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Investing in frontier markets—markets that aren’t yet emerging markets—is easier now, thanks to the launch of a new exchange traded fund (ETF).

The Claymore/BNY Mellon Frontier Markets ETF began trading on NYSE Arca on Thursday.

Based on the Bank of New York Mellon New Frontier DR Index, the ETF is designed to track the performance of American depository receipts and global depository receipts of companies from countries that are defined as part of the frontier market.

The index includes the following countries: Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Jamaica, Panama, and Trinidad and Tobago.

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Benefits Costs Jump

Employer costs for benefits in the United States have risen significantly over the past four years, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Costs for employee compensation averaged US$28.46 per hour worked in March 2008 compared to $24.95 an hour four years ago. Benefits accounted for 30.3% of those costs, up from 29% in March 2004, while wages and salaries accounted for 69.7% of those costs, down from 71%.

Employer costs for life, health, and disability insurance benefits averaged $2.40 per hour (8.4% of total compensation), compared to $1.93 an hour (7.7%) four years ago. Compared to 2004, costs have jumped 24.4%.

Paid leave benefits—vacations, holidays, sick leave, and other leave—averaged $2.00 per hour (7% of total compensation), up from $1.66 an hour (6.7%) four years ago. Compared to 2004, costs are 20.5% higher.

Retirement and savings benefits costs also rose, averaging $1.26 an hour (4.4% of total compensation), compared to $0.99 per hour (4%) in 2004. That’s a 27.3% increase over four years.

And costs for legally required benefits—Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers’ compensation—declined on a percentage basis but were still higher, averaging $2.24 per hour (7.9% of total compensation), compared to $2.01 an hour (8.1%) in 2004. That’s an increase of 11.4% over four years.

Employer costs for employee compensation is based on the National Compensation Survey, which measures employer costs for wages, salaries, and employee benefits for non-farm private, and state and local government workers.