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Financial Services Committee to Consider the Future of Housing Finance
February 4, 2010--
Washington, DC - Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) announced today the committee will hold a hearing on March 2 to begin the process of considering the future of housing finance.
The hearing will focus on all the private and public entities that support the mortgage market, which include the Federal Housing Administration, Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Federal Home Loan Banks, and private lenders and securitizers. It is the first step in a legislative process to determine the future of housing finance and the federal government’s role in responsible homeownership and the supply of affordable rental housing. Chairman Frank has invited Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan to present the Administration’s perspective, as well as representatives of the advocacy community, academia, and industry to present their ideas on the future of housing finance. Witnesses will be announced at a later date.
DB Index Research -- Weekly ETF Reports -- US
February 3, 2010--Highlights
ETF Volume
US ETF turnover rose by 23.3% to US$66bn in the previous week. Turnover in the S&P 500 SPDR ("Spider") was US$21.7bn. The PowerShares QQQ Nasdaq 100 had turnover of US$5.7bn followed by iShares Russell 2000 with turnover of US$3.9bn.
There were three new ETFs launched in the last week. Grail Advisors LLC launched two new active bond ETFs followed by UBS which launched one new equity - Gold hedged ETF. All the listings were on NYSE Arca.
In the previous week, average daily turnover in the Large Cap, US Sector, Leveraged and Global Regional products was US$29.3bn (24.8%), US$10.8bn (21.6%), US$7.3bn (25.7%) and US$4.9bn (21.9%) respectively.
Among the Emerging country ETFs, iShares MSCI Brazil ETF turnover was US$1,306m followed by iShares FTSE/Xinhua China ETF with turnover of US$1,197m. In non-US developed market flows, iShares MSCI Japan had turnover of US$311m. In non-domestic regional flows, emerging market turnover was US$3.5bn and developed markets regional flows EAFE had turnover of US$1.1bn.
Assets under Management (AUM)
Total assets under management for equity based ETFs declined by 2% in the previous week, AUM were US$569.9bn.
To request a copy of the report
PIMCO Lists PIMCO Short Term Municipal Bond Strategy Fund on NYSE Arca
January 3, 2010--NYSE Euronext (NYX) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, NYSE Arca, began trading the PIMCO Short Term Municipal Bond Strategy Fund (Ticker: SMMU). The ETF is sponsored by PIMCO ETF Trust.
The Fund seeks to achieve attractive tax-exempt income, consistent with preservation of capital, by investing under normal circumstances at least 80% of its assets in a diversified portfolio of debt securities whose interest is, in the opinion of bond counsel for the issuer at the time of issuance, exempt from federal income tax and which securities generally are issued by or on behalf of states and local governments and their agencies, authorities and other instrumentalities
Standard & Poor's Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index
February 3, 2010--Standard & Poor's will make the following changes in the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index after the close of trading on Wednesday, February 3, 2010:
Gold Wheaton Gold Corp. (TSXVN:GLW) will be removed from the index. The company will graduate to TSX where it will trade under the same ticker symbol.
The shares will be consolidated on a 1-for-10 basis upon graduation.
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.
Treasury Welcomes PNC’s Plan to Repay TARP Funds
February 3, 2010--The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the following statement regarding PNC's announcement to repay taxpayers for the assistance provided by the government:
"We are pleased that PNC Financial Services is moving ahead with plans to pay the taxpayers back in full. Government policies have helped restore our financial system and economy to health, giving banks such as PNC an opportunity to replace Treasury investments with private capital and reducing the burden of debt on future generations.
"Once Treasury receives PNC's repayment, it will have recovered nearly 70 percent of taxpayer investments in the banking system. Also, this repayment means that of the $376 billion in total TARP funds that have been disbursed since 2008, only $203 billion will be outstanding today, and Treasury will have recovered $170 billion of taxpayer investments in the banking system."
NSX Releases January 2010 ETF Data Reports
February 3, 2010--Highlights from the January 2010 report include:
Assets in U.S. listed Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF) and Exchange-Traded Notes (ETN) totaled approximately $744.7 billion at January 2010 month-end, an increase of approximately 48% over January 2009 month-end when assets totaled $504.6 billion.
At the end of January 2010, the number of listed products totaled 947, compared to 856 listed products at the end of January 2009.
January 2010 net cash outflows from all ETFs/ETNs totaled approximately $17.3 billion.
Fixed income led all product categories with over $3.1 billion in net cash flow.
U.S. equities had record monthly net cash outflows for the category of over $19.8 billion for the month of January 2010.
For more info vsit nsx.com.
PNC to Sell PNC Global Investment Servicing
February 3, 2010--The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell PNC Global Investment Servicing Inc., a leading provider of processing, technology and business intelligence services to asset managers, broker-dealers, and financial advisors worldwide, to BNY Mellon (NYSE: BK) for $2.3 billion in cash.
Upon completion of the sale, PNC expects to report an after-tax gain of approximately $.5 billion and an increase in Tier 1 common capital of approximately $1.6 billion after the release of capital of $1.1 billion primarily related to goodwill and other intangible assets. As a result, on a pro forma basis, PNC's Tier 1 common capital ratio at December 31, 2009 would have increased by approximately 70 basis points to an estimated 6.7 percent.
"The sale of PNC Global Investment Servicing is consistent with our focus on disciplined capital management," said James E. Rohr, chairman and chief executive officer. "Given the changing competitive landscape in the investment servicing industry, we believe this is the proper time to sell the business to capture the full value of PNC Global Investment Servicing. The capital generated from this transaction will position PNC with further flexibility."
The transaction is estimated to be completed in the third quarter of 2010, subject to regulatory approvals and certain other closing conditions.
"For more than three decades the work of PNC Global Investment Servicing's dedicated employees has grown the business into a premier provider of fund servicing around the globe," Rohr continued. "We are pleased that this transaction partners PNC Global Investment Servicing's clients and employees with an industry leader."
PNC Global Investment Servicing serviced total fund assets of $2.3 trillion and had 4,450 full-time employees at December 31, 2009.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. Incorporated acted as financial advisers and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz acted as legal adviser to PNC.
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (www.pnc.com) is one of the nation's largest diversified financial services organizations providing retail and business banking; residential mortgage banking; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management; asset management and global fund services.
Minutes of the Meeting of the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee Of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association
February 2, 2010--The Committee convened in closed session at the Hay-Adams Hotel at 8:00 a.m. All Committee members were present. Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Federal Finance Matthew Rutherford and Acting Directors of the Office of Debt Management Fred Pietrangeli and Stephen M. Vajs welcomed the Committee. The Chairman of the committee introduced one new member, Walter J. Muller III.
DAS Rutherford opened the discussion with a presentation to the Committee which highlighted current fiscal conditions and financing needs. The presentation began with a review of the budget outlook and projections for the upcoming year. DAS Rutherford noted that net receipts were expected to be 15% of GDP, while outlays were expected to be 25% of GDP.
Rutherford also noted that Administration's deficit estimate for FY2010 was expected to print at 11% of GDP, but is expected to moderate in coming years to 4% of GDP. Rutherford also said that the pace of decline in year-over-year corporate tax receipts had slowed in the first quarter of FY 2010. In the past, these receipts have led changes in other receipt categories. While the deceleration was favorable, there remains uncertainty about the timing and level of economic recovery. DAS Rutherford then turned to Treasury's financing over the past quarter and plans for future borrowing.
Corporations have made large strides containing costs and strengthening balance sheets over the past two years. Aggressive job shedding and declines in capital spending have helped maintain profit margins close to historic norms. Firms have also built up large cash reserves and lengthened the average maturity of their debt. As a result, they appear well positioned to generate profits and take advantage of growth opportunities in an expanding economy. To date, the turn in corporate behavior remains tentative as inventories and employment have stabilized but are not yet expanding. Equipment and software spending rose an impressive 13% annualized pace last quarter, but remains below levels of depreciation. February 2010 Quarterly Refunding Statement A 30-year bond in the amount of $16 billion, maturing February 15, 2040.
The 3-year note will be auctioned on a yield basis at 1:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, February 9, 2010. The 10-year note will be auctioned on a yield basis at 1:00 p.m. EST on Wednesday, February 10, 2010, and the 30-year bond will be auctioned on a yield basis at 1:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, February 11, 2010. All of these auctions will settle on Tuesday, February 16, 2010.
The balance of Treasury financing requirements will be met with 4-, 13-, and 26-week bills; 52-week bills; monthly 2-year, 3-year, 5-year, and 7-year notes; the February 30-year TIPS; the March and April 10-year note reopenings and 30-year bond reopenings; the April 5-year TIPS; and the April 10-year TIPS reopening.
Treasury will also issue cash management bills, some potentially longer dated, during the quarter.
CFTC publishes Speculative Position Limits for Referenced Energy Contracts and Associated Regulations New Entrant – ETF Securities – Passes $1 Billion in Assets under Management in the US ETF Market ETF Securities is the first company to provide investors with access to a full suite of precious metal ETFs. Investors can now trade Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium from the same provider. The four precious metal ETFs have the following key features:
Track spot price of underlying metal less associated management fees(1)
100% physically backed by underlying bullion – minimal counterparty risk
Gold vaulted in Switzerland
Silver, Platinum & Palladium vaulted in London and Switzerland
Bullion holdings audited by specialist audit firm biannually – audit reports published on the website www.etfsecurities.com
Bullion bar list published on website
Low cost(1)
Commenting on this milestone for ETF Securities in the US, William Rhind, Strategic Director for ETFS Marketing LLC, commented:
“Crossing $1 billion in our 4 US ETFs is a landmark moment. We have been incredibly pleased with the reception our precious metal ETFs have received from the market. Providing a one stop shop for precious metals investing has really resonated with investors. We will endeavor to bring more products to market as we aim to become the leading provider of commodity ETFs in the US market”
For more information please contact the US marketing agent, ETFS Marketing on 212-918-4954 or visit our website: www.etfsecurities.com. PIMCO Short-Term Muni Bond ETF Starts Trading on NYSE Fidelity® Launches Bold ETF Offering for Investors by Providing Suite of 25 iShares® Funds Commission-Free
This broad, commission-free offering is for all online buy and sell orders through Fidelity’s online and wireless channels. It provides investors who use Fidelity’s retail brokerage platform, which currently provides services to more than 12 million brokerage accounts, a wide range of ETF choices in all nine domestic equity style categories from large value to small growth, as well as international equity and fixed-income asset classes. Investors can also trade more than 800 ETFs, available from more than 40 providers, for $7.95 a trade on Fidelity.com. There they will also find new Fidelity viewpoints on ETF investing strategies, as well as research and fund evaluation tools.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury is offering $81 billion of Treasury securities to refund approximately $48.3 billion of privately held securities maturing on February 15, 2010. This will raise approximately $32.7 billion. The securities are:
A 3-year note in the amount of $40 billion, maturing February 15, 2013;
A 10-year note in the amount of $25 billion, maturing February 15, 2020; and
February 3, 2010--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has released proposals for the regulation of commodities exchange-traded funds.
view Federal Speculative Position Limits for Referenced Energy Contracts and
Associated Regulations; Proposed Rule
February 3, 2010--Major milestone for the company proving success of the first full precious metal ETF platform in US:
Gold (SGOL), Silver (SIVR), Platinum (PPLT) and Palladium (PALL) with trading volumes over 50,000 shares a day and assets of over 500m
Strong demand for newly launched ETFS Physical Platinum (PPLT) and ETFS Physical Palladium (PALL) shares
ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (SGOL) AUM now stands at $336.28M (as of February 1, 2010)
ETF Securities USA LLC (ETFS) announced today that the total assets under management of its four products; ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (SGOL), ETFS Physical Silver Shares (SIVR), ETFS Physical Platinum Shares (PPLT) and ETFS Physical Palladium Shares (PALL) now exceeds $1 Billion as of January 27, 2010 after experiencing elevated trading volumes since launch.
February 2, 2010--PIMCO's Term Municipal Bond Strategy Fund (NYSE: SMMU), the third actively managed bond ETF from the fixed income giant, made its trading debut today.
SMMU uses a portfolio of highly rated short duration bonds that provides income that is exempt from federal taxes.
SMMU tracks the the Barclays Capital 1-3 Year Municipal Bond Index.
Industry-First Offering Enables Fidelity Retail Customers to Access Broadest Choice of Commission-Free ETFs Available Today in Brokerage Industry
February 2, 2010--)--Fidelity Investments®, a leading online brokerage firm and the largest mutual fund company, today announced it will offer its retail customers commission-free online trades for a suite of 25 iShares® Funds from the global leader in Exchange Traded Funds. Separately, the firm also announced it has reduced its online U.S. equity trade commissions to $7.95 for all of its customers regardless of trading level.
The program, established in partnership with BlackRock®, includes the popular iShares S&P 500 Index Fund (IVV), iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (IWM), iShares Barclays Aggregate Bond Fund (AGG), iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (EFA) and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (EEM).
