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SEC ponders whether ETFs added to market volatility
September 7, 2011--U.S. securities regulators are looking into whether turbocharged exchange-traded funds amplified August's topsy-turvy swings in the stock market.
Securities and Exchange Commission officials have had discussions with firms that trade ETFs, asking questions about whether they added to the market's volatility, according to people familiar with the talks.
ETFs, which typically track market indexes, trade on exchanges like stocks. Exchange-traded funds have surged in popularity and now generate 35% to 40% of exchange trading volume, according to Morningstar Inc. Such funds sometimes are used by high-frequency traders, who buy and sell stocks and other assets at a rapid clip, making
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Source: Wall Street Journal
CFTC Grants CME Clearing Europe Limited Registration as a Derivatives Clearing Organization
September 6, 2011-- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today issued an Order granting CME Clearing Europe Limited registration as a derivatives clearing organization (DCO) pursuant to Section 5b of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).
CME Clearing Europe is a private limited company organized under the laws of England and Wales. Under the terms of the Order, CME Clearing Europe Limited is authorized to clear swaps (as defined in the CEA) on energy, agricultural (to the extent permitted by the CEA and Commission regulations), freight and metals products executed either bilaterally or on or through a swap execution facility. CME Clearing Europe Limited may also clear forward contracts on energy, agricultural, freight and metals products.
Source: CFTC.gov
BlackRock’s Mark Wiedman to Head IShares as Mike Latham Becomes Chairman
September 6, 2011--BlackRock Inc. (BLK) named Mark Wiedman global head of iShares, the biggest provider of exchange-traded funds, replacing Mike Latham, who will become chairman of the unit.
Wiedman, a managing director in charge of corporate strategy at New York-based BlackRock, will report to Robert Fairbairn, head of the firm’s global client group, the executives wrote today in separate memos to employees, copies of which were obtained by Bloomberg News. Latham, in his new role, will provide full-time “strategic counseling” and focus on advancing a three-year strategic review of iShares.
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Source: Bloomberg
Morgan Stanley -ETF Weekly Update
September 6, 2011--US ETF Weekly Update
Weekly Flows: $433 Million Net Inflows
ETF Assets Stand at $1.0 Trillion, up 2.5% YTD
No ETF Launches
BlackRock Makes Noteworthy SEC Filings
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Flows by Market Segment
For the third week in a row, ETFs posted net inflows ($9.7 bln over the past 3 weeks)
ETFs posted net inflows of $433 mln last week, primarily driven by Fixed Income & US Large-Cap Equity ETFs
ETF assets stand at $1.0 tln, up 2.5% YTD; Both Fixed Income & Commodity market share have increased 2%
YTD largely at the expense of Emerging Market Equity
13-week flows were mixed among asset classes; combined $18.9 bln net inflows
Fixed Income ETFs up $8.6 bln; US Sector & Industry ETFs down $4.8 bln
We estimate ETFs have generated net inflows 21 out of 35 weeks in 2011
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Largest Flows by Individual ETF
For the second consecutive week SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) posted the largest net inflows
SPY generated net inflows of $1.1 bln last week and has exhibited net inflows of $946 mln YTD
Conversely, iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (IWM) had net outflows last week of $2.2 bln amid volatile
equity markets; IWM has exhibited net outflows of $4.3 bln YTD
US-Listed ETFs: Change in Short Interest
Data Unchanged: Based on data as of 8/15/11
SPY exhibited the largest increase in USD short interest since last updated
$23.5 billion in additional short interest
Highest level of shares short for SPY of all time
XLU exhibited the largest decline in USD short interest since last updated
$237 million in reduced short interest
XLU’s decline in shares short comes amid its relative market outperformance vs. the S&P 500 over 7/29-
8/15 time period
request report
Source: Morgan Stanley
NSX Releases August 2011 ETF Data Reports
September 6, 2011--Highlights from the August 2011 reports include:
Assets in U.S. listed Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF) and Exchange-Traded Notes (ETN) totaled approximately $1.064 trillion at August 2011 month-end, an increase of approximately 31% in comparison to August 2010 month-end when assets totaled over $815 billion.
ETFs/ETNs posted net cash inflows of approximately $2.03 billion for the month of August.
Year-to-date 2011 net cash inflows reached $73.2 billion, an increase of approximately 54% over the same time period in 2010 when net cash inflows reached $47.6 billion.
ETF/ETN notional trading volume during August 2011 totaled approximately $2.99 trillion, representing almost 37% of all U.S. equity trading volume.
At the end of August 2011, the number of listed products totaled 1301 compared to 1046 listed products at the same time last year.
visit http://www.nsx.com/content/etf-assets-list to view report
Source: National Stock Exchange, Inc. (NSX)
ELX Announces August Results With Multiple Records Set In The 30-Year U.S. Treasury Bond Futures And Eurodollar Futures
September 6, 2011--ELX Futures, L.P. (ELX), a leading electronic futures exchange, announced today that it established multiple new records in its 30-Year U.S. Treasury bond futures contracts as well as its Eurodollar futures contracts for the month of August.
The 30-Year bond set volume records, trading more than 545K contracts in August with average daily volume (ADV) establishing a record of nearly 24K contracts. It also set a new single day volume record of nearly 53K contracts traded on August 5, 2011 and a new daily market share record, rising above 8% on August 16, 2011.
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Source: ELX
SEC To Seek Comment On Review Of Existing Regulations
September 3, 2011--The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it will seek public comment on a plan to conduct retrospective reviews of its existing regulations.
Because today's financial markets are dynamic and fast-moving, the regulations affecting the markets and its participants must be reviewed over time and revised as necessary so that the regulations continue to fulfill the SEC's mission. The SEC has long had formal and informal processes in place to review its existing rules, and a considerable portion of its rulemaking already involves changes to existing rules. Most recently, in March, the Commission began a retrospective review of offering and reporting requirements, and posted a regulatory review webpage seeking public input.
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Source: SEC.gov
Standard & Poor's Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Canadian Indices
September 6, 2011--Standard & Poor's Canadian Index Operations announces the following index changes:
The shareholders of ECU Silver Mining Inc. (TSX:ECU) have accepted the cash and share merger offer from Golden Minerals Company (TSX:AUM).
ECU Silver Mining will be removed from the S&P/TSX Global Mining Index after the close of Wednesday, September 7, 2011. The relative weight of Golden Minerals will increase in the S&P/TSX Global Mining Index at the same time to reflect the issuance of shares as part of the merger transaction.
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 Board on Tuesday released the minutes of its discount rate meetings
September 6, 2011--The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday released the minutes of its discount rate meetings
from July 11 through August 8, 2011.
view minutes
Source: FBR
US Treasury yields approach 60-year low
September 6, 2011--The yield on benchmark US Treasury 10-year notes approached the lowest level for six decades as bond traders grew increasingly confident that slumping equities and the eurozone debt crisis would compel the Federal Reserve to enact a new programme of bond purchases later this month.
The yield on 10-year notes touched 1.91 per cent on Tuesday, just above the low of 1.9 per cent set in 1950 according to Barclays’ Equity Gilt study.
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Source: FT.com
