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Five charts explaining why inflation is at a 40-year high
January 12, 2022--The bumpy economic recovery has had policymakers, economists and Americans households grappling with greater price hikes for groceries, cars, rent and other essentials.
The latest inflation data, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showed prices in December rose to a 40-year high, climbing 7.0 percent compared with the year before.
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Source: washingtonpost.com
Federal Reserve-Beige Book
January 12, 2022-Overall Economic Activity
Economic activity across the United States expanded at a modest pace in the final weeks of 2021. Contacts from many Districts indicated growth continued to be constrained by ongoing supply chain disruptions and labor shortages. Despite the modest pace of growth, demand for materials and inputs, and demand for workers, remained elevated among businesses.
Lending activity picked up slightly toward the end of the year, led by commercial real estate borrowers. Consumer spending continued to grow at a steady pace ahead of the rapid spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
Most Districts noted a sudden pull back in leisure travel, hotel occupancy and patronage at restaurants as the number of new cases rose in recent weeks. Although optimism remained high generally, several Districts cited reports from businesses that expectations for growth over the next several months cooled somewhat during the last few weeks. The manufacturing sector continued to expand nationally, with some regional differences in the pace of growth. Overall activity in the transportation sector expanded at a moderate pace. While farm incomes were elevated throughout 2021, agricultural conditions were marred by drought conditions across several Districts.
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Source: federalreserve.gov
Simplify Adds Three Funds to Its Suite of Equity ETFs Offering Downside Convexity
January 11, 2022--New ETFs provide exposure to U.S. small caps, Developed ex-U.S., and Emerging Markets, respectively; all with systematic options overlays designed to boost performance during extreme market moves
Simplify Asset Management ("Simplify"), an innovative provider of Exchange Traded Funds ("ETFs") designed to solve today's most pressing portfolio construction challenges, is today announcing the start of trading for three new funds that continue to highlight the firm's leadership in delivering sophisticated exposures with downside convexity.
Launching today are:
The Simplify US Small Cap PLUS Downside Convexity ETF (RTYD);
The Simplify Developed Ex-US PLUS Downside Convexity ETF (EAFD); and
The Simplify Emerging Markets PLUS Downside Convexity ETF (EMGD).
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Source: Simplify Asset Management Inc
KraneShares KBA First ETF to Track MSCI China A 50 Index in the US
January 5, 2022--Krane Funds Advisors, LLC, ("KraneShares"), an asset management firm known for its China-focused
exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and innovative investment strategies, announced that KBA now tracks the MSCI China A 50 Connect Index.
KraneShares updated the Fund's name to the KraneShares Bosera MSCI China A 50 Connect Index ETF(ticker: KBA) to reflect the change.
"KBA is the first MSCI-linked China A-Share ETF in the United States, and is now the first US-listed ETF to track the MSCI China A 50 Connect Index^1. "Since we launched KBA in 2014, we have evolved the Fund alongside MSCI based on the latest developments in the China A-share market," said Jonathan Krane, CEO of KraneShares.
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Source: bloomberg.com
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, December 14-15, 2021
January 5, 2022--Developments in Financial Markets and Open Market Operations
The manager turned first to a discussion of financial market developments over the period. Financial markets responded to significant new information about the economy and monetary policy, as well as the emergence of the Omicron variant. Overall, domestic financial conditions tightened modestly but remained near historically accommodative levels. Expectations for an earlier reduction in Federal Reserve policy accommodation lifted short-term interest rates and supported the dollar.
While prices of equities that are sensitive to COVID-19 risks declined significantly, the S&P 500 index was little changed.
Over the period, market participants considered potential drivers of the notable decline in far-forward sovereign yields in the United States and other advanced economies. News of the Omicron variant reportedly drove safe-haven flows into sovereign bonds, pushing term premiums lower. The significant co-movement between far-forward yields and the share prices of firms most affected by social distancing was consistent with this interpretation. In addition to the effects of the pandemic on risk sentiment, some discussed the potential for COVID to become endemic, possibly resulting in modestly lower potential growth over time and a lower long-run neutral level of the federal funds rate.
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Source: federalreserve.gov
SEC Delays Decision on NYDIG's Spot Bitcoin ETF Proposal
January 4, 2022--The commission now has until March 16 to approve or disapprove NYDIG’s proposal.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended the time period for ruling on NYDIG's proposal for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) by 60 days in order to have "sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and any comments received."
The SEC's original deadline was Jan. 15, so now it has until March 15 to make a decision.
In recent months, the SEC has rejected spot bitcoin ETF proposals from a number of investment companies, including VanEck, WisdomTree and Kryptoin.
It also recently delayed its decisions on spot bitcoin ETFs from Valkryie, Grayscale and Bitwise. Grayscale is owned by Digital Currency Group, which is the parent company of CoinDesk.
In the past, the SEC has typically postponed its decisions on approving bitcoin ETFs for as long as possible.
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Source: coindesk.com
Passive ETFs hit by billion-dollar rebalancing costs
January 4, 2022--Research shows US index trackers lose out on nearly $4bn a year due to price moves created by front-running
US index-tracking funds are throwing away $3.9bn a year by using predictable, mechanical trading strategies that are exploited by nimbler market participants, according to academic research.
The losses would cost an investor who built up a $2m retirement portfolio over 30 years via passive mutual or exchange traded funds $29,000, the analysis found.
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Source: ft.com
RiverNorth and TrueMark Launch RiverNorth Volition America Patriot ETF (FLDZ) to Benefit Folds of Honor
January 3, 2022-Core Equity Investment with "Real Impact" as Fees and All Profits from Managing the Fund Donated to Folds of Honor Charity in Support of Military Families
-RiverNorth Capital Management, LLC and TrueMark Investments, LLC today announced the launch of the RiverNorth Volition America Patriot ETF (NYSE: FLDZ).
The innovative Fund is designed to do double-duty as a US-focused core equity portfolio and as a support to a tremendous charitable organization. The majority of advisory fees and all profits from managing the Fund will be donated to Folds of Honor, a nonprofit organization that provides the families of fallen and disabled service members with educational scholarships.
The new Fund was listed for investing and trading on the NYSE on January 3, 2022, under the ticker symbol FLDZ.
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Source: RiverNorth Capital Management, LLC
Motley Fool Asset Management Launches Two New Index-Based ETFs
December 31, 2021--Motley Fool Asset Management, an affiliate of The Motley Fool, LLC,* today is proud to announce the launch of two new ETFs: Fool Capital Efficiency 100 Index and Fool Next Index.
"We established these ETFs with investor demand in mind," said Kelsey Mowrey, President of Motley Fool Asset Management. "Both ETFs are designed to be convenient, cost-effective vehicles for individuals who want exposure to stock recommendations made by Motley Fool analysts across Fooldom.
The 'recommendation universe' includes all companies domiciled in the United States that are either active recommendations of a newsletter published by TMF or are among the 150 highest rated U.S. companies in TMF's analyst opinion database. We are thrilled to add these two index-based investment products to our ETF lineup."
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Source: Motley Fool Asset Management
Debuts in active ETFs surge as US investors' appetite grows
December 31, 2021--More than half of the exchange traded funds launched this year are actively managed
About 60 per cent of the nearly 500 ETFs that launched in the US in 2021 are actively managed, according to data from Morningstar Direct. This marks the first year that more active ETFs were launched than index-tracking ETFs, data up to December 15 show.
Among them are ETF debuts from managers including Putnam Investments, Harbor Funds, Alger and Gabelli, as well as the first active ETFs from Nuveen and BNY Mellon.
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Source: FT.com