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Fee Rate Advisory #1 for Fiscal Year 2021
August 26, 2020--The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that in fiscal year 2021 the fees that public companies and other issuers pay to register their securities with the Commission will be set at $109.10 per million dollars.
Background
The securities laws require the Commission to make annual adjustments to the rates for fees paid under Section 6(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 13(e) and 14(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Commission must set rates for the fees paid under Section 6(b) to levels that the Commission projects will generate collections equal to annual statutory target amounts. The Commission's projections are calculated using a methodology developed in consultation with the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget. As directed by the statute, the Commission determined the statutory target amount for fiscal year 2021 to be $709,554,300 by adjusting the fiscal year 2020 target collection amount of $705 million for the rate of inflation. The annual adjustment to the fee rate under Section 6(b) also sets the annual adjustment to the fee rates under Sections 13(e) and 14(g).
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Source: SEC.gov
A US-Focused Cannabis ETF Is Finally On The Way
August 26, 2020--Through boom and burst of the cannabis equity cycle, two things became abundantly clear: multi-state operators (MSOs) often outperformed their Canadian rivals and accessing MSOs through most New York-listed marijuana exchange-traded funds was difficult.
What Happened: Accessing cannabis MSOs via the ETF wrapper will soon get easier because AdvisorShares is launching the AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF NYSEMSOS on Sept. 2.
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Source: benzinga.com
U.S. SEC allows more investors access to private companies, eases company disclosures
August 26, 2020--The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday adopted changes to its decades-old definition of a professional investor in order to allow more everyday Americans to buy shares in private companies, and eased come company disclosure rules.
The agency said it hopes the changes to its "accredited investor" definition will boost retail investors' access to the swelling pool of companies that are staying private for longer. But the change was criticized by investor advocates and agency officials who say even seasoned investors struggle to spot problems with private companies.
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Source: reuters.com
SEC approves NYSE proposal to allow IPO alternative
August 26, 2020--The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday it approved a proposal by the New York Stock Exchange to allow companies to raise capital through direct listings.
The move is a major breakthrough for the exchange operator that has been pushing for an alternative to traditional initial public offerings (IPOs) for companies to raise money. The move is a major breakthrough for the exchange operator that has been pushing for an alternative to traditional initial public offerings (IPOs) for companies to raise money.
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Source: reuters.com
Canadian taxpayers financing of tar sands pipelines could be putting billions of dollars at risk: Carbon Tracker
August 25, 2020--Research finds that pipeline oil would be uneconomic under Paris targets
Canadian taxpayers could be putting at risk billions of dollars invested into the controversial Keystone XL and Trans Mountain oil pipelines if the country respects its CO2 reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement and global oil demand drops and prices weaken in line with efforts to meet the targets of the international accord.
Research by Carbon Tracker in a recent report, titled: Pipe Dreams: Why Canada's proposed pipelines don’t fit in a low carbon world, says currently 'unsanctioned' oil sands projects underpinning future use of the huge pipeline project extensions like Keystone XL and Trans Mountain would be economically uncompetitive under both the 1.7-1.8°C Sustainable Development Scenario (SDS) and the c.1.6°C Beyond 2 Degrees Scenario (B2DS) climate change scenarios outlined by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
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Source: responsible-investor.com
The Shakeout in the ETF Industry Is Accelerating
August 25, 2020--A record 188 exchange-traded products have closed, while launches are at their lowest number since 2013.
Asset managers have closed more exchange-traded products than they have launched this year, a sign of how market gyrations have accelerated an industry shakeout.
So far this year, 188 exchange-traded products, including funds and notes, have been shut down, the most on record, according to FactSet. The closures occurred at big and small asset managers alike, including BlackRock Inc., which manages the popular suite of iShares ETFs; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Invesco Ltd.; ProShares and Direxion.
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Source: wsj.com
Exclusive: Nasdaq files with SEC for IPO alternative to raise funds
August 25, 2020-- Exchange operator Nasdaq Inc has filed with U.S. regulators to change its rules to enable companies that debut on the stock market through a direct listing to raise capital, as an alternative to an initial public offering.
The move underscores a desire for an alternative route to the public markets to an IPO, for decades the avenue used by the likes of Amazon.com Inc and Apple Inc, amid criticism by venture capital firms that investment banks underprice IPOs to help investors score big gains.
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Source: reuters.com
Biggest Oil Fund Is Facing SEC Action But Still Luring Cash
August 24, 2020--USO attracts $414 million in day after receiving Wells Notice
There 'aren't many other options' for ETF investors: Geraci
A notice of potential U.S. regulatory action proved no deterrent for investors piling into the world's biggest oil exchange-traded fund.
The United States Oil Fund ETF, ticker USO, posted its largest one-day inflow since April last week even after the Securities and Exchange Commission recommended enforcement action against the fund and its management for disclosures made during market turmoil this year.
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Source: bloomberg.com
Fed Study Finds Virus Is a Powerful Downward Drag on Inflation
August 24, 2020--U.S. inflation has slowed sharply since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and a new Federal Reserve study squarely pins the blame on a collapse in demand as consumers sheltered in home to avoid infection.
The Fed targets 2% inflation according to the personal consumption expenditure price index. It also pays close attention to a core reading of that gauge which strips out volatile food and energy prices. Both measures have plummeted since the pandemic, with year-on-year core PCE standing at 0.9% in June versus 1.9% in February.
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Source: bloomberg.com
FRBSF Economic Letter-Monitoring the Inflationary Effects of COVID-19
August 24, 2020--Inflation fell dramatically following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dividing the underlying price data according to spending category reveals that a majority of the drop in core personal consumption expenditures inflation comes from a large decline in consumer demand.
This demand effect far outweighs upward price pressure from COVID-related supply constraints. A new monthly data page from the San Francisco Fed tracks how sensitivity to the economic disruptions of COVID-19 affects different categories of inflation over time.
The unprecedented challenges caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about abrupt and severe disruptions to economic activity. Social distancing sharply reduced consumer spending, particularly in sectors more sensitive to these measures such as restaurants and hotels (Dunn, Hood, and Driessen 2020). The pandemic also disrupted the supply chain, as many employees could not safely go to their workplace, reducing production below full capacity in certain sectors. By contrast, other sectors of the economy, such as information technology, appear to have been less, or even positively, affected by the pandemic (Kwan and Mertens 2020).
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Source: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco