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SPX Weeklys Extension
June 1, 2012--On Thursday, May 31, 2012, CBOE began extending the listings of SPX Weeklys and maintaining five consecutive expiration weeks available for trading options on the S&P 500. For details, see Regulatory Circular RG12-066.
Current listing and expiration dates are noted on AVAILABLE WEEKLYS.
SPX Weeklys are traded on CBOE and quotes can be found in SPX options chains under root symbol SPXW. SPX Weeklys are PM-settled on the last trading day, typically a Friday. As with other PM-settled index options, the exercise-settlement value is calculated using the last (closing) reported sales price in the primary market of each component stock. On the last trading day, trading in expiring SPX Weeklys closes at 3:00 p.m. (Chicago time). All non-expiring SPX Weeklys continue to trade until 3:15 p.m. (Chicago time).
For PM-settled, S&P 500 options that expire on 3rd Fridays, see ticker SPXPM, traded on the C2 Options Exchange.
Source: CBOE
Pimco Total Return: Fund or ETF?
June 1, 2012--With a quarter of trading under its belt, the PIMCO Total Return ETF (BOND) has gathered over $1.1 billion in assets and returned 5.3%. The $259 billion PIMCO Total Return mutual fund, on the other hand, is up 2.4% over the same time period.
For many investors, advisers and institutions, the traditional fund is a core fixed-income holding. But the introduction of the ETF version, and its performance differences, are compelling many in the market to reconsider how they access bond guru Bill Gross and his strategy. Below are four key points to consider:
read more
Source: Forbes
ISE Reports Business Activity for May 2012
June 1, 2012--ISE was the second largest equity options exchange in May with market share of 18.3%, excluding dividend trades.
Dividend trades made up 3.8% of industry volume in May 2012.
The International Securities Exchange (ISE) today reported average daily volume of 2.8 million contracts
in May 2012. This represents a decrease of 3.1% compared to May 2011.
Total options volume for the
month was 61.5 million contracts. ISE was the second largest U.S. equity options exchange in May with
market share of 18.3%*.
Business highlights for the month of May include:
On May 3, 2012, ISE introduced Implied Order functionality. Implied Orders significantly enhance the execution of multi-legged strategy orders by enabling greater interaction of the complex order book with the regular order book.
On May 7, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit unanimously ruled in ISE’s favor in the exchange’s patent infringement case about the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).
On May 11, 2012, Sylvain Mirochnikoff, Managing Director of the Institutional Equity Division for Morgan Stanley, was elected to ISE’s Board of Directors as an industry director representing ISE’s Primary Market Makers (PMMs).
On May 15, 2012, ISE announced a partnership with AlphaClone LLC to promote AlphaClone's innovative hedge fund position replication index, the AlphaClone Hedge Fund Long/Short Index. The first ETF based on this index, the AlphaClone Alternative Alpha ETF (NYSE: ALFA), began trading on May 31, 2012.
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Source: International Securities Exchange (ISE)
Horizons ETFs Announces ETF Closure
June 1, 2012--Horizons Exchange Traded Funds Inc. ("Horizons ETFs") and its affiliate Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. (the "Manager") announced today that it will be terminating the Horizons GMP (R) Junior Oil and Gas IndexTM ETF (the "ETF"), ticker HJE on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX"), effective at the close of business on Friday August 10, 2012 (the "Termination Date").
Effective today, no further direct subscriptions for units of the ETF will be accepted. Friday August 3, 2012 is expected to be the last date on which a redemption request for the ETF may be placed with the Manager, and the ETF is expected to be voluntarily de-listed from the TSX, at the request of the Manager, at the close of business on or about Tuesday August 7, 2012, with all units still held by investors being subject to a mandatory redemption on the Termination Date.
For further information visit www.HorizonsETFs.com
Source: Horizons Exchange Traded Funds Inc.
SEC Approves Proposals to Address Extraordinary Volatility in Individual Stocks and Broader Stock Market
June 1, 2012-- The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved two proposals submitted by the national securities exchanges and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) that are designed to address extraordinary volatility in individual securities and the broader U.S. stock market.
One initiative establishes a “limit up-limit down” mechanism that prevents trades in individual exchange-listed stocks from occurring outside of a specified price band. When implemented, this new mechanism will replace the existing single-stock circuit breakers that the Commission approved on a pilot basis after the market events of May 6, 2010.
The second initiative updates existing market-wide circuit breakers that when triggered, halt trading in all exchange-listed securities throughout the U.S. markets. The existing market-wide circuit breakers were adopted in October 1988 and have been triggered only once, in 1997. The changes lower the percentage-decline threshold for triggering a market-wide trading halt and shorten the amount of time that trading is halted.
view National Market System Plan Approval Order
view the Market-Wide Circuit Breaker Approval Order
Source: SEC.gov
Knight Capital Group Completes Acquisition of the Futures Division of Penson Financial Services, Inc.
May 30, 2012--Knight Capital Group, Inc. today announced the completion of the acquisition of certain assets and liabilities of Penson Futures, the futures division of Penson Financial Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Penson Worldwide, Inc.
"With the acquisition of Penson Futures, Knight expands capabilities and adds clients in an increasingly important asset class," said Tom Joyce, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Knight Capital Group. "We'll work to build a greater presence in futures through the application of advanced trading technologies and superior client service."
The Futures Commission Merchant (FCM) has been renamed Knight Futures™ and will operate as a division of Knight Execution & Clearing Services LLC. The division provides futures execution, clearing and custody services to facilitate transactions among brokers, institutions and non-clearing FCMs on major U.S. and European futures and options exchanges. The division also offers risk management and consultation services and operates an electronic futures trading platform for professional traders and individual investors.
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Source: Knight Capital Group, Inc
Morgan Stanley-Quarterly Report: $1.1 Trillion in 1,247 ETFs
June 1, 2012--ETF assets are up 7% YTD amid solid flows and strong equity
markets. We currently stand at $1.1 trillion spread among 1,247
products. New issuance has been strong so far this year with 98
ETFs coming to market, 26 of them fixed income. Despite the robust
issuance to start 2012, 17 ETFs have closed.
During the 1Q12 ETFs
generated net inflows of $53.0 billion, the highest quarterly net cash
inflow since 4Q09, and the largest net cash inflow in the first
quarter since we began monitoring quarterly flows in 2004.
request report
Source: Morgan Stanley
CFTC.gov Commitments of Traders Reports Update
June 1, 2012--The current reports for the week of May 29, 2012 are now available.
view updates
Source: CFTC.gov
The Employment Situation-May 2012
June 1, 2012--Nonfarm payroll employment changed little in May (+69,000), and the unemployment rate
was essentially unchanged at 8.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
today.
Employment increased in health care, transportation and warehousing, and wholesale trade but declined in construction. Employment was little changed in most other major
industries.
Household Survey Data
Both the number of unemployed persons (12.7 million) and the unemployment rate (8.2 percent) changed little in May.
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Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Standard & Poor's Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Canadian Indices
June 1, 2012--Standard & Poor's will make the following changes in the S&P/TSX Canadian Indices:
The shareholders of NAL Energy Corporation (TSX:NAE) have accepted the share exchange offer from Pengrowth Energy Corporation (TSX:PGF).
NAL Energy will be removed from the S&P/TSX Composite and Capped Composite, the S&P/TSX Equity and Capped Equity, the S&P/TSX Completion and Equity Completion, the S&P/TSX SmallCap and Equity SmallCap, the S&P/TSX Composite Dividend, the S&P/TSX Equity Income, the S&P/TSX Composite Equal Weight and the S&P/TSX Capped Energy Indices.
As a result of the issuance of shares as part of the acquisition of NAL Energy Corporation, the relative weight of Pengrowth Energy Corporation (TSX:PGF) will increase in the S&P/TSX Composite and Capped Composite, the S&P/TSX Equity and Capped Equity, the S&P/TSX Equity Income, the S&P/TSX Completion and Equity Completion, the S&P/TSX Capped Energy and the S&P/TSX Composite Dividend indices. There will be no weight change effective in the S&P/TSX Composite Equal Weight Index. These changes will be effective after close on Tuesday, June 5, 2012.
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.
Source: Standard & Poor's
