Americas ETP News
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US second-quarter growth revised up to 1.3%
September 29, 2011---The US economy grew slightly more than previously reported in the second quarter, helped by consumer spending and export growth that was stronger than earlier estimated, according to a government report on Thursday that pointed to slow growth rather than a recession.
Gross domestic product grew at annual rate of 1.3 percent, the Commerce Department said in its third and final estimate for the quarter, up from the previously estimated 1.0 percent.
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Source: The Economic Times
Horizons Exchange Traded Funds Launches 2 New Advisor Class ETFs
September 29, 2011--Horizons Exchange Traded Funds Inc. and its affiliate AlphaPro Management Inc., are pleased to announce the launch of Advisor Classes for two of its ETFs.
The Advisor Classes are a new class of our existing ETFs. Advisors will be directly compensated with a service fee on a trailing quarterly basis (the "Service Fee"). The only difference between the Adviser Classes and existing Class E units of our ETFs is that the Adviser Classes charge higher management fees that include the Service Fees paid to the advisor. The purchase and sale process for the Advisor Classes is identical to that of any other ETF listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
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Source: Jovian Capital Corporation.
Horizons BetaPro Further Increases Stake in Australian ETFs Company
September 29, 2011--Horizons Exchange Traded Funds Inc. and its affiliate BetaPro Management Inc., the manager of the Horizons BetaPro exchange traded funds ("Horizons ETFs"), are pleased to announce that BetaPro has exercised its pre-emptive rights to increase its equity ownership stake in BetaShares Holdings Pty Ltd. ("BetaShares") by up to 6.1% for a subscription price of $2,000,000 (Australian).
BetaShares is a private Australian holding company whose subsidiary, BetaShares Capital Limited, offers exchange traded funds ("ETFs") on the Australian Securities
As at August 31, 2011 , BetaPro owned approximately 40% of BetaShare's equity outstanding. As part of the subscription, BetaPro has entered into an option agreement with BetaShares entitling BetaPro (the "Option") to purchase additional shares of BetaShares sufficient to bring BetaPro's equity holdings of BetaShares to 50%.
Adam Felesky, Chairman of Horizons ETFs said, "The continued growth and success of the BetaShares ETFs on the Australian Exchange is very encouraging. Increasing our investment in BetaShares is one more positive step for Horizons ETFs in growing its global ETF presence."
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Source: Jovian Capital Corporation.
SEC Staff Issues Risk Alert on Master/Sub-account Risks
September 29, 2011--The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission today issued a Risk Alert warning of significant concerns regarding trading through sub-accounts, and offered suggestions to help securities industry firms address those risks.
Money laundering, insider trading, market manipulation, account intrusions, unregistered broker-dealer activity, and excessive leverage are all potential risks associated with the master/sub-account trading model, according to the alert. Customers who open master accounts with a registered broker-dealer usually subdivide it for use by individual traders or groups of traders. In some instances, the sub-accounts may be divided to such an extent that the master account customer and the firm where the account is held might not know the identity of the traders in the sub-accounts.
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Source: SEC.gov
SEC to Hold Roundtable on Conflict Minerals
September 29, 2011---The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it will host a public roundtable next month to discuss the agency’s required rulemaking under Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which relates to reporting requirements regarding conflict minerals originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries.
The event will take place on October 18 from 12:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. and will provide a forum for various stakeholders to exchange views and provide input on issues related to the SEC’s required rulemaking. The panel discussions will focus on key regulatory issues such as appropriate reporting approaches for the final rule, challenges in tracking conflict minerals through the supply chain, and workable due diligence and other requirements related to the rulemaking.
“We are committed to writing an effective rule as soon as possible, and the roundtable will help us do that,” said Meredith Cross, Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance.
Roundtable panelists are expected to reflect the views of different constituencies, including affected issuers, human rights organizations, and other stakeholders. A final agenda including a list of participants will be announced closer to the date of the roundtable.
The roundtable will be held in the auditorium at the SEC’s headquarters at 100 F Street NE in Washington D.C. The roundtable will be open to the public with seating on a first-come, first-served basis, and the discussion also can be viewed via live webcast on the SEC website.
Source: SEC.gov
SEC to Hold Roundtable on Conflict Minerals
September 29, 2011---The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it will host a public roundtable next month to discuss the agency’s required rulemaking under Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which relates to reporting requirements regarding conflict minerals originating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries.
The event will take place on October 18 from 12:30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. and will provide a forum for various stakeholders to exchange views and provide input on issues related to the SEC’s required rulemaking. The panel discussions will focus on key regulatory issues such as appropriate reporting approaches for the final rule, challenges in tracking conflict minerals through the supply chain, and workable due diligence and other requirements related to the rulemaking.
“We are committed to writing an effective rule as soon as possible, and the roundtable will help us do that,” said Meredith Cross, Director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance.
Roundtable panelists are expected to reflect the views of different constituencies, including affected issuers, human rights organizations, and other stakeholders. A final agenda including a list of participants will be announced closer to the date of the roundtable.
The roundtable will be held in the auditorium at the SEC’s headquarters at 100 F Street NE in Washington D.C. The roundtable will be open to the public with seating on a first-come, first-served basis, and the discussion also can be viewed via live webcast on the SEC website.
Source: SEC.gov
Fee Rate Advisory #4 for Fiscal Year 2012
September 29, 2011--Congress is currently working on legislation to fund the Securities and Exchange Commission for the first several weeks of FY 2012, which begins on Oct. 1. However, regardless of the outcome of this work, the fees paid under Section 31 of the Securities Exchange Act will remain at their current rate until 60 days after the enactment of a regular appropriation for the Commission.
Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Commission will be required to publish a revised fee rate 30 days after the Commission’s regular appropriation for FY 2012 is enacted, and this new fee rate will become effective 60 days after the appropriation is enacted. Until this time, the Section 31 fee rate will remain at the current rate of $19.20 per million. The Section 31 assessment on round turn transactions in security futures also will remain at $0.0042 per transaction.
The Office of Interpretation and Guidance in the Commission’s Division of Trading and Markets is available for questions on Section 31 at (202) 551-5777 or by e-mail at tradingandmarkets@sec.gov.
The Commission will issue further notices as appropriate to keep the public informed of developments relating to the effective dates of the fee rates under Section 31. These notices will be posted at the SEC’s website.
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Source: SEC.gov
Fee Rate Advisory #3 for Fiscal Year 2012
September 29, 2011--As previously announced, starting on Oct. 1, 2011, the fees that public companies and other issuers pay to register their securities with the Commission will be reduced to $114.60 per million dollars from their current rate of $116.10 per million dollars.
The securities laws require the Commission to make annual adjustments to the rates for fees paid under Section 6(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 13(e) and 14(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Under changes made by the Dodd-Frank Act, the annual rate changes for these fees must take effect on the first day of each fiscal year, which is Oct. 1. On Aug. 31, 2011, the Commission announced the new fee rate of $114.60 per million dollars that would take effect on Oct. 1, 2011.
All filings submitted to the SEC before 5:30 p.m. ET, and filings pursuant to Rule 462(b) (17 C.F.R. 230.462(b)) submitted to the SEC before 10:00 p.m. ET, on Sep. 30, 2011, will be subject to the current fee rate of $116.10 per million dollars. Rule 462(b) filings submitted after 10:00 p.m. ET, and all other filings submitted after 5:30 p.m. ET, on Sep. 30, 2011, shall be deemed filed as of the next business day, Oct. 1, 2011, under Section 232.13 of Regulation S-T (17 C.F.R. 232.13), and be subject to the new fee rate of $114.60 per million dollars. Filers with questions about the new Section 6(b), Section 13(e), or Section 14(g) fee rates should call the SEC at (202) 551-8900.
A copy of the Commission's Aug. 31 order establishing the new fee rate, including the calculation methodology, is available at here.
Source: SEC.gov
Dow Jones Indexes, BBVA Jointly Launch Dow Jones BBVA Eagles Indexes Series -
Two New Market Gauges Designed to Measure Stock Performance
of 50 Leading Companies in Emerging and Growth-Leading Economies
September 28, 2011-- Dow Jones Indexes and BBVA have jointly launched the Dow Jones BBVA EAGLEs Indexes series, which initially includes two market gauges each designed to measure the stock performance of 50 leading companies in emerging and growth-leading economies (EAGLEs), the two organizations announced today.
With projected GDP growth the primary factor considered, EAGLEs is defined as those economies whose contributions to world growth over the next 10 years are expected to match or exceed those of the six largest developed economies, excluding the U.S. According to BBVA Research, the world’s GDP will grow more than USD 41 trillion over the next decade (adjusted by purchasing power parity), from which the EAGLEs’ contribution will exceed 50%; G7 growth will only reach 14%.
The new indexes include the Dow Jones BBVA EAGLEs Index and the Dow Jones BBVA EAGLEs Optimized Index. By limiting the universe of represented markets, the latter gauge is designed to enhance the liquidity of the derivatives linked to the EAGLEs concept.
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Source: Dow Jones
CFTC Announces Second Public Meeting of the Technology Advisory Subcommittee on Data Standardization
Subcommittee Working Groups to Present Interim Findings Aimed at Creating Universally Acceptable Standards for Complex Financial Products
September 28, 2011-– The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announces that on September 30, 2011, the Subcommittee on Data Standardization of the CFTC’s Technology Advisory Committee (the “Subcommittee”) will hold its second public meeting at the Commission’s headquarters in Washington, DC.
This meeting will provide the four Subcommittee working groups comprised of qualified representatives from government, industry, academia, information technology and information systems an opportunity to publicly present interim findings on universal product and legal entity identifiers, standardization of machine-readable legal contracts, semantics, and data storage and retrieval.
