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CBO-Federal Debt and the Statutory Limit, March 2015
March 3, 2015--The debt limit-commonly referred to as the debt ceiling-is the maximum amount of debt that the Department of the Treasury can issue to the public and to other federal agencies.
That amount is set by law and has been increased over the years in order to finance the government's operations. Currently, there is no statutory limit on the issuance of new federal debt because the Temporary Debt Limit Extension Act (Public Law 113-83), enacted in February 2014, suspended the debt ceiling through March 15, 2015.
What Is the Current Situation?
The Temporary Debt Limit Extension Act specifies that the amount of borrowing that occurs while the limit is suspended be added to the previous debt limit of $17.212 trillion. Therefore, on March 16, the limit will be reset to reflect cumulative borrowing through the period of suspension. The amount of outstanding debt subject to limit has now risen to around $18.1 trillion. That amount is about twice the outstanding debt subject to limit at the end of fiscal year 2007.
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Source: Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Morgan Stanley-US ETF Weekly Update
March 2, 2015--Weekly Flows: $7.0 Billion Net Inflows
Sixth Consecutive Week of Net Inflows
High-conviction ETF Recommendations Slide
ETF Assets Stand at $2.1 Trillion, Up 5% YTD
Seven ETF Launches Last Week
Deutsche Increases Creation Limit on China ETF
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Flows by Market Segment
ETFs posted net inflows of $7.0 bln last week; sixth consecutive week of net inflows
Last week's net inflows were led by International - Developed ETFs at $3.6 bln; conversely, US Small- & Micro-Cap ETFs posted net outflows of $1.6 bln, the most of any category we measured
Eleven of the 15 categories we measured posted net inflows last week
ETF assets stand at $2.1 tln, up 5% YTD
13-week flows remain positive among most asset classes; combined $80.7 bln in net inflows
Fixed Income ETFs generated net inflows of $25.9 bln over the last 13 weeks, the most of any category, and accounted for 32% of total ETF net inflows; over the period, Fixed Income net inflows were broad-based, with High Yield to Treasury ETFs posting strong flows
The US Large-Cap ETF category was one of only two groups to exhibit net outflows over the last 13 weeks ($5.2 billion net outflows); the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) was the primary contributor to the outflows, with net outflows of $8.5 bln
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Largest Flows by Individual ETF
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) posted net inflows of $2.4 bln last week, leading all ETFs
Despite SPY's net inflows last week, over the last 13 weeks, the fund has exhibited net outflows of $8.5 bln
The WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund (HEDJ) had another positive week of net flows at $726 mln; over the last 13 weeks, HEDJ generated net inflows of $6.6 bln, more than any ETF, and 55% of its current market cap
The iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYG) generated net inflows of $366 mln last week and $3.6 bln over the last 13 weeks; we've seen investors return to the high yield market in 2015 after shunning it during the second half of 2014
The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) exhibited net outflows of $1.8 bln last week, the most of any ETF; IWM has posted net outflows for three consecutive weeks totaling $2.9 bln
US-Listed ETFs: ETF Dollar Volume
ETF monthly $ volume as a % of listed trading was down in February to 25% relative to January's 29% reading; over the last 5 years, ETF monthly $ volume as a % of listed trading volume averaged 28%
Over the last five years, ETF monthly $ volume as a % of listed trading volume peaked in August 2011 at 36%
ETF $ volume increased by $38 bln last week compared to the prior week, however is still $90 bln below its 13-week average
US Large-Cap ETFs accounted for 39% of ETF $ volume last week, below their 43% 13-week average; US Large-Cap ETFs make up 26% of ETF market share
US-Listed ETFs: Short Interest Data Updated: Based on data as of 2/13/15
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) had the largest increase in USD short interest at $6.0 bln
SPY's shares short at 257 mln are at their highest level since 10/31/14; the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) also had a large increase in short interest last period ($441 mln)
Notably, shares short for the iShares US Real Estate ETF (IYR) declined to their lowest level since 7/31/13
597 ETFs exhibited short interest increases while 748 experienced short interest declines over the last period
Aggregate ETF USD short interest increased by $3.0 bln over the period ended 2/13/15
The average shares short/shares outstanding for ETFs is currently 3.5%, down from 3.6% last period
The Market Vectors Semiconductor ETF (SMH) replaced the CurrencyShares Euro Trust (FXE) as the most heavily shorted ETF as a % of shares outstanding last period at 277%
Eight of the 10 most heavily shorted ETFs as a % of shares outstanding are sector based (SMH, BBC, XBI, XOP, DRV, XRT, KRE, IYR)
Based on multiple borrowings and the ability to continuously create new shares, shares short as a % of shares outstanding can exceed 100% (only seven ETFs exhibited shares short as a % of shares outstanding greater than or equal to 100%)
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Source: Morgan Stanley
Corporate-Bond Market Poses Systemic Risk, SEC's Gallagher Says
March 2, 2015--A lack of liquidity in corporate-bond markets could pose a "systemic risk" to the economy when interest rates rise, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission member Daniel Gallagher said.
Gallagher, a Republican, warned that the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a group of U.S. regulators that monitors emerging systemic risks, hasn't paid enough attention to the $7.3 trillion corporate-bond market, which has ballooned over the past seven years amid low interest rates.
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Source: Bloomberg
Wall St. rallies, Nasdaq hits highest level since 2000
March 2, 2015--The Nasdaq on Monday closed above 5,000 for the first time since the year 2000 dot-com bubble as tech stocks were boosted by deals, while the S&P 500 and Dow indexes hit records after economic data pointed to a slowly accelerating economy.
After oscillating around it for much of the day, the Nasdaq composite index .IXIC gained steam in the late afternoon to finish firmly above the milestone, marking the third time the index ended above 5,000. The last time was March 10, 2000.
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Source: Reuters
Exclusive: SEC plans to level playing field for newer ETF firms
March 2, 2015--The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may strip Vanguard Group, BlackRock Inc and State Street Corp, the oldest and biggest providers of exchange-traded funds, of an advantage they hold over newer rivals in how they assemble the shares of their funds, said sources familiar with the SEC.
ETFs are typically funds whose holdings are meant to mimic the performance of an index. To do that, the SEC has said the securities used to create shares in most funds must be the same ones as in the fund’s portfolio unless there was a change in the index the fund tracks.
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Source: Reuters
More clients, and delays, for Eaton Vance's active ETFs
March 2, 2015--Eaton Vance continues to add fund shops backing its push to develop nontransparent exchange traded products, but the timeline for launching NextShares is growing longer.
The Boston-based shop now expects that the first funds under the NextShares brand will launch in the second half of this year, which is later than the second-quarter forecast provided when Eaton Vance received initial Securities and Exchange Commission approval of the nontransparent structure in November.
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Source: FT.com
Deutsche Bank Boosts Capacity for A-Shares ETF
March 2, 2015--Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management on Monday took a step toward normalizing the trading mechanics for its popular China "A-shares" exchange-traded fund, diminishing the odds that the fund's price will leapfrog its net-asset value in bouts of heavy buying.
Here's what happened: Deutsche boosted the number new shares that can be created daily in the Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF (ASHR).
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Source: Barron's
Horizons ETFs Announces Appointment of Co-CEOs
March 2, 2015--Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. ("Horizons ETFs"), the Toronto-based manager and trustee of a family of exchange traded funds, announces today that Mr. Taeyong Lee, Executive Chairman of Horizons ETFs, along with Steven Hawkins, Chief Investment Officer of Horizons ETFs, have been appointed as Co-Chief Executive Officers of Horizons ETFs.
Going forward, Mr. Lee will serve as Executive Chairman and Co-CEO and Mr. Hawkins will serve as Co-CEO and Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Lee and Mr. Hawkins have also been appointed as Co-CEOs of AlphaPro Management Inc., which serves as the manager and trustee for certain of the exchange traded funds in the Horizons ETFs family.
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Source: Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc.
BlackRock Reduces Fees on Five Bond ETFs, Joining Rivals
March 2, 2015--BlackRock Inc., the world's largest money manager, cut fees on five bond exchange-traded funds, joining rivals in lowering costs to attract more investors.
BlackRock cut fees on iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF, iShares Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond ETF, iShares Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF, iShares Emerging Markets Corporate Bond ETF and iShares B-Ca Rated Corporate Bond ETF, the New York-based firm said in a statement.
ISE Holdings Reports Business Activity for February 2015
Dividend trades made up 1.1% of industry volume in February 2015.
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Source: Bloomberg
March 2, 2015--ISE and ISE Gemini combined represent 12.5% of equity options market share, excluding dividend trades.
ISE and ISE Gemini reported a combined ADV of 1.8 million contracts.
Source: ISE (International Securities Exchange)
