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“Blind Rhetoric”
Statement of Commissioner Bart Chilton Regarding Possible Government Shutdown
April 8, 2011--Some of you may remember the “Diamond Crash” many years ago, a tragic loss of four pilots and their jets in a daredevil Thunderbird flying show in Arizona. Due to a rare malfunction in the lead plane, causing it to go off course, the leader of the flying “V” led the three following jets—whose pilots are taught to follow the leader with exacting, unwavering precision, blindly following the leader, if you will—into a tragic, fatal dive.
There’s a lesson in this for those engaged in the current budget debate. It is following a kind of blind rhetoric that has pulled some of our leaders to the point of a full-blown government shutdown. And the harm to be caused is potentially incalculable. In our agency, we are preparing to let markets and market participants know what we will NOT be able to do during a lapse. This is dangerous territory. We are just coming out of the worst economic calamity since the Great Depression, and certain members of Congress are playing a game of chicken—arguing over a miniscule percentage of the total budget—putting that recovery at risk once again.
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Source: CFTC.gov
CFTC Issues Order Relating to the Continuation, Shutdown and Resumption of Certain Commission Operations in the Event of a Lapse in Appropriations
April 8, 2011-- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued a final order to provide for the continuation, shutdown and resumption of certain operations of the CFTC in the event of a lapse in
appropriations, and to alert all persons regulated by or engaged in proceedings at the CFTC of these provisions.
Source: AME Info
CFTC-SEC Release Joint Study on the Feasibility of Mandating Algorithmic Descriptions for Derivatives
April 8, 2011-- Today, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commissions) have delivered to Congress a joint staff study on “the feasibility of requiring the derivatives industry to adopt standardized computer-readable algorithmic descriptions that may be used to describe complex and standardized financial derivatives” (see Title VII, Sec. 719(b) of Dodd-Frank). Based on the public input, staff investigation and analysis, the joint study concludes that current technology is capable of representing derivatives using a common set of computer-readable descriptions.
These descriptions are precise enough to be used both for the calculation of net exposures and to serve as part or all of a binding legal contract.
The Commissions’ staff study also concludes that before mandating the use of standardized descriptions for all derivatives, the following are needed: a universal entity identifier and product or instrument identifiers, a further analysis of the costs and benefits of having all aspects of legal documents related to derivatives represented electronically and a uniform way to represent financial terms not covered by existing definitions.
To the end, in the Commissions’ staff view, standardized computer-readable descriptions are feasible for at least a broad cross-section of derivatives. The joint study contemplates that other financial regulators and the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Financial Research, along with the Commissions’ staff, will engage in a series of public-private initiatives to foster collaboration between regulators and the derivatives industry, working towards representing a broader cross-section of derivatives in computer-readable form.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) thanks the many members of the derivatives industry and public that provided information for the joint study and thanks the responsible staff at both Commissions for their collaborative efforts. The staff responsible for the CFTC’s participation in the joint study process include: Andrei Kirilenko, Chief Economist and Study Team Lead, JonMarc Buffa; Nancy Doyle, Frank Fisanich, Irina Leonova and John Paul Rothenberg.
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Source: SEC.gov
ETFS Securities USA files with the SEC
April 8, 2011--ETFS Securities USA has filed a FORM S-1 Amendment No.1 with the SEC for the ETFS PHYSICAL BASE METALS TRUST.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
First Trust files with the SEC
April 8, 2011--First Trust has filed a pre-exemptive amendment, registration statement no. 11 with the SEC for
First Trust Mid Cap Growth AlphaDEX(R) Fund(FNY)
First Trust Mid Cap Value AlphaDEX(R) Fund(FNK) and
First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX(R) Fund(FYC)
First Trust Small Cap Value AlphaDEX(FYT)
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
First Trust files with the SEC
April 8, 2011--First Trust has filed a pre-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the First Trust AlphaDEX ETFs.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
U.S. International Reserve Position
April 8, 2011--The Treasury Department today released U.S. reserve assets data for the latest week. As indicated in this table, U.S. reserve assets totaled $141,066 million as of the end of that week, compared to $135,413 million as of the end of the prior week.
I. Official reserve assets and other foreign currency assets (approximate market value, in US millions)
I. Official reserve assets and other foreign currency assets (approximate market value, in US millions)
|
April 4, 2011 | |||
A. Official reserve assets (in US millions unless otherwise specified) 1 |
141,066 | |||
(1) Foreign currency reserves (in convertible foreign currencies) |
Euro |
Yen |
Total | |
(a) Securities |
9,880 |
15,465 |
25,345 | |
of which: issuer headquartered in reporting country but located abroad |
0 | |||
(b) total currency and deposits with: |
||||
(i) other national central banks, BIS and IMF |
14,986 |
6,626 |
21,613 | |
ii) banks headquartered in the reporting country |
0 | |||
of which: located abroad |
0 | |||
(iii) banks headquartered outside the reporting country |
0 | |||
of which: located in the reporting country |
0 | |||
(2) IMF reserve position 2 |
19,320 | |||
(3) SDRs 2 |
58,465 | |||
(4) gold (including gold deposits and, if appropriate, gold swapped) 3 |
11,041 | |||
--volume in millions of fine troy ounces |
261.499 | |||
(5) other reserve assets (specify) |
5,283 | |||
--financial derivatives |
||||
--loans to nonbank nonresidents |
||||
--other (foreign currency assets invested through reverse repurchase agreements) |
5,283 | |||
B. Other foreign currency assets (specify) |
||||
--securities not included in official reserve assets |
||||
--deposits not included in official reserve assets |
||||
--loans not included in official reserve assets |
||||
--financial derivatives not included in official reserve assets |
||||
--gold not included in official reserve assets |
||||
--other |
||||
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Source: US Department of the Treasury
Treasury Department Statement Regarding Decision to Delay Semi-Annual Report to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies
April 8, 2011--Treasury today announced that it will delay publication of the Semi-Annual Report to Congress on International Economic and Exchange Rate Policies of our major trading partners in light of several upcoming, high-level international meetings
the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting April 14-15, 2011; the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank April 16-17, 2011; and the third U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) in May.
Treasury last published the semi-annual report on February 4, 2011.
Source: US Department of the Treasury
Commission Announces a Roundtable Discussion Regarding Money Market Funds and Systemic Risk
April 8, 2011 - The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it will host a roundtable discussion in May on money market funds and systemic risk. The roundtable will include participants from the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC).
The roundtable will take place on May 10, 2011, and will provide a forum for various stakeholders in money market funds to exchange views on the potential effectiveness of certain options in mitigating systemic risks associated with money market funds. These will include, but are not limited to, options raised in the President’s Working Group report on possible money market fund reforms that was issued in October 2010 (http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Documents/10.21%20PWG%20Report%20Final.pdf).
Roundtable panelists are expected to include sponsors of money market funds, short-term debt issuers, investors, and the academic community. A list of participants will be published closer to the date of the roundtable.
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Source: CFTC.gov
Nasdaq plays cost-cutting card
April 7, 2011--Nasdaq OMX believes that it has a significant advantage over its rivals in its attempt to win the favour of NYSE Euronext – a proven ability to cut costs.
Nasdaq, which along with the Intercontinental Exchange bid $11.3bn for NYSE Euronext believes that it can cut the costs of running NYSE by $710m by combining like-for-like US stock exchanges.
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Source: FT.com
