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Obama Administration Releases October Housing Scorecard
October 25, 2010--The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the October edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard (www.hud.gov/scorecard). The latest housing figures show continued signs of stabilization in house prices and high home affordability due in part to record low interest rates. The housing scorecard is a comprehensive report on the nation's housing market.
"Over the last 21 months, the Obama Administration's swift action in the housing market has kept millions of families in their homes and provided responsible borrowers with incentives to refinance or to become a homeowner," said HUD Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic. "But, with many unavoidable foreclosures still in the pipeline, it's clear that we have a hard road ahead. That's why we're focused on successfully implementing the programs we've put in place – such as additional assistance on refinancing and helping unemployed homeowners stay in their homes – and ensuring that help is available to homeowners as soon as possible."
"HAMP is not only an important part of the Administration's efforts to stabilize the housing market, it has also redefined the loan modification standard for the mortgage industry overall. That has led to more than 3.5 million modification arrangements directly benefitting families in communities across the country still healing from the crisis," said acting Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Tim Massad. "Early data shows that well beyond the trial phase, the majority of homeowners are maintaining their HAMP modifications, reflecting the rigorous standards the program uses to provide assistance to responsible homeowners."
view the October 2010 Scorecard
Source: US Department of the Treasury
ETF Securities Launches Precious Metals Basket
October 22, 2010--The fund, trading under the CUSIP GLTR, for glitter, on NYSE Arca, “was developed in response to demand from a diverse client base looking for a single-ticker solution that provides cost-effective precious metals exposure in a physically backed fund,” said Fred Jheon, head of product and business development at ETF Securities.
GLTR complements the existing four individual precious metals products ETF Securities offers to U.S. investors—SIVR, SGOL, PPLT and PALL—and allows our clients to either hold each product individually or customize according to their investment outlook. We believe that the introduction of this unique product will fill a need in the marketplace and position ETF Securities for further growth in the U.S,” Jheon added.
The new fund charges an annual fee of 60 basis points. ETF Securities manages $22 billion in assets under management.
Source: Financial Planning
J.P. Morgan files with the SEC
October 22, 2010--J.P. Morgan has filed a Form S-1 Registration statement with the SEC for
J.P. Morgan Physical Copper Trust. J.P. Morgan Commodity ETF Services LLC is the sponsor of the Trust.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Van Eck files with the SEC
October 22, 2010--Van Eck has filed a post effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for
Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF (NYSE Arca, Inc.: REMX.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
SEC, FINRA Announce 2011 National Seminar for Broker-Dealer CCOs
October 22, 2010--The Securities and Exchange Commission and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced that the annual CCOutreach BD National Seminar will be held on Feb. 8, 2011, at the SEC's Washington, D.C., headquarters.
The seminar helps provide a forum for discussion on effective compliance practices and timely compliance issues in ever-changing markets. It will help broker-dealer chief compliance officers (CCOs) effectively communicate compliance risks, maintain compliance controls, and foster robust compliance programs within their firms — all for the benefit of investors.
"The CCOutreach BD program has proven invaluable in helping the SEC understand the needs and concerns of compliance officers," said Carlo di Florio, Director of the SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE). "In this time of regulatory changes, it is more important than ever to maintain effective communication between regulators and the industry and to reinforce our commitment to prevent securities laws violations and better serve investors."
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Source: CFTC.gov
CFTC.gov Commitments of Traders Reports Update
October 22, 2010--The CFTC.gov Commitments of Traders Reports has been updated for the week of October 22, 2010and are now available.
view updates
Source: CFTC.gov
CFTC Staff to Host Public Roundtable to Discuss Individual Customer Collateral Protection
October 21, 2010-- Staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will hold a public roundtable on October 22, 2010, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., to discuss issues related to individual customer collateral protection. The roundtable will assist the CFTC in the rulemaking process to implement the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
The roundtable will be held in the Lobby Level Hearing Room at the CFTC’s Headquarters, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The discussion will be open to the public with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Members of the public may also listen by telephone and should be prepared to provide their first name, last name and affiliation.
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Source: CFT.gov
CFTC/SEC Staffs to Host Joint Public Roundtable to Discuss Issues Related to the Clearing of Credit Default Swaps
October 21, 2010--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staffs will hold a public roundtable on October 22, 2010, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm, to discuss issues related to the clearing of credit default swaps. The roundtable will assist both agencies in the rulemaking process to implement the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
The roundtable will be held in the Lobby Level Hearing Room at the CFTC’s Headquarters, Three Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC. The discussion will be open to the public with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Members of the public may also listen by telephone and should be prepared to provide their first name, last name and affiliation.
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Source: CFTC.gov
U.S. High Yield Default Update: Default Loss Rate Shrinks to 23 Basis Points Through Third Quarter
October 21, 2010--Summary
U.S. high yield bond defaults continued to run well below average in the third quarter of 2010, with eight issuer defaults affecting a combined $2.5 billion in bonds. Both
measures were up from the second quarter’s very low three issuer defaults on $800 million in bonds; however, the third-quarter uptick failed to move the default rate
significantly from its expected year end finish of roughly 1% ? one of the lowest levels on record, according to Fitch’s U.S. High Yield Par Default Index.
There have been both fewer and smaller defaults in 2010. The average size of bonds outstanding per defaulted issuer has fallen to $265 million this year versus $786 million per defaulted issuer in 2009. This explains why the par-based default rate has
contracted more than the issuer-based default rate, which stands at 1.6% year-to-date versus 0.5% for the par-based rate. This pattern is not without precedent. Prior Fitch research has shown that large cap high yield companies (defined as companies with
more than $500 million in bonds outstanding) show a higher propensity to default during stress periods than in benign default environments. Furthermore, when examining the
composition of the high yield market, Fitch finds that 71% of the market’s par value is concentrated in just one-quarter of the market’s issuers. A lower rate of default among these larger borrowers puts downward pressure on the overall par-based default rate.
Fitch believes that the issuer-based default rate will end the year in a range of 2% to 2.5%, versus the 1% forecast for the par-based rate.
The weighted average recovery rate on all defaults through September is 54% of par, above 2009’s 34.1% of par. The loss rate associated with bond defaults this year has therefore plummeted to just 0.23% when combining the year-to-date default rate of 0.5% with a recovery rate of 54% of par on the defaulted issues.
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Source: Fitch Ratings
ELX Exceeds 80,000 Contracts Of Open Interest In Eurodollar Futures
October 21, 2010--ELX Futures, L.P. (ELX) announced today that it has reached a milestone in open interest (OI) in its Eurodollar Futures contract, which was launched in June 2010. ELX also saw a significant rebound in volume and market share in its U.S. Treasury Futures contracts with large gains in its two-year and five-year Treasury notes in October.
MTD October Highlights:
OI for Eurodollar Futures exceeded 80,000 contracts; Eurodollar OI has more than doubled every month since product launch.
Single day Eurodollar Futures volume and market share records set at 17.7K and 1.4%, respectively.
Market share in Eurodollar contracts reached almost 1%, an increase of over 100% since September.
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Source: ELX Futures