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BATS Exchange Announces Innovative Primary Listings Pricing, Including Free Listings
No Annual Listing Fee For Companies With ADV Exceeding 2M Shares Per Day; Competitive Liquidity Provider Program Launches Today
February 9, 2012-BATS Global Markets, a global operator of stock and options markets, today unveiled a unique flat pricing model for its primary listings business, including free listings for companies whose stock or exchange traded product (ETP) trades more than 2 million shares per day.
BATS also announced it will launch its Competitive Liquidity Provider (CLP) program today. The CLP program, which was designed for BATS’ new U.S. primary listings business and was recently approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is a rewards-based program designed to incent market makers to make tighter quoted spreads with increased liquidity for each listing on BATS. The CLP program particularly benefits small and mid-cap companies who are often challenged by a lack of liquidity in their stock, which can make attracting larger investors difficult.
“As we strive to make markets better for issuers today, we’re focused on driving competition and innovation in the U.S. primary markets through new ‘out of the box’ programs and pricing,” said Joe Ratterman, Chairman and CEO of BATS Global Markets. “Our aggressive pricing and innovative market maker program will appeal to small and mid-cap companies looking to grow, while larger companies will be attracted to our no-fee listing model. All issuers, regardless of size, will benefit from BATS’ world-class customer support and technology.”
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Source: BATS
Cisco Systems, Comcast, FedEx Added to Dow Jones U.S. Contrarian Opportunities Index
Index Gauges Performance of Stocks Lagging Broader Market,
But Outrank Peers on Fundamentals, Other Qualitative Criteria
Kohl's, Zimmer Holdings Also Placed in Index
Following Regular Semi-Annual Review By Dow Jones Indexes
February 9, 2012--Cisco Systems Inc., Comcast Corp. (Class A shares) and FedEx Corp. were added to the Dow Jones U.S. Contrarian Opportunities Index, Dow Jones Indexes announced today.
The Dow Jones U.S. Contrarian Opportunities Index is designed to systematically measure the performance of stocks that lag behind the broader market in terms of recent performance, but outrank their peers based on fundamentals and other qualitative criteria.
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Source: Dow Jones Indexes
WisdomTree Dividend ex-Financials Fund (DTN) Surpasses $1 Billion In Assets
Differentiated Dividend Strategy Gaining Traction amid Bank Volatility
February 9, 2012-WisdomTree, an exchange-traded fund ("ETF") sponsor and asset manager, today announced the WisdomTree Dividend ex-Financials Fund (DTN) recently surpassed $1 billion in assets and is presently the Company's second largest ETF. DTN is designed to track an Index that selects the 10 highest dividend yielding stocks from each U.S. sector from a universe of large-cap securities, excluding financial companies.
Jeremy Schwartz, WisdomTree Director of Research, commented, “Investors are increasingly looking to dividend paying equities as a potential source of income in a prolonged low interest rate environment. Yet some investors continue to have concerns about the financial sector’s health. For those investors, DTN provides exposure to a simple concept: a diversified basket of dividend-paying large cap stocks across all major market sectors with the exception of financials.”
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Source: Wisdom Tree
WisdomTree files with the SEC
Febraury 9, 2012--WisdomTree has filed a post-effective amendment, registraion statement with the SEC for the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Corporate Bond Fund.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Citi Appointed by ProShares Trust to Provide Regulatory Administration Services for its Exchange Traded Funds
Premier Alternative ETF Complex Recognizes Citi's Specialized Expertise
February 8, 2012--Citi today announced that it has been appointed by ProShares Trust, an industry leader in alternative exchange traded products, to provide Regulatory Administration services for its exchange traded funds. ProShares Trust is advised by ProShare Advisors LLC.
"Citi has been providing fund accounting, fund administration, transfer agency and regulatory administration services for our mutual funds, and we've been pleased by the quality of their services and expertise," said Michael Sapir, Chairman of ProShares Trust and ProFunds. "This new agreement consolidates all of our mutual fund and ETF regulatory administration support services with a single provider, and brings Citi's industry-leading regulatory and compliance expertise to our growing ETF business."
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Source: ProShares
ISE Named “Best Exchange Client Service” at Wall Street Letter 2012 Institutional Trading Awards
February 8, 2012--The International Securities Exchange (ISE) announced today that it received the “Best Exchange Client Service” award at the Wall Street Letter 2012 Institutional Trading Awards. Winners were determined by a panel of independent judges and based on the level of innovation and client satisfaction demonstrated by the nominees.
“ISE is very honored to receive the award for Best Exchange Client Service from Wall Street Letter,” said Jeanine Hightower, Business Development Officer. “The customer-facing teams within ISE work every day to meet the needs of our member firms, and we are grateful that our efforts were acknowledged by the judges of this award.”
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Source: International Securities Exchange (ISE)
NYSE Euronext Signs First Contract to Manage Three China Securities Indices
First foreign company to oversee the calculation and administration of CSI indices
February 8, 2012--NYSE Euronext (NYX) today announced that it has agreed with China Securities Index Co., (CSI) to manage the calculation of three of CSI’s indices: Overseas China Internet Index, Overseas China Consumer Discretionary Index and Overseas China Consumer Staples Index.
Leveraging NYSE Euronext’s operational and listed products expertise, this new initiative represents a significant milestone for the global index services of NYSE Euronext to further expand its index offerings in the Asian region meeting the growing demand to track the performance in Chinese companies.
CSI, the first Chinese index customer, will use the global index services of NYSE Euronext for the maintenance, calculation and distribution of its index values and data for the Overseas China Internet Index, Overseas China Consumer Discretionary Index and Overseas China Consumer Staples Index. Through these three indices market participants can track a portfolio of stocks covering varying sectors of the Chinese economy using the real-time calculation and dissemination services provided by NYSE Euronext. Furthermore, Exchange Traded Products that track these indices are anticipated to list and trade on NYSE Arca, NYSE Euronext’s all-electronic US trading platform.
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Source: NYSE Euronext
SIFMA/ISDA petition to delay CFTC position limits
February 8, 2012--On February 7, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets (“SIFMA”) and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (“ISDA”) asked a federal court to block CFTC position limits. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Commission curbed the number of contracts a trader can have, in an attempt to prevent excessive speculation in oil, gold and other commodity markets.
The Wall Street groups claim that the caps would impose a burden on their industry, damage traders’ capacities to hedge against risks, and cause “irreparable harm” to consumers and markets.
SIFMA and ISDA represent J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and hundreds of other securities firms, banks, and asset managers. In December, they filed two federal lawsuits against the CFTC. They also asked the US Appeals Court to delay the position limits. The appeals court dismissed the case in January on the grounds that a challenge to legislation must be heard by lower courts before it can be argued before the appeals court.
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Source: CFTCLaw
NASDAQ OMX and IKON GLOBAL MARKETS Launch Spot Gold Futures
Exchange Simulates OTC Gold Market With Protections Compliant With Dodd Frank
Febraury 8, 2012--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ), the world's largest exchange group, in partnership with IKON GLOBAL MARKETS, Inc. (IKON), a futures commission merchant registered with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) offering foreign exchange, futures and options, today will launch NASDAQ OMX XAU/USD Spot Gold FuturesTM (patent pending) on the NASDAQ OMX Futures Exchange, Inc. (NFX).
The contract will trade under the symbol "NAU" and seeks to simulate the over-the-counter (OTC) spot gold market trading experience.
Instead of physical delivery, the new futures contracts will be cash-settled which gives retail investors an efficient and secure way to trade gold. A daily cost of carry is imbedded in the product with an innovative pay/collect feature called "swap points." The swap point feature will be based on data calculated by IKON. This product seeks to simulate the OTC spot market for gold and give greater transparency to the cost of carry element present in OTC gold transactions.
The contracts will be sized appropriately for portfolios of all types, and can be cash-settled with as little as one 10 Troy oz. contract. Ultimately, all investors will benefit from a product with unique features that allow for flexibility and trading strategies without concerns over delivery and forward rolling dates. The exchange-listed spot gold futures follow the construct of recent Dodd Frank legislation by providing central counterparty clearing and the client protections of The Options Clearing Corporation.
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Source: NASDAQ OMX
VelocityShares Launches Suite of Eight Commodities-Related ETNs including 3x Leveraged Long and Inverse Crude Oil, Brent Crude, and Natural Gas and 2X Leveraged Long and Inverse Copper ETNs
February 8, 2012--VelocityShares LLC, creator of exchange traded products for institutional investors, announces the launch of eight commodities-related Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) on the NYSE Arca stock exchange.
The VelocityShares Crude Oil, Brent Crude, and Natural Gas ETNs represent the first suite of 3x leveraged long and 3x inverse energy-related exchange traded notes to be listed in the U.S.
The VelocityShares Copper ETNs represent the first 2x leveraged long and inverse copper exchange traded notes to be listed in the U.S.
The new ETNs are a response to demand for instruments to manage risk and express tactical views in the energy and metals markets.
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Source: VelocityShares
