All posts by MarketsMuse Staff Reporter

ETF News

ETF Land: Its All About the US Dollar

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MarketsMuse ETF update profiles the most talked about topic: the US Dollar courtesy of extract below from March 25th coverage from Todd Shriber of ETFtrends.com. Here’s the snippet:

For over a year, exchange traded funds tracking the U.S. dollar have been the stars of the currency ETF group, but recent weakness in the greenback could prompt some investors to assess other currency opportunities.

Todd Shriber, ETFtrends.com
Todd Shriber, ETFtrends.com

Since topping on March 13, the PowerShares DB U.S. Dollar Index Bullish Fund (NYSEArca: UUP), the U.S. Dollar Index tracking ETF, and the actively managed WisdomTree Bloomberg U.S. Dollar Bullish Fund (NYSEArca: USDU) are off 3.6% and 3%, respectively.

The much maligned CurrencyShares Euro Currency Trust (NYSEArca: FXE) is up nearly 4.7% over that period and recent dollar weakness has gold ETFs, such as the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD), on six-day winning streaks. None of that means the dollar’s run is over. In fact, some market observers believe the recent pullback in the U.S. currency presents a buying opportunity. Continue reading →

Fixed Income, Global Macro Strategy, People Profiles, Uncategorized

Global Macro View From the Perch of Saxo Group: Keep Calm and Carry On

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MarketsMuse Global Macro update profiles perceived opportunities from the perch of Denmark’s Saxo Group Mads KoefoedIt and his view that interest rate increases probably won’t happen during the second quarter, but the market will very likely be dominated by speculation on the likely timing of a US Fed interest rate hike. Focus on the Fed, FOMC, ECB and Euro recovery—and European high-yield corporate bonds.

Uncategorized

Survey Says: Retail Investors Need An ETF Education

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MarketMuse update profiles a recent study done by Fidelity Investments and BlackRock, inc., have discovered a huge reason why retail investors are not comfortable investing in ETFs. The study which survey 1,000 individual investors and 250 advisors found that in order for retail investors to get on board the ETF train, they need some basic ETF education. MarketMuse update is courtesy of Nasdaq’s article, “ETF Watch: Retail Investors Still Shy Away From ETFs“, an a excerpt from the article is below.

The exchange-traded funds or ETFs, are lagging in popularity among retail investors due primarily to the lack of familiarity with the investment products, according to a new study.

While the ETF industry in the U.S. has grow at a breakneck pace to more than $2 trillion in assets in just more than two decades, most of that interest has come from institutional investors.

Two-thirds of retail investors have not yet moved ETFs in their portfolios.

The study revealed that the key to further growth for ETF adoption among retail investors and advisors lies in educating them on ETF basics.

“While ETF investments have more than doubled in the last five years , there is still significant opportunity to raise awareness as more than two-thirds of investors report they have yet to tap the potential benefits of ETFs in their portfolios,” said Andrew Brownsword, SVP Fidelity retail brokerage. “ETF adoption will keep growing.”

The study showed that current ETF owners are increasingly turning to ETFs for long-term holdings, while 80 percent of them see benefit in combining ETFs and mutual funds in a portfolio.

To read the entire article from Nasdaq, click here.

 

 

 

ETF News

Contango Could Be Killer For Those Who Want Oil Via ETF products

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MarketMuse update profiles the close watch oil traders currently have on oil related ETF products such as the DNO or the USL. As investments into oil ETF products have continued to soar, resulting in a more stable oil market price, there is a risk that oil prices could drop and as a result cause people to drown. With more, below is an excerpt from the Globe and Mail article, “Why oil traders are keeping a watch on exchange-traded products”.

Tumult in Libya, U.S. rig counts, production plans of the oil exporting cartel and a pact on nuclear relations with Iran can all affect crude supply and demand, but oil traders have kept an equally close watch on retail investors in recent weeks.

Those investors and hedge funds, betting on a reversal of oil’s long rout, poured billions of dollars into exchange traded products at the tail end of the slide last year, providing unexpected support that helped prices stabilize.

Even as concerns about U.S. storage capacity triggered renewed slide over the past week investors have stuck with the view that a bottom might be in sight, pouring more money into financial products backed by oil futures.

There is a risk, however, that their bets could unravel and send oil prices tumbling again because of a market constellation where spot prices may head lower, but storage bottlenecks make futures contracts months ahead more expensive.

Some market participants warn that if that happens, the U.S. benchmark could slide towards $20 from around $47 now.

Holdings in exchange traded financial products have soared since the beginning of the year, especially highly-leveraged ones such as VelocityShares 3x Long Crude Oil ETN (UWTI). according to data from Morningstar investment research firm.

Reuters analysis of weekly flows data shows investors have been boosting positions in several long funds, while unwinding short positions over the past four weeks.

To read the entire article from the Globe and Mail, click here.

ETF News, Tech Talk

An ETF-only Exchange? BATS at Bat

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They say you should always shoot for the moon and that is exactly what BATs exchange is doing. MarketMuse update profiles BATS exchange looks to hit it out of Nasdaq’s and the New York Stock Exchange’s parks. The ETF-only exchange out of Kansas City, BATS, is planning on becoming the number one ETF trading venue by 2020 which means passing both the Nasdaq and the NYSE. BATS. This MarketMuse update is courtesy of Tom Lydon’s article “BATS Looks to be Dominant ETF Exchange” on ETFTrends.com. An excerpt from the article is below.

ETFTrends-logo   Most exchange traded products in the U.S. trade on the New York Stock Exchange or the or the Nasdaq Global Market. That is not stopping Kansas City-based BATS Global Markets from the ambitious goal of being the largest U.S. ETF listing venue in three to five years.

“There was a total of 1,411 U.S.-domiciled ETFs at the end of 2014, according to the Investment Company Institute, with more than 1,000 listed by Intercontinental Exchange’s NYSE unit and the balance by Nasdaq OMX Group,” report John McCrank and Jessica Toonkel for Reuters.

To read the entire article from ETFTrends, click here

Tech Talk

Nasdaq Agrees To Power New Bitcoin Marketplace

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MarketMuse blog update profiles Nasdaq recent agreement to power a new marketplace from bitcoin trading. Bitcoins are the largest decentralized digital currency in the market and has been taking the investment world by storm since its introduction in 2009 by its founder,  Satoshi Nakamoto. MarketMuse blog update is courtesy of Nasdaq’s article, “Nasdaq to Provide Trading Technology for Bitcoin Marketplace — Update” with excerpts from the article below. 

Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. has agreed to provide New York-based startup Noble Markets with core technology to power a new marketplace aimed at allowing companies and institutional investors such as hedge funds to trade bitcoin and related digital-currency assets.

According to a joint statement provided to The Wall Street Journal, Noble’s platform will use Nasdaq’s X-stream trading system, a high-tech system for matching market participants’ orders that is used by more than 30 exchanges and marketplaces worldwide. Nasdaq will also provide marketing support.

The agreement follows other Wall Street initiatives that could pave the way for financial institutions to own and trade digital currencies, which fans say have the potential to make the global financial system more efficient but which have also been marred by price fluctuations, investment scams and cybersecurity concerns.

 

Recent developments include: the New York Stock Exchange’s investment in bitcoin exchange Coinbase; regulatory approval of public trading in the Digital Currency Group’sBitcoin Investment Fund; former J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. executive Blyth Masters’ appointment to a lead new digital-asset settlement service; and news earlier Monday that former NYSE Chief Executive Duncan Niederauer will work as an adviser to bitcoin derivatives platform TeraExchange.

To read the entire article from Nasdaq, click here. 

Strike Price

The Survey Says: As Options Market Liquidity Wanes, Top Buyside Managers Say This About Sell-Side Service Providers:

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MarketsMuse.com Options market update focuses on recent industry report canvassing the perch of buyside managers perspective as to the good, the bad and the ugly sell-side broker elements they encounter in the course of increasing use of listed options products is courtesy of recent report issued by industry think tank, TABB Group.

Not surprisingly, buy-side managers canvassed in this study (including traditional managers and hedge fund managers) found that execution quality is paramount, particularly as market structure evolves and fragmentation rises, more important, the fact that liquidity from traditional ‘capital commitment’ desks–and the ease in which an institutional customer can execute “on the wire” is diminishing for all but most favored-clients.

The TABB study provides further insight as to which option products are of the greatest use to managers, the importance of algos vs. the importance of research and the most important ‘value-adds’ that sell-side brokers can contribute.

marketsmuse options tabb forum mar 2015
Option Products Of Greatest Interest to Buyside

Continue reading →

ETF News

Vanguard To Launch Its First Ever Muni Bond ETF

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MarketMuse update profiles the largest mutual funds provider, Vanguard push to become the top ETF provider. Currently,  Vanguard is the second-largest provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the world, with about $451 billion in ETF assets under management, as of March 2015. Now Vanguard seeks to become the top ETF provider with its first ever muni bond, the Vanguard Tax Exempt Bond ETF. The MarketMuse update is courtesy of an article from Investopedia’s 20 March article “Vanguard to Launch Muni Bond ETF”. Extracts from the article are below:  

Vanguard, well known for its stable of index mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), is rolling out its first muni bond index fund, the Vanguard Tax Exempt Bond ETF. The fund, which will have a mutual fund share class as well, doesn’t have a ticker symbol yet. This is Vanguard’s first muni bond index fund.

Muni bonds typically appeal to investors in a higher income tax bracket and are held in taxable investment accounts. The ETF will track the S&P National AMT Free Municipal Bond Index. The index currently yields 1.7% which equates to a 2.5% yield for those in the 33% income tax bracket.

The new fund is in line with Vanguard’s big push in the ETF space. Vanguard is currently the third largest issuer of ETFs and has been aggressively cutting expenses in an effort to build its asset base. It recently lowered expenses on 12 of its equity ETFs including 10 sector ETFs. Vanguard currently has 13 fixed-income ETFs including the giant Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) with more than $24 billion in assets.

The Vanguard Tax Exempt Bond ETF (and associated mutual fund share classes) will likely be a viable competitor in the muni bond space right out of the box. The low expense ratio of 0.12% is less than half that of the largest index ETF competitor. Add to this Vanguard’s solid reputation as an index fund provider and its distribution muscle and the new fund will be well positioned to gain market share in this asset class.

To read the entire article from Investopedia, click here.

Fixed Income, People Profiles

5 Reasons To Be High on High Yield Bonds

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While high-yield bond followers are seemingly caught between a rock and a hard place as interest rates may be poised to pick up, some expert investors are positing that high yield positioning is precisely the tactical approach to maintain.. The following MarketsMuse.com fixed income fix is courtesy of contributed article “5 Reasons to Hold High Yield” from Philadelphia-based RIA Clark Capital Management Group’s Chief Investment Officer, Sean Clark, CFA.

Editor Note: Before any MarketsMuse followers pooh-pooh the notion that spreads are bound to widen (and in turn, disrupting HY bond exposure), Clark Capital has been successfully navigating fixed income markets since 1986 and currently has $3billion AUM. The firm recently launched Navigator® Tactical Fixed Income Fund.

Sean Clark, CFA; Clark Capital
Sean Clark, CFA; Clark Capital

“The high yield market was bloodied in the second half of last year, primarily due to the collapse in energy prices.While yields and spreads backedup,broader-based credit remained firm, suggesting that it was an isolated problem due to the collapse of the energy market.We believe that the high yield market will reward investors who adopt a tactical approach.Below are five reasons we anticipate a reemergence of opportunities in the high yield space in 2015: Continue reading →

ETF News, Global Macro Strategy

ETFs To Hedge Against Strong Dollar-Currency Swinging

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MarketsMuse.com profile of ETFs intended to provide global-macro-focused investors with a hedge against a continuing strong dollar and currency swings is courtesy of below extract from Mar 20 WSJ column by reporter Carolyn Cui.

Exchange-traded funds that protect against currency swings are attracting U.S. investors concerned that the strong dollar will erode their gains.

Currency-hedged ETFs have more than doubled their assets this year to $50.3 billion, largely thanks to strong inflows of $21.6 billion, according to data tracker ETF.com. Firms that offer the funds—including WisdomTree Investments and Deutsche Bank—use derivatives to offset the effects of currency swings, which they say could cause unintended volatility for investors and even hurt their returns in periods of dollar strength. Continue reading →

ETF News

And, The Winner Is…According to ETF.com…

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MarketsMuse.com ETF coverage profiles ETF.com Awards Ceremony courtesy of opening extract from ETF.com news release. Category winners for “best” and respective ‘runners up’ extend across best issuers, best strategists, best capital markets desk, and best products across equity, fixed income, and currency and include the following products: HEDJ, DXJ, CHNB, ZROZ, BNDX, VTI, EMQQ, FV, IUSB, PDBC, TYTE, WYDE, BCHP, COMT, DIVY, SXOE, DGRO, DVP, FMLP, AIRR, QVAL, ASHS.

The WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund (HEDJ) was named the ETF of the Year at the second annual ETF.com Awards held tonight in New York—in no small part because it has been more popular than competing equity strategies designed to protect U.S. investors from the strength of the dollar.

ETF.com, the 15-year-old news, views and financial data company focused exclusively on exchange-traded funds, also honored important individuals like Lee Kranefuss, who built iShares, the world’s largest ETF company; and the fund sponsor First Trust.

The annual awards ceremony, which took place at Chelsea Piers, recognizes the people, products and companies that have been instrumental in moving the 22-year-old ETF industry forward and that have helped create better options and outcomes for investors.

Continue reading →

ETF News, Fixed Income

This Expert Says: “RISK OFF re High Yield Bond and Utilities ETFs”

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MarketsMuse.com update courtesy of coverage by TheStreet.com

Investors should avoid the Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) despite the recent dovish talk by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, said Mohit Bajaj, Director of ETF Trading Solutions at WallachBeth Capital. Bajaj added that rising rates will hurt the XLU because power companies are levered to debt financing which will become more expensive. He is also bearish on the SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond ETF (JNK) due to the potential for rising rates and problems in the energy sector. On the other hand, Bajaj is bullish on the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) because the large-cap banks will benefit from rising rates and have passed their stress tests. Below is the video interview..

ETF News, Global Macro Strategy

Risk Off or Risk On for Sweden ETF $EWD As Riksbank Takes Rates Deeper Into Negative Territory

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MarketsMuse.com update profiling iShares MSCI Sweden ETF ($EWD) and a global macro view is courtesy of extract from March 18th coverage by ETFtrends.com’s Todd Shriber

Shares of the iShares MSCI Sweden ETF (NYSEArca: EWD) were modestly higher Wednesday after the Riksbank, the world’s oldest central bank, surprisingly took Sweden’s repo rate deeper into negative territory with a cut of 15 basis points to -0.25% from -0.1%

ETFTrends-logoSome of Sweden’s larger companies are struggling due to weak demand from Europe, the country’s largest export market, as the krona currency appreciated against the euro. However, lower central bank rates has helped stimulate household spending.

The Swedish central bank recently cut its benchmark rate below zero for the first time and started buying bonds to combat deflationary pressures. However, if the krona continues to strengthen, the Riksbank could be forced to implement more aggressive measures. [Loose Monetary Policy Could Lift Sweden ETF]

In its efforts to stimulate inflation, Riksbank may not be done employing accommodative monetary policy.

“For us, we will pay close attention to the door they opened to launching a scheme to channel monetary support directly to corporations via lending. While no details were provided for the second meeting, we have for some time believed that a funding-for-lending program (FLS), a measure already used by the Bank of England, or a public-private investment program (PPIP), a liquidity tool used by the US Federal Reserve, are transmission mechanisms that have much greater and immediate impacts on the real economy than quantitative easing,” said Rareview Macro founder Neil Azous in a note out Wednesday. Continue reading →

ETF News, Fixed Income

BlackRock New Bond ETF To Trade Like Common Stock

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BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager with over $4.59 trillion in assets under management. iShares is a section of BlackRock that is in control of hundreds of ETFs. As noted on iShares page and continued to ring true today, Many people are turning to ETFs for diversified, low-cost and tax efficient investing. ETFs can be a powerful addition to your investment portfolio.

MarketMuse blog update is courtesy of the New York Times’ Landon Thomas Jr. with an extract from Thomas’s article, “BlackRock’s New Breed of Exchange-Traded Bond Fund Prizes Stability Over Swagger“

While he may not live the life of a swaggering bond market pro, Mr. Radell, a bond manager at the fund giant BlackRock, is challenging a strategy that has rewarded some of his flashier peers: the pursuit of high-risk, high-return investments.

The weapon that Mr. Radell will be using is a new variety of exchange-traded fund, or E.T.F., which tracks an index of stocks or bonds but trades like a common stock, allowing investors to jump in and out.

For years now, these funds have been a hit with passive investors. Now, BlackRock is introducing a new breed of bond E.T.F. that aims to blend the best of active investing (security selection) with index investing (cost and consistency).

Scott Radell has been with BlackRock since 2003 and currently is in charge of more than 80 ETFs for BlackRock’s iShares. 

To read the entire article on the new bond ETF from BlackRock found in the New York Times, click here.

Fixed Income, Global Macro Strategy, People Profiles

A Dearth of Investment Grade Debt: Why Rates Stay Lower for Longer

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While a certain sect of economists are lamenting the exponential increase in debt issued by an assortment of sovereign entities [and corporate bond issuers] within the context of a feared liquidity crisis if and when rates turn higher and institutional investors might run for the exits at the same time, MarketsMuse.com fixed income fix profiles global macro observations from Barry Ritholtz, the Bloomberg View columnist who writes about finance, the economy and the business world. Barry started the Big Picture blog in 2003 and is the founder of Ritholtz Wealth Management, an asset management and financial planning firm. Below is excerpt from Barry’s Mar 17 Bloomberg View article”The Worldwide Deficit of High-Quality Debt”

Continue reading →

ETF News

Hedged Vs. Unhedged International Currency ETFs

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MarketMuse blog update courtesy of CNBC. With investing overseas being so dangerous right now, because of enormous moves in currency, buying stocks overseas—including ETFs, why are people so keen on doing it. CNBC reporter, Bob Pisani’s ask the question:

Why doesn’t everyone buy hedged international ETFs when they want international exposure, rather than unhedged ETFs?

There are several reasons:

1) Until recently, it was almost impossible for the average investor to do so. There simply were no ETFs that enabled an investor to hedge out currency. A professional could hedge, of course, but at considerable cost.

Now that more hedged ETF products are becoming available, investors are taking note. In fact, the biggest European ETF is now a hedged product, the WisdomTree International Hedged, which recently surpassed its biggest unhedged rival, the Vanguard European ETF.

2) There was not a huge demand for such a product because currency moves like we have seen in euro this year (down 5 percent against the dollar) are very rare. Oh sure, maybe if you were investing in Argentina, but not the euro, not the yen. Most years did not involve anywhere near such dramatic moves.

This year, for example, the yen has barely moved against the dollar, so the difference between a hedged Japan ETF and an unhedged Japan ETF is very small:

That was not the case last year, when there was an enormous move in the yen versus the dollar, and investors made the DXJ the hottest ETF in years.

For the entire article from CNBC’s Bob Pisani’s story “Why currency-hedged ETFs are hot”, click here.

Fixed Income

Fixed Income Fix: Calculating Credit Spreads

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MarketsMuse fixed income fix is courtesy of extract from Mischler Financial Group Mar 17 desk notes aka “Quigley’s Corner”  and authored by Ron Quigley, Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income Syndicate for this boutique brokerdealer owned and operated by Service-Disabled Veterans and recipient of Wall Street Letter’s 2015 Award for Best Research/Broker Dealer.

Ron Quigley Mischler Financial
Ron Quigley
Mischler Financial

IG Primary Market Talking Points – M&A Leads The Way re Debt Market Issuance; Deep Dive Into Credit Spreads– An Interesting Read Folks

  • M&A represented 7 out of 10 tranches today, and 80.60% of today’s IG new issue volume with the well telegraphed “biggie” being the Merck KGaA deal.  The German pharma giant issued a $4 billion five-part thru its EMD Finance LLC. Moody’s “Baa1” rating followed the agency’s one-notch December downgrade of Merck KGaA.  Leverage from Merck’s acquisition will increase to 4.5x from 1.8x.  Hence, order books closed at a very modest $6.1 billion or 1.52-times oversubscribed. Market participants anticipated much stronger demand for this top pharma-linked name. It was the credit story that saw demand slip and a complete absence of spread compression throughout price discovery.
  • APT Pipelines issued a two-part $1.4 billion 10s/20s transaction today, proceeds of which will be used to partly fund the Queensland Curtis LNG Pipeline acquisition. The deal was re-launched and increased to $1.1 billion from $1 billion, but also illustrated another M&A deal that offered no compression at all from IPTs to the launch.
  • Campbell’s Soup also issued today following a 32-month absence from the DCM.  Today’s deal carried lower Moody’s ratings than their prior transaction due to softer sales in the Company’s soups and beverages units.  The agency said ratings could be further pressured in the near future in part due to a more challenging operating environment coupled with potential acquisitions and share repurchases.  The final books on Campbell were $375mm or 1.25x bid-to-cover……..for an issuer that hadn’t tapped the DCM in over two and a half years!  Again, a credit story as opposed to overall market mechanics.
  • The reason for the aforementioned deal color is because investors chimed in today that some deals seemed to be struggling or not quite meeting with the demand that many market participants anticipated.  There are indeed definite signs of indigestion given the back-to-back record $50bn weeks of new product we just came out of.
  • Furthermore, taking a look at last Friday’s secondary trading performance of last week’s IG and SSA new issuance, of the 79 deals that priced, only 39 (49%) tightened versus new issue pricing while 26 or 33% widened and 14 (18%) were flat.
  • A word about spreads – S&P Global Fixed Income Research was unchanged.  A ha!  What gives here readers?  Great question and here’s the answer:  Despite the widening across all four major IG asset classes and 16 of the 19 major industries, S&P’s method for computing spreads is a composite method as opposed to an index so, each series actually runs independently as opposed to the smaller parts being “components” of the “aggregate.”  Therefore with respect to movements in the “AAA”, “AA”, “A” and “BBB” or industry spreads that tend to move in tandem with an investment-grade spread, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the case – it’s all a matter of how the math works out that particular day.  So, while many saw IG Corporate spreads push out 1bp, a widely used S&P Index was flat creating the false expectation of a relatively neutral market.
  • The average spread compression across today’s 10 IG Corporate-only new issues was 3.90 bps from IPTs to the launch.  That’s a 10.23 bps swing from last week’s average 14.13 bps compression across 72 IG Corporate issuers and that’s thanks to the two large M&A related transactions that priced in today’s session.

What’s the net conclusion of all this techno fodder?  Is it a question of market indigestion, or is it more the individual credit stories today?  I believe despite, some indigestion, it IS the latter.

So, it’s business as usual.  This week will be very busy as anticipated and today’s several isolated “story” new issues combined with some technical explanations of spread action should serve to extinguish any concern!  This is after all a financial “No Spin Zone!”  I know….I know….. It’s much more fun when I write about Vlad-the-Terrible, but I gotta cover my bases readers!

For the entire commentary courtesy of Mischler Financial Group, please click here

ETF News

Investors Seek ETF To Protect Against The Great Wall Of China’s Crumble

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MarketMuse blog update is courtesy of Business Times’ article “China slowdown concern spurs record option hedges on ETF” . The update profiles the largest US exchange-traded fund tracking China’s mainland market reaching its highest since the ETF was created. An excerpt from Business Times is below. 

Investors are rushing to buy protection against declines in Chinese stocks amid concern an economic slowdown will undermine their world-beating rally.

Demand to hedge against future losses on the largest US exchange-traded fund tracking China’s mainland market climbed to the highest since the ETF was created in November 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The buying pushed the ratio of bearish to bullish contracts to a five-month high on March 11 as investors pulled $34 million from the fund in a second week of outflows.

The bets underscore growing investor skepticism that the Shanghai Composite Index can sustain its advance after rising 39 per cent since October against a backdrop of monetary easing and weaker-than-estimated economic data. The central bank has cut interest rates twice in four months to revive an economy expanding at its slowest pace in 24 years, helping fuel gains in the so-called A-share market.

“There’ll be some pull-back,” Chang Liu, a London-based China economist at Capital Economics Ltd, said by phone on March 12. His firm predicts a decline of about 11 per cent from last week’s close on the Shanghai gauge by the end of 2015.

“GDP growth will be slower, the property market remains weak and overcapacity is still an issue.”

Purchases of so-called puts, or options to sell the US$1 billion Deutsche Bank’s X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A- Shares ETF, has jumped fourfold to an all-time high of 44,760 contracts last week from a January low. The open interest on options to buy the ETF, or calls, increased 45 per cent during the period to 52,924, also a record.

For the entire article from the Business Times, click here.