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SEC Adopts Interim Rule to Require Reporting of Security-Based Swaps
October 13, 2010-- The Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted an interim rule that requires certain swaps dealers and other parties to report any security-based swaps entered into prior to the July 21 passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This rule applies only to such swaps whose terms had not expired as of July 21.
Prior to passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, the over-the-counter derivatives market was largely unregulated. The new law fills a number of significant regulatory gaps and gives the SEC important new tools to better protect investors.
The interim rule requires parties to report security-based swap information to the SEC or to a registered security-based swap data repository. Parties also are required to preserve data pertaining to the terms of pre-enactment security-based swaps in support of the reporting requirements.
"This interim final rule provides a means for the Commission to gain a better understanding of the security-based swap markets, including their size and scope," said SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro. "Until such time as final rules are adopted, this interim rule clarifies who needs to do security-based swaps reporting, what needs to be reported, and when such reporting needs to occur."
The interim rule becomes effective once it is published in the Federal Register, and the agency will continue seeking public comments to inform its development of a permanent reporting procedure.
view Interim Rule Release No. 34-63094
Source: SEC.gov
SEC Proposes Rules to Mitigate Conflicts of Interest Involving Security-Based Swaps
October 13, 2010-- The Securities and Exchange Commission today proposed rules intended to mitigate conflicts of interest for security-based swap clearing agencies, security-based swap execution facilities, and national securities exchanges that post security-based swaps or make them available for trading.
Prior to passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, the over-the-counter derivatives market was largely unregulated. The new law fills a number of significant regulatory gaps and gives the SEC important new tools to better protect investors.
"The concern about conflicts of interest stems from the fact that the over-the-counter derivatives markets have a relatively high concentration of market activity through a limited number of dealers who earn significant revenues from their transactions," said SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro. "By creating a structure that would promote more independent voices within clearing organizations and trading venues, this proposed rule is intended to make these entities less susceptible to promoting the interests of a few participants."
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Source: SEC.gov
SEC looks at OTC platform ownership limits
October 13, 2010--The prospect of ownership limits being placed on clearing houses, exchanges and other platforms handling over-the-counter derivatives moved a step closer after the US Securities and Exchange Commission voted to proceed with considering a proposal designed to prevent any one group of financial players having too much influence in them.
The move comes two weeks after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the US futures watchdog, voted to proceed with almost identical rules.
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Source: FT.com
Moody’s warns on refinancing risks
October 12, 2010--The credit quality of US companies may soon start to deteriorate as they take on debt to carry out share buy-backs and finance mergers and acquisitions, says a report by Moody’s Investors Service.
The credit rating agency is also concerned that companies with relatively low ratings, those at the bottom end of the “junk” or speculative grade category, may have trouble refinancing the large amounts of debt due to mature in coming years. This could lead to an increase in default rates.
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Source: FT.com
Wall Street lifted by Fed’s pledge on liquidity
October 12, 2010--US stocks were steady as gloomy predictions for US and Chinese growth were met by the Federal Reserve’s promise that fresh liquidity to purchase assets such as stocks would arrive “before long”, as its members agreed that inflation was still below levels needed to promote full employment.
The S&P 500 index erased earlier losses to close up 0.4 per cent at 1,169.77. The Nasdaq Composite index was up 0.7 per cent to 2,417.92.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.1 per cent higher at 11,020.40. All three indices were at their highest levels since May.
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Source: FT.com
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee, September 21, 2010
October 12, 2010-The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee on Tuesday released the attached minutes of the Committee meeting held on September 21, 2010.
view the Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee-September 21, 2010
Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Greifeld says no repeat of ‘flash crash’
October 12, 2010--The “flash crash” that sent shares plunging in the US five months ago could not happen again in the same way given safeguards since put in place, but the use of trading algorithms had to incorporate more “robustness” in the way they were used, the chief executive of exchange operator Nasdaq OMX, Robert Greifeld, said.
His comments came as the severe markets disruption on May 6, which has led to a loss of investor trust in the way US market structures work, has become a headache for regulators. A report by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission this month blamed a single computer trading algorithm for triggering a 1,000 point fall – and subsequent rebound – in the Dow Jones average.
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Source: FT.com
Presentation on High Frequency Traders and Asset Prices
October 12, 2010--High Frequency and Algorithmic Trading Practices and the Role of Technology in Pre- and Post-Trade Transparency in Implementing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) and in the Flash Crash
view presentation
Source: CFTC.gov
“Flash Gordon” Opening Statement before the Technology Advisory Committee
Commissioner Bart Chilton
October 12, 2010--I thank the Technology Advisory members for their participation and Chairman O’Malia and his staff for their work in putting this meeting together. While today’s meeting is not solely about May 6th and the Flash Crash, there is no escaping that we will discuss it. In that regard, it is a most appropriate time to meet, particularly given the release of the Flash Crash staff report and the role that technology, in particular algorithmic, robotic, or flash trading played in the market crash-and-rebound on May 6th.
There was an old comic strip from the 1930’s, Flash Gordon, that was made into a movie, an animated series, and recently (2008-09) into a television series that ran on the Sci Fi channel. A buddy of mine mentioned Flash Gordon to me the other day when we were talking about the Flash Crash. He said, as an aside, that the hero, Flash Gordon, was actually called “Speed” Gordon in Australia when it first came out because the word “flash” had a negative connotation associated with it at the time. Flash, being seen as flashy or showy or even dishonest, he said.
I’m not suggesting that this type of trading is bad. In fact, robotic trading has a lot of advantages – speed, access and better audit trails to name a few. And, I’m not suggesting that robotic trading is in anyway dishonest, or showy. In fact, it is anything but showy because we aren’t necessarily “shown” anything about how exactly how these individual flash, robotic or algorithmic programs execute. They don’t show us and we don’t know unless we ask because the trading programs are proprietary information. I understand that businesses need confidentiality. They need to keep their competitive edge. But, as we have seen, this type of trading can impact markets and lead to problems. So, as regulators and folks concerned about markets, and specifically technology in markets, it seems to me that we need to get a better handle on this trading, in a comprehensive, cross-market fashion. Should this agency have staff specifically dedicated to understanding how these type of programs work?
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Source: CFTC.gov
iShares Semiconductor ETF Begins Trading on NASDAQ
SOXX ETF Based on Popular PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index
October 12, 2010--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced the iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index Fund (Nasdaq:SOXX), the first unlevered exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on the PHLX Semiconductor Sector IndexSM (Nasdaq:SOX), will commence trading on the NASDAQ Stock Market® on October 15. This ETF is designed to track the performance of the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index, the most widely recognized benchmark investors use to track the semiconductor industry. The index is a known institutional benchmark and is the underlying index for 27 structured products, 3 ETFs, an index option and an ETF option.
Due to increased investor interest in the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index, iShares Exchange Traded Funds, the world's largest provider of ETFs, recently announced it changed the index, name, ticker and primary listing exchange of its semiconductor ETF.
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Source: NASDAQ OMX