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Emerging Markets Week in Review -8/9/2010 - 8/13/2010
August 16, 2010--The Dow Jones Emerging Markets Sector Titans Composite Index declined 3.55% last week as all sectors fell on concerns of a slowing global economic recovery. Consumer Services and Goods declined the least, falling by only 0.99% and 1.69% respectively.
Both sectors continue to lead the emerging markets this year. Materials and Energy, the two worst performers in 2010, dragged the market down, losing 4.18% ad 4.38% respectively.
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Source: Emerging Global Advisors
ISE Recommends SEC Review of Anticompetitive and Discriminatory Fee Practices in the Options Industry
August 16, 2010--The International Securities Exchange (ISE) announced today that it has submitted a comment letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recommending that
the SEC examine certain anticompetitive and discriminatory fee practices at three options exchanges.
The letter expands upon previous comments that ISE submitted in response to the SEC’s proposed amendments to Rule 610 of Regulation NMS that would prohibit an options exchange from imposing unfairly discriminatory terms limiting access to its quotations. ISE’s new comment letter describes high
fees targeted at certain market participants at the Boston Options Exchange (BOX), Chicago Board
Options Exchange (CBOE), and Nasdaq OMX PHLX (PHLX) that harm retail investors by serving as a barrier to competition to interact with retail order flow.
“ISE has always been committed to fostering a fair, efficient marketplace for all types of investors. As fee
schedules in the options industry grow increasingly complex, it is important for the SEC to ensure that
opaque fee practices do not foster unfair discrimination among categories of market participants nor work
against the robust competitive standards the Commission has set for the marketplace,” said Gary Katz,
President and Chief Executive Officer of ISE. “We have identified three instances where other options
exchanges are using their fee schedules to ‘stack the deck’ in favor of firms that seek to trade against
their retail customer order flow and deny these investors the full benefits of market competition for their
orders. As part of their ongoing review of market structure issues, we urge the SEC to examine these
practices and to take the necessary actions to prevent discriminatory fees that harm retail options
investors.
The discriminatory fee practices identified by ISE relate to certain fees applied to orders executed in BOX’s Price Improvement Period (PIP) and in the CBOE’s PIP-equivalent, known as the Automated Improvement Mechanism. Additionally, ISE’s comment letter examines a discriminatory fee levied by
PHLX for participants seeking to interact with Facilitation Orders transacted on the exchange floor.
ISE’s comment letter is available on its website.
Source: International Securities Exchange (ISE)
Three dividend ETFs to fight deflation
Commentary: Biggest funds differ in style, strategy
August 16, 2010-- The subject of dividends is bubbling up again, for a couple of reasons.
First, the 15% tax rate on dividend income is due to expire at the end of this year. Unless Congress takes action, beginning in 2011 dividends will be taxed as ordinary income for the first time since 2003. Desperate for revenue, Congress seems disinclined to step in to prevent this from happening, although pointed mail from voters might help.
Second comes possibly bad news with an opportunity wrapped inside.
The specter of deflation -- broadly falling prices for goods and services -- darkens the horizon as the economic recovery struggles and sputters. Asset managers who think this is a real danger are loading up on high-quality dividend-paying stocks and bonds because the cash flow from those investments would gain purchasing power in a deflationary environment.
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Source: Market Watch
CFTC Issues Letter to CME Group, Inc. Regarding ELX EFF Rule
August 16, 2010--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday, August 13, 2010, sent a letter to CME Group, Inc. regarding a Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) self-certified Market Regulation Advisory Notice issued on October 19, 2009.
. In that notice, CBOT stated that its rules do not permit the execution of exchange of futures for futures (EFF) transactions. The notice was issued shortly after the CFTC approved an ELX Futures (ELX) rule authorizing participants on ELX to carry out EFF transactions. The Commission’s August 13 letter supports a previous CFTC staff letter regarding this matter.
CBOT justified its action on the grounds that, in its view, EFF transactions are not supported by CFTC precedent and are prohibited under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations.
The Commission has reviewed the matter and has found that ELX’s EFF transactions are not wash sales and are consistent with Commission precedent. Further, the Commission has found that ELX’s EFF transactions are neither prohibited nor mandated by Core Principle 9. Thus, ELX’s EFFs are not prohibited by the CEA or Commission regulations. The Commission also has directed staff to separately analyze whether CBOT’s October 19, 2009 notice was consistent with the requirements of CEA Core Principle 18 (antitrust considerations). In that regard, CFTC Division of Market Oversight staff simultaneously sent a separate letter to CBOT addressing the Core Principle 18 analysis. Neither the Commission nor Commission staff has made any determination regarding this analysis.
Source: CFTC.gov
CBOE Stock Exchange (CBSX) Sets Record Daily Volume
August 13, 2010-- The CBOE Stock Exchange, LLC (CBSX) today reported that trading volume on Thursday, August 12 was a record for any day at CBSX. More than 63.7 million shares changed hands, surpassing the previous daily record of 59.8 million shares traded on July 23, 2010.
CBSX, which posted an all-time monthly high volume in July with 598.0 million shares traded, launched in 2007 as a multi-asset trading model for traders looking to reduce transaction costs and latency related to the hedging of options and futures market-making. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and CBSX offer fully automated executions for combined option and stock trades through a single electronic platform.
Source: CBOE
Securities Regulators Publish Updated Best Practices for Firms Serving Senior Investors
August 13, 2010-- The Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) today updated a joint report that outlines practices being used by financial services firms to strengthen their policies and procedures for serving senior investors as they approach and begin retirement.
The SEC, FINRA and NASAA first published the report in 2008 to highlight proactive steps being taken by some financial services firms in serving senior customers. It was intended to assist the overall industry in enhancing compliance, supervisory and other practices related to older investors. The 2010 Addendum being released today summarizes additional practices now being used by financial services firms and securities professionals in serving senior investors.
view the PROTECTING SENIOR INVESTORS: COMPLIANCE, SUPERVISORY AND OTHER PRACTICES USED BY FINANCIAL SERVICES FIRMS IN SERVING SENIOR INVESTORS
Source: SEC.gov
BATS Gets SEC Approval for 2nd Stock Exchange in U.S., Sets October Launch
August 13, 2010-BATS Global Markets, an innovative global financial markets technology company, received approval today from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to operate a second equities exchange and expects to launch the market in approximately 60 days.
The new exchange is called BATS Y-Exchange, or BYX, as it will be identified on the consolidated tapes (SIPs) with the ‘Y’ identifier. BATS also operates BATS Exchange (BZX), the third-largest U.S. equities exchange that, in only four years, has captured more than 11% market share in U.S. equities.
“As we continue to Make Markets Better, we are excited to launch a second equities exchange in the U.S., one which we will differentiate from our BZX platform,” said BATS Exchange Chief Executive Joe Ratterman. “BYX will utilize the same world-class technology, customer service model and group of associates that has made BZX a success while offering more innovative solutions to members such as greater flexibility in pricing.”
To trade via BYX, current BZX members will be allowed a 90-day grace period to complete the BYX waive-in process. As with BZX, there is no membership cost at BYX. Additional BYX details, including member information is available online at www.batstrading.com/byx.
For more information, members can contact the BATS Trade Desk (tradedesk@batstrading.com) or their U.S. Sales Director.
In addition to BZX and BYX, BATS Global Markets operates BATS Options, a U.S. equity options platform launched earlier this year, and BATS Europe, a pan-European multilateral trading facility, which was launched in late 2008, and currently executes more than 5% of the overall Europe market, including 5% or more in eight major indices.
Source: BATS
Securities Firms Elect Seven Industry Governors to FINRA Board of Governors; Approve Seven Proxy Proposals
August 13, 2010--The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today announced the results of voting at its 2010 Annual Meeting. In accordance with FINRA By-Laws, firms elected seven Governors of which three will represent large firms, three will represent small firms and one will represent mid-sized firms. Results also indicate that firms supported seven non-binding proxy proposals.
FINRA conducted the 2010 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, on August 12th. About 50 percent of the 4,698 FINRA member firms eligible to vote participated in the election.
New Governors Elected
At the meeting, securities firms elected seven Governors to FINRA's 22-member Board, which is staggered into three classes:
First Class: Richard F. Brueckner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Pershing LLC and Ken Norensberg, President and Chief Executive Officer, Four Points Capital Partners LLC were elected to one-year terms representing large and small firms, respectively;
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Source: FINRA
Claymore Announces Product Lineup Changes
August 13, 2010--Claymore Securities, Inc., an ETF sponsor with approximately $3 billion in ETF assets under management, today announced the closure and liquidation of four lightly followed ETFs.
"We continue to be committed to developing innovative investment solutions for clients and we want to dedicate our resources to areas of greater investor interest," said Steven A. Baffico, senior managing director at Claymore Securities, Inc. "After careful evaluation of our product lineup, we believe these changes are in the best interest of our clients and shareholders."
Sept. 10, 2010, will be the last day of trading on the NYSE Arca for:
Claymore/Zacks Dividend Rotation ETF (NYSE Arca: IRO)
Claymore/Zacks Country Rotation ETF (NYSE Arca: CRO)
Claymore/Beacon Global Exchanges, Brokers & Asset Managers Index ETF (NYSE Arca: EXB)
Claymore/Robb Report Global Luxury Index ETF (NYSE Arca: ROB)
Shareholders may sell their fund shares prior to the market close on Sept. 10, 2010. Effective after the market close on Sept. 10, 2010, the funds will no longer accept creation or redemption orders for fund shares. It is anticipated that transactions executed prior to Sept. 10, 2010, will be subject to fees normally assessed by broker-dealers for such transactions. From Sept. 13, 2010, through Sept. 17, 2010, shareholders may be able to sell their shares to certain broker-dealers, but there can be no assurance that there will be a market for the funds. All shareholders remaining on Sept. 17, 2010, will receive a cash distribution into their brokerage account representing the value of their shares as of that date, which will also include any capital gains and dividends.
Source: Claymore Securities
CBOE Stock Exchange (CBSX) Offers New Taker Rebates On Select Group Of Securities
August 13, 2010-- The CBOE Stock Exchange, LLC (CBSX) on Monday, August 16 will institute new pricing in 24 of the most-active, lower-priced securities traded on CBSX. The pricing will pay "takers" a substantial rebate to remove liquidity when the security's price is above one dollar, creating an incentive for customers to route their orders to CBSX.
The new pricing inverts traditional maker and taker rates, with "makers" charged an $0.0018 fee per share and "takers" receiving a credit of $0.0014 per share for the following securities:
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Source: CBOE
