The GIF ETF combines nine leveraged single-stock strategies into a fund designed to generate weekly income through covered call options. US-based asset manager REX Shares has launched an exchange-traded fund that bundles leveraged covered-call strategies tied to nine individual stocks, including crypto-linked names Coinbase and Strategy, into a single income-focused product trading under the ticker GIF. According to Thursday’s announcement, the fund holds equal-weighted positions in REX’s existing single-stock Growth & Income ETFs, each of which targets about 1.25x exposure to its underlying equity while writing covered calls on a portion of the portfolio to generate option premium income. GIF trades on Cboe Global Markets and each underlying ETF seeks to distribute income on a weekly basis, with payouts largely derived from covered call premiums. Read more
AI and crypto-linked issuers are paying up to 9% for debt as lenders demand higher returns than traditional utilities. The AI and data center boom partly driven by Bitcoin miners is increasingly being financed through high-yield bond issuance, underscoring how lenders are pricing both risk and opportunity in the sector. According to TheEnergyMag’s latest newsletter, companies tied to AI data center development have raised about $33 billion in long-term senior notes over the past 12 months, excluding convertible debt — bonds that can later be converted into equity and typically carry different risk dynamics. The interest rate spread is notable: While regulated utilities and traditional energy companies generally borrow at 4% to 5%, AI- and crypto-linked issuers pay closer to 7% to 9%. Read more
Amid reports that the White House will not consider a presidential pardon, the convicted former FTX CEO continues his efforts in court. Lawyers representing the US government in the case against Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried have two weeks to respond to the former FTX CEO’s motion for a new criminal trial. In a Wednesday filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Lewis Kaplan said that the US government shall respond by March 11 to SBF’s motion for a new trial. The former FTX CEO, who was convicted of seven felony counts in 2023 and later sentenced to 25 years in prison, requested a new trial earlier this month, claiming that new witness testimony could help bolster his case. Bankman-Fried, once revered by many as one of the most prominent faces representing the crypto and blockchain industry, was at the center of the controversy around the collapse of FTX. He stepped down as CEO in November 2022, later facing criminal charges in the US for the misuse of user funds. Read more