Americas ETP News
If your looking for specific news, using the search function will narrow down the results
Stock Gains Offset Concerns About Economic Policies
November 27, 2013--Consumer confidence rebounded in late November, shaking off the last remnants of the federal
shutdown. The November increase was due to an improved outlook for the economy, with the gains primarily
among upper income households.
Increases in household income and wealth were reflected in more optimistic personal financial assessments among those in the upper third of the income distribution, whereas households in the bottom third reported declines in their incomes as well as negative changes in their net worth. The current state of consumer sentiment is consistent with an economic growth rate slightly above 2%, largely stimulated by wealth gains not improvements in jobs and wages. This amounts to continued economic stagnation, which can be defined like the Fed's definition of stable prices, at about 2%-the average GDP growth rate in the past few years.
view more
Source: Thomson Reuters University of Michigan
CBOE Introduces The CBOE Mid-Term Volatility Index
VXMT Measures Six-Month Volatility
Complements 30-Day VIX, Adds Another Measure to SPX Option Term Structure
November 27, 2013--Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated(R) (CBOE(R)) today announced that it has created a new benchmark volatility index -the CBOE Mid-Term Volatility IndexSM (ticker: VXMTSM).
CBOE began disseminating values for the new Mid-Term Volatility Index today.
The CBOE Mid-Term Volatility Index is a measure of the expected volatility of the S&P 500(R) Index over a six-month time horizon. The VXMT index is calculated using the well-known CBOE Volatility Index(R) (VIX Index(R)) methodology, applied to S&P 500 Index (SPX) options that expire six to nine months in the future.
view more
Source: CBOE
UBS Global Allocation Trust proposed delisting and conversion to open ended tactical ETF fund of funds and unitholder meeting
November 27, 2013--UBS Global Asset Management (Canada) Inc., as manager of the UBS Global Allocation Trust (GAT) has announced that it is holding a special meeting of unitholders on January 8, 2014 for GAT ("the "Fund"). The unitholders will be asked to approve the proposed delisting of the GAT from the TSX and its conversion into an open ended and daily redeemable tactical ETF fund of funds subject to National Instrument 81-102.
Unitholders of GAT will also be asked to approve the necessary changes to the investment guidelines.
This change will continue to leverage UBS Global Asset Management's 30-year heritage in active asset allocation but do so using best in class ETFs in its portfolio construction which utilizes our disciplined ETF selection and monitoring process, in place since 2003.
view more
Source: UBS Canada
IMF Canada-2013 Article IV Consultation Concluding Statement of the Mission
November 27, 2013--This statement presents the preliminary assessment of the 2013 Article IV Consultation mission to Canada. Growth remained modest in 2013, as the expected transition from domestic demand-to export-led growth has proven elusive. The uncertain global environment weighed on exports and business investment,but competiveness challenges and infrastructure bottlenecks in the energy sector also played a role.
Stronger external demand is expected to push growth above its potential rate from 2014,but the balance of risks is tilted on the downside. While residential investment and house price growth continued to moderate in 2013,elevated levels of household debt and high valuations in a number of housing markets remain a potential vulnerability. Policies should remain focused on sustaining growth until the rotation to exports and business investment gains firmer momentum,while assuring that the gradual unwinding of domestic imbalances continues and that the fiscal position is maintained on a sustainable trajectory.
view more
Source: IMF
UPDATE 3-Brazil raises interest rate back to double digits
Central bank raises Selic to 10 pct, highest in over a year
Double-digit Selic a setback for President Rousseff
Bank signals it may slow pace of rate hikes, focus on growth
November 27, 2013--Brazil raised interest rates on Wednesday for the sixth straight time, ending a short-lived era of single-digit borrowing costs that failed to reignite Latin America's largest economy and instead fed inflation.
The central bank's monetary policy committee, known as Copom, unanimously raised its Selic to 10 percent from 9.50 percent -- its highest level since March of 2012. All but two of the 62 analysts polled by Reuters last week expected the bank to hike rates by half a percentage point for the fifth straight time after a quarter percentage point increase in April.
view more
Source: Reuters
NYSE Euronext New Listing-Cambria
November 27, 2013--Summary:
NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) is pleased to announce that on Tuesday, December 03, 2013, the following ETF will be listed on NYSE Arca and will begin trading as a new issue:
Security Name: Cambria Foreign Shareholder Yield ETF
Trading Symbol: FYLD
P>view more
Source: NYSE Euronext
CBOE to List Options on CBOE Russell 2000 Volatility Index Beginning December 3
New Product Offers Volatility Trading on Premier Measure of Small-Cap U.S. Stocks
November 26, 2013--Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated(R) (CBOE ) today announced that it will list options on the CBOE Russell 2000(R) Volatility Index (ticker: RVX) beginning Tuesday, December 3.
The CBOE Russell 2000 Volatility Index (RVXSM Index) is an up-to-the-minute market estimate of the expected 30-day volatility of the Russell 2000(R) Index (RUT), calculated using real-time bid/ask quotes of RUT options that are listed on CBOE.
view more
Source: CBOE
AdvisorShares Announces Change in Portfolio Manager, Ticker Symbol and New Fund Name: AdvisorShares EquityPro ETF (NYSE Arca: EPRO)
November 26, 2013--AdvisorShares, a leading sponsor of 18 actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs), today announced that Irvine, Calif.-based The Elements Financial Group, LLC (TEG) was approved by the AdvisorShares Board of Trustees as the new portfolio manager to the AdvisorShares Global Alpha & Beta ETF (NYSE Arca: RRGR), effective December 1, 2013.
Also effective that date, the Fund will be renamed the AdvisorShares EquityPro ETF and continue trading on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbol, EPRO.
"We constantly evaluate all the products within the AdvisorShares actively managed ETF suite," said Noah Hamman, chief executive officer of AdvisorShares. "After carefully considering the Fund's performance and assets under management, we consulted with Your Source Financial and TEG and subsequently decided that it was in shareholders' best interest to change portfolio managers."
view more
Source: AdvisorShares
IMF Mexico: Selected Issues Country Report
November 26, 2013-- Summary: Concluding Remarks This note analyzed the recent fiscal reforms, which can make the fiscal framework more instrumental in addressing challenges that Mexico will likely face in coming years. Mexico would benefit from building of fiscal policy buffers to reduce the exposure to high financing and hedging costs during periods of global uncertainty, improving flexibility to implement countercyclical fiscal policies, and addressing long term fiscal challenges associated with a reduction in oil revenue and an increase in health and pension spending.
Introducing an additional target on the public sector borrowing requirement in the Fiscal Responsibility Law will make the fiscal rule more transparent and enhance its credibility, and the new structural current expenditure growth cap will help reducing procyclicality in its fiscal framework by restraining expenditure in periods of unusually high revenues. The reforms to mobilize tax revenue are also encouraging initial steps to improve the management of oil wealth and reduce the public sector dependence on oil revenue over the medium term. Looking forward, Mexico could consider a modification in the design of the oil stabilization funds that would allow for simpler revenue transfer rules and operations.
view the IMF Mexico: Selected Issues Country Report
Source: IMF
Bitcoin: Current US Regulatory Developments
November 26, 2013--In recent months Bitcoin has become a hot topic in the financial, regulatory and legal
community and has received widespread attention from newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP has been actively working on Bitcoin-related matters for the past year and has become a legal thoughtleader
in the area.
As such, we would like to update our clients and friends on the current
US regulatory developments regarding Bitcoin.
Bitcoin was introduced in 2009 and has produced a dynamic new economy composed of merchants, users, service providers and start-up enterprises. Over the past 12 months the value of bitcoins has appreciated by more than 6000 percent, and Bitcoin has achieved a current market capitalization of over $8 billion. In addition to gaining traction as a medium of exchange and a unit of account, Bitcoin has caught the attention of members of the financial industry, who are beginning to recognize Bitcoin for its potential as a short- and/or long-term investment opportunity. For example, the proposed Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust is designed to be the first exchange-traded fund product based in Bitcoin.1
view more
Source: Katten Muchin Rosenman, LLP
