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Schwab U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF
July 8, 2011--Schwab has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the Schwab U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Standard & Poor's Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Canadian Indices
July 8, 2011--Standard & Poor's Canadian Index Operations announces the following index changes:
On May 5, 2011, the unitholders of Canexus Income Fund approved the conversion of the company to a corporate structure. Effective after the close on Tuesday, July 12, 2011, the company will trade under the new name Canexus Corporation and the new ticker symbol "CUS".
At the same time, Canexus Income Fund will be removed from the S&P/TSX Income Trust Index and added to the S&P/TSX Equity, Capped Equity and Equity Completion 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
CFTC.gov Commitments of Traders Reports Update
July 8, 2011--The current reports for the week of July 5, 2011 are now available
view updates
Source: CFTC.gov
Standard & Poor's Announces Review Of S&P/TSX Preferred Share Index
July 8, 2011--Standard & Poor's Canadian Index Operations announces the following index changes as a result of the quarterly S&P/TSX Preferred Share Index Review. These changes will be effective at the open on Monday, July 18, 2011:
| ADDITIONS | ||
| Symbol | Issue Name | CUSIP |
| BCE.PR.B | BCE Inc. 1st Preferred Series 'AB' | 05534B 69 5 |
| SJR.PR.A | Shaw Communications Inc. Class 2 Preferred Series 'A' | 82028K 87 9 |
| DELETIONS | |||
| Symbol | Issue Name | CUSIP | |
| BCE.PR.Y | BCE Inc. 1st Preferred Series 'Y' | 05534B 85 1 | |
| BPO.PR.I | Brookfield Office Properties Inc. Class AAA Pref. Series 'I' | 112900 88 1 | |
| DC.PR.B | Dundee Corporation 5-Year Reset Series 2 Preferred | 264901 70 3 | |
| EMA.PR.A | Emera Inc. Preferred Series 'A' | 290876 30 9 | |
| GWO.PR.F | Great-West Lifeco Inc. Preferred Series 'F' | 39138C 80 9 | |
| IAG.PR.F | Industrial Alliance Ins. & Fin. Services Inc. 5.90% Pref. 'F' | 455871 50 9 | |
| L.PR.A | Loblaw Companies Limited 2nd Preferred Series 'A' | 539481 60 6 | |
| TCL.PR.D | Transcontinental Inc. 1st Preferred Series 'D' | 893578 30 2 | |
| WN.PR.D | Weston Ltd. George 5.20% Preferred Series 'IV' | 961148 85 5 | |
Company additions to and deletions from an S&P index do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the company
Source: Standard & Poor's
U.S. International Reserve Position
July 8, 2011--On July 1, 2011 the Treasury Department released U.S. reserve assets data for the latest week. As indicated in this table, U.S. reserve assets totaled $143,920 million as of the end of that week, compared to $142,691 million as of the end of the prior week.
I. Official reserve assets and other foreign currency assets (approximate market value, in US millions)
|
| |||
|
July 1, 2011 | |||
A. Official reserve assets (in US millions unless otherwise specified) 1 |
|
|
143,920 | |
(1) Foreign currency reserves (in convertible foreign currencies) |
Euro |
Yen |
Total | |
(a) Securities |
10,154 |
15,417 |
25,572 | |
of which: issuer headquartered in reporting country but located abroad |
|
|
0 | |
(b) total currency and deposits with: |
|
|
| |
(i) other national central banks, BIS and IMF |
15,387 |
7,578 |
22,965 | |
ii) banks headquartered in the reporting country |
|
|
0 | |
of which: located abroad |
|
|
0 | |
(iii) banks headquartered outside the reporting country |
|
|
0 | |
of which: located in the reporting country |
|
|
0 | |
|
| |||
(2) IMF reserve position 2 |
21,725 | |||
|
| |||
(3) SDRs 2 |
57,233 | |||
|
| |||
(4) gold (including gold deposits and, if appropriate, gold swapped) 3 |
11,041 | |||
--volume in millions of fine troy ounces |
261.499 | |||
|
| |||
(5) other reserve assets (specify) |
5,384 | |||
--financial derivatives |
| |||
--loans to nonbank nonresidents |
| |||
--other (foreign currency assets invested through reverse repurchase agreements) |
5,384 | |||
B. Other foreign currency assets (specify) |
| |||
--securities not included in official reserve assets |
| |||
--deposits not included in official reserve assets |
| |||
--loans not included in official reserve assets |
| |||
--financial derivatives not included in official reserve assets |
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--gold not included in official reserve assets |
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--other |
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| |
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Source: US Department of the Treasury
Dissent of Commissioner Scott D. O’Malia to the Fiscal Year 2011 Commission Spending Plan
Commissioner O’Malia
June 15, 2011-I respectfully dissent from signing the fiscal year 2011 Commission Spending Plan allocating funding per the direction provided in Public Law 112-10, The Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011.
The Commission's spending plan continues to concentrate resources on an ever-expanding staff hiring plan that is both fiscally unsustainable and detrimental to the Commission's already ailing technology programs. This spending plan proposes to hire 50 additional federal employees—12 of which will implement internal reorganization in support of new Dodd-Frank authorities—and an undisclosed number of contractors.1· Instead of complying with the explicit Congressional directive establishing a $37.2 million floor for technology spending, the proposal caps spending at this minimum level while completely ignoring clear statutory direction to prioritize such funding for higher priority information technology activities. I am mindful of the challenge of adjusting the budget priorities within the resources provided. However, in the face of the broad new statutory authority to oversee and monitor both the futures and derivatives markets, the Commission cannot afford delays in the development and deployment of automated surveillance tools, or in real-time trade monitoring, integration of trade data provided from the swap data repositories and the development of new risk analytics.
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Source: CFTC.gov
$150 Oil. It could be worse.
July 7, 2011--A lengthy Barron's article by Gene Epstein over the weekend calls for $150/barrel oil in the next 12 months. As one of the 8 most important prices in the world, the tab for oil can have a profound impact on business performance, economic growth, and the risk and return of investment portfolios.
. So what happens if the Barron's prediction is correct? Should you make changes in your portfolio based on the possibility?
How bad is it?
An oil shock of $150, or even $170, coming in next year, translates to $4.50/gallon gas, according to Epstein.
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Source: Osbon Capital Management
Cloud ETF Causes Stir With Netflix Pick
July 7, 2011--The launch of the First Trust ISE Cloud Computing Index Fund(SKYY) is the latest micro-niche fund to hit the market. Some will scoff at the find, some will trade it actively and some will find genuine investment merit.
The fund is U.S.-based, will have 40 holdings, most of which are technology related; will rebalance quarterly; and will charge a 0.60% expense ratio. At the industry level the fund is dominated by software 32%, Internet services 22% and communications equipment 16%. One other industry in there that might be a surprise is Internet and catalog retail at 7.75%, with the largest name from that segment being Netflix(NFLX_).
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Source: The Street
“It’s Time to Pull Back the Curtain and Make the Final Rulemaking Process as Transparent as Possible”
Opening Statement by Commissioner Scott D. O’Malia: Public Hearing: Anti-Manipulation, Large Trader Reporting, Agricultural Commodities, FCRA, and GLB
July 7, 2011--Good morning. Today, we are voting on the first major tranche of regulations to be finalized under the Dodd-Frank Act. Before we start, I would like to thank each of the five teams for their work on the regulations. Moving from proposed to final regulations has been – to say the least – an involved process, and each team has advanced with unrelenting dedication.
With the Commission’s approval, the regulations before us today will become not only the law of the land, but the Commission’s official statement as to its interpretation of the Act it is charged with administering. So, it is appropriate to consider our duties to market participants and the public generally before issuing final regulations. Our duties can be characterized in two words: (i) transparency and (ii) clarity.
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Source: CFTC.gov
RBC moves a step closer to launching its first ETFs
Initial line-up will consist of eight corporate-bond funds with fixed maturity dates.
July 7, 2011--With this week's filing of a preliminary prospectus, RBC Financial Group confirmed that it's about to enter the rapidly growing market for exchange-traded funds.
It's been common knowledge on the Street for months that RBC was actively looking to expand into ETFs, and it seemed to be only a matter of when.
Once regulatory and other approvals are received, RBC will make its debut with a suite of eight fixed-income index ETFs to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Each ETF will invest in investment-grade Canadian corporate bonds, and each will be terminated on or not long after its maturity date.
The eight upcoming offerings range from RBC Target 2013 Corporate Bond, holding bonds with two-year maturities, to RBC Target 2020 Corporate Bond, holding bonds that will mature in nine years. If held to maturity, the ETFs are designed to produce total returns (less fees, expenses and taxes) that will be comparable to direct investment in Canadian corporate bonds of similar quality and maturity.
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Source: Toronto Star
