Futures Contract," less expenses. Each fund will seek a return that is 300% or -300% of the return of the Benchmark Oil Futures Contract for a single day and does not seek to achieve its stated investment objective over a period of time greater than one day.
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Source: USCF
Brazil: Boom, Bust, and Road to Recovery
March 14, 2019--Summary:
Brazil is at crossroads, emerging slowly from a historic recession that was preceded by a huge economic boom. Reasons for the historic bust following a boom are manifold.
Policy mistakes were an important contributory factor, and included the pursuit of countercyclical policies, introduced to deal with the effects of the global financial crisis, beyond the point where they were helpful. More fundamentally, it reflects longstanding structural weaknesses plaguing the economy, that also help explain Brazil's uninspiring growth performance over the past four decades.
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Source: IMF
CBOE Will Not List Bitcoin Futures in March, Cites Need to Assess Crypto Derivatives
March 14, 2019--The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) will not add a new Bitcoin (BTC) futures market in March, the firm said in a statement on March 14.
Per the statement, CBOE is re-evaluating how it approaches trading digital assets.
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Source: cointelegraph.com
JPMorgan Goes Low In Search Of ETF Growth
March 14, 2019--JPMorgan Asset Management (JPAM) unit entered the exchange traded funds business late relative to larger rivals. The firm's willingness to compete with entrenched players on fees and populate its funds with existing client assets has helped the issuer ascend to the tenth spot among U.S. ETF sponsors.
On Wednesday, JPAM reiterated to investors and the ETF industry at large it's serious about competing when it comes to costs.
What Happened
The JPMorgan BetaBuilders U.S. Equity ETF (CBOE: BBUS) debuted Wednesday with an annual fee of 0.02 percent, or $2 on a $10,000 investment, making the fund the least expensive ETF in the U.S. BBUS is a traditional, cap-weighted domestic equity fund.
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Source: benzinga.com
The FORUM at ETF Research Center-Is My ETF Priced Right? Look at the Comps
March 13, 2019--In real estate, buyers and sellers often look to "comps" to help determine a home's value. Comps are usually an average price at which similar homes in the area have sold in the recent past. Since a home is most people's largest investment, buyers are keen to get good value for their money.
ETF investors want to do the same. But determining an ETF's comps can be difficult, especially once you get past the big questions of asset class and geographic exposure. Our approach has always been to simply look at the ETFs with the most overlap in underlying holdings. You can see these on the 'Comps' tab of any equity fund page.
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Source: AltaVista Research
Salt Financial Launches Low Volatility ETF Powered By truBetaTM
March 13, 2019--Data, Index, and ETF provider debuts diversified ETF for conservative, risk averse investors
Salt Financial LLC, a provider of data, ETF, and index products, today announced the launch of the Salt Low truBetaTM US Market ETF (Ticker: LSLT). The new offering uses the firm's proprietary truBetaTM forecast and is designed to target low volatility and beta stability.
The ETF tracks the Salt Low truBetaTM US Market Index, gives exposure to US large and midcap equities with the opportunity for better risk adjusted returns.
The fund is launching with an expense ratio of 29 basis points. Although the fund filed a recent amendment covered by the press and in social media, the filing is pending review by the SEC.
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Source: Salt Financial LLC
