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CFTC.gov Commitments of Traders Reports Update
January 4, 2013--The current reports for the week of December 31, 2012 are now available.
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Source: CFTC.gov
Barclays Launches iPath(R) S&P MLP Exchange Traded Note
New iPath(R) S&P MLP ETN (ticker: IMLP) provides investors with exposure to the MLP market
January 4, 2013--Barclays Bank PLC announced today the launch of the iPath(R) S&P MLP Exchange Traded Note (ETN) on the NYSE Arca stock exchange under the ticker symbol IMLP.
The ETN is designed to provide investors with a way to gain exposure to the performance of the consolidated volume-weighted average price (“VWAP”) level of the S&P MLP Index, providing investors broad-based exposure to the energy infrastructure focused Master Limited Partnership (MLP) market.
“We are pleased to expand our suite of exchange traded notes with the first iPath® ETN to offer exposure to the MLP market,” said Kevin Burke, Head of Investor Solutions at Barclays. “Investors have shown considerable interest in the MLP market, and the iPath® S&P MLP ETN will provide exposure in an exchange-traded format.”
“As investors continue to seek out investments with higher yield, this ETN offers the potential for income along with upside appreciation via index-linked exposure to US energy infrastructure-focused partnerships,” said Kevin Murphy, Head of US Equity and Funds Solutions at Barclays.
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Source: Barclays Bank PLC
In the Vanguard of lower fund fees
January 4, 2013--Five years of low interest rates and erratic stock markets have stripped away the fat returns that used to cover up wastefully high fees and commissions.
So let’s talk about controlling your investing costs. Provincial securities regulators have set the scene well for a national dialogue on this topic. Late last year, they announced a review of the fees for investment advisers that are invisibly folded into mutual fund fees. And in the first half of 2013, they will start phasing in new disclosure rules requiring investment firms to show investors the actual dollar amount of the fees they’re paying (improved account performance reporting are also coming).
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Source: Globe and Mail
High-Frequency Trading Provides Essential Liquidity .
January 4, 2013--While high-frequency trading firms can ably defend themselves, Knight Capital Group's view as a leading market maker is that high-frequency trading didn't cause the flash crash, the withdrawn BATS Global Markets IPO, the mishandled Facebook IPO or our Aug. 1 technology issue.
Further, any balanced discussion regarding the market impact of high-frequency trading must acknowledge that HFT firms often provide essential liquidity to all market participants.
The article fails to note that retail investors today benefit from the lowest trading costs and the highest execution quality in history. Under measures established by the Securities and Exchange Commission, independent data show near-continual improvement in terms of speeds, spreads and price improvement since inception. Likewise, independent data bear out the dramatic declines in the costs of online and broker-assisted trades since the mid-1990s.
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Source: Wall Street Journal
Replication Index Up 6.96% In 2012
January 4, 2013--Hedge funds limped to a disappointing finish in 2012, returning less than 7%, according to an industry replication index.
IndexIQ's IQ Hedge Composite Beta Index rose 0.43% last month to reach the figure. Six of its seven strategy benchmarks were also in the black, but none exceeded the return for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index last year, 16%
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Source: FIN Alternatives
New rules to help exchanges break brokers' grip on swaps
January 3, 2013--The world's top brokers face a fight to hold onto hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue this year when U.S. legislation throws open the vast swaps trading market to stock exchanges.
Brokers like ICAP (IAP.L) and BGC Partners (BGCP.O) make around a third of their revenue from the $640 trillion (396 trillion pounds) industry for trading swaps - financial instruments used by companies to cover their exposure to changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates and credit ratings.
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Source: Reuters
US regulators give banks time to spin off swap trading
January 3, 2013--Banks could have up to three extra years to comply with a new U.S. rule requiring firms that receive federal deposit insurance to spin off some of their swaps trading into separate arms, U.S. regulators said on Thursday.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said it would "consider favorably" requests for transition periods before banks must comply with the so-called "swaps push-out" rule.
Under the rule, included as part of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial oversight law, banks that receive deposit insurance and other government backstops have to set up separate arms to trade certain swaps.
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Source: Reuters
US ETFs enjoy record breaking 2012
January 3, 2013--Record levels of new cash poured into US listed exchange traded funds and products last year as BlackRock regained the title of fastest growing ETF manager from its rival Vanguard for the first time since 2009.
US listed ETFs (funds and products) gathered net inflows of $187.2bn in 2012, up 58.1 per cent on last year’s inflows of $118.4bn, and surpassing the previous all-time high for annual inflows of $176bn set in 2008, according to ETFGI, the consultancy.
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Source: FT.com
Vanguard's head of equities steps down as new CIO steps in
Buckley replaces Sauter but equity hole opens with departure of Bhagat
January 3, 2013--The start of the New Year marked the official passing of the chief investment officer's torch at The Vanguard Group Inc. and left the firm with a hole at the top of its equity investment division.
Tim Buckley has assumed the role of chief investment officer following the retirement of Gus Sauter, which went into effect Dec. 31. Mr. Sauter had served as chief investment officer since the position was created in 2003.
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Source: Investment News
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, December 11-12, 2012
January 3, 2013--The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee on Thursday released the attached minutes of the Committee meeting held on December 11-12, 2012.
A summary of economic projections made by Federal Reserve Board members and Reserve Bank presidents for the December 11-12, 2012 meeting is also included as an addendum to these minutes.
The minutes for each regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee ordinarily are made available three weeks after the day of the policy decision and subsequently are published in the Board's Annual Report. Summaries of economic projections are released on a quarterly schedule. The descriptions of economic and financial conditions contained in these minutes and in the Summary of Economic Projections are based solely on the information that was available to the Committee at the time of the meeting.
view Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee
December 11-12, 2012
Source: Federal Reserve Board