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BlackRock Seeks to Start Exchange-Traded Funds Using Proprietary Indexes
August 26, 2011--BlackRock Inc. (BLK), the world’s largest money manager, is seeking regulatory clearance for its iShares exchange-traded funds to follow proprietary indexes rather than those developed by third parties such as Standard & Poor’s.
The application, filed by iShares yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, would allow future and existing funds to use in-house indexes the firm will create. IShares, a San Francisco-based subsidiary of BlackRock, ranks as the biggest provider of index-based ETFs with some $649 billion in assets under management in more than 460 funds.
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Source: Bloomberg
CFTC.gov Commitments of Traders Reports Update
August 26, 2011--The current reports for the week of August 23, 2011 are now available.
view update
Source: CFTC.gov
CME Raises Margin Requirements for Trading Gold Futures
August 25, 2011--The CME Group on Wednesday raised maintenance margins for trading COMEX 100-ounce gold futures by 27 percent, effective after the close of business on Aug 25.
The exchange operator raised maintenance margins on gold futures for speculators to $7,000 per contract from $5,500.
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Source: CNBC
Component Changes Made To Dow Jones Australia Select Dividend 30 Index
August 25, 2011--Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, today announced that Downer EDI Ltd. (Australia, Construction & Materials, DOW.AU) will be removed from the Dow Jones Australia Select Dividend 30 Index.
Downer EDI Ltd. (Australia, Construction & Materials, DOW.AU) will be deleted from the Dow Jones Australia Select Dividend 30 Index and replaced by QBE Insurance Group Ltd. (Australia, Insurance, QBE.AU).
Downer EDI Ltd. is being removed due to the cancellation of its dividend payment. All changes will be effective before the open of trading on Tuesday, August 30, 2011.
The Dow Jones Australia Select Dividend 30 Index represents the country’s top 30 stocks by dividend yield.
Further information on the Dow Jones Australia Select Dividend 30 Index can be found at www.djindexes.com.
Source: Dow Jomes Indexes
BNP Paribas files with the SEC
August 25, 2011--BNP Paribas Has filed a pre-effective amendment NO. 2 TO
Form S-1 with the SEC for the BNP Paribas S&P Dynamic Roll Global Commodities Fund
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Opening Remarks, Conference on Commodity Markets
Chairman Gary Gensler
August 25, 2011--Good morning and welcome to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). It’s great to see economists from so many fine universities across the globe gathered here along with an impressive group of government experts. Thank you for graciously sharing your time to discuss the issues affecting commodity markets. Your insights should be helpful to our surveillance and enforcement efforts at this agency.
I want to thank Andrei Kirilenko and the Office of the Chief Economist for putting this conference together and for their contributions to this agency. Before you get started, I’m going to give you an update about where we stand today with the CFTC’s response to the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis.
2008 Crisis
Three years ago, our country’s largest financial institutions were trading swaps in the shadows and this marketplace contributed to and helped accelerate the financial system’s downward spiral. Though the crisis had many causes, it is clear that the swaps market played a central role. Swaps added leverage to the financial system – more risk was backed by less capital. There was a belief that certain financial institutions were not only too big to fail but too interconnected to fail. But when AIG, Lehman and others collapsed, it was the taxpayers who had to pick up the bill to prevent the economy from diving further into a depression. And it wasn’t just the financial system that failed. The regulatory system that was put in place to protect the public failed too.
The Dodd-Frank Act
Congress and the President came together and responded to this crisis by passing a historic law, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The law includes many important provisions, but two overarching goals of reform include: bringing transparency to the swaps market and lowering the risks of this market to the overall economy. Both of these reforms protect taxpayers from again bearing the brunt of a crisis and lower costs for businesses and their customers.
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Source: CFTC.gov
Rydex files with the SEXC
August 25, 2011--Rydex has filed a Amedment No. 2 to Form FORM S-1 registration statenment with the SEC for the CurrencyShares® Chinese Renminbi Trust.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
BlackRock files with the SEC
August 25, 2011--BlackRock has filed an appliction for exemptive relief with the SEC.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
CFTC might vote on position limits next month, Gensler says
August 25, 2011--The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission may vote as early as Sept. 22 to complete Dodd-Frank Act limits on speculative trading in commodities such as oil, natural gas and wheat, CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler said.
The so-called position-limits rule and regulations governing derivatives clearinghouses may be voted on by commissioners next month, Gensler told reporters today during a CFTC economic research conference in Washington. The agency has a rulemaking meeting scheduled for Sept. 22.
“I don’t know if it will be that meeting or early October,” Gensler said. “I feel very good about the progress staff has made.”
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Source: Bloomberg
BNY Mellon Repeats as Safest Bank in the U.S. in Global Finance Magazine Survey
BNY Mellon Repeats as Safest Bank in the U.S. in Global Finance Magazine Survey
August 25, 2011--BNY Mellon, the global leader in investment management and investment services, ranks as the safest U.S.-based bank for the third consecutive year in Global Finance magazine's annual "World's 50 Safest Banks" ranking.
The "World's 50 Safest Banks" 2011 rankings were based on an evaluation of long-term credit ratings — from Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch — and total assets of the 500 largest banks worldwide. Now in its 20th year, Global Finance's annual ranking of "World's 50 Safest Banks" is a recognized and trusted standard of creditworthiness for the global financial community. In the 2011 rankings, BNY Mellon maintained its standing as the safest bank in the U.S., and moved up six places in the global ranking.
"The strength of our balance sheet and our capital management strategy continues to distinguish BNY Mellon in the marketplace. It also sustains our strategic focus on developing innovative new solutions that help our clients succeed," said Robert P. Kelly, chairman and chief executive officer of BNY Mellon.
"More than ever, creditworthiness is being viewed as a key attribute for banks," said Joseph D. Giarraputo, the magazine's publisher. "Investors and customers alike are increasingly drawn to banks with proven strength and stability — underscoring the importance of our survey and reflecting positively on banks with superior rankings."
BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 36 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, offering superior investment management and investment services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $26.3 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.3 trillion in assets under management, services $11.8 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.7 trillion per day. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com and through Twitter @bnymellon.
Source: BNY Mellon