ETF Plans To Ease Credit Crunch Take Shape
With trillions of dollars in U.S. government funding already committed to combating the worst recession since the Great Depression, regulators are increasingly enlisting private sector support.
Along those lines, lawmakers and Treasury officials are reportedly listening to—and in some cases soliciting—outside views from key leaders in the financial sector.
Asset managers focusing on exchange-traded funds are being included in this movement to broaden the scope of U.S. economic recovery plans. As detailed in an IndexUniverse.com analysis of key developments in the effort to thaw credit markets, large ETF sponsors as well as small-yet-influential players are involved.
(The full 21-page Special Report, three months in the making, can be viewed here.)
Two ETF Plans Emerge
At the heart of the issue is resolving so-called “toxic” debt related to mortgage-backed securities. That alone is estimated to represent more than $1 trillion of regulators’ efforts. MBS markets are made upon debt obligations that “represent claims to the cash flows from pools of mortgage loans, most commonly on residential property,” according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Treasury’s plan to breathe new liquidity into this market is called the Public-Private Partnership Investment Program, or PPPIP. While the Treasury was developing the PPPIP program, which was unveiled in March, ETF companies began working on an alternative.
Over the past two months, two plans have emerged: One from Invesco PowerShares and the other from Murray Stahl (CEO of Horizon Asset Management) and Robert Holderith (CEO of Emerging Global Advisors).
Full Story: http://www.indexuniverse.com/sections/in-the-spotlight/5765-etf-plans-to-ease-credit-crunch-take-shape.html
Effective February 11, 2009, Unique ETF Fund, With About $10 Million AUM, Evolves From Adviser’s Composite With Returns Of 32.03% in 2008, And 41.09% Since Inception 04/01/2007. 
You may note our story on April 16th where we showed the largest holders of gold in the world, and SPDR Gold Trust (GLD). At that time GLD was the sixth largest holder of gold in the world trumping Switzerland, Japan, The Netherlands, and China in that order. This is a huge swing by China to increase their overall gold holding from the 10th to 5th position worldwide. 
The new home sales data is showing a very mixed bag, with a bit of a positive twist to it. We are seeing a run up in the SPDR S&P Homebuilders (NYSE: XHB) and the iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction (NYSE: ITB) as a result. March-2009 new home sales came in at a rate of -0.6% down to 356,000 on an annualized basis. We had consensus estimates pegged at 337,00 from Dow Jones and 330,000 from Bloomberg. February was given a sharp revision to its already high +4.7% to a higher +8.2%.
Bigger is better. We see it on all the commercials, bigger burgers, bigger muscles and now The Correct Call brings you bigger dividends. In this week’s ETF screener, we found a dozen ETF charts with dividends in excess of 5% displaying technical analysis buy signals. Ten of the 12 buy candidates are paying stock holders more than 7%. Those are some fat or is it phat? dividends.
We all have our little fears: The frayed wire on the coffee maker. That knocking noise from the left-rear tire. The zombies staggering around in the backyard.
U.S. retailers and the exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track the sector have seen a nice rally for 2009. But the question is: can it continue?
Earlier this month, London-based ETF Securities (ETFS) filed papers to bring the first bullion-backed platinum and palladium ETFs to the U.S. – a move that may shock many longtime precious metal investors.
Claymore Advisors, LLC, is pleased to announce that today the following Claymore Exchange-Traded Funds (“ETFs”) have declared monthly distributions. The table below summarizes the distribution schedule for each Fund declaring a distribution.
Shares of the iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index Fund rose 43 cents to $31.57 in afternoon trade. The exchange-traded fund holds an index of liquid, large-cap Chinese stocks. Its volume was active after a couple of large volume trades were observed in the January 2010 contract, said Andrew Wilkinson, senior market analyst at Interactive Brokers Group in a note. ‘It appears that one investor sold some 30,000 puts at the January $23 strike price for $2.15 apiece’ he said. ‘The sale represents fresh interest at the strike and implies that this trader is now short 30,000 put options.’ He will retain the premium as long as shares stay above $23 by expiration next year. Another investor took a bullish stance at the January 2010 $37 strike price by buying 2,700 calls for a premium of $2.73.
Astor Asset Management’s (aam123.com) Long Short Balanced Program was named the No. 4 Best Performing Program by Forbes.com, based on data compiled by Barclays Global Investors’ iShares.
Stock exchange-traded funds have been lambasted for slicing the market too narrowly. But with bonds, more precision is what financial advisers need.
WisdomTree (Pink Sheets: WSDT), an industry leading index developer and ETF sponsor, today announced that it plans to release its first quarter results on April 29, 2009 after the market closes. A conference call to discuss the firm’s results will be held on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. ET.
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