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US muni bond demand slips into big freeze
March 28, 2011--A feared meltdown has yet to materialise. Instead, the US municipal bond market, blighted by concern that struggling states and cities could default on their obligations, has gone into a deep freeze.
Sales of new bonds have plunged as retail investors, traditionally the biggest buyers of municipal debt, have fled. The first quarter of the year will record the lowest amount of quarterly new issuance in more than a decade. At $44bn, the amount raised will be less than half the new bonds sold by this time last year.
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Source: FT.com
US bill raises fears for covered bonds
March 28, 2011-US proposals for a covered bond market risk wrecking the products’ centuries-old reputation for boring stability, an industry group has warned.
European banks are selling record amounts of the bonds, which have their roots in 18th-century Prussia and are backed by pools of loans that remain on a bank’s books, unlike the toxic subprime securitisations the financial crisis made infamous.
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Source: FT.com
“Stopping Stammering: Overcoming Obstacles in Financial Regulatory Reform”
March 28, 2011--Speech of Commissioner Bart Chilton to the Goldman Sachs Global Commodity Conference, London, UK
March 28, 2011
Introduction: The King’s Speech
It’s great to be with you this evening. Thanks to Don Casturo for the kind invitation to speak with you and thanks to Ken Connolly who does your Washington, D.C. work and I have known for years. When Don first invited me, I must admit to feeling a little dash of doubt about the prospect of speaking to such a sophisticated group of financial market participants.
However, as the great Winston Churchill once said, “There are two things that are more difficult than making an after-dinner speech: climbing a wall which is leaning toward you and kissing a girl who is leaning away from you.” I’ve never tried to climb such a wall, but have tried to kiss a girl leaning away, so I guess I’m more than half way there. My wife, incidentally, tells me she still loves me anyway. So, perhaps I can deliver this speech.
I’m sure that many of you have seen “The King’s Speech.” It won four Academy Awards, including Motion Picture of the Year. It was among the best pictures I’ve seen in a long, long time. Colin Firth did a remarkable job of playing King George VI. You couldn’t help but feel for a guy who never really asked for the job and had to overcome a stammer while serving as one of the most powerful people in the world. In real life, George VI became a beloved monarch, and of course, the movie had a joyful ending.
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Source: CFTC.gov
U.S. Treasury Futures Begin Trading on NYSE Liffe U.S. Today
Eurodollar Futures Traded Nearly 190,000 Contracts in the First Week-
March 28, 2011-- NYSE Liffe U.S., the U.S. futures exchange of NYSE Euronext (NYX), today announced the immediate availability of 2-year, 5-year and 10-year U.S. Treasury futures along with U.S. Bond and Ultra Bond futures contracts.
These products complement the successful Eurodollar contract that debuted on March 21 with 189,484 contracts traded on NYSE Liffe U.S. in the first week. By utilizing the revolutionary new clearinghouse, New York Portfolio Clearing (NYPC), customers trading any of these interest rate futures products will benefit from the combined value of trading on NYSE Liffe U.S. coupled with the “one-pot” margining power of NYPC.
“Today, we are extremely pleased to offer Treasury interest rate futures to customers of NYSE Liffe U.S. Through the capital efficiency of the NYPC’s ‘one pot’ margin methodology and it’s unique automated delivery protocol, these Treasury futures represent a clear advancement in our customer’s ability to manage risk and optimize their use of capital,” said Thomas F. Callahan, CEO, NYSE Liffe U.S. “We are grateful for the strong level of support we have received from our customers to date and we sincerely thank them for their partnership in building a competitive new choice in the U.S. futures market.”
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Source: NYSE Liffe U.S.
ISDA Leads Industry Effort to Establish Commodity Derivatives Trade Repository
March 28, 2011--The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) today announced that, as part of its continuing efforts to improve transparency in the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets, it has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to establish a Commodity OTC Derivatives Trade Repository.
The RFP seeks proposals to create a trade reporting repository that ultimately will record all Commodity OTC Derivatives trade types. The repository will meet all current and future regulations governing repositories and will provide a structure to rapidly report and provide timely access to information to applicable regulators. The deadline for interested providers to submit their proposals is Monday, April 25, 2011.
Trade repositories improve transparency by providing global regulators with significant visibility into risk exposures by firm and by counterparty. ISDA has helped establish trade repositories for other asset classes, including OTC interest rate, credit and equity derivatives.
Information relating to the RFP is available on ISDA's website: www.isda.org
Source: ISDA
U.S. Agencies Announce Consideration Of Risk Retention Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking
March 28, 2011--The staffs of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (together, the agencies) announced that the agencies this week are considering for approval a notice of proposed rulemaking that addresses section 941 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
All of the agencies participating in this joint rulemaking process are expected to consider the rule this week and a detailed announcement will be made when this process is complete.
If approved, the agencies will publish in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking for public comment.
Section 941 requires the agencies to prescribe rules to require that a securitizer retain an economic interest in a material portion of the credit risk for any asset that it transfers, sells, or conveys to a third party. The chairperson of the Financial Stability Oversight Council is tasked with coordinating this rulemaking effort.
Source: HUD
Standard & Poor's Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index
March 28, 2011--Standard & Poor's will make the following changes in the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index after the close of trading on Monday, March 28, 2011:
Valley High Ventures Ltd. (TSXV:VHV.V) will be removed from the index.
The shares of the company have been acquired by Levon Resources Ltd. (TSXV:LVN.V) through a Plan of Arrangement.
Company additions to and deletions from an S&P equity index do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the company.
Source: Standard & Poors
