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Seven U.S. states, District of Columbia sue to block SEC rule change
September 9, 2019--Seven U.S. states and the District of Columbia on Monday sued to block rules adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that would allow brokers to recommend products that benefit them as long as they disclose the conflict.
The package of rules, approved in a vote by the SEC, require brokerage firms to disclose potential conflicts of interests in the fees investors pay and the commissions brokers earn when giving financial advice.
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Source: Reuters
ARK Industrial ETF Morphing Into Autonomous Tech, Robotics ETF
September 9, 2019--The ARK Industrial Innovation ETF, an actively managed exchange traded sponsored by ARK Investment Management, is changing its name to "ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF."
Currently, ARKQ captures the converging industrial and technology sectors, capitalizing from autonomous vehicles, robotics, 3D printing, and energy storage technologies. Over the years, the $172 million fund has become known for impressive performances as well as being one of the ARK ETFs with large exposure to Tesla Inc.
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Source: etftrends.com
CBO-Monthly Budget Review for August 2019
September 9, 2019--The federal budget deficit was $1,067 billion for the first 11 months of fiscal year 2019, the Congressional Budget Office estimates-$168 billion more than the deficit recorded during the same period last year. Revenues were $102 billion higher and outlays were $271 billion higher than in the same period in fiscal year 2018.
Shifts in the timing of certain payments increased outlays in the first 11 months of this year by $52 billion; last year such shifts increased outlays by $28 billion. If not for those shifts, the increase in the deficit so far this year would have been $144 billion rather than $168 billion.
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Source: Congressional Budget Office
JP Morgan has created an index to track the effect of Trump's tweets on financial markets: 'Volfefe index'
September 8, 2019--Trump's market-moving tweets most often address trade and monetary policy, with keywords including "China," "billion' and "products."
J.P. Morgan's "Volfefe Index," named after Trump's infamous and still mysterious "covfefe" tweet, explains a measurable fraction of the moves in implied rate volatility for 2-year and 5-year Treasurys.
Out of about 4,000 non-retweets by Trump occurring during market hours from 2018 to the present, only 146 moved the market.
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Source: CNBC.com
Big US sustainable funds fail to support ESG shareholder proposals
September 7, 2019--2During the 2019 shareholder voting season, funds labelled by BlackRock, JPMorgan Asset Management and Vanguard as sustainable frequently sided with a company's management and against shareholder proposals on issues ranging from political spending to diversity disclosures, according to new reports filed with the US...
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Source: FT.com
Beige Book
September 4, 2019--Overall Economic Activity
On balance, reports from Federal Reserve Districts suggested that the economy expanded at a modest pace through the end of August. Although concerns regarding tariffs and trade policy uncertainty continued, the majority of businesses remained optimistic about the near-term outlook. Reports on consumer spending were mixed, although auto sales for most Districts grew at a modest pace.
Tourism activity since the previous report remained solid in most reporting Districts. On balance, transportation activity softened, which some reporting Districts attributed to slowing global demand and heightened trade tensions. Home sales remained constrained in the majority of Districts due primarily to low inventory levels, and new home construction activity remained flat. Commercial real estate construction and sales activity were steady, while the pace of leasing increased slightly over the prior period. Overall manufacturing activity was down slightly from the previous report. Among reporting Districts, agricultural conditions remained weak as a result of unfavorable weather conditions, low commodity prices, and trade-related uncertainties. Lending volumes grew modestly across several Districts. Reports on activity in the nonfinancial services sector were positive, with reporting Districts noting similar or improved activity from the last report.
VanEck, SolidX to Offer Bitcoin ETF-Like Product to Institutions
September 3, 2019--While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has so far blocked a number of proposed bitcoin ETFs, two firms aim to launch a more limited option this week.
Announced Tuesday, VanEck Securities and SolidX Management-which have previously had a decision on their proposed bitcoin ETF postponed by the SEC-revealed they are taking an unusual route to bypass the regulatory hurdles.
The companies will use an SEC exemption that will allow shares in their VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust to be offered to institutions such as hedge funds and banks, but not to retail investors.
Though not in fact a true exchange-traded fund, the product is similar.
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Source: coindesk.com
CBO-Budgetary Outcomes Under Alternative Assumptions About Fiscal Policy
August 29, 2019--Summary
CBO regularly publishes baseline budget projections that show how federal spending, revenues, and deficits would look if current laws governing spending and taxes generally remained unchanged. Those projections are not intended to be a forecast of budgetary outcomes; rather, they are meant to provide a benchmark that policymakers can use to assess the potential effects of policy decisions.
To provide additional information about possible budgetary outcomes, CBO has estimated how its most recent budget projections would change under alternative assumptions about future fiscal policies, as follows:
Discretionary Spending. In CBO's baseline projections, discretionary outlays average 6.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) from 2019 through 2021, before falling to 5.6 percent of GDP by 2029, which would be the lowest percentage recorded since the inception of the modern Congressional budget process. As one alternative policy, CBO projected what discretionary spending would be if it remained at about 6.3 percent of GDP through 2029. As a second alternative path for discretionary spending, CBO also estimated the budgetary effects of freezing all discretionary appropriations at the 2019 amounts through 2029.
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Source: Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
CFTC.gov Swaps Report Update
August 28, 2019--CFTC's Weekly Swaps Report has been updated, and is now available.
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Source: CFTC.gov
Ordinary savers should be allowed to invest in private equity
August 27, 2019--SEC should ease restrictions and permit retail clients to use funds of funds.
Despite all the attention that is paid to the ups and downs of the big stock indices, private markets are where much of the action is.
Last year. companies in the US received twice as much investment-$2.9tn-from private sources than they raised in the public equity and debt markets,, and academic studies have found that the average private equity and venture capital fund has significantly outperformed the S&P 500 in recent decades
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Source: FT.com
