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New technology helps ETF traders go it alone
October 26, 2012--Having recently joined the markets desk on the FT, I have pondered the usefulness of the market reports that appear daily on the back page of the paper. Do people still want to read such accounts when they can get market updates delivered to their mobile phones throughout the trading day?
Apparently they do – according to an unscientific straw poll of one, anyway. A former colleague now in the public relations business tells me he uses the reports to make decisions on whether to buy or sell an exchange traded fund tracking the FTSE 250 index. This strategy has returned double digits this year, he reports. So he votes to leave the FT’s back page alone.
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Source: FT.com
U.S. Regulator Said Set to Appeal Court Ruling on Trading Limits
October 26, 2012--The main U.S. regulator of derivatives is set to appeal a court ruling that overturned a rule that imposed trading limits on oil, natural gas and other commodities, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The five-member Commodity Futures Trading Commission is in the process of voting in private on a recommendation from the agency’s general counsel’s office to appeal the ruling. The commission’s three Democrats, Gary Gensler, Bart Chilton and Mark Wetjen support the appeal, according to the person. It is unclear how soon the agency could file the appeal.
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Source: Bloomberg Business Week
There Is Life Beyond Brazil For ETF Investors
Peru, Colombia and Chile appear as interesting contenders for diversifying exposure in Latin America
October 26, 2012--Generally speaking, when an ETF investor pays attention to Latin America he usually focuses on Brazil. And this is no surprise; not only is it the largest economy in the region, but also half of the ETFs that follow investments in the region invest a large part of their resources in the Latin American giant.
However, moving beyond Brazil, the Andean region offers interesting possibilities for ETF investors. In particular the economies of Peru, Colombia and Chile.
These countries have solid growth which, on occasions, exceeds that of Brazil. By the same token, they have more moderate levels of inflation and a more stable political situation than in previous years. Without forgetting that these are countries that are rich in commodities. All of which represent advantages that offer stability and the opportunity to obtain attractive returns given the revaluation of commodities.
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Source: FundsAmerica
FTSE Establishes Exchange Traded Products (ETP) Service Unit
October 26, 2012--FTSE Group ("FTSE") announced today the establishment of a new Exchange Traded Products (ETP) service unit to expand FTSE's product and service offering and build on its strong local support for ETP and exchange-traded fund (ETF) clients globally.
FTSE, the world’s third-largest equity ETF index provider, has seen its ETF-related assets under management (AUM) grow fivefold over the past three years, driven by the success of products such as iShares’ FTSE China A50 Fund ETFs, Vanguard’s All-World ex US Fund, and global real-estate ETFs based on the FTSE EPRA/NAREIT Index.
Earlier this month, Vanguard announced that it will switch six international equity ETFs to FTSE benchmarks, replacing MSCI. The switch includes Vanguard’s Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund and its associated ETF (Ticker: VWO), the world’s largest emerging markets ETF. With the transition, some $124bn in ETF assets are now indexed to FTSE benchmarks.
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Source: FTSE
CFTC Proposes New Regulations and to Amend Existing Regulations to Enhance Protections for Customers and Customer Funds Held by Futures Commission Merchants and Derivatives Clearing Organizations
October 26, 2012--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) yesterday approved for public comment proposed new regulations, and amendments to existing regulations, to enhance protections for customers and to strengthen the safeguards surrounding the holding of money, securities and other property deposited by customers with futures commission merchants (FCMs) and derivatives clearing organizations (DCOs).
The proposals are the result of the Commission’s efforts to coordinate and consult with the futures industry on enhancing customer protections, including two public roundtables that were hosted by Commission staff. The proposals also expand upon previous Commission actions to enhance customer protections, including rolling back certain exemptions from investment standards for customer funds under Regulation 1.25 and the adoption of the legal segregation with operational commingling (LSOC model) for cleared swap transactions.
The proposal would enhance the protection of customers and customer funds by:
Amending Part 30 of the regulations to require FCMs to hold sufficient funds in secured accounts to meet their total obligations to both U.S.-domiciled and foreign-domiciled customers trading on foreign contract markets, computed under the net liquidating equity method;
CFTC's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight Issues Time-Limited No-Action Relief to Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants Regarding Certain Recordkeeping Obligations
October 26, 2012--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) today announced the issuance of time-limited no-action relief for swap dealers (SDs) and major swap participants (MSPs) concerning certain recordkeeping obligations under Part 23 of the Commission's Regulations.
The no-action letter will delay until March 31, 2013, the compliance date for the following provisions:
(1) The requirement that SDs and MSPs make and keep records of all oral communications related to pre-execution swap trade information (and communications that lead to the conclusion of a related cash or forward transaction), pursuant to Commission Regulations 23.202(a) and (b);
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Source: CFTC.gov
CFTC.gov Commitments of Traders Reports Update
October 26, 2012-The current reports for the week of October 23, 2012 are now available.
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Source: CFTC.gov
ISE Weekly Listings October 26, 2012
October 26, 0212--International Securities Exchange listed new options classes during the week beginning October 22, 2012 as described below.
Effective Monday, October 22, 2012,the ISE will list options on the following product(s) along with their related
The symbol(s):
Bin 9 - Goldman Sachs & Co.
Equity
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Source: International Securities Exchange (ISE)
US swaps reform triggers futures rush
October 26, 2012--October 26, 2012--Looming US rules for "over-the-counter" derivatives deals are starting to transform credit and energy markets as traders adjust to new strictures and costs.
Tradeweb, the electronic fixed income trading platform, has seen a fourfold jump in US credit derivative index volume over the past week since barriers to trading between market participants were lowered.
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Source: FT.com
State Street Global Advisors Launches Pair of SPDR(R) Tilt ETFs
New SPDR ETFs Designed to Provide Precise Access to Value and Momentum Stocks
October 25, 2012--State Street Global Advisors (SSgA)*, the asset management business of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), today announced that the SPDR S&P 1500 Value Tilt ETF (Symbol: VLU) and the SPDR S&P 1500 Momentum Tilt ETF (Symbol: MMTM) began trading on the NYSE Arca on October 25, 2012.
The new SPDR ETFs offer investors an opportunity to access potential sources of outperformance with advanced indexing methodologies that reconfigure how index components are weighted.
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Source: State Street Global Advisors