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Fed raises growth expectations for 2011
Minutes of the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting reveal moderate improvement in officials' outlook for GDP growth, and continued worries about the sluggish job market.
February 16, 2011--The Federal Reserve moderately raised its projections for economic growth this year amid the recent surge in consumer spending, but central bank officials continued to lament the slow pace of improvement in the job market.
The Fed's latest economic outlook, released Wednesday with the minutes of its last policy meeting in late January, shows U.S. economic output growing 3.4% to 3.9% this year. That's slightly better than its last projections in November, when most Fed officials saw gross domestic product increasing 3% to 3.6%.
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Source: Los Angeles Times
Federal Open Market Committee-Summary of Economic Projections
February 16, 2011--In conjunction with the January 27-28, 2009 FOMC meeting, the members of the Board of Governors and the presidents of the Federal Reserve Banks, all of whom participate in deliberations of the FOMC, provided projections for economic growth, unemployment, and inflation in 2009, 2010, 2011, and over the longer run. Projections were based on information available through the conclusion of the meeting, on each participant's assumptions regarding a range of factors likely to affect economic outcomes, and on his or her assessment of appropriate monetary policy. "Appropriate monetary policy" is defined as the future policy that, based on current information, is deemed most likely to foster outcomes for economic activity and inflation that best satisfy the participant's interpretation of the Federal Reserve's dual objectives of maximum employment and price stability. Longer-run projections represent each participant's assessment of the rate to which each variable would be expected to converge over time under appropriate monetary policy and in the absence of further shocks.
FOMC participants viewed the outlook for economic activity and inflation as having weakened significantly since last October, when their last projections were made. As indicated in Table 1 and depicted in Figure 1, participants projected that real GDP would contract this year, that the unemployment rate would increase substantially, and that consumer price inflation would be significantly lower than in recent years. Given the strength of the forces currently weighing on the economy, participants generally expected that the recovery would be unusually gradual and prolonged: All participants anticipated that unemployment would remain substantially above its longer-run sustainable rate at the end of 2011, even absent further economic shocks; a few indicated that more than five to six years would be needed for the economy to converge to a longer-run path characterized by sustainable rates of output growth and unemployment and by an appropriate rate of inflation. Participants generally judged that their projections for both economic activity and inflation were subject to a degree of uncertainty exceeding historical norms. Nearly all participants viewed the risks to the growth outlook as skewed to the downside, and all participants saw the risks to the inflation outlook as either balanced or tilted to the downside.
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Source: FOMC
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, January 25-26, 2011
February 16, 2011--The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday released the attached minutes of the Committee meeting held on January 25-26, 2011. A summary of economic projections made by Federal Reserve Board members and Reserve Bank presidents for the January 25-26, 2011 meeting is also included as an addendum to these minutes.
The minutes for each regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee ordinarily are made available three weeks after the day of the policy decision and subsequently are published in the Board's Annual Report. Summaries of economic projections are released on an approximately quarterly schedule. The descriptions of economic and financial conditions contained in these minutes and in the Summary of Economic Projections are based solely on the information that was available to the Committee at the time of the meeting.
view minutes
Source: Federal Reserve Board
First Asean-focused ETF launched
February 16, 2011--A New York fund manager will today launch the world’s first exchange-traded fund focused on the Asean region, reflecting what some people see as the emergence of a new asset class in developing Asia.
Global X Funds, which runs ETFs tracking the Nordic and Andean regions, says the launch reflects increasing institutional interest in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a fast growing 10 country organisation that is rapidly moving towards greater economic integration.
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Source: FT.com
Invesco PowerShares and Select Sector SPDRs Cooperate to Differentiate Their Respective Sector ETF Lineups
February 16, 2011--Invesco PowerShares and Select Sector SPDRs announced today that a settlement has been reached under which Invesco PowerShares will voluntarily change the ticker symbols of its nine S&P SmallCap Sector ETFs. The changes are aimed at making the PowerShares S&P SmallCap Sector ETF tickers more distinguishable from the Select Sector SPDR tickers.
The PowerShares SmallCap Sector ETFs will begin trading under the new tickers in late March, 2011; all other attributes of the products will remain unchanged. The new tickers are as follows:
| Sector | Old Ticker | New Ticker | |
| Consumer Discretionary | XLYS | PSCD | |
| Consumer Staples | XLPS | PSCC | |
| Energy | XLES | PSCE | |
| Financials | XLFS | PSCF | |
| Health Care | XLVS | PSCH | |
| Industrials | XLIS | PSCI | |
| Information Technology | XLKS | PSCT | |
| Materials | XLBS | PSCM | |
| Utilities & Telecom Services | XLUS | PSCU |
"ETFs have proven to be an extremely valuable tool for sector investing, as indicated by the investor interest in the sector ETFs of both Invesco PowerShares and Select Sector SPDRs," noted Ben Fulton, Invesco PowerShares managing director of global ETFs.
"Our intent, when we selected the original tickers was not to confuse, but simply to make it easier for S&P Sector investors to identify the tickers of the new Small Cap S&P Sector ETFs. We have worked closely with the Select Sector SPDR Board and understand their perspective on the matter. We were amenable to their proposal because the PowerShares S&P Small Cap Sectors have filled a significant gap in the market and have been very well received by investors," added Fulton.
"Both parties agree that in the interests of investors, the best course of action is to work together to make the changes," noted Dan Dolan of Select Sector SPDRs.
"We appreciate Invesco PowerShares' willingness to work with Select Sector SPDRs and are eager to move ahead as we continue to provide investors powerful ways to express their investment convictions on sectors of the U.S. stock market," added Dolan.
The new tickers on the PowerShares SmallCap Sector ETFs and on their intraday NAVs will go into effect before the end of March, 2011. The tickers of the fund's underlying indexes will remain the same. The funds will maintain their listing on the NASDAQ.
Invesco PowerShares is part of Invesco Ltd., a leading independent global investment manager, dedicated to helping investors worldwide achieve their financial objectives. By delivering the combined power of our distinctive investment management capabilities, Invesco provides a wide range of investment strategies and vehicles to our retail, institutional and high net worth clients around the world. Operating in more than 20 countries, the company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol IVZ. Additional information is available at www.invesco.com.
Source: Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC
DTCC Set To Launch Service To Automate Matching Of Broker-To-Broker Ex-Clearing Trades
Service Will Also Offer Real-Time Access to Track, Manage and Resolve Fails
January 16, 2011--The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced today plans to launch Obligation Warehouse (OW) to automate the matching and confirmation of broker-to-broker trades that are currently confirmed and settled directly between the trading parties rather than through DTCC (known as ex-clearing), and to give Member firms real-time access to track, manage and resolve their failed obligations
The service, an offering of DTCC’s clearing agency subsidiary, National Securities Clearing Corporation (NSCC), is expected to be fully functional by June 2011, with implementation beginning in March 2011 following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) recent approval of NSCC’s related rule filing.
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Source: DTCC
Joint CFTC-SEC Advisory Committee Meeting
February 16, 2011--Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to host a meeting of the Joint CFTC-SEC Advisory Committee on Emerging Regulatory Issues.
When: Friday, February 18, 2011, 9:30 am (ET)
Where:CFTC Hearing Room, 1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC
Topic:Discussion of recommendations regarding events of May 6, 2010
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Source: CFTC.gov
Latin America: Some Countries Vulnerable to High Food Prices, others Likely to Benefit
February 16, 2011-- Like two sides of the same worn coin, the spiraling costs of food stuffs across the globe have raised the spectrum of a new food crisis in some of Latin America’s economies while simultaneously benefitting most others with windfall profits, said the region’s top World Bank officials.
A Bank assessment of the commodity spike states that since February 2009, international food prices have risen by more than 30 percent and agricultural raw material prices by more than 6 percent. During the same period, oil and metal prices have increased by around 100 percent.
“Virtually all the commodities that matter for the region are partaking in this strong wave of price increases. For certain countries the rise in non-food commodity prices can more than offset the increases in the prices of imported food,” says the report Vulnerability to Food Price Increases in LAC, 2011.
view report-Vulnerability to Food Price Increases in LAC, 2011
Source: World Bank
First Trust files with the SEC
February 15, 2011--First Trust has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for First Trust NASDAQ CEA Smartphone Index Fund
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
First Trust files with the SEC
February 15, 2011--First Trust has filed a post effective amendment, registration state with the SEC for First Trust NASDAQ CEA Smartphone Index Fund.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
