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Standard & Poor's Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Canadian Indices
Novemeber 2, 2009--Standard & Poor's Canadian Index Operations announces the following index changes:
The shareholders of Petro Andina Resources Inc. (TSX:PAR) have approved the Plan of Arrangement transaction with Pluspetrol Resources Corporation N.V. Petro Andina will be removed from the S&P/TSX SmallCap
and Equity SmallCap indices effective after the close of Thursday, November 5, 2009.
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.
Standard & Poor's Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index
November 2, 2009--Standard & Poor's will make the following changes in the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index after the close of trading on Monday, November 2, 2009:
The shares of Kenrich-Eskay Mining Corp. (TSXVN:KRE) will trade under the new name Eskay Mining Corp.
The new ticker symbol will be "ESK" and the new CUSIP number 296437 10 6. There is no consolidation of capital.
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.
Jefferies files with the SEC
November 2, 2009--Jefferies Asset Management, LLC has files for exemptive relief with the SEC.
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Exchange-Traded Funds-ETF Assets and Net Cash-Morgan Stanley
October 30, 2009-Highlights:
There were 27 new ETFs listed in the US and three providers entered the market in the third quarter of 2009. There was only one liquidation this past quarter bringing the total number of US-listed ETF liquidations to 92 since 1/01/08. In 2009, 74 ETFs have been launched and 48 have been closed resulting in net new issuance of 26 ETFs. As of October 26, 2009, there were 789 ETFs listed in the US. Six providers have exited the business as the challenging market environment has limited traction for many of the newer, more narrowlyfocused ETFs based on less well-known indices.
Inflows into US-listed ETFs were $26.4 billion during the third quarter of 2009. While this was down from
the $37.8 billion in net inflows in the second quarter, it remains in line with the average quarterly net cash
inflows of $24.5 billion from 2004–3Q09.
The largest net cash inflows occurred into ETFs tracking fixed income and international indices as well as Sector & Industry ETFs.
We note that Leveraged/Inverse ETFs had net cash outflows of $1.9 billion in the third quarter, some of which may have occurred in response to recent regulatory commentary.
US ETF industry assets have recently touched an all time high and are currently $718.8 billion. US ETF assets have rebounded by roughly 33% so far this year and by 53% since the end of the first quarter of 2009.
This is a result of a strong rally in global markets and a rebound in ETF net cash inflows after a weak first quarter of the year. Two providers and 20 ETFs still account for roughly 68% and over 51% of industry assets, respectively.
CME Group Announces the Launch of ASCI OTC Futures
October 30, 2009--CME Group, the world's largest and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced the launch of trading and clearing services for cash-settled trade-month swap futures on the Argus Sour Crude Index (ASCI) as published by Argus Media. Under a licensing agreement with Argus Media, CME Group can develop futures, options and over-the-counter (OTC) offerings on a broad range of Argus products. Trading for the ASCI product is scheduled to begin November 23 on the New York trading floor. Clearing services will be available through CME ClearPort, a set of flexible clearing services open to OTC market participants to substantially mitigate counterparty risk and provide neutral settlement prices across asset classes.
The ASCI tracks the price in the physical market of a basket of US Gulf Coast crude oils, including Mars, Poseidon and Southern Green Canyon, which are priced at a differential to the NYMEX Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI), the world's most liquid, leading crude oil benchmark. The ASCI OTC contract will provide producers, commercials and others an essential tool for pricing spreads on these grades with NYMEX WTI.
In addition, CME Group plans to launch a new physically delivered US Gulf Coast Sour Crude Oil futures contract, which will be listed on CME Globex and CME ClearPort by the end of January 2010. The sour crude futures contract has main delivery grades that closely mirror the ASCI, enabling an efficient tool for hedging opportunities and to meet the evolving needs of the energy industry. The contracts will be listed by and subject to the rules and regulations of NYMEX.
"We are pleased to offer OTC futures contracts on the ASCI, which complement our WTI futures," said CME Group Executive Chairman Terry Duffy. "This week, Saudi Arabia announced that they will begin using the ASCI to price their substantial oil exports. This further strengthens the benchmark status of our WTI contract as ASCI components are priced as differentials to the WTI settlement price."
"The ASCI OTC futures contract, in concert with the WTI contract, will enable our customers to hedge price exposure to the global crude market with greater precision," said CME Group Chief Executive Officer Craig Donohue. "Additionally, Saudi Arabia's adoption of ASCI could spur demand for our new sour crude futures contract, which will provide an additional pivot point for price determination and risk management in the world oil market."
The vendor code for the ASCI contract is 29. The first listed month will be the January 2010 contract month. The contract will be listed for 36 consecutive contract months.
For more information please visit www.cmegroup.com/clearport
Opening Statement of Commissioner Jill Sommers Before the CFTC Agricultural Advisory Committee, Washington, DC
October 30, 2009--Good morning. Thank you all for being here to discuss the important issues being considered by the Agricultural Advisory Committee. I want to particularly thank Commissioner Mike Dunn for his leadership and all of the people who have participated on the Subcommittee on Convergence.
I appreciate your service to the Commission and look forward to hearing your report and recommendations. I also appreciate the Chicago Board of Trade’s proactive efforts to try to find a solution to this problem. Finally, I want to thank our Commission
Over many months we have devoted significant time and effort to examining poor convergence between cash and futures prices in certain agricultural futures markets, particularly the CBOT soft red winter wheat contract. CBOT’s recent rule changes providing for a seasonal storage rate and additional delivery locations, in addition to other changes, have reduced the basis, but the contract continues to exhibit a lack of convergence problem, particularly when the futures market is near or exceeds full carry.
This issue is core to our mission. I want to make sure this contract is accurately discovering prices and is providing an opportunity for producers and commercial entities to hedge price risk. Many market participants have expressed concern about the continued usefulness of this contract, which is troublesome. We must attempt to restore confidence that our markets operate efficiently and effectively, and to strengthen market integrity. Public confidence in the markets is crucial.
I am hopeful that through the dialogue at today’s meeting we can come to an agreement on appropriate next steps that will allow us to finally move toward a resolution. I appreciate your input over the past several months, as well as the time and effort you have devoted to finding workable solutions and look forward to hearing the discussion.
Fee Rate Advisory #3 for Fiscal Year 2010
October 30, 2009--The continuing resolution funding the Securities and Exchange Commission for fiscal year 2010 since Oct. 1, 2009, is being extended through Dec. 18, 2009. During this period, fees paid under Section 6(b) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 13(e) and 14(g) the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 will remain at the current rate of $55.80 per million dollars, while fees paid under Section 31 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 will remain at the current rate of $25.70 per million dollars.
As previously announced, 30 days after the date of enactment of the Commission’s regular fiscal year 2010 appropriation, the Section 31 fee rate applicable to securities transactions on the exchanges and in the over-the-counter markets will be set at $12.70 per million dollars. The assessment on security futures transactions under Section 31(d) will remain unchanged at $0.0042 for each round turn transaction.
In addition, five days after the date of enactment of the Commission’s regular appropriation, the Section 6(b) fee rate applicable to the registration of securities, the Section 13(e) fee rate applicable to the repurchase of securities, and the Section 14(g) fee rate applicable to proxy solicitations and statements in corporate control transactions will be set at $71.30 per million dollars.read more
CFTC Releases Latest Quarterly Data on Commodity Index Investment
October 30, 2009--Swap dealers and index traders that receive a “special call” (under CFTC Rule 18.05) must file monthly reports with the CFTC's Division of Market Oversight within 5 business days after the end of the month.
Selected quarterly data from those reports is published below. Those data show the national values and the equivalent number of futures contracts for all U.S. markets with more than $0.5 billion of reported net notional value of index investment at the end of any one quarter.
The most recent quarter-end information generally is added about 4 to 5 weeks after the “as of” date. Once posted, the CFTC does not generally revise this information to reflect any amended information subsequently received, but may do so if the changes are extraordinary.
CIT Bonds Signal Bankruptcy Inevitable as Debt Exchange Expires
October 30, 2009--CIT Group Inc. bond and credit- default swap prices show that investors are betting the 101- year-old commercial lender will file for bankruptcy after the deadline for a debt exchange expired overnight.
Since CIT Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Peek started a $30 billion debt swap Oct. 1, the company’s notes due Nov. 3 dropped 12 cents to 68 cents on the dollar, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Holders of the $500 million in notes were offered 90 cents on the dollar in new debt and equity in an out- of-court exchange that expired at 11:59 p.m. yesterday in New York. They would get 70 cents on the dollar in bonds and new stock in a pre-packaged bankruptcy.
SEC Office of the Chief Accountant Releases Staff Accounting Bulletin
October 30, 2009-- The Office of the Chief Accountant of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today issued updated guidance on how the agency’s staff interprets accounting rules related to the oil and gas industry.
Additional Materials
Staff Accounting Bulletin 113
These updates correspond with rulemaking that the SEC approved in December 2008 to modernize its oil and gas company reporting requirements to help investors evaluate the value of their investments in these companies.
The principal revisions of the guidance, known as Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 113, include: changing the price used in determining quantities of oil and gas reserves;
eliminating the option to use post-quarter-end prices to evaluate write-offs of excess capitalized costs under the full cost method of accounting;
removing the exclusion of unconventional methods used in extracting oil and gas from oil sands or shale as an oil and gas producing activity; and,
removing certain questions and interpretative guidance which are no longer necessary.
The guidance updates Topic 12 of the codification of staff accounting bulletins in order to make it consistent with the Commission’s Final Rule Release, Modernization of Oil and Gas Reporting, issued Dec. 31, 2008.
The statements in a staff accounting bulletin, or SAB, are not rules or interpretations of the Commission, nor are they published as bearing the Commission’s official approval. They represent interpretations and practices followed by the Division of Corporation Finance and the Office of the Chief Accountant in administering the disclosure requirements of the Federal securities laws.
UBS AG Lists the UBS E-TRACS Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return ETN on NYSE Arca
October 30, 2009--NYSE Euronext (NYX) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, NYSE Arca, began trading the UBS E-TRACS Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index Total Return ETN (NYSE Arca: DJCI) on Thursday, October 29, 2009. Issued by UBS AG, the ETN is designed to track the performance of the DJ-UBS Commodity Index Total Return (the “Index”), less investor fees.
The Index is composed of the prices of nineteen exchange-traded futures contracts on physical commodities. Its overall return is generated by two components: (i) unleveraged returns on futures contracts on the physical commodities comprising the DJ-UBS Commodity Index and (ii) the returns that correspond to the weekly announced interest rate for specified 3-month U.S. Treasury Bills.
WisdomTree makes GAAP net loss of USD5m in Q3
October 30, 2009--WisdomTree, an index developer and exchange-traded fund sponsor, made a GAAP net loss of USD5.0m in the third quarter of 2009, a four per cent improvement from a net loss of USD5.2m in the second quarter.
WisdomTree, an index developer and exchange-traded fund sponsor, made a GAAP net loss of USD5.0m in the third quarter of 2009, a four per cent improvement from a net loss of USD5.2m in the second quarter.
Pro-forma operating net loss, which excludes stock-based compensation, depreciation, amortization and interest and investment income, was USD2.4m in the quarter, a 26.2 per cent improvement from a net loss of USD3.3m in the second quarter.
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Lipper to construct model portfolio solutions for BMO InvestorLine
October 30, 2009--Lipper, a Thomson Reuters company, has been selected by the BMO Financial Group to construct model portfolio solutions of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds ETFs for BMO InvestorLine
Lipper will also be providing BMO InvestorLine with an ETF and mutual fund selection research service.
Wisdom files with SEC
October 29, 2009-WisdomTree has filedwith the SEC for the following:
WisdomTree Real Return Fund
Ticker symbol: RRF
Cusip: 97717X875
Investment Objective
The WisdomTree Real Return Fund seeks to provide investors with total returns that exceed the rate of inflation over long-term investment horizons. The Fund’s investment objective is non-fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.
Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Statement on Third Quarter GDP
October 29, 2009--The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis today released data on GDP in the third quarter.
Real GDP increased 3.5 percent at an annual rate in the third quarter, after declining in five of the preceding six quarters. The gain marked the largest quarterly advance since the third quarter of 2007. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke issued the following statement in response to the news.
“Today’s numbers indicate that the tough decisions this administration made to rescue the economy from the abyss were correct. We’re headed in the right direction, and even though there are still too many Americans out of work and still much work to be done, without the action taken in the early days of this administration, the pain families are feeling today would be much worse.”
