Americas ETP News
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U.S. International Reserve Position
July 8, 2011--On July 1, 2011 the Treasury Department released U.S. reserve assets data for the latest week. As indicated in this table, U.S. reserve assets totaled $143,920 million as of the end of that week, compared to $142,691 million as of the end of the prior week.
I. Official reserve assets and other foreign currency assets (approximate market value, in US millions)
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July 1, 2011 | |||
A. Official reserve assets (in US millions unless otherwise specified) 1 |
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143,920 | |
(1) Foreign currency reserves (in convertible foreign currencies) |
Euro |
Yen |
Total | |
(a) Securities |
10,154 |
15,417 |
25,572 | |
of which: issuer headquartered in reporting country but located abroad |
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0 | |
(b) total currency and deposits with: |
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| |
(i) other national central banks, BIS and IMF |
15,387 |
7,578 |
22,965 | |
ii) banks headquartered in the reporting country |
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0 | |
of which: located abroad |
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0 | |
(iii) banks headquartered outside the reporting country |
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0 | |
of which: located in the reporting country |
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0 | |
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(2) IMF reserve position 2 |
21,725 | |||
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(3) SDRs 2 |
57,233 | |||
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(4) gold (including gold deposits and, if appropriate, gold swapped) 3 |
11,041 | |||
--volume in millions of fine troy ounces |
261.499 | |||
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(5) other reserve assets (specify) |
5,384 | |||
--financial derivatives |
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--loans to nonbank nonresidents |
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--other (foreign currency assets invested through reverse repurchase agreements) |
5,384 | |||
B. Other foreign currency assets (specify) |
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--securities not included in official reserve assets |
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--deposits not included in official reserve assets |
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--loans not included in official reserve assets |
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--financial derivatives not included in official reserve assets |
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--gold not included in official reserve assets |
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--other |
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Source: US Department of the Treasury
Dissent of Commissioner Scott D. O’Malia to the Fiscal Year 2011 Commission Spending Plan
Commissioner O’Malia
June 15, 2011-I respectfully dissent from signing the fiscal year 2011 Commission Spending Plan allocating funding per the direction provided in Public Law 112-10, The Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011.
The Commission's spending plan continues to concentrate resources on an ever-expanding staff hiring plan that is both fiscally unsustainable and detrimental to the Commission's already ailing technology programs. This spending plan proposes to hire 50 additional federal employees—12 of which will implement internal reorganization in support of new Dodd-Frank authorities—and an undisclosed number of contractors.1· Instead of complying with the explicit Congressional directive establishing a $37.2 million floor for technology spending, the proposal caps spending at this minimum level while completely ignoring clear statutory direction to prioritize such funding for higher priority information technology activities. I am mindful of the challenge of adjusting the budget priorities within the resources provided. However, in the face of the broad new statutory authority to oversee and monitor both the futures and derivatives markets, the Commission cannot afford delays in the development and deployment of automated surveillance tools, or in real-time trade monitoring, integration of trade data provided from the swap data repositories and the development of new risk analytics.
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Source: CFTC.gov
$150 Oil. It could be worse.
July 7, 2011--A lengthy Barron's article by Gene Epstein over the weekend calls for $150/barrel oil in the next 12 months. As one of the 8 most important prices in the world, the tab for oil can have a profound impact on business performance, economic growth, and the risk and return of investment portfolios.
. So what happens if the Barron's prediction is correct? Should you make changes in your portfolio based on the possibility?
How bad is it?
An oil shock of $150, or even $170, coming in next year, translates to $4.50/gallon gas, according to Epstein.
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Source: Osbon Capital Management
Cloud ETF Causes Stir With Netflix Pick
July 7, 2011--The launch of the First Trust ISE Cloud Computing Index Fund(SKYY) is the latest micro-niche fund to hit the market. Some will scoff at the find, some will trade it actively and some will find genuine investment merit.
The fund is U.S.-based, will have 40 holdings, most of which are technology related; will rebalance quarterly; and will charge a 0.60% expense ratio. At the industry level the fund is dominated by software 32%, Internet services 22% and communications equipment 16%. One other industry in there that might be a surprise is Internet and catalog retail at 7.75%, with the largest name from that segment being Netflix(NFLX_).
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Source: The Street
“It’s Time to Pull Back the Curtain and Make the Final Rulemaking Process as Transparent as Possible”
Opening Statement by Commissioner Scott D. O’Malia: Public Hearing: Anti-Manipulation, Large Trader Reporting, Agricultural Commodities, FCRA, and GLB
July 7, 2011--Good morning. Today, we are voting on the first major tranche of regulations to be finalized under the Dodd-Frank Act. Before we start, I would like to thank each of the five teams for their work on the regulations. Moving from proposed to final regulations has been – to say the least – an involved process, and each team has advanced with unrelenting dedication.
With the Commission’s approval, the regulations before us today will become not only the law of the land, but the Commission’s official statement as to its interpretation of the Act it is charged with administering. So, it is appropriate to consider our duties to market participants and the public generally before issuing final regulations. Our duties can be characterized in two words: (i) transparency and (ii) clarity.
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Source: CFTC.gov
RBC moves a step closer to launching its first ETFs
Initial line-up will consist of eight corporate-bond funds with fixed maturity dates.
July 7, 2011--With this week's filing of a preliminary prospectus, RBC Financial Group confirmed that it's about to enter the rapidly growing market for exchange-traded funds.
It's been common knowledge on the Street for months that RBC was actively looking to expand into ETFs, and it seemed to be only a matter of when.
Once regulatory and other approvals are received, RBC will make its debut with a suite of eight fixed-income index ETFs to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Each ETF will invest in investment-grade Canadian corporate bonds, and each will be terminated on or not long after its maturity date.
The eight upcoming offerings range from RBC Target 2013 Corporate Bond, holding bonds with two-year maturities, to RBC Target 2020 Corporate Bond, holding bonds that will mature in nine years. If held to maturity, the ETFs are designed to produce total returns (less fees, expenses and taxes) that will be comparable to direct investment in Canadian corporate bonds of similar quality and maturity.
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Source: Toronto Star
Income Generation Continues to Be Front of Mind With ETF Users
Fixed Income ETFs Led All Other Asset Classes in Q2 With $633 Million in Net New Assets
July 7, 2011--Canadian fixed income exchange-traded funds (ETF) experienced 8 per cent growth in assets under management (AUM) in the second quarter of 2011, including $633 million in net new assets.
Conversely, Canadian equity ETFs experienced a -8 per cent retraction in AUM and $691 million in net outflows, according to information compiled by the iShares® ETF business at BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited (BlackRock® Canada), an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of BlackRock, Inc.
"In these uncertain economic times, investors have made income generation a priority and sought the safe harbour of fixed income investments," said Mary Anne Wiley, head of iShares distribution, BlackRock Canada.
ETF AUM overall dropped in the second quarter, partly resulting from significant weakness in the equity markets (the S&P®/TSX® Composite Index returned -5.1 per cent in the second quarter). Total AUM of Canadian ETFs was $39.7 billion in Q2, compared to $41.4 billion AUM in Q1, representing a drop of 4 per cent. iShares ETFs continue to be the market leader amongst all the providers with 70.5 per cent of market share and $28 billion AUM followed by Claymore Investments, Inc. with 15.8 per cent and $6.3 billion AUM.
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Source: BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited (iShares)
Global X files with the SEC-14 ETFs
July 7, 2011--Global X has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for 14 ETFs.
The funds are:
Global X FTSE Portugal 20 ETF
Global X Slovakia ETF
Global X FTSE Ukraine ETF
Global X Qatar ETF
Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF
Global X Kuwait ETF
Global X Hungary ETF
Global X Nigeria ETF
Global X Luxembourg ETF
Global X FTSE Bangladesh ETF
Global X FTSE Morocco 20 ETF
Global X FTSE Sri Lanka ETF
Global X Czech Republic ETF
Global X Kazakhstan ETF
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
ProShares files with the SEC
July 7, 2011--ProShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the ProShares Hedge Replication ETF.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
AdvisorShares files with SEC
July 7, 2011--AdvisorShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the Rockledge SectorSAM ETF.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
