Dubai Exchange Benefits From Oil's Improved Fortunes

The exchange's chairman credited the uptick to positive market sentiment for oil and a move by the "Dubai Department of Petroleum Affairs to shift to a forward pricing model based on the DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract."

You can read the exchange's press release here.

Questions For BlackRock

Scott Burns of Morningstar has some interesting questions for BlackRock as it prepares to swallow Barclays Global Investors and its popular iShares brand.

Among them: What does it mean for iShares investors and what designs does the active management firm have for the ETF marketplace?

(He notes in the article that iPath ETNs aren't included in the deal. Wonder where he got that?)

You can read the story here.

BOX Going For The Gusto

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Boston Options Exchange is eliminating fees for three popular ETFs. It's the start of an effort by BOX to increase its market share in the expanding options business.

It's also a nod to the significant role of ETFs among investors using such strategies.

You can read the story here.

Changes To Money Market Funds

The Securities and Exchange Commission is expected today to announce its plans to reform money market funds. It'll be interesting to see how that might impact ETFs, which up to now haven't been able to designate themselves in such a fashion due to existing—and some would say outmoded—rules.

A MarketWatch.com account by Sam Mamudi previewing the news can be found here.