ShariaShares ETF Trust last week applied to register the first two Sharia-law-compliant U.S.-traded ETFs.

ShariahShares FTSE USA Fund and the ShariahShares FTSE Developed ex-U.S. Fund will invest in foreign and domestic companies that meet the stringent requirements of Sharia law.

ShariaShares FTSE USA Fund will track the FTSE Sharia USA Index, which comprises 241 mid- and large-cap U.S.-traded shares.

ShariaShares FTSE Developed ex-U.S. Fund will track the FTSE Sharia Developed ex-U.S. Index, a market-cap weighted index which comprises stocks from 25 of the 48 countries in the FTSE GEIS Index Series.

The exchange-traded funds will be permitted to invest 80 percent of their assets in underlying securities, and 20 percent in futures and options contracts

In keeping with Sharia law, the funds will not be allowed to invest in non-Islamic

ShariahShares ETF Trust last week applied to register the two Sharia-law-compliant U.S.-traded ETFs.

[Correction: An earlier version of this article suggested that the new ShariahShares would be the first Shariah ETFs in the U.S.  The Javelin ETF (NYSE Arca: JVS) launched in June of this year and provides exposure to the global ex-U.S. markets.]

ShariahShares FTSE USA Fund and the ShariahShares FTSE Developed ex-U.S. Fund will invest in foreign and domestic companies that meet the stringent requirements of Sharia law.

ShariahShares FTSE USA Fund will track the FTSE Shariah USA Index, which comprises 241 mid- and large-cap U.S.-traded shares.

ShariahShares FTSE Developed ex-U.S. Fund will track the FTSE Shariah Developed ex-U.S. Index, a market-cap weighted index which comprises stocks from 25 of the 48 countries in the FTSE

Global X proposes new sector funds for China, as well as seven new single-country emerging markets ETFs. 

Exchange-traded fund provider Global X Funds filed a prospectus on Sept. 10 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch six new ETFs, which will track different sectors of the Chinese economy.

The funds are: Global X Consumer, Global X China Energy, Global X China Financials, Global X China Industrials, Global X China Materials and Global X China Technology.

The funds will be 80 percent invested in American Depositary Receipts and Global Depositary Receipts, and 20 percent invested in swaps and options contracts.

The funds will employ strategies to replicate to 95 percent accuracy the performance of the underlying FTSE-created sector-specific indexes they follow after fees and expenses, and will issue creation units in blocks of 50,000 shares. Global X did not mention what management fee would be charged for investing in the funds.

The new ETFs are

Gold bullion holdings rise at ETF Securities' trio of exchange-traded products.

ETF Securities said Monday that its three gold exchange-traded products increased their bullion holdings by 6.1% in the previous week, according to Reuters. The U.K.-listed funds, including Gold Bullion Securities and ETFS Physical Gold, held 7.989 million ounces of bullion on Friday vs. 7.53 million ounces on Aug. 21.

The increased holdings are a result of record capital inflows: In the past week, ETFS Physical Gold received new investments of $646 million, the company said last week.

The company also said last week that its U.S.-traded ETFS Silver Trust (NYSEArca: SIVR) product has expanded its assets under management to over $100 million since listing on July this year. The fund is up 5.8% since inception. “Investors are becoming increasingly bullish towards silver,” the company said.

The increase in bullion holdings of ETF Securities’ gold funds and the expanding AUM of SIVR come

There you go again, Jim, with that same ole 'gold bug' stuff again. 

But before I get to that, let me poke away at your thoughts that buying the yuan is a “no-brainer.” 

It’s a no-brainer in that eventually the yuan will be revalued against the U.S. dollar. But it’s hardly anything like a no-brainer for an investor facing the opportunity cost of locking up assets in a security that might not move at all for years.

While I totally agree with you on the direction of the yuan/dollar trade, I don’t have any idea on the time frame or the magnitude of that move. Where would a free-floating yuan trade against the dollar? And when will it go there?

The only honest answer to those questions is twofold: “higher” and “eventually.” 

But that doesn’t mean the yuan's a good buy. It could be