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SEC Announces Agenda and Panelists for Inaugural Roundtable of Financial Reporting Series
November 3, 2011--The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the agenda and panelists for next week’s inaugural public roundtable of the Financial Reporting Series.
The November 8 roundtable entitled “Measurement Uncertainty in Financial Reporting” – announced last month – will feature three panels discussing the extent to which financial reporting should include measurement uncertainties, and the information that investors find important to understanding and assessing those uncertainties. The SEC staff has previously prepared a briefing paper highlighting the issues to be considered at the roundtable discussion.
The roundtable will begin at 10 a.m. in the multi-purpose room at the SEC’s Washington D.C. headquarters with public seating on a first-come, first-served basis. The event also will be viewable by live webcast on the SEC website, and will be archived for later viewing
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Source: SEC.gov
Direxion files with the SEC
November 2, 2011-Direxion has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the Market Vectors Renminbi Bond ETF.
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Source: SEC.gov
FRB And Federal Open Market FOCOM Release Economic Projections From The November 1-2 FOMC Meeting
November 2, 2011--The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday released the attached table and charts summarizing the economic projections made by Federal Reserve Board members and Federal Reserve Bank presidents for the November 1-2 meeting of the Committee.
The table will be incorporated into a summary of economic projections released with the minutes of the November 1-2 meeting. Summaries of the economic projections are released on an approximately quarterly schedule.
Standard & Poor's Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX SmallCap Index
November 2, 2011--Standard & Poor's will make the following changes in the S&P/TSX Canadian Indices:
Shareholders of Open Range Energy Corp. (TSX:ONR) approved on November 1, 2011, the Plan of Arrangement whereby the company will spin out its modular fracturing fluid tank rental business to shareholders.
For every share of Open Range held, shareholders will receive 0.8839 shares of a new company named Poseidon Concepts Corp. Poseidon Concepts will trade on TSX for the first time (the ex-date of the spin-off) on November 4, 2011, under the ticker symbol "PSN" and CUSIP number 73731R 10 3. The spun out shares of Poseidon Concepts will be added at zero price to the S&P/TSX SmallCap and Equity SmallCap Indices after the close of trading on Thursday, November 3, 2011. Effective after the close of Friday, November 4, 2011, the shares of Poseidon Concepts will be removed from the same two indices.
Company additions to and deletions from an S&P equity index do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the company.
Source: Standard & Poor's
Federal Reserve Issues Federal Open Market Committee Statement
November 2, 2011--Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in September indicates that economic growth strengthened somewhat in the third quarter, reflecting in part a reversal of the temporary factors that had weighed on growth earlier in the year. Nonetheless, recent indicators point to continuing weakness in overall labor market conditions, and the unemployment rate remains elevated. Household spending has increased at a somewhat faster pace in recent months. Business investment in equipment and software has continued to expand, but investment in nonresidential structures is still weak, and the housing sector remains depressed.
Inflation appears to have moderated since earlier in the year as prices of energy and some commodities have declined from their peaks. Longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable.
Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability. The Committee continues to expect a moderate pace of economic growth over coming quarters and consequently anticipates that the unemployment rate will decline only gradually toward levels that the Committee judges to be consistent with its dual mandate. Moreover, there are significant downside risks to the economic outlook, including strains in global financial markets. The Committee also anticipates that inflation will settle, over coming quarters, at levels at or below those consistent with the Committee's dual mandate as the effects of past energy and other commodity price increases dissipate further. However, the Committee will continue to pay close attention to the evolution of inflation and inflation expectations.
To support a stronger economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with the dual mandate, the Committee decided today to continue its program to extend the average maturity of its holdings of securities as announced in September. The Committee is maintaining its existing policies of reinvesting principal payments from its holdings of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in agency mortgage-backed securities and of rolling over maturing Treasury securities at auction. The Committee will regularly review the size and composition of its securities holdings and is prepared to adjust those holdings as appropriate.
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Source: FRB
Fed slashes growth forecasts
November 2, 2011--The US Federal Reserve slashed its growth forecasts and forecast low inflation for years to come on Wednesday but made no short-term changes to monetary policy.
Markets rallied as investors anticipated that the dismal outlook for growth and the prospects for inflation will eventually prompt the Fed to ease monetary policy further. The were also encouraged by chairman Ben Bernanke’s statement that more asset purchases are a “viable option”.
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Source: FT.com
Bet on volatility goes awry after Vix jump
November 2, 2011--Investors who bet that US equity volatility was set to keep falling in the wake of a eurozone deal on its debt crisis have been wrongfooted as Wall Street’s Vix – its so-called “fear gauge” – has surged in recent days.
After closing last week below 25, the Vix, which is a measure of expected volatility in the S&P 500 and commonly know as a gauge of investor fear or complacency about risk, was up more than 30 per cent at 33.34 on Wednesday, and rose as high as 37.53 on Tuesday.
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Source: FT.com
Northern Lights files with the SEC
November 1, 2011--Northern Trust has filed a registration with the SEC for the ArrowShares Global Yield ETF.
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Source: SEC.gov
Report to the Secretary of the Treasury from the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association
November 1, 2011--Dear Mr. Secretary:
Since the Committee last met in August, economic activity indicators have firmed and real GDP in the third quarter expanded at a 2.5% annual rate, a noticeable acceleration from the 0.8% growth rate experienced in the first half of the year.
Real final sales reached a 3.6% growth pace in the third quarter, an even greater acceleration from its modest 0.8% growth pace in the first half. Economic activity has received support recently from a rebound in motor vehicle production and an easing in energy prices. Early indications suggest the economy continues to expand at a reasonable pace in the fourth quarter. Despite some progress recently, the ongoing debt crisis in Europe remains a downside risk to domestic economic activity. As was the case at the last meeting, the outlook for fiscal policy remains considerably uncertain, and expectations regarding budget deliberations continue to shape the outlook for next year.
The third quarter rebound in growth was driven by a pick-up in domestic final sales which accelerated to 3.2% annual growth rate, up from 1.3% the prior quarter, as both households and businesses quickened their pace of purchases. Net exports contributed 0.2%-point to growth last quarter, a surprisingly large gain, as imports expanded at only a 1.9% annual rate despite a large rebound in auto imports following earlier supply disruptions. Real inventory accumulation slowed markedly to only $5.4 billion at an annual rate last quarter subtracting 1.1%-point from real GDP growth. Industrial activity has been robust lately and the unexpected strength in third-quarter final sales and weakness in third-quarter inventory investment improves prospects for continued solid growth in the fourth quarter.
BlackRock Praises Regulators’ Coordination on Hedge Fund Secrets
November 1. 2011--U.S. regulators were responsive to industry concerns over new disclosures for private-fund firms, changing the final rule to prevent unnecessary duplication, said Barbara Novick, co-founder and vice chairman of BlackRock Inc. (BLK), the world’s biggest fund manager.
Private-equity and hedge funds will start reporting operational information to regulators next year as part of a government effort to prevent future financial crises. The reports they are required to file with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission will be substantially similar, according the text of the final rule released yesterday.
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Source: Bloomberg
