The United States and China conducted a prisoner exchange. It took place in a three-on-three format, Politico reports. According to Politico, China released Americans Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung in exchange for three unknown Chinese citizens. A senior official stated that the exchange was the result of years of "intensive talks" between officials from the White House, the State Department, and their Chinese counterparts.

The market regulator has permitted the exit of the Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) a little more than a year after the exchange's shareholders approved a voluntary surrender of its recognition. In an exit order passed on December 10, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) stated that ICEX should change its name and not use 'exchange' or any variant in its name or in the name of its subsidiary if it plans to continue as a corporate...

There's no question that exchange-traded funds have become a major part of the investor's toolkit. "ETFs are similar to mutual funds in that they hold a collection of stocks and bonds in a single fund," writes Kiplinger contributor Will Ashworth in his feature "How to Invest in ETFs for Beginners." However, unlike mutual funds, ETFs "are bought and sold on stock exchanges, can be traded anytime the exchange is open, and you can start your ETF investing even if all you have to invest is $50," Ashworth adds. Assets in ETFs and similar exchange-traded products (ETPs) now exceed $7 trillion, more than four times what they were a decade ago, according to the Investment Company Institute (ICI), the fund industry's trade group.