Nasdaq.com Reports "A large trader is making a long-term bet that the agriculture sector will rise by year's end. A huge block of 7,700 calls changed hands this morning at the January 35 strike of the PowerShares DB Agriculture exchange traded fund, followed by another 300 traded within seconds. All 8,000 went for $0.70 in a strong buying pattern, according to optionMONSTER's real-time Heat Seeker tracking system," Says Mike Yamamoto. Agriculture ETF (DBA) Draws Long-Term Calls
Nasdaq.com Reports "A large trader is making a long-term bet that the agriculture sector will rise by year's end. A huge block of 7,700 calls changed hands this morning at the January 35 strike of the PowerShares DB Agriculture exchange traded fund, followed by another 300 traded within seconds. All 8,000 went for $0.70 in a strong buying pattern, according to optionMONSTER's real-time Heat Seeker tracking system," Says Mike Yamamoto. South African and Brazilian ETF’s
Blackrock’s Purchase of BGI gives results in 2.7 Trillion Total Assets, Larger Than The Federal Reserve
It is a bit tough to wrap your head around, but the recent deal reached by Blackrock to buy BGI and its coveted Ishares business for 13.5 billion, makes Blackrock the largest Asset Manager in the world. According to "seekingalpha.com" the combined 2.7 trillion in assets makes it larger than the Federal Reserve. The scale of this deal combined with other impressive comparisons that can be made in the ETF market, (SPDR GLD being the 6th largest holder of gold for example) are a testament to the explosive growth and attention given to ETF's in the past few years. Claymore Files Prospectus For Silver Bullion ETF
"Investors will soon have a pure play on physical silver bullion, following the filing of a preliminary prospectus by the Claymore Silver Bullion Trust in connection with its initial public offering. The offering price of the Units is $10 with a firm $200 million cap, according to a press release issued today by Claymore Investments Inc. The management fee is 0.6%," Jonathan Chevreau Reports. ETF Tracking Errors
Pharma ETFs Rise on Swine Flu Pandemic News
As the death toll climbs, the World Health Organization declared a swine flu pandemic, a move that could prompt fast-track production of preventive vaccines. The declaration of a global epidemic came Thursday as WHO officials gathered in an emergency session in the wake of 141 swine flu deaths worldwide. BlackRock Agrees to Acquire Barclays Global Investors, Including Its Market-Leading iShares Business
--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) announced it has executed a purchase agreement to acquire Barclays Global Investors (“BGI”), including its market-leading ETF platform, iShares, from Barclays PLC (“Barclays”). The combination of BlackRock and BGI would bring together market leaders in active and index strategies to create the preeminent asset management firm operating under the name BlackRock Global Investors (“BlackRock”). You Can Still Buy China and India ETF’s
David Serchuk from Forbes says "The emerging markets rally isn't over yet."
He continues to say "First the bad news: There's been an amazing rally taking place in the world's emerging markets, and it's entirely possible you missed it. Now here's the good news: Just because you missed it so far, doesn't mean it's over. Now here's more bad news: What’s Moving In ETF Land? (TBT, SHY, SDS)
Pressure Mounts on ETFs at State Street, Vanguard
Matt Ackermann, writing for "financial-planning.com", came out with a great article today about the effects of an Ishares sale to Blackrock. The article states that " Bank of New York Mellon and BlackRock could enhance iShares' ETF lineup by adding actively managed products to index funds for individual investors. Neither Vanguard nor State Street offers actively managed products, and they lack the capability to introduce them. Plenty Of Fuel To Power These Energy ETF’s Higher?
"Supply and demand is a constant issue for all commodities including oil. The current perception is that oil demand will increase with stronger economic activity and that stability within the broader U.S. economy might be on the horizon. The other half of the perception equation is that actual supply of crude seems to be falling. Data from the American Petroleum Institute last week showed U.S. crude inventories dropped more than expected," Ron DeLegge reports for ETFGUIDE. MOO, A Great ETF To Play The Agriculture Market
The Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (MOO) "seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the DAXglobal Agribusiness index. The fund normally invests at least 80% of total assets in equity securities of U.S. and foreign companies primarily engaged in the business of agriculture, which derive at least 50% of their total revenues from agribusiness. Profit From An Airline Industry Collapse Shorting This ETF (FAA)
"A way to play the global economy decline is by shorting the airline industry. Here we turn to underground investor Martin Denholm, writing in today’s Smart Profits Report. The problem with the airline industry is that in business terms, it can be “lose-lose,” no matter what the economy is doing…" Contrarian Profits Reports. Jon Nadler On The Price Of Gold And The Impact Of The ETF Market (GLD)
Penny Pilot program set to expire on July 3, proposals to extend and expand to all ETF options classes
"The penny pilot program is an SEC initiative to quote a number of options classes in pennies, on a trial basis with only a limited number of options. The SEC intended the penny pricing initiative to help tighten price spreads, provide better prices to retail customers, and reduce payment for order flow. 
