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Federal Reserve Board- Beige Book
October 19, 2011--Prepared at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and based on information collected on or before October 7, 2011. This document summarizes comments received from business and other contacts outside the Federal Reserve and is not a commentary on the views of Federal Reserve officials.
Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicate that overall economic activity continued to expand in September, although many Districts described the pace of growth as "modest" or "slight" and contacts generally noted weaker or less certain outlooks for business conditions. The reports suggest that consumer spending was up slightly in most Districts, with auto sales and tourism leading the way in several of them. Business spending increased somewhat, particularly for construction and mining equipment and auto dealer inventories, but many Districts noted restraint in hiring and capital spending plans. By sector, manufacturing and transportation activity was reported to have increased on balance. A few Districts also reported slight improvements in construction and real estate activity; nonetheless, overall conditions for both residential and commercial real estate remained weak. Districts reporting on nonfinancial services cited mixed results with activity varying widely by industry. Loan demand by and large moved lower, with the exception of an increase in mortgage refinancing in many Districts. Crop conditions at harvest were generally less favorable than a year ago. In contrast, energy and mining activity continued to strengthen in several Districts, with the exception of some storm-related slowdowns in the Gulf of Mexico. Cost pressures eased in the majority of Districts, though there was some further pass-through of earlier increases to downstream prices. Wage pressures remained subdued outside of a few exceptions in which firms noted having difficulty finding appropriately skilled workers.
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Source: Federal Reserve Board
CME Group Statement Regarding Position Limits
October 19, 2011--CME Group today released the following statement regarding the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)'s rule making on position limits:
"CME Group commends the Commission and staff of the CFTC for their efforts to respond to the more than 13,000 comment letters filed on the CFTC's position limits proposal.
We also appreciate the Commission's recognition of the need to establish equivalent position limits in the important spot month for physically-settled futures and those cash-settled futures and swaps which are based on the daily and final settlement prices of the primary physically-delivered price discovery contracts. With the lone exception of natural gas, the CFTC's interim final rule will appropriately limit opportunities for inter- market manipulation and abuse in the spot month where the risk of misconduct and artificial prices is most acute.
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Source: CME Group
Dow Jones Industrial Average Component Companies Increase Expected Dividend Distribution By 11.79% From A Year Ago, 1.12% From Previous Quarter, Dow Jones Indexes’ 3Q11 Survey Says
DJIA Components’ Dividends Represent 38%
Of Total U.S. Stock Market Payouts
Dividend Data Provides Insight into Outlook of Bellwether U.S. Corporations, Dow Jones Indexes Says
October 19, 2011) – The Dow Jones Industrial Average‘s 30 component companies are expected to increase their annual dividend payout by 11.79% year-over-year and 1.12% from the previous quarter, according to a third-quarter 2011 survey by Dow Jones Indexes.
DJIA component companies’ $102.7 billion expected distribution for the 12 months beginning October 1, 2011, represents 38% of all indicated annual dividends (IAD) by American companies as measured by the Dow Jones U.S. Index, a gauge that accounts for roughly 95% of the U.S. equity market. (IAD is a forward-looking measure defined as a company’s most recently paid quarterly dividend multiplied by four.)
For the quarters ended June 30, 2011 and September 30, 2010, DJIA component companies paid $101.6 billion and $91.9 billion in IAD, respectively.
“As is the case with most information gleaned from Dow Jones Industrial Average’s component companies, this dividend data provides meaningful insight into the strategic outlook of bellwether U.S. corporations,” said David Krein, Senior Director, Product Development and Analytics, at Dow Jones Indexes.
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Source: Dow Jones Indexes
FSB publishes framework for monitoring and reporting on the implementation of G20 financial reforms
October 18, 2011--Going forward, the success of these reforms depends on their full and globally consistent implementation. This implementation process is increasingly the focus of public and financial industry attention, and FSB member jurisdictions have made a commitment to lead by example. It is important to monitor, assess and report on the implementation of agreed reforms so that FSB member jurisdictions are accountable for whether they are living up to their commitments.
The FSB is responsible for coordinating and promoting the monitoring of the implementation of agreed G20 and FSB financial reforms and for reporting on it to the G20. In order to strengthen the coordination and effectiveness of this monitoring, the FSB, in collaboration with standard-setting bodies, has established a Coordination Framework for Implementation Monitoring. The Framework addresses the questions of what to monitor; how to monitor; who should monitor; and to whom the information should be reported and disseminated.
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Source: FSB
Exchange Traded Concepts LLC files with the SEC
October 18, 2011--Exchange Traded Concepts LLC has filed an amended application for exemptive relief with the SEC.
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Source: SEC.gov
RiverPark Advisors files with the SEC
October 18, 2011--RiverPark Advisors has filed a sixth amended and restated application for exemptive relief with the SEC for actively-managed ETFs.
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Source: SEC.gov
ProShares files witrh the SEC
October 18, 2011--ProShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC.
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Source: SEC.gov
AdvisorShares files with the ETF
October 18, 2011--AdvisorShares has filed a post-effective amendment No. 36, registration statement with the SEC for the Global Echo ETF.
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Source: SEC.gov
Review into HM Treasury’s Management of the Financial Crisis
October 18, 2011--US banking giant Goldman Sachs has reported a loss of $428m (£272m), worse than analysts had been expecting.
The group, delivering its third quarter results, confirmed it had made only its second quarterly loss as a public company, following forecasts last week from analysts it would post a loss.
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Source: Investment Week
Treasury International Capital Data For August 2011
October 18, 2011--The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released Treasury International Capital (TIC) data for August 2011. The next release, which will report on data for September 2011, is scheduled for November 16, 2011.
Foreign residents increased their holdings of long-term U.S. securities in August — net purchases were $66.0 billion. Net purchases by private foreign investors were $74.7 billion, and net purchases by foreign official institutions were negative $8.7 billion.
At the same time, U.S. residents increased their holdings of long-term foreign securities, with net purchases of $8.1 billion.
Taking into account transactions in both foreign and U.S. securities, the net foreign purchases of long-term securities were $57.9 billion. After adjustments, such as estimates of unrecorded principal payments to foreigners on U.S. asset-backed securities, are included, the overall net foreign acquisition of long-term securities is estimated to have been $47.0 billion in August.
Foreign holdings of all dollar-denominated short-term U.S. securities and other custody liabilities increased $23.6 billion.
Banks’ own net dollar-denominated liabilities to foreign residents increased $19.0 billion.
view the Treasury International Capital Data For August
Source: US Department of the Treasury