If your looking for specific news, using the search function will narrow down the results
New ETF breed faces hurdle of strategy disclosure
January 31, 2014--The next frontier for exchange traded funds is in sight. That is the view of some leading industry figures after recent developments in the multiyear push to get a novel form of active ETFs approved by regulators.
But for these so-called "non-transparent active ETFs" to go live on US markets this year, much will depend on whether asset managers can overcome concerns about how the funds will work without the daily holding disclosures that have been a regulatory cornerstone for US ETFs.
view more
Source: SEC.gov
S&P Dow Jones Indices' Market Attributes: Index Dashboard US
January 31, 2013--Highlights this month include:
Equities across the globe began 2014 in the red. In the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 declined 5% and 3%, respectively. Appropriately, there was an uptick in volatility as the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures index gained 17%.
Of the ten S&P 500 sectors, only utilities and health care (not surprisingly) managed to eke out a gain. Consumer discretionary, which was the best performing sector in 2013, fell by 6% this month.
Outside the U.S., developed markets declined 4% while emerging markets, lagued by currency depreciation, dropped 6%. Notably, Latin America fell 10%.
view more
Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices
CBOE Futures Exchange Announces Launch Date For CBOE Short-Term VIX Futures With Weekly Expirations
Particularly responsive to short-term moves in S&P 500 Index
Combine benefits of VIX futures and SPX Weeklys
January 30, 2014--CBOE Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE(R)) announced today that it plans to launch trading of futures with weekly expirations on the new CBOE Short-Term Volatility IndexSM (ticker symbol: VXSTSM) on Thursday, February 13, pending regulatory review.
Chicago Board Options Exchange® (CBOE(R)) developed the CBOE Short-Term Volatility Index ("VXST Index" or "Short-Term VIX Index") in response to proven demand for WeeklysSM options generally, and volatility contracts that measure a shorter time period in particular. Like CBOE's flagship CBOE Volatility Index(R) (VIX(R) Index), the Short-Term VIX Index reflects investors' consensus view of expected stock market volatility using CBOE's proprietary VIX methodology. Both indexes use S&P 500(R) Index (SPXSM) options in their calculations. The VIX Index uses SPX monthly options to measure expectations of 30-day volatility, while the VXST Index uses SPX options that expire every week (including SPX Weeklys) to gauge expectations of nine-day volatility. The VXST Index's shorter time horizon makes it particularly responsive to short-term volatility triggered by market events such as corporate earnings, government reports and Fed announcements.
view more
Source: CBOE
US economy shrugs off shutdown with 3.2% growth in fourth quarter
January 30, 2014--Highest consumer spending levels in three years boosted growth, which had been hit by higher taxes and federal spending cuts
The US economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.2% in the last three months of 2013, the Commerce Department said on Thursday, as consumers and businesses largely ignored a government shutdown and fight over the debt ceiling.
The pace of growth slowed from 4.1% in the previous quarter but still means that US gross domestic product (GDP) the broadest measure of goods and services produced across the economy, grew at an annual rate of 3.7% in the last half of 2013, a pace unseen since 2003.
view more
Source: The Guardian
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Market Oversight Announces Trade Execution Mandate for Certain Credit Default Swaps
MarketAxess SEF Corporation's Available-to-Trade Determinations Are Self-Certified
January 30, 20144--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC or Commission) Division of Market Oversight (Division) today announced that MarketAxess SEF Corporation's (MarketAxess) self-certification of available-to-trade determinations (MAT Determination)
for certain credit default swap (CDS) contracts is self-certified.
view more
Source: CFTC.gov
Nasdaq sees hurdle in business of U.S. government-bond trading
January 30, 2014--Nasdaq OMX Group has aimed to increase market share in U.S. government bonds since acquiring eSpeed a year ago but faces resistance from banks that dominate the market.
view more
Source: Smart Brief
Asset managers lure insurers with new exchange-traded funds
January 30, 2014--Insurers predicted to increase ETF exposure
Asset managers are refining their exchange-traded fund (ETF) products in a bid to attract insurers seeking to invest in a wider range of credit securities.
Earlier this month Pimco released an actively managed ETF investing in covered bonds to appeal to insurers looking for easy access to an asset class that receives favourable treatment under Solvency II.
view more
Source: Risk.net
Barclays Bank PLC Extends Consent Solicitation Period for Select iPath(R) Commodities ETNs, and Plans Solicitation for an Additional iPath® Commodities ETN
Planned launch of new solicitation for iPath Commodity ETNs linked to the Dow Jones-UBS Coffee Subindex
January 30, 2014--Barclays Bank PLC ("Barclays") announced today that it has extended by two months the expiration date of its consent solicitation (the "Consent Solicitation") for select issues of iPath(R) Commodities Exchange-Traded Notes listed in the table (the "Existing ETNs") and that it intends to launch a new solicitation with respect to the iPath(R) Dow Jones-UBS Coffee Subindex Total ReturnSM ETN (the "Coffee ETNs")
(each of the Existing ETNs and the Coffee ETNs, an "issue" and collectively, the "ETNs").
view more
Source: Barclays
Invesco Reports Results for the Year and Three Months Ended December 31, 2013
Annual adjusted operating income increased 27.7%
Annual adjusted diluted EPS up 29.1%
Total 2013 return of capital of $850 million
Total net inflows of $34.4 billion for 2013
January 30, 2014--Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ) today reported financial results for the year and
three months ended December 31, 2013.
"Invesco continued to provide strong, long-term investment performance to our clients, which contributed
to one of our strongest years on record," said Martin L. Flanagan, president and CEO of Invesco.
view more
Source: Invesco PowerShares
Bloomberg to Launch Floating Rate Treasury Index
January 29, 2014--Today, the U.S. Treasury Department will hold its first auction of floating-rate securities. This is the first new security issued by the government in nearly two decades. These floating rate securities, or "floaters," offer yields that adjust based on changes in interest rates to provide investors with a hedge against a potential rise in interest rates.
To track this new asset class, Bloomberg Indexes will launch the Bloomberg U.S. Treasury Floating Rate Bond Index at the end of the first day of trading, January 31. In addition to the note issued at the initial auction, the index will track securities issued in subsequent auctions. Index data will be available to both buy and sell-side participants on the Bloomberg Professional service via the ticker BUSYFL.
view more
Source: Bloomberg