FTSE Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group, and TMX Group have agreed to merge their fixed income index businesses to form FTSE TMX Debt Capital Markets. The combined business will be the third largest provider of fixed income indices to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) globally, after Barclays and Markit iBoxx.

FinEx, an international investment management group, has entered the European exchange-traded fund (ETF) market with the launch of the FinEx Tradable Russian Corporate Bonds UCITS ETF (FXRU), the world’s first ETF to provide dedicated exposure to Russian corporate debt. The fund has been listed on the Irish Stock Exchange and is cross-listed on the London Stock Exchange. Additional cross-listings on other major European exchanges are planned. Founded by industry veteran Simon Luhr, FinEx becomes the newest entrant in the fast-growing European ETF market.

China’s leaders have recognised the problems associated with the current export-led economy and are implementing measures to boost consumer consumption. Wen Jiabao, the country’s premier, vowed: “We will work hard to expand consumer demand…We will improve policies that encourage consumption.” Chinese consumer companies look best placed to grab the largest share of consumption growth. Investors looking to target this sector can do so via the db X-trackers CSI 300 Consumer Discretionary UCITS ETF and the Global X China Consumer ETF.

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, the provider of db X-trackers exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has launched a physically-backed direct replication ETF on Japan’s best-known stock index. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Börse (Xetra) and Borsa Italiana, the db X-trackers Nikkei 225 UCITS ETF (DR) (XDJP) provides physical exposure to the Nikkei 225 Index, an index reflecting the performance of 225 liquid stocks representative of the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Sterling has come under pressure in the FX market as traders ditch the currency following Friday’s downgrade of the UK by credit rating agency Moody’s. The currency is likely to face continued pressure in the coming weeks. While all this generally spells bad news for UK holiday makers and importers, further weakness represents a potential opportunity for currency traders. An effective way to capitalise on this opportunity is via leveraged exchange-traded products (ETPs).

Moody’s has downgraded the government bond rating of the United Kingdom by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa. The rating agency becomes the first to strip the UK of its prized triple-A rating. The downgrade could represent an opportunity for traders looking to exploit potential price falls via short and leveraged short gilt exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which provide inverse exposure to UK government bond prices.

Lyxor, a leading European provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has launched the Lyxor ETF MTS Spain Government Bond All-Maturity (ES10), a new ETF providing low-cost exposure to Spanish government debt. The fund has been listed on the NYSE Euronext and is linked to the MTS Spain Government Bond Index, an index composed of government bonds of varying maturities issued by the sovereign government of Spain.

SSgA has announced the launch of the SPDR Russell 1000 Low Volatility ETF (LGLV) and the SPDR Russell 2000 Low Volatility ETF (SMLV) on the NYSE Arca. The exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are designed to provide investors with exposure to large-cap and small-cap US equities, respectively, with reduced risk. The funds are based on low-volatility versions of the widely followed Russell 1000 and Russell 2000 indices.

Index provider S&P Dow Jones Indices has linked up with sustainability investment specialists RobecoSAM to launch the Dow Jones Sustainability Emerging Markets Index (DJSI Emerging Markets). The DJSI Emerging Markets offers investors a tool for measuring the performance of companies in emerging markets recognised as leaders compared to their peers in terms of corporate sustainability.

Charles Schwab’s in-house suite of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), known as Schwab ETFs, has passed the $10 billion assets under management milestone, less than three and a half years after its first ETFs were launched in November 2009. The US-listed ETFs, which are among the cheapest globally in terms of annual fees, have benefited from investors’ search for core, low-cost portfolio building blocks, as well as the general shift towards passively managed products.