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Senators eye pre-funded resolution authority
March 9, 2010--Senators in the banking committee have agreed in principle to a partially pre-funded “resolution authority” to wind down a failing bank holding company, favouring a structure that would levy a $50bn charge on the industry.
Talks on a variety of issues in the Senate’s regulatory reform package continued on Tuesday and little has been settled. The resolution authority is the intellectual core of the Obama administration’s original overhaul proposed last summer.
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Source: FT.com
U.S. International Reserve Position
March 8, 2010--The Treasury Department today released U.S. reserve assets data for the latest week. As indicated in this table, U.S. reserve assets totaled $128,888 million as of the end of that week, compared to $129,435 million as of the end of the prior week.
I. Official reserve assets and other foreign currency assets (approximate market value, in US millions)
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March 5, 2010 |
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A. Official reserve assets (in US millions unless otherwise specified) 1 |
Euro |
Yen |
Total |
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(1) Foreign currency reserves (in convertible foreign currencies) |
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128,888 |
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(a) Securities |
9,621 |
14,385 |
24,006 |
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of which: issuer headquartered in reporting country but located abroad |
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0 |
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(b) total currency and deposits with: |
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(i) other national central banks, BIS and IMF |
14,171 |
7,045 |
21,216 |
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ii) banks headquartered in the reporting country |
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0 |
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of which: located abroad |
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0 |
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(iii) banks headquartered outside the reporting country |
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0 |
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of which: located in the reporting country |
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0 |
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(2) IMF reserve position 2 |
11,214 |
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(3) SDRs 2 |
56,452 |
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(4) gold (including gold deposits and, if appropriate, gold swapped) 3 |
11,041 |
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--volume in millions of fine troy ounces |
261.499 |
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(5) other reserve assets (specify) |
4,958 |
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--financial derivatives |
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--loans to nonbank nonresidents |
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--other (foreign currency assets invested through reverse repurchase agreements) |
4,958 |
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B. Other foreign currency assets (specify) |
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--securities not included in official reserve assets |
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--deposits not included in official reserve assets |
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--loans not included in official reserve assets |
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--financial derivatives not included in official reserve assets |
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--gold not included in official reserve assets |
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--other |
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Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Claymore Securities Launches ETF Suite Tracking the Wilshire 5000(SM), Wilshire 4500(SM) and Wilshire US REIT(SM) Indexes
Wilshire ETFs Provide Investors with Total U.S. Equity Market Exposure
March 9, 2010--Claymore Securities, Inc. today announced the launch of an ETF suite designed to track three of Wilshire Associates' broad market indexes: the Wilshire 5000 Total Market ETF (NYSE Arca: WFVK), the Wilshire 4500 Completion ETF (NYSE Arca: WXSP), and the Wilshire US REIT ETF (NYSE Arca: WREI). The Wilshire Indexes, developed by Wilshire Associates Incorporated, ("Wilshire(R)"), a global independent investment and consulting services firm, have been in existence for more than 35 years and are used extensively by institutional and active money managers as performance benchmarks.
"This is an exciting addition to our growing portfolio of ETF products, extending our line-up into broad-based domestic equities." commented William Belden, Managing Director, Claymore Securities, Inc. "Leveraging the expertise of Wilshire and their widely followed indexes, investors now have an opportunity to access the U.S. equity and REIT markets with the inherent benefits of ETF investing--efficiency, transparency and flexibility."
"We are delighted to be working with Claymore to launch these products," said Dennis A. Tito, founder Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Wilshire Associates who is credited with developing the Wilshire 5000 in 1974 "Utilizing Wilshire's investment technology and performance measurement heritage, we created the Wilshire 5000 index as a tool for our institutional investment professionals and their clients to measure, understand and explain the market. Each index developed since that time was created to measure a specific section of the securities market in a way that was meaningful for investors," he noted.
"The Wilshire indexes are designed to give investors a Pure and Complete(SM) measure of the market without arbitrary rules and restrictions that introduce biases," said David L. Hall, Senior Managing Director, Wilshire Associates. "Through these ETFs, investors now have an efficient way to gain total market exposure and access to the institutional-level expertise for which Wilshire is known."
The Wilshire ETF suite includes:
-- WILSHIRE 5000 TOTAL MARKET ETF (NYSE Arca: WFVK) - The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before the Fund's fees and expenses, of an equity index called the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index(SM) (the "Wilshire 5000"). The Wilshire 5000 seeks to capture the full diversification potential of the U.S. securities market.
-- WILSHIRE 4500 COMPLETION ETF (NYSE Arca: WXSP) - The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before the Fund's fees and expenses, of an equity index called the Wilshire 4500 Completion Index(SM) (the "Wilshire 4500"). For investors who already have access to the S&P 500, the Wilshire 4500 provides an easy way to gain exposure to the approximately other 88% of the U.S. stock market, based upon the number of issues in the market.(1)
-- WILSHIRE US REIT ETF (NYSE Arca: WREI) - The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before the Fund's fees and expenses, of an equity index called the Wilshire US Real Estate Investment Trust Index(SM) ("Wilshire US REIT"). For portfolios concentrated in stocks and bonds, exposure to this index seeks to provide investors with the diversification and income potential of the REIT market.
SOURCE: Claymore Securities, Inc.
BNY Mellon ADR Index Monthly Performance Review is Now Available
March 9, 2010--BNY Mellon ADR Index Monthly Performance Review is Now Available.
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Source: BNY Mellon
William A. Porter To Receive Prestigious Options Industry Award
March 9, 2010--– The International Securities Exchange (ISE), E*TRADE FINANCIAL Corporation and The Options Industry Council (OIC) today announced that financial
industry pioneer William A. Porter will be honored by the OIC with the Joseph P. Sullivan Options Industry
Achievement Award in recognition of his overall contributions to the options industry.
William A. Porter is a co-founder and the first chairman of ISE and chairman emeritus of E*TRADE, which
he founded in 1992. Called the “founder of online trading” by industry observers, his career is marked by
significant innovation in the financial services and options industries, as well as in the science and
technology fields. As the founder of the service bureau through which the very first online trade was made
in 1983, he revolutionized the retail brokerage model by providing online access and trading tools to the
self-directed investor. Mr. Porter brought that same ground-breaking vision to the options industry when
he co-founded ISE in 1997, dramatically improving the efficiency of the options market via the first allelectronic
U.S. options exchange. Mr. Porter holds 14 patents covering a number of electronic devices
and processes that are still in use today in a variety of fields. Mr. Porter has an M.S. in Management from
MIT, where he was a Sloan Fellow; an M.S. in Physics from Kansas State College; and a B.A. in
Mathematics from Adams State College.
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Source:International Securities Exchange (ISE)
BM&FBOVESPA Announces February 2010 Market Performance
March 9, 2010--In February 2010, equity markets (Bovespa segment) reached a total volume of BRL 118.06 billion, in 7,355,993 trades, with daily averages of BRL 6.55 billion and 408,666 trades, respectively. In January, total volume reached BRL 129.10 billion, 8,051,640 trades, with daily averages of BRL 6.79 billion and 423,771 trades, respectively.
The participation of individual investors in the financial volume was 32.05%, followed by institutional investors (28.95%) and foreign investors (27.83%). Trading via Home Broker set the following new records: financial volume participation in the equities markets of 22.30%, compared to 21.10% in January; average daily volume of BRL2.91 billion, compared to BRL2.90 billion in October 2009; and daily average of trades of BRL16,580.00, compared to BRL14,380.00 in November of 2009.
The Ibovespa ended February up 1.6% at 66,503 points. Best performing stocks were: MMX Miner ON (+26.14%); LLX Log ON (+14.39%); Gafisa ON (+12.43%); Cosan ON (+10.52%); and Lojas Renner ON (+8.45%). The worst performing stocks were: Eletrobras ON (-18.40%); Eletrobras PNB (-16.88%); Vivo PN (-8.21%); BM&FBOVESPA (-6.99%); and Telemar PN (-6.85%).
Derivatives markets in the BM&F segment (including financial and commodities derivatives) totaled 39,306,238 contracts and BRL 2.47 trillion in volume in February. That compares to 36,217,359 contracts and a volume of BRL 2.65 trillion in January.
The daily average of contracts traded in the derivatives markets set a new record in February, with 2,183,679 contracts, in contrast to the previous record of 2,172,046 in March 2008. The daily average number of trades also set a new record in February, with 62,994 trades, in contrast to 51,329 in October 2009. Open interest contracts ended the last trading day of February with 27,556,692 positions, compared to 22,967,763 in January.
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Source: BM&FBOVESPA
CME Group, Bolsa Mexicana de Valores and MexDer Announce Order Routing, Equity Agreement
March 8, 2010--CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, and the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV), the financial exchange operator in Mexico, today announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership that includes an order routing agreement for derivatives products. CME Group has purchased shares in the Mexican exchange valued at $17 million, or approximately 1.9 percent of outstanding BMV shares, as part of the equity portion of the agreement.
Additionally, the Control Trust of BMV has granted CME Group the right to nominate a member to BMV Board of Directors and the two exchange operators have signed a memorandum of understanding covering activities aimed at enhancing the partnership between the two exchanges.
Through the agreement, CME Group will become the exclusive exchange provider of derivatives order routing services to BMV outside Latin America, and BMV will be the exclusive exchange provider of derivatives order routing services to CME Group in Mexico. BMV's derivative products are offered through its derivatives subsidiary, MexDer.
CME Group and BMV have also agreed to pursue potential joint initiatives including product development, marketing and customer education as well as clearing opportunities. Additionally, BMV, CME Group and its Global Preferred Strategic Partner BM&FBOVESPA will initiate discussions about the aforementioned transaction and other commercial opportunities.
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Source: CME Group
FTSE Group Introduces New Equity Style Index Offerings with ActiveBeta Index Series
March 8, 2010-- FTSE Group (“FTSE”), the award winning global index provider, and global asset management firm Westpeak Global Advisors (“Westpeak”) have today launched the FTSE ActiveBeta Index Series, which provides an efficient, transparent and cost-effective vehicle for capturing systematic sources of active equity returns. The new series draws on the FTSE All-World Index Series, the benchmark of choice for international investors, for its base universe.
The FTSE ActiveBeta Index Series provides a new approach to investing in equities, derived from the premise that a significant portion of traditional active equity management returns – or alpha – is attributable to systematic sources of active returns rather than a manager’s stock selection skill. The new index series is based on research establishing that momentum and value, two widely used approaches in active management, are, in fact, systematic sources of active returns and should therefore be viewed as additional forms of betas – or ‘Active Betas’. The research also provides evidence of the counter-cyclical nature of momentum and value active returns, which implies that the combined capture of momentum and value should provide superior risk-adjusted performance compared to the capture of either momentum or value alone.
The index series can be used by a variety of institutional investors and product issuers to:
•structure more efficient equity portfolios through direct allocation to the systematic sources of active equity returns
•benchmark active growth, value and core managers’ investment performance more appropriately by using indices that better reflect their investment process
•create low cost passive investment vehicles which provide an alternative to traditional active management strategies
Westpeak’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer, Khalid Ghayur, commented, “For the first time, investors have access to an internally consistent global family of momentum, value, and combined momentum and value indices, which more accurately reflect the investment processes of active managers and provide a better understanding of the nature of traditional active equity returns.”
Mark Makepeace, Chief Executive, FTSE Group, added, “FTSE is proud to introduce this new range of equity style indices by partnering with Westpeak Global Advisors. The new FTSE ActiveBeta Index Series offers investors a fresh perspective on style investing as well as an alternative to traditional active management strategies, and further extends the range of tools FTSE provides to help clients meet their investment objectives."
Source: FTSE
Emerging Markets Week in Review -3/1/2010 - 3/5/2010
March 8, 2010--The Dow Jones Emerging Markets Composite Index had its best weekly return of 2009, gaining 4.63% last week. All sectors were positive as Materials and Finanicals led the way, up 5.77% and 4.77% respectively.
Technology, the best performing sector of 2010 (+5.17%), was up the least of any sector, gaining 2.51%. This week investors continue to weigh the risk of default of several trouble governments after last week's announcements of plans to raise taxes and lower spending.
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Source: Emerging Global Advisors
NASDAQ OMX Purchases North American Energy
March 8, 2010--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
(Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced the purchase of the business of North
American Energy Credit and Clearing Corp. (NECC), a Chicago-based
clearinghouse for the over the counter (OTC) power and gas markets. The
NECC transaction closed on March 3. Financial terms were not
disclosed.
"NASDAQ OMX continues to expand its presence in OTC commodities and
clearing, and this acquisition presents us with an opportunity to
deliver what the U.S. power and gas market currently lacks: a
clearinghouse with the flexibility to clear both financial and physical
instruments," said Bob Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer of The NASDAQ
OMX Group. "The U.S. power and natural gas market is another area where
we can strategically apply our exchange technology and an innovative
clearing solution to reduce risk, increase volume, and better serve the
customer through improved services and lower cost."
NASDAQ OMX is an experienced operator in the energy and commodities space through its Nord Pool market, the world's largest power derivatives exchange which has been in operation for 15 years. The exchange recently launched N2EX, its marketplace for physical UK power contracts.
"The support and resources of NASDAQ OMX will enable our team to expand our offering over the entire continental U.S. and provide the clearing facility that the industry has been seeking," said George Sladoje, former Chairman and CEO of NECC.
The NASDAQ OMX Commodities Clearing operation will be led by Geir Reigstad, Head of NASDAQ OMX Commodities. NASDAQ OMX has several operations in clearing across multiple asset classes, including majority-owned IDCG, which provides clearing for interest rate swaps. NASDAQ OMX also recently completed the first cross-border merger of clearing houses with the combination of its Nord Pool and Nordic clearing houses to clear Nordic equities, fixed income and power derivatives. NASDAQ OMX plans to offer central clearing in its U.K. power derivatives market in 2010.
The NECC acquisition follows NASDAQ OMX's recent purchase of a majority stake in Agora-X, which enables institutional market participants to efficiently negotiate OTC transactions in commodity and derivative contracts.
NECC's business supports the U.S. physical power and gas markets by integrating the physical and financial markets through market-neutral clearing services. It develops and provides clearing services to North American energy markets. The business' key customers include physical traders such as utilities and merchant generators, and financial traders such as banks and hedge funds. Operating as a market-neutral 'riskless principal', the clearinghouse enters matching positions with different counterparties and manages the credit risk on both sides using standard clearinghouse type margining.
For more information on NASDAQ OMX Commodities:
http://www.nasdaqomx.com/commodities
Source: NASDAQ