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Wisdom Tree files for 2 ETFs
December 11, 2009--WisdomTree has filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch two dividend-focused emerging markets ETFs. The new ETFs are the
•WisdomTree Emerging Markets Small Cap Dividend Fund
•WisdomTree Israel Total Dividend Fund
WisdomTree ETFs typically weigh holdings based on their dividend payouts and the new ETFs will follow that approach. The WisdomTree Small Cap Dividend Index that reside in the bottom 10% of market cap of the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Dividend Index, meaning many will have market caps below $2 billion.
To be included, companies will have to show dividend payments of at least $5 million in the previous 12 months. Obviously, the Israel ETF focuses exclusively on that market and will mainly invest in small and midcap names.
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Source: Benzinga
CBOE TO LIST S&P 500® DIVIDEND INDEX OPTIONS: Allows Market Participants to Take Positions On S&P 500 Dividend Changes for the First Time
December 11, 2009--The Chicago Board Options (CBOE) today announced it has received Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval to offer trading in options on the S&P 500® Dividend Index (ticker symbol - DVS). The first contract of its kind in the U.S., the S&P 500 Dividend Index option will be listed exclusively at CBOE.A launch date has not been finalized.
The S&P 500 Dividend Index, calculated by Standard & Poor's, represents the accumulated ex-dividend amounts of all S&P 500 Index component securities over a specified accrual period. Options on the S&P 500 Dividend Index will allow investors to directly hedge risks based on changes in the dividend-paying policies of stocks comprising the S&P 500 Index.Investors will have the ability to trade the difference between the expected ordinary cash ex-dividend amounts during a specified accrual period and the actual ex-dividend amounts over that time period.In addition, S&P 500 Dividend Index options will appeal to market makers who use dividend estimates when pricing options.
Because the S&P 500 Dividend Index is calculated using the same set of component securities, same shares outstanding, same capitalization-weighting methodology and same index divisor as are used to calculate the S&P 500 Index, DVS options can dovetail with trading of S&P 500 Index (SPX) options.Alternatively, the contract can be used independently to take a broad position on the direction of dividend payments of U.S. stocks.
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Source: CBOE
Quarterly Changes to the NASDAQ Q-50 Index
December 11, 2009--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
(Nasdaq:NDAQ) announced today the results of the quarterly reranking of
the NASDAQ Q-50 Index(SM) (Nasdaq:NXTQ), which will become effective with the market open on Monday, December 21, 2009.
The following eleven securities will be added to the Index: Akamai
Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:AKAM), CTC Media, Inc. (Nasdaq:CTCM), Hansen
Natural Corporation (Nasdaq:HANS), Human Genome Sciences, Inc.
(Nasdaq:HGSI), Itron, Inc. (Nasdaq:ITRI), Liberty Global's Class A
Common Stock (Nasdaq:LBTYA), Pharmaceutical Product Development, Inc.
(Nasdaq:PPDI), Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. (Nasdaq:PTEN), R.R. Donnelley
& Sons Company (Nasdaq:RRD), Ryanair Holdings plc (Nasdaq:RYAAY), and
Steel Dynamics, Inc. (Nasdaq:STLD).
The Index is designed to track the performance of the 50 securities that are next in line to replace the securities currently included in the NASDAQ-100 Index(R). The NASDAQ Q-50 Index is reranked on a quarterly basis. For more information about the NASDAQ Q-50 Index, including detailed eligibility criteria, visit https://indexes.nasdaqomx.com/.
As a result of the evaluation, the following ten securities will be removed from the Index: MICROS Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:MCRS), Mylan Inc. (Nasdaq:MYL), Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:ONXX), Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM), Penn National Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq:PENN), Qiagen N.V. (Nasdaq:QGEN), SanDisk Corporation (Nasdaq:SNDK), Sohu.com Inc. (Nasdaq:SOHU), Virgin Media Inc. (Nasdaq:VMED) and Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq:VSEA).
The PowerShares NXQ Portfolio (Nasdaq:PNXQ) is an exchange traded fund
that seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price
and yield, before the Fund's fees and expenses, of the NASDAQ Q-50
Index(SM). The Advisors Asset Management NASDAQ Q-50 Index
Portfolio(SM) (MFQS:AAMNAX) is a unit investment trust that seeks to
provide above average total return by investing in stocks included in
the NASDAQ Q-50 Index.
Source: NASDAQ OMX
DB Index Research -- Weekly ETF Reports - US
December 10, 2009--Highlights
ETF Volume
US ETF turnover declined by 8.4% to US$60.2bn in the previous week. Turnover in the S&P 500 SPDR ("Spider") was US$18.6bn. The PowerShares QQQ Nasdaq 100 had turnover of US$3.9bn followed by the iShares Russell 2000 with turnover of US$3.7bn.
There were six new ETFs launched in the last week. Global X launched two new ETFs on NYSE Arca. Direxionshares launched four new Leveraged ETFs on NYSE Arca.
In the previous week, average daily turnover in the Large Cap, US Sector, Leveraged and Global Regional products was US$24.2bn (-8.7%), US$9.5bn (-4.0%), US$8.4bn (-11.8%) and US$5.0bn (-7.7%) respectively.
Among the Emerging country ETFs, iShares MSCI Brazil ETF turnover was US$1,309m followed by iShares FTSE/Xinhua China ETF with turnover of US$919m. In non-US developed market flows, iShares MSCI Japan had turnover of US$344m. In non-domestic regional flows, emerging market turnover was US$3.8bn and developed markets regional flows EAFE had turnover of US$1.0bn.
Assets under Management (AUM)
Total assets under management for equity based ETFs rose by 2.5% in the previous week, AUM were US$586.9bn.
To request a copy of the report
Source: Aram Flores and Shan Lan -DB Index Research
Putnam eyeing actively managed ETFs, CEO Reynolds says
December 10, 2009--The firm is having conversations about the pros and cons of offering active ETFs versus mutual funds, he said. “We need to do careful analysis of what the advantages and disadvantages are of ETFs,” Mr. Reynolds said. Putnam doesn't have a timetable for when it will make a decision.
Putnam Investments is discussing launching actively managed exchange-traded funds. “As actively managed ETFs become a reality, we want to be part of it,” Robert Reynolds, president and CEO, said in an interview.
read more
Source: Investment News
Flow of Funds Accounts-FEDERAL RESERVE statistical release
December 10, 2009- The Federal Reserve has just released the Flow of Funds Accounts of the United States Flows and Outstandings Third Quarter 2009 Report.
view report
Source: Federal Reserve
Obama Administration Releases New Data on Modification Program
December 10, 2009--Today, the Obama Administration released the latest monthly report for the Making Home Affordable (MHA) loan modification program. As part of an ongoing commitment to transparency, the report includes for the first time the number of modifications that have transitioned from the trial to permanent phase as well as a break-out of the 15 metropolitan areas with the highest program activity.
With more than 728,000 modifications under way across the country, the program is on track to meet its goals over the next several years. Modifications are providing real benefits to homeowners - borrowers in modifications are saving an average of over $550 per month. However, the report shows that servicers have only converted 31,382 modifications to the permanent phase. According to servicer reports, most borrowers in modifications are meeting their responsibilities to make their payments. Servicers need to do their part to help borrowers complete the process and get to the finish line. Top Administration officials met with servicers in Washington DC this week to urge a faster pace in converting borrowers to permanent modifications.
view the Making Home Affordable (MHA) Monthly report
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury.
New Report Shows Higher Returns, Lower Spending Under TARP Than Previously Projected
Deficit Impact of Program Cut Dramatically
December 10, 2009--The US Department of the Treasury today released a report that summarizes the fiscal year (FY) 2009 activities of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and provides estimates from the Office of Financial Stability (OFS) detailing the lowered projected costs and higher projected returns of the TARP.
The report demonstrates that Treasury's investments to stabilize the system are delivering higher returns than anticipated and that Treasury does not anticipate having to draw upon the full $700 billion in TARP authority. The impact of lower overall TARP investments and higher investment returns is projected to cut the impact of TARP on the deficit by about 60 percent or more from the August 2009 Mid-Session Review.
The Government Accountability Office has audited the FY 2009 financial statements prepared by OFS for the TARP and stated that "the financial statements are presented fairly, in all material respects, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles." Additionally, the GAO also found no material weaknesses in internal controls.
During the period ended September 30, 2009, the Treasury-OFS disbursed $364 billion of the authorized $700 billion, most of it in the form of investments, and $73 billion of those TARP funds have already been repaid. During that same period, the investments generated $12.7 billion in cash received through interest, dividends, and the proceeds from the sale of warrants. For TARP's FY 2009 activities, Treasury reports net cost of operations of approximately $41.6 billion including administrative expenses. This reflects a reduction of $110 billion in FY 2009 costs from when the TARP programs were originated last year. As additional funds are disbursed, particularly for the housing initiative, the total cost of TARP is likely to rise, although it is anticipated to be at least $200 billion less than the $341 billion estimate in the August 2009 Mid-Session Review.
view the Agency Financial Report
Source: U.S. Department of the Treasury
BlackRock Lists iShares 10+ Year Credit Bond and iShares 10+ Year Government/Credit Bond Fund’s on NYSE Arca
December 10, 2009--NYSE Euronext (NYX) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, NYSE Arca,began trading on Wednesday, December 09, 2009, the iShares 10+ Year Credit Bond Fund (Ticker: CLY) and the iShares 10+ Year Government/Credit Bond Fund (Ticker: GLJ). The funds are advised by BlackRock Fund Advisors.
iShares 10+ Year Credit Bond Fund (CLY)
The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of The BofA Merrill Lynch 10+ Year US Corporate & Yankees Index (the “Underlying Index”), which includes debt securities issued publicly by U.S. corporations and U.S. dollar-denominated, publicly issued debt of non-U.S. corporations, non-U.S. government debt and supranational debt. The Underlying Index is a broad, market value weighted, total rate of return index designed to measure the performance of the long-term, investment-grade U.S. corporate and Yankee bond markets.
iShares 10+ Year Government/Credit Bond Fund (GLJ)
The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of The BofA Merrill Lynch 10+ Year US Corporate & Government Index (the “Underlying Index”), which includes publicly issued U.S. Treasury debt, U.S. government agency debt, debt issued by U.S. and non-U.S. corporations, non-U.S. government debt and supranational debt. The Underlying Index is a broad, market value weighted, total rate of return index designed to measure the performance of the long-term, investment-grade U.S. corporate and government bond markets.
The funds’ prospectuses and other information are available at www.ishares.com.
Source: NYSE Euronext
ETF Landscape US Handbook Q3 2009
December 10, 2009--Highlights
At the end of Q3 2009, global ETF assets hit an all time high of US$933Bn, 4.8% above the previous all time high of US$891Bn set in August 2009. There were 1,819 ETFs with 3,247 listings from 96 providers on 40 exchanges around the world.
Additionally, there were 568 other Exchange Traded Products (ETPs), with assets of US$105.87 Bn from 39 providers on 19 exchanges. Combined, there were 2,387 products with 4,083 listings and assets of US$1,039.35 Bn from 122 providers on 43 exchanges around the world.
The growth in ETF listings can be explained, in large part, by strong investor demand for these types of products. The proliferation of new offerings has also made it more challenging in terms of decision-making.
to request report
Source: ETF Research and Implementation Strategy Team, Blackrock