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DOL seeks to delay fiduciary rule until July 2019
August 9, 2017--Battle intensifies as Labor Department seeks to push off implementation until July 2019
Supporters of the Labor Department's fiduciary rule are calling an 18-month implementation delay too long, while opponents are saying the postponement is needed to give the agency time to review the rule.
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Source: invesmentnews.com
Pimco-Asset Allocation Outlook MidYear Update-Preparing for Pivot Points
August 9, 2017--Investors have enjoyed economic stability and positive market returns for years, but stretched valuations and a changing macroeconomic backdrop suggest a change is coming.
As our colleagues detailed in the essay "Pivot Points," which summarized our views from our Secular Forum in May, there are potential catalysts for change on the horizon. We discuss those factors and other secular themes in this section, and in the next section we will update our nearer-term views for asset allocation in 2017, including a key change: our move to a more defensive stance.
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Source: Pimco
First Trust Launches the First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF
August 9, 2017--An ETF that provides equal weight exposure to the DJIA
First Trust Advisors L.P. ("First Trust"), a leading exchange-traded fund ("ETF") provider and asset manager, announced today that it has launched a new index-based ETF, the First Trust Dow 30 Equal Weight ETF (NYSE Arca: EDOW) (the "fund").
The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield, before fees and expenses, of an equity index called the Dow Jones Industrial Average® Equal Weight Index (the "DJIA Equal Weight Index"). The DJIA Equal Weight Index is an equal-weight version of the Dow Jones Industrial Average ® ("DJIA").
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Source: First Trust
SEC Delays Decision on Chinese Buyout of Chicago Exchange
August 9, 2017-- Agency commissioners will review politically-fraught takeover
SEC staff said Wednesday that the sale should go through
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has dodged a political hot potato-for now-by delaying a decision on whether to approve a Chinese-led group's controversial takeover of the Chicago Stock Exchange.
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Source: Bloomberg
IMF Working paper-Stabilizing the System of Mortgage Finance in the United States
August 8, 2017--Summary:
It has been over a decade since the peak of house prices in the US was attained, and while there has been a concerted regulatory response to the subsequent collapse, the two Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) remain in conservatorship.
While this action served to forestall a deeper crisis at the time, over the past several years risks related to the system of mortgage finance can be seen building across several dimensions that need to be addressed. While reforms to the GSEs are an important part of dealing with these concerns, this paper argues that broader changes need to be made across the entire mortgage landscape to stabilize the system, even before the final state of the GSEs is fully determined.
view the IMF Working paper-Stabilizing the System of Mortgage Finance in the United States
Source: IMF
Vanguard Plans Benchmark Changes For Three Bond Funds And ETFs
August 8, 2017--Vanguard, a leading provider of bond index funds and ETFs, announced plans today to change the target benchmarks of three government bond index funds and ETFs to pure Treasury indexes.
Vanguard Short-Term Government Bond Index Fund and ETF (VSBSX/VGSH), Vanguard Intermediate-Term Government Bond Index Fund and ETF (VSIGX/VGIT), and Vanguard Long-Term Government Bond Index Fund and ETF (VLGSX/VGLT) are expected to transition from Bloomberg Barclays US Government Float-Adjusted indexes to Bloomberg Barclays US Treasury Float Adjusted indexes in the fourth quarter of this year.
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Source: Vanguard
IIROC Study of Corporate Bond Markets: Liquidity Determination and Overview
August 8, 2017--Executive Summary
The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) is the national self-regulatory organization that oversees all investment dealers and trading activity on debt and
equity marketplaces in Canada.
In 2016, the Canadian Securities Agency (CSA) designated IIROC to be the information processor (IP) for debt markets in Canada1. As the designated IP,
IIROC provides post-trade transparency on corporate issues on a T+2 basis to increase transparency and market integrity in Canadian debt markets without negatively impacting liquidity.
view the Corporate Bond Markets: Liquidity Determination and Overview Analytics report
Source: Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC)
SEC Staff Publishes Report on Access to Capital and Market Liquidity
August 8, 2017--The SEC Division of Economic and Risk Analysis (DERA) today published a report describing trends in primary securities issuance and secondary market liquidity, and assessing how those trends relate to post-crisis regulatory reforms. The report was requested by Congress as part of the FY2016 appropriations process.
The report includes a survey and analysis of recent academic literature, as well as original analyses drawn from publicly available databases and non-public regulatory filings. The report examines the issuance of debt, equity, and asset-backed securities, as well as activity and liquidity in U.S. Treasuries, corporate bonds, single-name credit default swaps, and bond funds.
view the SEC report-Access to Capital and Market Liquidity
Source: SEC.gov
CBO-Monthly Budget Review for July 2017
August 7, 2017--The federal budget deficit was $568 billion for the first 10 months of fiscal year 2017, the Congressional Budget Office estimates-$56 billion more than the shortfall recorded during the same span last year.
Both receipts and outlays were higher than they were last year, but outlays rose much more. If not for shifts in the timing of certain payments (which otherwise would have fallen on a weekend), the deficit for the 10-month period would have been $98 billion larger than the amount recorded in that period last year.
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Source: Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
IEX overcomes further hurdle in listings venue push
August 7, 2017--SEC approval for process to open and close the market comes as it eyes October launch.
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Source: FT.com