Americas ETP News
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Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement
May 1, 2013--Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in March suggests that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace.
Labor market conditions have shown some improvement in recent months, on balance, but the unemployment rate remains elevated. Household spending and business fixed investment advanced, and the housing sector has strengthened further, but fiscal policy is restraining economic growth. Inflation has been running somewhat below the Committee's longer-run objective, apart from temporary variations that largely reflect fluctuations in energy prices. Longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable.
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Source: FBR
SEC Proposes Rules for Cross-Border Security-Based Swap Activities
May 1, 2013--The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted unanimously to propose rules and interpretive guidance for parties to cross-border security-based swap transactions.
The proposal explains which regulatory requirements apply when a transaction occurs partially within and partially outside the U.S. The proposed rules also set forth when security-based swap dealers, major security-based swap participants, and other entities — such as clearing agencies, execution facilities, and data repositories — must register with the SEC.
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Source: SEC.gov
Direxion Launches Two Leveraged Exchange-Traded Funds
New ETFs Offer 3x Leveraged Inverse Exposure to Brazil and South Korea
May 1, 2013--Direxion, a leader in alternative investment solutions, has launched two new leveraged inverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the Direxion Daily Brazil Bear 3x Shares (BRZS) and Direxion Daily South Korea Bear 3x Shares (KORZ).
The Direxion Daily Brazil Bear 3x Shares seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of 300% of the inverse performance of the MSCI Brazil 25/50 Index. The MSCI Brazil 25/50 Index measures the equity market performance of mid- and large-cap Brazilian companies. Similarly, the Direxion Daily South Korea Bear 3x Shares seeks daily investment results, before fees and expenses, of 300% of the inverse performance of the MSCI Korea 25/50 Index. The MSCI Korea 25/50 Index measures the equity market performance of mid- and large-cap South Korean companies.
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Source: Direxion
Deutsche Bank-Synthetic Equity & Index Strategy-North America
US ETF Model Portfolios-Diversified Momentum Portfolio Update
May 1, 2013--Diversified Momentum Update as of April 30th, 2013
Solid month for our DMP. Strong results for Global sectors, Commodities, and Treasuries.
Market Performance
The US equity market (SPY) recorded another positive month in April. Similarly, the broad US Fixed Income market (BND) was up; while the Commodity market (DBC) plunged by 3.81% during the same period.
Model Portfolio Performance
Our Diversified Momentum Portfolio (DMP) advanced 1.71% in April. In the meantime, the equity market and our multi asset class benchmark were both up recording gains of 1.92% and 0.39%, respectively.
Portfolio Updates and New Membership
9 of the 20 DMP positions will change for May. In terms of portfolio weights, the asset class weights will suffer no changes. Currencies will continue to be the top allocation with 40%, followed by Global Sectors with 30%, Commodities with 20%, and Treasuries with 10%.
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Source: DB-Synthetic Equity & Index Strategy-North America
Vanguard reports April 2013 expense ratio changes
May 1, 2013--In April, expense ratios changed for multiple Vanguard mutual funds and ETFs available to institutional investors, as shown in the tables below. Thirty-four products had reductions in their expense ratios, and 5 had increases.
Expense ratios may fluctuate from year to year based on changes in the cost of managing the funds. For example, economies of scale resulting from an increase in a fund's total assets because of market appreciation or cash flow can help reduce its expense ratio, while a decline in assets can cause the expense ratio to rise.
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Source: Vanguard
Report to the Secretary of the Treasury
May 1, 2013--April 30, 2013
Dear Mr. Secretary:
The economy grew at a moderate pace in the first quarter: real GDP expanded at a 2.5% annual rate, as some of the temporary drags that held growth to a 0.4% pace the prior quarter faded.
The tone of the data late in the first quarter softened, quite likely due to the delayed effect of fiscal restraint enacted at the beginning of the year. That restraint is expected to present a significant headwind to growth in the second quarter, as the drag from sequestered federal spending is added to the drag from higher payroll and income taxes. While recent data point to a deceleration from the first quarter’s respectable growth rate, there are some supports to growth as well. The housing sector appears set to contribute to overall economic growth once again, and the recent decline in energy prices should provide some purchasing power relief to the household sector. Outside of commodity prices, financial conditions have been mixed but broadly remain supportive of continued economic expansion.
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Source: US Department of the Treasury
Exchange Traded Concepts Files for YieldShares High Income ETF (YYY)
May 1, 2013--Exchange Traded Concepts, LLC (ETC), in conjunction with YieldShares LLC (YieldShares), announces that Exchange Traded Concepts Trust (Trust) has filed a registration statement, including a preliminary prospectus, with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the YieldShares High Income ETF (YYY).
YYY will seek to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the ISE High IncomeTM Index (High Income Index). The High Income Index seeks to measure the performance of the top 30 U.S. exchange-listed closed-end funds (CEFs), as selected and ranked according to factors designed to result in a portfolio that produces high current income.
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Source: Exchange Traded Concepts
"Kill switches" closer to becoming reality
May 1, 2013--Exchanges are almost ready to submit a proposal to the Securities and Exchange Commission that will create "kill switches" or "big red buttons" designed to prevent market disruptions.
These kill switches would track and limit the amount of trading conducted by market participants and would provide a cap on all trading for a given day. The kill switches would be free for all brokers.
Source: SmartBrief.com
CME Group Volume Averaged 11.6 Million Contracts per Day in April 2013, Up 8 Percent from April 2012
Metals volume up 62 percent, to record
Energy volume up 20 percent
Foreign exchange volume up 18 percent
Equities volume up 16 percent
May 1, 2013--CME Group, the world,s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced that April 2013 volume averaged 11.6 million contracts per day, up 8 percent compared with April 2012. Total volume for April 2013 was more than 254 million contracts, of which 87 percent was traded electronically.
In April 2013, CME Group metals volume averaged a record 532,000 contracts per day, up 62 percent from April 2012, driven by monthly records across various products including copper. CME Group energy volume averaged 1.9 million contracts per day in April 2013, up 20 percent compared with the prior April. During the month, open interest in NYMEX Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures reached a record 1.77 million contracts and open interest for NYMEX Brent Crude Oil Futures surpassed 53,000. Furthermore, 458,000 energy contracts were cleared through CME ClearPort, up 16 percent from the prior April and up 5 percent sequentially.
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Source: CME Group
CFTC's Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight Issues No-Action Letter Providing Time-Limited Relief for Swap Dealers in Connection with Prime Brokerage Arrangements
April 30, 2013--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's (CFTC) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) today issued a time-limited no-action letter that provides swap dealers with relief from certain External Business Conduct Standards
rules in the context of prime brokerage arrangements.
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Source: CFTC.gov
