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Fitch: U.S. Treasuries Expected to Remain Global Benchmark
July 27, 2011--In the event of a U.S. sovereign downgrade by a major rating agency, U.S. Treasuries and broader financial markets could experience near-term volatility, according to Fitch Ratings. However, Fitch expects that, over the near to medium term, in a moderate downgrade scenario (e.g., to 'AA'), U.S. Treasuries would likely retain their standing as the benchmark security of the global fixed income market.
The possibility of a downgrade of the current 'AAA' U.S. sovereign debt rating has triggered numerous warnings about the consequences of such a move for global financial markets and the U.S. economy. Common speculation is that a downgrade could cause a significant sell-off of U.S. Treasuries, funding market dislocations, and longer-term structural increases in U.S. borrowing costs.
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Source: Fitch Ratings
Financial Stability Oversight Council Releases First Annual Report
July 26, 2011--Today the Financial Stability Oversight Council released its 2011 Annual Report. This is the Council’s first annual report and the first public report ever issued by the U.S. government that provides a comprehensive view of financial market developments, potential threats to financial stability and recommendations for further strengthening the financial system.
This report provides a snapshot of the financial system and potential vulnerabilities. It is also part of an ongoing process by the Council to identify and mitigate potential threats to financial stability. This is an inherently difficult exercise. No financial crisis emerges in exactly the same way as its predecessors, and the most significant future threats will often be the ones that are hardest to diagnose and preempt.
Although we cannot predict the precise threats that may face the financial system, the best way to prepare for the inevitable uncertainty is to continue to build the shock absorbers and other safeguards that improve the resilience of the financial system.
view the Financial Stability Oversight Council Annual Report 2011
Source: US Department of the Treasury
ISE Completes Optimise Rollout
Lower Latency and Enhanced Functionality Position ISE for Future Growth
July 26, 2011-The International Securities Exchange (ISE) announced today that it has completed the rollout of its new trading system based on Deutsche Börse Group’s OptimiseTM trading architecture. In the last week, the final two tranches of options products migrated from ISE’s predecessor platform to Optimise.
This final step concludes ISE’s three-month migration to the new system, and all products on the exchange are now being traded on Optimise.
“The completion of a successful rollout of Optimise marks a major milestone for not only the ISE and Deutsche Börse teams working on this project but also for our member firms who have undertaken their own projects to connect, test, and transition to the new system,” said Gary Katz, President and Chief Executive Officer of ISE. “I would like to express my gratitude and congratulations to all of those who have been involved – our staff, member firms, and vendors – in ensuring this important transition concluded on schedule.”
“The trans-Atlantic project team is very excited to have completed this final, critical phase of the Optimise rollout at ISE,” said Daniel Friel, ISE’s Chief Information Officer. “Now that the initial rollout is complete, we are already looking ahead to the introduction of further latency improvements and new functionality later this year.”
After an initial launch of ten options on April 11, 2011, ISE carried out a phased migration from its predecessor platform to Optimise. With Optimise now fully in place, running out of two new, state-of-the-art data centers, ISE will decommission its predecessor system and data centers.
To learn more about Optimise, visit www.ise.com/optimise.
Source: International Securities Exchange (ISE)
SEC Re-Proposes New Shelf Eligibility Requirements for Asset-Backed Securities
July 26, 2011--The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted unanimously to re-propose for public comment some rules requiring greater accountability and enhanced quality around asset-backed securities (ABS) when issuers seek to use an expedited registration process known as shelf registration.
The SEC initially proposed rules in April 2010 to significantly revise the regulatory regime for ABS. Subsequent to that proposal, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law and addressed some of the same ABS concerns. In light of those Dodd-Frank Act provisions and comments received from the public, the SEC re-evaluated its initial proposals.
“It is very important that we move forward with our new registration and reporting rules for the asset-backed securities market, but we also want to make sure we get it right,” said SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro. “This re-proposal will help us solicit the input and constructive comments we need to finalize this critically important project to protect investors in asset-backed securities.”
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Source: SEC.gov
SEC Adopts New Short Form Criteria to Replace Credit Ratings
July 26, 2011--The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted unanimously to adopt new rules in light of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to remove credit ratings as eligibility criteria for companies seeking to use “short form” registration when registering securities for public sale.
Forms S-3 and F-3 are the “short forms” used by eligible issuers to register securities offerings under the Securities Act. Companies that qualify for these short forms can offer securities “off the shelf” or on an expedited basis.
Companies currently qualify to use these forms if they are registering an offering of non-convertible securities, such as debt securities, that have received an investment grade rating by at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO).
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Source: SEC.gov
SEC Adopts Large Trader Reporting Regime
July 26, 2011--The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted unanimously to adopt a new rule establishing large trader reporting requirements to enhance the agency’s ability to identify large market participants, collect information on their trading, and analyze their trading activity.
The new rule requires large traders to identify themselves to the SEC, which will then assign each trader a unique identification number. Large traders will provide this number to their broker-dealers, who will be required to maintain transaction records for each large trader and report that information to the SEC upon request.
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Source: SEC.gov
Rydex files with the SEC
July 26, 2011--Rydex has filed an amendment no.1 to Form S-1 with the SEC for the CurrencyShares® Chinese Renminbi Trust.
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Source: SEC.gov
WisomTree files with the SEC
July 26, 2011--WisdomTree has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the WisdomTree Asia Small Cap Fund.
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Source: SEC.gov
WisdomTree files with the SEC
July 26, 2011--WisdomTree has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the WisdomTree Germany Hedged Equity Fund.
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Source: SEC.gov
iShares files with the SEC
July 26, 2011--iShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registraion statement with the SEC for the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap Index Fund (EEMS).
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
