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Dreyfus files with the SEC
December 7, 2010--Dreyfus has filed an amended application for exmeptive relief with the SEC for actively-managed exchange-traded funds.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
ISE Partners with Structured Solutions to Launch Family of Brazilian-Based Sector Indexes
NEW YORK, December 7, 2010 – The International Securities Exchange (ISE) announced today that it has partnered with Structured Solutions AG, a leading global index service provider and creator of the Solactive index platform, to launch a family of five Brazilian sector indexes. The indexes will track the performance of Brazilian public companies that are active in the consumer products, utilities, financial
services, industrial and materials industries.
The Solactive-ISE Brazilian indexes hold securities that are
domiciled in Brazil and traded on BM&F Bovespa. ISE and Structured Solutions are focused on working
with exchange-traded product issuers in Brazil and around the globe to launch innovative Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and structured products on the new family of indexes.
“We are incredibly pleased to partner with Structured Solutions to expand the global reach of ISE’s index business with the launch of this family of unique Brazilian-based sector indexes,” said Kris Monaco, ISE’s Director of New Product Development. “Brazil is one of the most closely followed emerging markets, and the new Solactive-ISE indexes will provide international and Brazilian-based investors alike with local benchmarks for the largest sectors in the Brazilian economy.”
“We are very glad to enter into a cooperation with ISE. With our new partner we will expand our international presence and offer valuable index concepts for global investors. Brazil is one of the most dynamic countries in the world and is a perfect starting point for our collaboration,” adds Steffen Scheuble, CEO of Structured Solutions.
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Source: International Securities Exchange (ISE)
Regulators push for ‘strict’ prop definition
December 6, 2010--US regulators are pressing for strict definitions of proprietary trading activities to be banned under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law in a move that could anger bankers and some of their toughest critics.
The question facing regulators is whether detailed descriptions of forbidden activities would lead to stricter enforcement or would help sophisticated Wall Street traders find ways round the ban on banks trading on their own account.
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Source: FT.com
CME Group Announces the Launch of Three Additional E-Micro Forex Futures Contracts
December 6, 2010--CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced the launch of three new E-micro Forex futures contracts scheduled for Sunday, December 19, for trade date Monday, December 20. These contracts will be listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of CME.
"These three new currency pairs will complement our existing suite of E-micro Forex contracts and provide our retail customers with a product that has the right risk/reward ratio for their financial risk management needs," said Derek Sammann, CME Group's Managing Director of FX and Interest Rate Products. "We continue to see strong growth in our existing E-micro contracts with average daily volume up 115 percent versus last year. The main reasons for this growth are CME Group's highly liquid and transparent markets, better customer awareness of the benefits of counterparty risk mitigation and our recent shift to physical delivery, which makes it easier to offset risk with our standard FX futures contracts."
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Source: CME Group
Standard & Poor's Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index
December 6, 2010--Standard & Poor's will make the following changes in the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index after the close of trading on Monday, December 6, 2010:
Evolving Gold Corp. (TSXV:EVG) will be removed from the index.
The company will graduate to TSX to trade under the same ticker symbol
.
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
CFTC Releases History of “Traders in Financial Futures” COT Data
December 6, 2010--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday, December 3, 2010, made available more than four years of history of “Traders in Financial Futures” data included in the weekly
Commitments of Traders (COT) reports. History for these commodity futures markets is available at www.cftc.gov.
The reports disclose, on a weekly basis, the futures and options positions in financial futures markets held by the following categories of large traders: Dealer/Intermediary, Asset Manager/Institutional, Leveraged Funds and Other Reportables.
“Promoting market transparency is at the core of the CFTC’s mission,” CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler said. “Releasing four years of history for the Traders in Financial Futures will provide regulators, market participants and the public with additional transparency and a historical context for the several months of reports already published.
Source: CFTC.gov
CFTC, SEC Staff to Host Joint Public Roundtable to Discuss Issues Related to Capital and Margin for Swaps and Security-Based Swaps
December 6, 2010-- Staff from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will hold a public roundtable on Friday, December 10, 2010, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., to discuss issues related to capital and margin requirements for swap dealers, security-based swap dealers, major swap participants and major security-based swap participants.
dealers, security-based swap dealers, major swap participants and major security-based swap participants. The roundtable will assist the agencies in the rulemaking process to implement the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. In addition to CFTC and SEC staff, roundtable participants will include staff from the Federal Reserve Board and other prudential regulators.
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Source: SEC.gov
CFTC Seeks Public Input for a Joint CFTC-SEC Study on the Feasibility of Requiring the Adoption of Standardized Computer-Readable Descriptions of Complex and Standardized Derivatives
December 6, 2010--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved for publication in the Federal Register a request for comment that is expected to assist in the preparation of a 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 derivatives and calculate net exposures.
These algorithmic descriptions are intended to facilitate computerized analysis of individual derivative contracts and to calculate net exposures to complex derivatives.
The study also will consider the extent to which the algorithmic descriptions, together with standardized and extensible legal definitions, may serve as the binding legal definition of derivative contracts.
Section 719(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act establishes an interagency working group comprised of the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct this study.
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Source: CFTC.gov
Morgan Stanley EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS: US ETF WEEKLY UPDATE
December 6, 2010--Weekly Flows: $216 Million Net Inflows
ETFs Traded $346 Billion Last Week
Launches: 7 New ETFs
Two Direxion ETFs Close
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Flows by Market Segment
For the second straight week, ETFs generated net inflows ($216 million last week)
Net inflows in US Sector & Industry ETFs were offset by net outflows in US equity size segments (Large, Mid,
Small, Micro)
ETF assets stand at $969 bln; up 24% YTD
13-week flows were mostly positive among asset classes
$47.8 bln net inflows into ETFs over past 13 weeks (56% into EM & US Large-Cap Equity)
We estimate ETFs have posted net inflows 35 out of 48 weeks YTD
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Largest Flows by Individual ETF
Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) posted net inflows of $1.1 bln last week, the most of any ETF
Amid a spike in oil prices, XLE generated large net inflows last week; YTD XLE’s flows have been volatile
For the third straight week, SPY posted net outflows; but over 13-wk period has taken in most new money
US-Listed ETFs: ETF Dollar Volume
Market share of monthly ETF volume as % of listed volume has nearly tripled over 5 yrs
Leveraged/Inverse accounts for 11% weekly ETF volume, but only has 3% of market cap
Fixed Income accounts for only 3% weekly ETF volume, but has 15% of market cap
request report
Source: ETF Research-Morgan Stanley
Impact investing could reach $1 trillion in 10 years: JP Morgan report
Investing in ‘bottom-of-the-pyramid’ could yield profits of hundreds of billions while focusing on social and environmental improvement.
December 6, 2010--Impact investing, which prioritises positive social and environmental impact over investment returns, could see new capital inflows ranging from $400bn to nearly $1 trillion in the next ten years as the ‘emerging asset class’ targets segments of the economy typically under-served by traditional business. A report by JP Morgan, the US bank, said impact investing merited the status of new asset class and estimated that it could generate potential profits ranging from $183bn to $667bn over the next ten years by investing in sub-sectors including agriculture, water, housing, education, health, energy and financial services (microfinance), notably in countries where people earn less than $3,000 annually.
This is referred to as the ‘bottom-of-the-pyramid’ approach (BoP), a phrase popularised in a 2004 book by Indian business professor C.K. Prahalad. The report was prepared for the Rockefeller Foundation, which supports the development of impact investing. JP Morgan looked at expected and realized returns from more than 1,000 investments collected by the Global Impact Investing Network, a lobby group, as the basis for its estimates.
view report-JP Morgan Impact Investments: An emerging asset class
Source: Responsible Investor