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S&P Dow Jones Indices Announces Changes To The S&P/TSX Canadian Indices: Revision
A Share Distribution And Price Adjustment In The S&P/TSX Composite Index
December 28, 2012--S&P Canadian Index Services will make the following changes in the S&P/TSX Canadian Indices:
On December 17, 2012, shareholders of Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. (TSX:PBG) and PetroBakken Energy Ltd. (TSX:PBN) confirmed the arrangement agreement between the companies announced on October 29, 2012.
All shares of PetroBakken Energy currently held by Petrobank will effectively be spun out to shareholders, including currently unlisted Class B shares which will convert to Class A common shares on a 1-for-1 basis. As a result of the increase in the number of float shares of the company, the relative weight of PetroBakken Energy will increase in the S&P/TSX Composite and Capped Composite, the S&P/TSX Completion, the S&P/TSX Capped Energy, the S&P/TSX Composite Dividend and the S&P/TSX Equity Income Indices. There will be no weight change effective in the S&P/TSX Composite Equal Weight or the S&P/TSX Composite High Beta Indices. The close price of Petrobank will decrease by 1.1 times the close price of PetroBakken and new divisors will be generated for all indices where Petrobank is a constituent. These changes will be effective after close on Monday, December 31, 2012.
Source: S&P Canadian Index Services
.Exchange Regulation Needs Review, Credit Suisse Says
December 28, 2012--The botched initial offering of Facebook Inc. (FB) is the catalyst that should lead to U.S. exchanges being stripped of self-regulatory powers and their related benefits, a Credit Suisse Group AG (CS) executive said.
Nasdaq Stock Market’s claim of immunity from liability for $500 million in brokerage losses stemming from technology problems on May 18 exposes a conflict between the historical, quasi-governmental role of exchanges and their status as profit- seeking public companies, Dan Mathisson, head of U.S. equity trading at Credit Suisse, told U.S. senators in Washington last week. Those tensions can’t be managed fairly and should spur a regulatory overhaul of the securities market, he said.
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Source: Bloomberg
Fund Industry Challenges CFTC Registration Rule
December 27, 2012--The mutual-fund industry is renewing a challenge to a rule that requires fund firms that trade in gold, oil or other commodities to register with an additional federal regulator.
The Chamber of Commerce and the Investment Company Institute, a fund-industry group, filed an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Thursday, after a federal district court upheld the registration rule from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Dec. 12.
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Source: Wall Street Journal
Vanguard Trims Fees on Sector ETFs
December 27, 2012--On the heels of a pre-Christmas announcement that saw the firm, lower fees on a variety of bond and broader market equity ETFs, Vanguard said today it will lower fees on its 10 sector ETFs.
The news is significant because prior to today, State Street's (NYSE: STT [FREE Stock Trend Analysis]) State Street Global Advisors unit, the second-largest U.S. ETF sponsor, had the lowest fees on major U.S.-focused sector ETFs.
For example, funds such as the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLP) and the Technology Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLK) feature expense ratios of 0.18%, which had made the select sector SPDRs ETFs cheaper than their Vanguard equivalents.
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Source: Benzinga
Fund Industry Challenges CFTC Registration Rule .
December 27, 2012--December 27, 2012--The mutual-fund industry is renewing a challenge to a rule that requires fund firms that trade in gold, oil or other commodities to register with an additional federal regulator.
The Chamber of Commerce and the Investment Company Institute, a fund-industry group, filed an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Thursday, after a federal district court upheld the registration rule from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Dec. 12.
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Source: Wall Street Journal
Despite active ETFs' slow start, SSgA files to launch more
December 27, 2012--State Street Global Advisors has filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission to add three equity exchange traded funds to its suite of actively managed ETFs.
The firm is planning to launch the SPDR SSgA Risk Aware ETF, SPDR SSgA Large Cap Risk Aware ETF and SPDR Small Cap Risk Aware ETF, according to a registration statement filed last week. All three would select stocks to invest in based on “a proprietary quantitative investment process to measure and predict investor risk preferences.”
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Source: FT.com
CFTC.gov Commitments of Traders Reports Update
December 27, 2012--The current reports for the week of December 24, 2012 are now available.
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Source: CFTC.gov
.U.S. Exchange-Traded Products Hit Record Deposits in 2012
December 27, 2012--Exchange-traded products in the U.S. gathered record deposits this year as investor demand for low-cost stock-and-bond funds drove expansion in the fastest-growing segment of the asset-management industry.
Investors deposited $183.3 billion into ETPs in 2012 through Dec. 24, surpassing the $175.6 billion peak in 2008 and pushing assets to $1.34 trillion, according to research firm IndexUniverse LLC. Bond ETPs took in $55.7 billion, more than double the amount such funds attracted in 2008. Stock ETPs that invest primarily in the U.S. attracted $67.2 billion, and international equities gathered $48.5 billion.
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Source: Bloomberg
iShares files with the SEC
December 26, 2012--iShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the
iShares MSCI Belgium Capped Investable Market Index Fund.
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Source: SEC.gov
SEC Issues Investor Bulletin to Help Investors Assess Municipal Bond Credit Risk
December 26, 2012--The Securities and Exchange Commission today issued an Investor Bulletin to help purchasers of municipal bonds better assess the bonds' credit risks.
The bulletin provides several factors for investors to consider including the type of the bond, the purpose and nature of the financing, the overall financial condition of the issuer, and the sources of funds to pay both principal and interest.
The bulletin also urges investors to undertake their own independent review of municipal bonds’ credit risk and not rely solely on a credit rating or a short-hand label such as “general obligation” or “revenue” bond when deciding whether to purchase a municipal bond.
view the Municipal Bonds: Understanding Credit Risk
Source: SEC.gov
