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Nasdaq proposing new class of Treasury options
New options would allow investors to wager on the movement in 10-year and 30-year Treasurys
Options expected to launch in the fourth quarter if SEC signs off
Contracts would make Nasdaq the only U.S. exchange operator offering options tied to U.S. government bonds
August 23, 2012--Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. plans to introduce a new class of option contracts on U.S. Treasury bonds by the end of the year, pending regulatory approval, the exchange operator was set to announce Thursday.
The new options, expected to launch in the fourth quarter if the Securities and Exchange Commission signs off, would allow investors to wager on the movement in 10-year and 30-year Treasurys. The contracts would make Nasdaq the only U.S. exchange operator offering options tied to U.S. government bonds.
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Source: Market Watch
ETFs Come and Go by the Dozen
August 23, 2012-College students sometimes amuse themselves by throwing JELL-O against the wall to see if it sticks.
In the 1990s, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry adopted a similar marketing strategy for new funds. Fund companies threw handfuls of new ETFs at the public all at once − with the hope that they would stick.
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Source: Forbes
Exchanges hit again by trading error
August 23, 2012--The Nasdaq Stock Market and other exchanges cancelled trades in a security on Wednesday after erroneous orders triggered a steep rise in its share price in a matter of seconds.
The cancellation highlights what is becoming a frequent feature of trading on stock exchanges as the rise of automated and high-frequency trading has increased the likelihood that mistaken orders take place.
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Source: The Wall Street Job Report
Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing PMI
PMI continues to signal weak manufacturing expansion in August
August 22, 2012--Key points:
Slight rise in the headline PMI index, but third-lowest reading in 35 months
Growth of output and new orders remain modest
Employment increases at slowest pace since December 2010
Marginal falls in input and output prices
Data collected 13–22 August.
The Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index(TM) (PMI(TM))1 continued to signal only a modest improvement in U.S. manufacturing business conditions in August. The preliminary ‘flash’ PMI reading which is based on around 85% of usual monthly replies rose slightly from 51.4 in July to 51.9 and was the third-lowest since the manufacturing recovery was first indicated by the headline index in October 2009.
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Source: Markit
CFTC Approves Conforming Amendments to Part 4 Regulations Governing Operations and Activities of Commodity Pool Operators and Commodity Trading Advisors
August 23, 2012--The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today approved final conforming amendments to Part 4 of its regulations, which govern the operations and activities of commodity pool operators (CPOs) and commodity trading advisors (CTAs).
These amendments are necessary to reflect changes made to the Commodity Exchange Act by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act). The amendments were approved by the Commission via a seriatim vote of 5 to 0, and will become final 60 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register.
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Source: CFTC.gov
iShares files with the SEC-iShares Asia/Pacific Dividend 30 Index Fund
August 23, 2012--iShares has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the iShares Asia/Pacific Dividend 30 Index Fund.
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Source: SEC.gov
iShares files with the SEC
August 23, 2012--iShares has filed a poist-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors Index Fund.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Global X SuperDividend ETF (SDIV) Reaches $100MM In Assets
SDIV ranks as the highest yielding dividend ETF
August 23, 2012-- Global X Funds, the New York-based provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), today announced that the Global X SuperDividend(TM) ETF (Ticker: SDIV) has reached $100 million in assets, shortly after the one-year mark.
According to IndexUniverse, August 2012, SDIV was the highest yielding dividend ETF.* It provides exposure to 100 companies worldwide that rank among the highest dividend yielding equity securities in the world. It offers exposure to a broad range of sectors and countries, many on hard- to- access foreign exchanges.
“While there are numerous dividend-producing ETFs in the market, SDIV is one-of-a-kind,” said Oren Guzman from Lifetime Financial Group. “The Global X SuperDividend ETF is a well-diversified, non-leveraged product that has the highest dividend yield*, and has shown lower volatility than comparable dividend ETFs.”
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Source: Global X
Long Term Bond Managers Saw Sunny Skies While Most Equity Managers Were In A Fog in 2Q12.
The Forecast Looks Promising for Managed ETFs.
August 22, 2012--
After an exceptional first quarter where 98% of the products in PSN experienced a positive return, the weather shifted in second quarter. Returns were dampened and just 27% of the products produced positive returns.
The news isn’t all bad. Long bonds performed extremely well and a number of equity and balanced managers experienced outstanding performance due to their smart choices. Those top performing managers are this quarter’s PSN Top Guns.
NISA Investment Advisors had three products in the top ten for Long Term Bonds. Their 15+ Year Strip product led the pack by achieving a 17.14% return while their LD Government Only product ranked second with 16.51% return. In addition, the product raked in over $1 Billion in new flows this quarter. Talk about timing!
Equities struggled in second quarter, but some managers found their way through the minefields. Federated Investors, Schafer Cullen and Wilson/Bennett Capital were the top three Large Cap Value performers with respective returns of 4.22%, 3.78% and 3.17%.
Managed ETF products are growing! Our PSN Top Gun winner for US Balanced products is Good Harbor with a one year return of 14.55%. Investors are taking notice with over $1 Billion in new flows this year.
Emerging Markets experienced many dramatic up and down swings over the last few years. The best managers show consistently good returns in both up and down markets – those managers are awarded PSN Top Guns Bull & Bear Masters status. This quarter, the award goes to Wasatch Advisors for their Emerging Markets Small Cap product which had a three year return of 27.40% and navigated the up and down markets better than any other Emerging Markets product. Two Aberdeen Asset products, JP Morgan and AGF Investments rounded out the top five.
Visit www.informais.com for more info.
Source: Informa Investment Solutions, Inc.
Minutes Of The Federal Open Market Committee, July 31-August 1, 2012
August 22, 2012--The Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday released the attached minutes of the Committee meeting held on July 31-August 1, 2012.
The minutes for each regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee ordinarily are made available three weeks after the day of the policy decision and subsequently are published in the Board's Annual Report. The descriptions of economic and financial conditions contained in these minutes are based solely on the information that was available to the Committee at the time of the meeting.
view the Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee-July 31-August 1, 2012
Source: FRB