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US Treasury's Office of Financial Research Releases Inaugural Annual Report
July 20, 2012--The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Financial Research (OFR) released its inaugural Annual Report to Congress today.
Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the OFR must report annually to Congress on threats to the financial stability of the United States;
the status of efforts to meet its mission; and key findings from its research and analysis of the financial system.
“The Office of Financial Research is essential to building a framework for analyzing and measuring threats to financial stability. This report highlights the important progress made by the OFR in addressing weaknesses exposed by the financial crisis with data and analytical capacity not available before Wall Street Reform,” said Secretary Tim Geithner.
The report identifies some of the most significant gaps in the understanding of the financial system and in metrics to quantify financial activity.
view the 2012 OFR Annual Report to Congress
S&P Dow Jones Indices Announces Changes To The S&P/TSX Canadian Indices-A Deletion From The S&P/TSX Venture Composite And Venture Select Indices
July 20, 2012--S&P Canadian Index Services will make the following changes in the S&P/TSX Canadian Indices:
The Toronto Stock Exchange announced yesterday in the Daily Bulletin that the shares of Temple REIT (TSXVN:TR.UN) will graduate to trade on TSX at the open of trading on Monday, July 23, 2012.
The ticker symbol will remain "TR.UN" and the CUSIP number will remain 880018 10 6. The company will be removed from the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index after the close of trading on Friday, July 20, 2012.
Temple REIT is also a constituent of the S&P/TSX Venture Select Index. The company will be removed from this index effective after the close of Friday, July 27, 2012, at which time it will be listed on TSX.
IMF-Brazil: Selected Issues Paper
July 20, 2012--I. MACROECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF PENSION REFORM IN BRAZIL1
The long-term pension challenges facing Brazil are well documented. Recognizing these, the authorities have over the years sought to advance reforms of the systems.
An important signal of this commitment has been sent by the recent reform of the public system. Much of
the debate over the years has focused on the fiscal implications of the outlook for and possible reforms of the pension system.
However, different reform options can have very different macroeconomic implications, including for savings, growth, and external balances.
To illustrate these differential impacts and inform the debate on the issue, this paper simulates the general equilibrium effects for Brazil of various pension reform options that have been used in countries around the world. All options examined help address the system’s long term funding gap and are conducive to raising real private savings and growth in the long run. However, we find that reforms that involve lower mandatory contributions or higher retirement ages have larger effects on output though a boost in labor supply.
Meanwhile, reforms focused on reducing benefits would promote growth mostly through a larger impact on private savings.
view the IMF Brazil: Selected Issues Paper
"Drought" Options-Implied Vol Up 50% This Month for Some Ag-based ETFs
July 20, 2012--A recent Reuters news report indicated that "Grain prices pushed to record highs on Thursday as scattered rains in U.S. Midwest did little to douse fears that the worst drought in half a century will not end soon or relieve worries around the world about higher food prices.
Government forecasters did not rule out that the drought in the U.S. heartland could last past October, continuing what has been the hottest half-year on record."
What can securities investors do about the 2012 drought? Investment vehicles that investors could explore include options on agriculture-based exchange-traded products (ETPs); here is a short list of four of the many such products (CBOE is not endorsing or soliciting for these products; please read the applicable prospectus
DBA -PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund
JJG-iPath DJ-UBS Grains Subindex ETN
MOO-Market Vectors Agribusiness Fund
CORN-Teucrium Corn Fund
CFTC.gov Commitments of Traders Reports Update
July 20, 2012--The current reports for the week of July 17, 2012 are now available.
view updates
SEC extends review period for JPMorgan ETF
July 20, 2012--The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended the period of review on its decision to allow JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s proposed copper exchange-traded fund (ETF) to trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
The SEC said Thursday it needed to complete further proceedings to determine whether to approve NYSE Arca Inc.’s proposed rule change to allow JPMorgan to list and trade shares of the ETF, known as JPM XF Physical Copper Trust. The decision was welcomed by Vandenberg & Feliu LLP partner Robert Bernstein, who represents copper users Southwire Co., Encore Wire Corp., Luvata
Nuveen files with the SEC
July 20, 2012--Nuveen has filed a Form S-1, pre-effective amendment no.4 to a registration statement with the SEC for the Nuveen Long/Short Commodity Total Return Fund.
view filing
Top 2% Of Taxpayers Not All Job Creators Or Billionaires
July 20, 2012--President Barack Obama describes them as "millionaires and billionaires" who can afford to pay higher taxes. Republicans call them "job creators" who need to keep their money so they can hire more workers.
As the Democratic president and his Republican opponents debate whether to extend the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for the top 2 percent of U.S. taxpayers -- individuals earning more than $200,000 a year and married couples making more than $250,000 -- their poll-tested phrases obscure the truth about who would be affected.
They are two-earner professional couples living on the East and West Coasts, doctors, lawyers, engineers and Wall Street executives. Few are billionaires or earn more than $1 million a year, and most are not employers.
CFTC Certifies Euro STOXX 50 Volatility Index Mini Futures Contract Submitted by Eurex Deutschland
Contract may be Offered to U.S. Persons Through Direct Access Effective July 20, 2012
July 20, 2012--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Division of Market Oversight issued a letter advising Eurex Deutschland that its Euro STOXX 50 Volatility Index Mini Futures contract submitted by Eurex Deutschland (Eurex) for review on June 4, 2012, was deemed certified.
The contract satisfies the requirements of the Commodity Exchange Act, the Commission’s Regulations, and the 2009 SEC/CFTC Joint Order regarding volatility index futures contracts and may be offered or sold to persons in the U.S. through Eurex’s direct access terminals located in the U.S.
First Trust files with the SEC
July 19, 2012--First Trust has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the First Trust High Yield Fund.
view filing
State Street Global Advisors' Fixed Income SPDR ETFs Receive NAIC Designations -
July 19, 2012--State Street Global Advisors (SSgA)*, the asset management business of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), today announced that 27 fixed income SPDR(R)Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have received risk-based capital (RBC) designations from the Securities Valuation Office (SVO) of the National Association of Insurance Companies (NAIC).
The Securities Valuation Office of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) assigns credit quality designations to securities held by state-regulated insurance companies. NAIC Designations are opinions of credit quality that range from NAIC 1, being the highest quality, to NAIC 6, being the lowest quality. NAIC Designations allow fixed income ETFs to be reported as bonds and are used to set Risk Based Capital (RBC) requirements.
The Demise of ETF Growth Has Been Greatly Exaggerated
July 19, 2012--Guggenheim Investments has reorganized its sales force to focus more on exchange-traded funds.
Previously, the firm's 100-person sales staff was organized by distribution channel, such as big brokerage houses and registered investment advisers. A separate group sold only exchange-traded funds to the groups.
Guggenheim reorganizes sales to focus on ETFs
July 19, 2012--Guggenheim Investments has reorganized its sales force to focus more on exchange-traded funds.
Previously, the firm's 100-person sales staff was organized by distribution channel, such as big brokerage houses and registered investment advisers. A separate group sold only exchange-traded funds to the groups.
Van Eck Announces Acquisition of a Hedge Fund Beta Business
July 19, 2012--On June 29, 2012, Van Eck Associates Corporation acquired a Hedge Fund Beta business and team from Lyster Watson & Company, and will be offering a suite of strategies called Trackers.
Trackers are hedge-style "beta" strategies based on indexes developed using a patented methodology and proprietary intellectual property. Each index seeks to capture the beta of a specific hedge fund strategy, and the Trackers team focuses only on those hedge fund strategies whose returns can be statistically replicated using tradable risk factors represented by US-listed ETFs. The team believes that not all hedge fund strategies are conducive to this approach.
ProShares Launches First Geared Australian Dollar ETFs
Joins Popular Geared Euro and Yen ETFs
July 19, 2012--ProShares, a premier provider of alternative exchange traded funds (ETFs), announced today the launch of ProShares Ultra Australian Dollar (NYSE:GDAY) and ProShares UltraShort Australian Dollar (CROCF), the first ETFs in the U.S. providing magnified or inverse exposure to the Australian dollar. The ETFs list on NYSE Arca today.
GDAY seeks to provide 2x the daily performance of the U.S. dollar price of the Australian dollar, before fees and expenses.
CROC seeks to provide -2x the daily performance of the U.S. dollar price of the Australian dollar, before fees and expenses.
“The Australian dollar is one of the world’s most actively traded currencies,” said Michael L. Sapir, Chairman and CEO of ProShare Capital Management, the sponsor of the funds. “We are pleased to offer investors additional ways to manage risk or potentially take advantage of moves in this widely followed currency market.”
