MSCI has extended its series of Economic Exposure Indices with the launch of 13 new indices measuring the performance of publicly listed companies with revenue exposures to an expanded range of target regions and countries. First launched in March 2012, the series initially included a range of developed market securities with high revenue exposures to emerging markets. This has now been expanded to include not only emerging markets but also Africa, China and Latin America.

Guggenheim Investments has announced the launch of the CurrencyShares Singapore Dollar Trust (FXSG), an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking the Singapore dollar. Listed on the NYSE Arca, the fund provides pure exposure to the Singapore dollar by holding actual foreign currency deposits, not derivative instruments, while also delivering many of the benefits typically associated with ETFs, namely transparency, tax efficiency, trading flexibility, accessibility and liquidity.

First Trust, a US-based exchange-traded fund provider, has launched the actively managed First Trust Preferred Securities and Income ETF (FPE). Listed on the NYSE Arca, the fund provides current income by investing primarily in preferred securities and income-producing debt securities including corporate bonds, high-yield securities and convertible securities.

Market Vectors, a US-based provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), has launched the Market Vectors BDC Income ETF (BIZD), the first ETF designed to provide pure-play exposure to US business development companies (BDCs). BDCs lend capital to privately-held companies or thinly-traded US public companies and are known for their high dividend payouts.

Investment into platinum has surged over the past six months, and with good reason. Having hit a 17-month high on Thursday, the price of platinum is approximately 22% above where it was just six months ago. Uncertainties surrounding South African production and belief that demand is set to rise have spurred interest in the metal. Investors looking to access platinum can do so via low cost exchange-traded commodities (ETCs), which combine the advantages of physical ownership with the liquidity, transparency and simplicity of exchange-traded products.

Global investment manager Pimco has unveiled the Pimco Foreign Currency Strategy ETF (FORX), listed on the NYSE Arca. The California-based investment giant concludes that rising debt levels, limited fiscal flexibility and easy monetary policy in the US may weigh on the dollar for years. The actively managed exchange-traded fund has been created to offer investors the potential to diversify away from the US dollar and benefit from fundamental changes in global currency dynamics.

Source has cross-listed two of its flagship exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the SIX Swiss Exchange: the Man GLG Europe Plus Source ETF (MPFE) and the JP Morgan Macro Hedge Dual Source ETF (MHDU). The two funds are among the London-based firm’s most successful and also most innovative products.

Market Vectors Index Solutions has introduced the Market Vectors US Treasury-Hedged High Yield Bond Index, a new bond strategy index reflecting the performance of a long position in high-yield corporate bonds and a short position in US Treasuries. The index comes at a time when investors are becoming increasingly conscious of the potential negative impact of interest rate rises on bond returns but are nonetheless still keen to exploit the enhanced income associated with high-yield debt.

UBS has listed three new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the London Stock Exchange, providing investors with concentrated exposure to gold, copper and oil via those companies involved in the exploration and production of these commodities. While commodity producers, in general, are relatively well covered by existing products, these ETFs appear to have a competitive edge. This edge stems in part from the markets they track, but also from the innovative index methodology behind the ETFs’ underlying Solactive benchmarks.

With equity markets at multi-year highs, it would be easy to assume that all is rosy. Not so for consumers. Confidence surveys reveal that consumers are pessimistic about the economic outlook and are curtailing discretionary spending as tax hikes loom. In this kind of environment, consumer staples companies – which sell necessity goods such as food and drink – typically do well. Fortunately for investors, there are numerous exchange-traded funds (ETFs) providing exposure to the sector on a country, regional, world and emerging markets basis.