Americas ETP News
If your looking for specific news, using the search function will narrow down the results
U.S. Department of the Treasury Economic Statistics - Quarterly Data Update
August 24, 2010--The U.S. Department of the Treasury Economic Statistics - Quarterly Data has been updated is now available.
view update
Source: U.S. Department of the Treaury
U.S. Department of the Treasury Economic Statistics - Monthly Data Update
August 24, 2010--The U.S. Department of the Treasury Economic Statistics - Monthly Data has been updated.
view update
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury
SPDR ETF Announces Additional Information on Treatment of Weyerhaeuser Company Special Dividend
August 24, 2010--As previously announced on August 19, 2010 and August 4, 2010, SPDR(R) S&P 500 ETF, The Materials Select Sector SPDR(R) Fund, SPDR(R) Dow Jones Large Cap ETF, SPDR(R) Dow Jones Large Cap Value ETF and SPDR(R) Dow Jones Total Market ETF (collectively, the "SPDR Funds"), as record holders of Weyerhaeuser Company, do not intend to make a special dividend payment reflecting the amounts received from the Weyerhaeuser Company special dividend.
The amounts received from Weyerhaeuser Company will be reflected as part of each SPDR ETFs' scheduled dividend payments.
S&P 500 ETF Trust has elected the "STOCK" option. The Materials Select Sector SPDR(R) Fund, SPDR(R) Dow Jones Large Cap ETF, SPDR(R) Dow Jones Large Cap Value ETF and SPDR(R) Dow Jones Total Market ETF have elected the 'CASH" option. The details of each option are available in Weyerhaeuser Company's prospectus supplement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 13, 2010. Although several SPDR Funds elected the CASH option, it is expected that each SPDR Fund electing CASH will receive a mix of cash and WY stock. The ratio of cash and stock is not available at this time but, under the terms, up to 90% of the dividend could be paid in WY stock. Each SPDR Fund intends to retain the newly-issued WY securities unless its underlying index does not increase the WY weightings on or around the pay date of the distribution. The applicable index providers may not immediately increase the WY proportionately, and therefore the SPDR Funds may be over weight in WY versus their index for a short period.
The full amount of the Weyerhaeuser Company special dividend is anticipated to be included in the income dividend distribution scheduled for September regardless of the SPDR Fund's election and the final allocation between stock and cash of the dividend payment.
If more definitive information or revised information regarding the corporate action becomes available prior to payment date or if circumstances warrant, each SPDR Fund reserves the right to take actions deemed reasonable or necessary to best pursue its investment objectives consistent with the principal investment strategies of each SPDR Fund.
The SPDR Funds undertake no obligation to publicly update these statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
State Street manages more than $200 billion in SPDR ETF assets worldwide (as of June 30, 2010) and is one of the largest ETF providers in the US and globally.
Source: State Street Global Advisors
ISE Introduces Step Up and Match Feature for Facilitation and PIM Orders
August 23, 2010-The International Securities Exchange (ISE) announced today that it has launched a new Step Up and Match feature for Facilitation and Price Improvement Mechanism (PIM)
orders. These orders are exposed to all ISE market participants who may respond to participate with the order during a one second auction.
The Step Up and Match functionality now allows firms originating the
order to step up and match the best price achieved during the auction or up to a specific limit price,
allowing greater flexibility for participation.
“We are very excited to offer the Step Up and Match feature to our members,” said Boris Ilyevsky, Managing Director of ISE’s options exchange. “This functionality provides our members with higher and more flexible participation with orders they bring to our exchange while also providing price improvement for their customers.”
Step Up and Match crossing orders can be submitted via PrecISE Trade®, FIX and API applications. For
more information, contact ISE Business Development at bizdev@ise.com.
Source: International Securities Exchange (ISE)
Emerging Markets Week in Review -8/16/2010 - 8/20/2010
August 23, 2010--The Dow Jones Emerging Markets Sector Titans Composite Index increase 0.37% last week as all sectors were positive except Energy, which dropped 0.41%. Consumer Goods and Services continued to drive the market forward, climbing 2.50% and 1.93% last week respectively.
The two are the best performing sectors on a year-to-date basis as well, highlighting the emergent impact of the middle class consumer in the world's developing regions.
read more
Source: Emerging Global Advisors
CBOE Stock Exchange (CBSX) Establishes New Daily Volume Record With 90.8 Million Shares Traded
August 23, 2010--The CBOE Stock Exchange, LLC (CBSX) today reported that trading volume on Friday, August 20 was a record for any day at CBSX. More than 90.8 million shares changed hands, surpassing the previous daily record of 63.7 million shares traded on August 12, 2010.
CBSX, launched in 2007, in July posted an all-time monthly high volume with 598.0 million shares traded.
On August 16, CBSX instituted new pricing in 24 of the most-active, lower-priced securities traded on CBSX. The pricing pays "takers" a substantial rebate -- $0.0014 per share -- to remove liquidity when the security's price is above one dollar and charges "makers" an $0.0018 fee per share.
read more
Source: CBOE
Mammoth Energy Group Comments on Launch of Lithium ETF
LIT Has Topped $20 Million in Assets and Regularly Sees Daily Trading Volumes North of a Million Shares
August 23, 2010--Mammoth Energy Group Inc.announced today that the new Lithium ETF, sponsored by Global X, already a fast-growing exchange traded fund (ETF) provider, has made its biggest impression on the market yet by offering a lithium ETF. It's the first product that gives investors a way to get exposure to this rare but increasingly popular metal.
The fund itself is about evenly split between lithium producers and battery producers, with the heaviest weights given to the lithium industry's largest producers, who make up 44% of the fund's assets. The United States is the largest country weighting at 49%. Chile, the world's largest producer of lithium, is 20% of the fund. Japan, Canada, France and Australia all have smaller weightings.
"We expect Global X and the ETF Lithium fund to take serious notice as the development of the Salar de Maricunga moves forward," said William Lieberman, President of Mammoth Energy Group.
Mammoth Energy Group has signed a Letter of Intent to acquire 49% of Salt Gold Inter Chile Limitada and a Memorandum of Understanding to acquire the remaining shares. Salt Gold Inter Chile Limitada lithium concessions are located in the North West region of Chile in the heart of the Lithium belt stretching across Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. Initial test wells have confirmed average brine concentrations with grades of 650 ppm (parts per million) for lithium and 9500 ppm for potassium. These results confirm a significant third dimension to surface brines sampled on the project. The brine chemistry in the first test wells compares favorably to other Lithium companies in the region including the large multi-national Lithium producers whose estimates in the Atacama and throughout the region average 500 to 750 ppm lithium and 9000-10000 ppm for potassium.
Source: Mammoth Energy Group Inc
SEI's ETF Platform Trades Over 50 Percent of All U.S. ETF Assets
August 23, 2010--SEI (Nasdaq: SEIC) today announced that it supports authorized participant (AP) trading for over 300 Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). This operational outsourcing business represents 53 percent of the U.S. ETF market. Instrumental in SEI's order-taking process is its ground-breaking straight-through-processing platform. The platform is designed to create increased levels of efficiency and transparency by connecting the APs, sponsors, distributor, custodians, and transfer agents in one straight-through electronic process. The growth points to the ongoing traction of the ETF sector and SEI's commitment to delivering innovative outsourcing services to this rapidly-evolving market.
SEI's system creates a centralized location for submitting and reviewing ETF creation and redemption transactions, while significantly increasing the speed and convenience of order entry. With this system, orders that were typically manual are now automated, processed in a controlled environment, and can be completed in seconds. Order affirmations are received electronically almost instantaneously, without the need for manual validation of the transaction. The system also enables new levels of flexibility for users, allowing participants to easily replace an order prior to cutoff times and access their historical records.
Another benefit of the electronic system is the increased transparency it gives to sponsors. Rather than waiting until the end of the trading day to understand their market positions, sponsors can now log in throughout the day to monitor their activity and obtain a more accurate snapshot of their business activity on a continuous basis.
"SEI's ETF processing platform is an important advancement in the technology that supports our business and the ETF industry in general," said George Pereira, Senior Vice President of Charles Schwab Investment Management, SEI's latest ETF client. "By reducing order processing time and by increasing transparency, SEI improves the efficiency, effectiveness, and experience of Schwab and our AP trading partners. This new platform is an example of the innovation that SEI is known for and is a testament to their market leadership."
Eliminating manual intervention, SEI's processing platform employs multiple checks and balances related to the size of the order and the fund symbol to prevent erroneous trades and other errors from occurring. Fund parameters and exceptions set by the sponsors are incorporated into the system and automatically assist the AP with the trade input. Orders are also acknowledged through an instantaneous PDF affirmation, followed by an electronic confirmation process.
"With the growth of the ETF sector this decade, it was clear that a more sophisticated, flexible, and convenient processing system was needed," said John Alshefski, Senior Vice President, SEI's Investment Manager Services division. "As the leader in the space, we have been investing the time and capital necessary over the past several years to build a better platform, not only for the benefit of sponsors, but also for the over 40 APs with whom we have relationships. The ETF marketplace has also been evolving, and our expertise has allowed us to support a widening array of index products, including '40 Act, '33 Act, and long-short ETFs. We're excited to be a catalyst for positive change and to provide ETF sponsors with innovative capabilities."
In addition to AP processing, SEI's ETF outsourcing solution includes fund administration, accounting, investor servicing, and distribution support globally through its US and European locations.
Source: SEI's Investment Manager Services Division
Standard & Poor's Announces Changes in the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index
August 23, 2010--Standard & Poor's will make the following changes in the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index after the close of trading on Monday, August 23, 2010.
Ryland Oil Corporation (TSXVN:RYD) will be removed from the index. Theshares of the company have been acquired, pursuant to an Arrangement Agreement, by Crescent Point Energy Corp.
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
Nomura OSE NASDAQ ETF to Ring the NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell
August 20, 2010--Nomura Holdings, Inc. and Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. will visit the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York City's Times Square to celebrate NEXT FUNDS NASDAQ-100(R) EXCHANGE TRADED FUND, which was listed on the Osaka Securities Exchange Co., Ltd. (OSE) on August 16th.
The NEXT FUNDS NASDAQ-100 EXCHANGE TRADED FUND gives investors in Japan, which has the world's second largest economy, the ability to invest in 100 of the largest and most innovative global non-financial securities listed on NASDAQ - including Apple, Intel, Google and Microsoft.
The OSE approved the listing of the NEXT FUNDS NASDAQ-100(R) EXCHANGE TRADED FUND on OSE's exchange-traded fund market. Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd., one of Japan's largest asset management companies and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nomura Holdings, Inc., is the sponsor of the ETF.
In honor of the occasion, Nomura and NASDAQ OMX representatives will preside over the NASDAQ Opening Bell.
Who:
Mr. Naoki Matsuba, President and Chief Executive Officer, Nomura Holding, Inc.
Mr. Shigeru Shinohara, President and CEO, Nomura Asset Management U.S.A., Inc.
John Jacobs, Executive Vice President of The NASDAQ OMX Global Index
Group and Chief Marketing Officer, NASDAQ OMX
Where:
NASDAQ MarketSite -- 4 Times Square -- 43rd & Broadway -- Broadcast Studio
When:
Monday, August 23rd, 2010 at at 9:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET
Source: NASDAQ OMX
