FKU

UK-related exchange-traded funds ticked up in Thursday’s early-morning trading as the Bank of England decided to keep rates steady, while the Swiss National Bank cut its key rate. iShares MSC United Kingdom ETF (NYSE:EWU) edged up 0.66% by mid-morning trading on Thursday, while Franklin FTSE United Kingdom ETF (NYSE:FLGB) rose 0.7%. Meanwhile, First Trust United Kingdom AlphaDEX Fund (NASDAQ:FKU) picked up 0.57% at the time of publication Thursday. England’s central bank preserved its key rate at a 16-year high of 5.25%, where it has been since August 2023, CNBC reported. Seven members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep the rate the same, while two members were in fav

First Trust Advisors L.P. ("FTA") announces the declaration of distributions for 138 exchange-traded fund(s) (each a "Fund," collectively, the "Funds") advised by FTA. The following dates apply to today's distribution declarations: Expected Ex-Dividend Date: December 23, 2022 Record Date: December 27, 2022 Payable Date: December 30, 2022 Ticker Exchange Fund Name Frequency Ordinary Income Per Share Amount Long-Term Capital Gain Per Share Amount     ACTIVELY MANAGED EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS       First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund III   FCAL Nasdaq First Trust California Municipal High Income ETF

An investigation by the UK's Health Security Agency (UKHSA) found the Immensa laboratory to have misreported around 39,000 tests as negative when they should have been positive between September 2 and October 12, 2021. The cause of the mistakes was the incorrect setting of the threshold levels for reporting positive and negative results of PCR samples for COVID-19, UKHSA said in a report after completing an investigation. The UKHSA said the mistakes could have led to around 55,000 additional infections in areas where the false negatives were reported and may have resulted in the deaths of about 20 people. Immensa Health Clinic was founded in May 2020 and has been awarded contracts worth

National Health Service (NHS) nurses will go on strike on December 15 and 20 after the government refused to meet demands for pay rises of 5% above inflation. "Nursing staff have had enough of being taken for granted, enough of low pay and unsafe staffing levels, enough of not being able to give our patients the care they deserve," Royal College of Nursing (RCN) General Secretary Pat Cullen said. The RCN announced that nurses would go on strike for the first time in the union's 106-year history. British Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the nurses' demands would amount to a 19.2% pay rise costing £10 billion a year and that the government would give them rises of at least 1,400 pounds

Liz Truss, who succeeded Boris Johnson as the U.K.'s prime minister, resigned just a little over a month after joining office. Her stepping down brings an end to a controversial reign amid fallout over her ambitious tax cut policy. Liz Truss has been in office for just 45 days - the shortest tenure of any U.K. prime minister. The second shortest-serving PM was George Canning, who served for 119 days before dying in 1827. Truss had ripped up the mini-budget leading the financial markets in turmoil and replaced Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor with Conservative leader Jeremy Hunt.  The cost of government borrowing rose, and the pound fell further following her press conference announcing the c

The Bank of England said it would buy more government bonds to help keep its price stable and prevent investors from selling them, which could put some pension funds at risk of collapse. Citing a "material risk" to financial stability after the turmoil hit pension firms, the BoE split its program to buy up to £10 billion of British gilts daily to include up to £5 billion of index-linked bonds. The market turmoil had forced pension funds to sell bonds due to concerns over their solvency, threatening to create a downward spiral in bond prices as more were offloaded. The Central Bank said Tuesday that despite its earlier rescue efforts, markets witnessed "a further significant repricing of U

First Trust Advisors L.P. ("FTA") announces the declaration of distributions for 129 exchange-traded fund(s) (each a "Fund," collectively, the "Funds") advised by FTA. The following dates apply to today's distribution declarations: Expected Ex-Dividend Date:       September 23, 2022 Record Date:       September 26, 2022 Payable Date:       September 30, 2022 Ticker   Exchange   Fund Name   Frequency     Ordinary Income Per Share Amount   ACTIVELY MANAGED EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS     First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund III FCAL   Nasdaq   First Trust California Municipal High Income ETF   Monthly     $0.1000 FEMB

The Buckingham Palace in London has released a statement concerning Queen Elizabeth II. The palace said doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision. The members of the royal family have traveled to Scotland to be with the 96-year-old monarch. The announcement comes a day after the queen canceled a virtual meeting of her Privy Council on doctors’ advice. The queen has been on a summer break at Balmoral, her Scottish home, since July. “The whole country will be deeply concerned by the news from Buckingham Palace this lunchtime,” Prime Minister-elect Liz Truss said on Twitter. The monarch celebrated her diamond jubilee this ye

U.K. inflation accelerated more than expected in July to the highest level in 40 years, intensifying a squeeze on consumers and adding to pressure for action from the government and Bank of England. The Office for National Statistics said that the Consumer Prices Index rose 10.1% in July from a year earlier after a 9.4% gain the month before.  The reading was higher than expected by the Bank of England and private-sector economists. Economists' forecasts in a Reuters poll for inflation were to rise to 9.8% in July. Rising food prices contributed the most to the month's increase, indicating inflationary pressures are spreading beyond energy. Core inflation -- excluding energy, food, alcoh

First Trust Advisors L.P. ("FTA") announces the declaration of distributions for 135 exchange-traded fund(s) (each a "Fund," collectively, the "Funds") advised by FTA. The following dates apply to today's distribution declarations:   Expected Ex-Dividend Date:   June 24, 2022   Record Date:   June 27, 2022   Payable Date:   June 30, 2022 Ticker   Exchange   Fund Name   Frequency   Ordinary Income Per Share Amount   ACTIVELY MANAGED EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS   First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund III    FCAL   Nasdaq   First Trust California Municipal High Income ETF   Monthly   $0.0925 FEMB   N

Britain faces its biggest rail strike in 30 years. The strike began today, with tens of thousands of workers walking out in a pay and employment dispute, reported Reuters. This strike could pave the way for more widespread industrial action in the coming months. What happened: More than 40,000 rail workers scheduled to strike on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday gathered along picket lines from dawn. The London Underground metro was also mostly closed due to a separate strike. Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that the industrial action would harm businesses as they continue to recover from the pandemic. Why It matters: Unions have warned that the rail strikes will kick off a "summer of

A PwC analysis of the first 50 FTSE 100 companies saw that the 2021 median total remuneration for CEOs jumped 34% year-on-year to £4.1 million, the Financial Times reports. A significant hike in annual bonuses drove the growth as some sectors like banks, broader financial services, and the construction industry saw a post-Covid boom.  PwC saw the jump reflect greater investor scrutiny of targets set in 2022. The median total remuneration for FTSE 100 CEOs reached £4.2 million in 2019 during the pre-pandemic time.  The average 2021 executive bonus was 82% of the maximum payout, beating 44% in 2020 and 66% in 2019. PwC found an average outcome of 46% of the maximum long-term incentive p

First Trust Advisors L.P. ("FTA") announces the declaration of distributions for 120 exchange-traded fund(s) (each a "Fund," collectively, the "Funds") advised by FTA. The following dates apply to today's distribution declarations: Expected Ex-Dividend Date: March 25, 2022 Record Date: March 28, 2022 Payable Date: March 31, 2022 Ticker Exchange Fund Name Frequency Ordinary Income Per Share Amount   ACTIVELY MANAGED EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS   First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund III FCAL Nasdaq First Trust California Municipal High Income ETF Monthly $0.0900 FEMB Nasdaq First Trust Emerging Markets

First Trust Advisors L.P. ("FTA") announces the declaration of distributions for 133 exchange-traded fund(s) (each a "Fund," collectively, the "Funds") advised by FTA. The following dates apply to today's distribution declarations: Expected Ex-Dividend Date:   December 23, 2021 Record Date:   December 27, 2021 Payable Date:   December 31, 2021 Ticker   Exchange   Fund Name   Frequency   Ordinary Income Per Share Amount   Short-Term Capital Gain Per Share Amount   Long-Term Capital Gain Per Share Amount           ACTIVELY MANAGED EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS                    First Trust Excha

First Trust Advisors L.P. ("FTA") announces the declaration of distributions for 122 exchange-traded fund(s) (each a "Fund," collectively, the "Funds") advised by FTA. The following dates apply to today's distribution declarations: Expected Ex-Dividend Date:   September 23, 2021 Record Date:   September 24, 2021 Payable Date:   September 30, 2021 Ticker   Exchange   Fund Name   Frequency   Ordinary Income Per Share Amount ACTIVELY MANAGED EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS   First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund III FCAL   Nasdaq   First Trust California Municipal High Income ETF   Monthly   $0.0900 FEMB   Nasdaq  

First Trust Advisors L.P. ("FTA") announces the declaration of distributions for 122 exchange-traded funds (each a "Fund," collectively, the "Funds") advised by FTA. The following dates apply to today's distribution declarations: Expected Ex-Dividend Date:   June 24, 2021 Record Date:   June 25, 2021 Payable Date:   June 30, 2021   Ticker Exchange Fund Name Frequency Ordinary Income Per Share Amount ACTIVELY MANAGED EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS   First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund III FCAL Nasdaq First Trust California Municipal High Income ETF Monthly $0.0950 FEMB Nasdaq First Trust Emerging Markets Local Curren