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PowerShares files with the SEC
May 21, 2012--PowerShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the Powershares Actively Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust.
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Source: SEC.gov
Cost stance at Vanguard lures cash
May 20, 2012--The Vanguard Group Inc. has been shouting about the benefits of low-cost investing since the firm was founded nearly 40 years ago, but the message has never resonated with investors more than today.
Vanguard has never struggled to attract investors, but the success that it has had this year is unprecedented. One of every three dollars invested in mutual funds and exchange-traded funds through the first four months of the year went to Vanguard, according to Morningstar Inc
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Source: Investment News
Barclays Issues Investor Guidance on iPath Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas Subindex Total Return Exchange Traded Notes (Ticker: GAZ).
May 20, 2012--On May 18, 2012, Barclays Bank PLC ("Barclays") announced an investor guidance notification
today regarding the iPath Dow Jones-UBS Natural Gas Subindex Total Return
SM Exchange Traded Notes (the
"ETNs"). The ETNs currently trade on the NYSE Arca stock exchange under the ticker symbol "GAZ".
Barclays previously announced the temporary suspension of further issuances of the ETNs on August 21,
2009. As described in that press release and also in the pricing supplement relating to the ETNs, the
limitations on issuance and sale implemented could from time to time cause an imbalance of supply and
demand in the secondary market for the ETNs, which may cause the ETNs to trade at a premium or discount
in relation to their indicative value.
Recently, there has been a persistent and material premium in the trading price of the ETNs on the exchange in relation to their intraday indicative value. From January 31, 2012 to May 17, 2012, the indicative value decreased by approximately 19% from $3.02 to $2.46 per ETN, while the closing price of the ETNs on the exchange increased by approximately 18% from $3.13 to $3.69 per ETN. The closing price of the ETNs on the exchange as of May 17, 2012 reflected a 50% premium to current indicative value.
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Source: Barclays
An Emerging Problem
Some developing-market ETFs are increasingly performing just like funds focused on the developed markets- but with more risk. Time for a change?
May 19, 2012--Through accidents of history and stock indexing, the most popular emerging-markets funds now offer investors more than a way to participate in the growth of small, developing economies.
Consider: The category's biggest funds devote about a quarter of their holdings to South Korea and Taiwan, two big, wealthy nations. Packed with the stocks of global conglomerates, the funds trade in increasing lockstep with developed markets. Tellingly, their returns since the financial crisis are roughly even with the most heavily trodden swath of the well-to-do world–the U.S.
The largest two emerging-markets ETFs, tracking the same MSCI benchmark, used to rip ahead of advanced markets. Their returns since the financial crisis are roughly even with the U.S.
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Source: EGShares – Emerging Market ETFs
CFTC Considers Loosening Dodd-Frank Speculation Limits
May 18. 2012--The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission may propose easing Dodd-Frank Act regulations limiting speculation in oil, natural gas, wheat and other commodities, according to four people briefed on the matter.
The CFTC’s five commissioners are considering a private vote to change how companies aggregate their trading positions when they have ownership stakes in other firms, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The agency may propose raising to 50 percent from 10 percent the threshold for when a company is considered to have an ownership stake and must add the trading positions, the people said.
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Source: Bloomberg
Pimco experiment beats flagship fund
May 18, 2012--Pimco's widely watched experiment with the industry's first sizeable actively managed exchange traded fund, the Total Return ETF, has significantly outperformed the flagship mutual fund on which it is based.
While both are managed by Bill Gross, the Total Return Fund ETF is up 4.8 per cent since it launched on March 1, with reinvested dividends, while the Total Return Mutual Fund has returned just 1.9 per cent, according to Morningstar, a research group.
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Source: FT.com
CFTC Approves Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Regulations on Aggregation for Position Limits for Futures and Swaps
May 18, 2012--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today approved a notice of proposed rulemaking that would modify the CFTT's aggregation provisions for limits on speculative positions.
The proposed rulemaking would permit any person with a greater than 10 percent ownership or equity interest in an entity to disaggregate the owned entity’s positions, provided there are protections and firewalls in place to ensure trading decisions are made independently of one another.
This proposed rulemaking is in response to a January 19, 2012, petition of the Working Group of Commercial Energy Firms (WGCEF) filed under section 4a(a)(7) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) seeking relief from the aggregation provisions of rule 151.7. The Commission invites the public and interested parties to comment on the proposed rule. The comment period will be open for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
view the Federal Register: Aggregation Under Part 151, Position Limits for Futures And Swaps
Source: CFTC.gov
CFTC Approves Final Rule on Swap Data Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements for Pre-Dodd-Frank and Transition Swaps
May 18, 2012--The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today approved a final rule on swap data recordkeeping and reporting requirements for counterparties to pre-enactment swaps, those swaps executed prior to passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, and transition swaps, those entered into between the law's enactment date and the applicable compliance date for swap data recordkeeping and reporting.
The goal of the final rule for these swaps, collectively called historical swaps, is to specify what records must be kept and what data must be reported. The rule is also designed to ensure that historical swap data is available to regulators through swap data repositories (SDRs).
Background:
The Commission’s final rule regarding swap data recordkeeping and reporting for historical swaps further implements the Dodd-Frank Act’s new statutory framework regarding swap data recordkeeping and reporting. Section 723 of the Dodd-Frank Act amends Section 2 of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA or Act) by adding new Section 2(h)(5), which directs that rules adopted by the Commission pursuant to this section shall provide for the reporting of data relating to swaps entered into before the date of enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act (pre-enactment swaps) and data relating to swaps entered into on or after the date of enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act and prior to the compliance date specified in the Commission’s final swap data reporting rules (transition swaps). The Commission’s final rule establishes recordkeeping and reporting requirements for these swaps, collectively known as historical swaps.
view the Federal Register: Swap Data Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements: Pre-Enactment and Transition Swaps
Source: CFTC.gov
CFTC.gov Commitments of Traders Reports Update
May 18, 2012--The current reports for the week of May 15, 2012 are now available.
view updates
Source: CFTC.gov
iShares files with the SEC
May 18, 2012-iShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the iShares Latin America Bond Fund.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov