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Japan unveils yen-mitigation package

September 20, 2011--The Japanese government on Tuesday unveiled an interim report on a series of measures aimed at preventing the persistently high yen from squeezing the nation's economy and industry.

"The package is aimed at not only cushioning the (yen's) impact but also at reinforcing the economy so it is not swayed by currency fluctuations," said Motohisa Furukawa, state minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy.

"It is also intended to make the most of the merits of the strong yen," Furukawa told a news conference.

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Source: FIN24

S&P Indices and Australian Securities Exchange statement on impact of alternate trading venues on the calculation of S&P/ASX Indices

September 20, 2011 – S&P Indices, the index provider of the S&P/ASX index series in Australia, and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), today issued a statement in response to recent queries directed to S&P Indices and ASX regarding the impact of alternate trading venues on the calculation of S&P/ASX indices.

Index methodology and calculations for S&P/ASX Index Series remain unchanged The position of the index committee is that the index methodology and calculations for the index suite will remain unchanged post the introduction of alternate trading venues to the Australian market.

The index committee will monitor trading activity from alternate trading venues. Should the trading activity on one or more alternate trading venues develop such that the index would benefit from the inclusion of this data, then the index methodology will be reviewed accordingly.

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Source: S&P/ASX Index Series

SSE 380 Style Indices, SSE Health Care Theme Index, SSE Agriculture Theme Index to be launched

September 19, 2011--To further enhance the SSE and CSI index family as well as to provide new analysis tool and underlying instrument for investors, SSE 380 Style Indices 、

SSE Health Care Theme Index and SSE Agriculture Theme Index and are to be launched on October 18th，2011 by SSE and CSI.

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Source: Shanghai Stock Exchange

DB - Equity Research - Asia Pacific ETF Weekly Review-ETP AUM remain flat amid mixed markets

September 19, 2011--Market Review
Asia-Pacific markets were mixed last week, with the northern territory outperforming other parts of the region. From north to south, Japan (Nikkei 225) and South Korea rose by 1.45% and 1.76% respectively, while China (CSI 300), Hong Kong (HSI), Singapore (FSSTI) and Australia (S&P/ASX 200) lost 0.62%, 2.07%, 1.28% and 1.08% respectively, during last week.

New Launch Review

In terms of new product launch activity, the Asia-Pacific market remained quiet during the preceding week and no new product was listed in any of the exchanges in the region.

Turnover Review: Volatility keeps markets active

Asia-Pacific ETP turnover totaled $6.4bn for the week ending last Friday, 13.2% below the previous week’s total and 34.2% up from last year’s weekly average. South Korea continues to be on top of the turnover ranking with $2.8bn (down 27%), followed by Hong Kong ($1.1bn, down 0.4%), China ($1bn, down 0.7%), Japan ($736m, up 10.6%), and Taiwan ($250m, up 19.2%). Among Equity ETFs, Emerging Country, Asia Pac Developed Country, Short Strategy, and Leveraged Strategy ETFs had total turnover of $2bn, $1.5bn, $1.2bn and $1.1bn respectively. Under the Commodity asset class, turnover on Gold ETPs totaled $333m, 29.7% down from last week.

Assets Under Management Review

Asia-Pacific ETP AUM remained technically flat and stood at $91bn at the end of last week. On a year to date basis, Asia-Pacific ETF assets are $6.8bn or 8.1% above last year’s closing.

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Source: Deutsche Bank - Equity Research - Asia Pacific

India exchange traded funds see large outflows across regions

Series of scams, rate hike spree turning away overseas investors
September 18, 2011--India fell out of favour with overseas investors ever since a bevy of scams erupted last November and the Reserve Bank of India went on an interest rate hiking spree to combat inflation.

This is reflected in the incessant outflows from India-focused Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) listed overseas between November 2010 and August 2011. This contrasts with 2010, when most India ETFs were raking in new money.

Data from Bloomberg show that WisdomTree India Earnings fund, the largest India ETF listed in the US, lost one-fifth of its assets between November 2010 and August 2011, witnessing an outflow of $286 million.

For the calendar year 2010, the fund had seen inflows of $119 million. The trend is similar in other India ETFs listed on US exchanges. Larger ones such as PowerShare India Portfolio fund, IPath MSCI India Index and Ishare S&P India Nifty 50 Index witnessed redemption pressure in this correction.

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Source: Hindu Business Line

S&P And TSE Launch S&P/TOPIX 150 Carbon Efficient Index

S&P Teams with TSE to Deliver Carbon-Sensitive Index Tracking for Japan
September 16, 2011 – S&P Indices and Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. announced today the launch of the S&P/TOPIX 150 Carbon Efficient Index, which comprises all Japanese companies included in the S&P/TOPIX 150 re-weighted to reflect the level of carbon emissions produced by each, while simultaneously tracking the S&P/TOPIX 150 as closely as possible.

The S&P/TOPIX 150 Carbon Efficient Index retains the same constituents as the underlying S&P/TOPIX 150 created in cooperation with the Tokyo Stock Exchange (“TSE”), but utilizes the Carbon Footprint metric to compare the relative emissions of different companies within particular sectors and adjust the weight of each component within the index accordingly. The Carbon Footprint metric is calculated by Trucost Plc and is defined as the company’s annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions assessment, expressed as tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), divided by annual revenues. As a result, the S&P/TOPIX 150 Carbon Efficient Index tracks the performance of the underlying index to within 1%, while offering far lower total carbon emissions exposure for the index portfolio as a whole.

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Source: Tokyo Stock Exchange

NSE's global indices futures get more takers in A'bad

September 16, 2011--At a time when global equity markets keep fluttering amid economic uncertainty, Ahmedabad region has emerged as one of the early takers of the futures trading in global indices S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) launched by National Stock Exchange (NSE) later last month.

NSE launched the derivatives contracts for the two indices on August 29, 2011. Since launch the exchange has achieved an average daily volume of more than Rs 100 crore.

As per the latest data provided by NSE about the regions generating highest volumes from the newly launched contracts, Ahmedabad region stood fourth ahead of Chennai region in percentage share to the total traded volumes. Ahmedabad region holds 4.22 per cent share in the total traded volumes, while Chennai region holds 3.28 per cent sharer

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Source: Business Standard

Two New Indian Companies Join FTSE IDFC India Infrastructure 30 Index – Following 2011 Semi-Annual Review

September 15, 2011--FTSE Group (“FTSE”), the award-winning global index provider, and Infrastructure Development Finance Company Limited (“IDFC”) today announced that Engineers India Limited and Fortis Healthcare India Limited will replace Jaiprakash Hydro Power Limited and Torrent Power Limited in the FTSE IDFC India Infrastructure 30 Index, following the semi-annual review of the FTSE IDFC India Infrastructure Index Series today.

The rapid growth of the Indian economy has stimulated both domestic and global investor interest in the Indian infrastructure sector. Created in 2007, the FTSE IDFC India Infrastructure Index Series provides unique access to the infrastructure-related subsectors of the Indian market and is designed to represent the performance of those Indian companies that generate the majority of their revenue from infrastructure.

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Source: FTSE Group

India inflation mounts, augurs another rate rise

September 14, 2011--Indian inflation climbed to its highest in more than a year as prices of food and manufactured goods surged, reinforcing the case for another rate hike on Friday despite weakening growth and a worsening global outlook.

The Reserve Bank of India has raised interest rates 11 times in 18 months but inflation remains at more than twice its comfort level, putting it in the awkward position of fighting high prices amid mounting worries about the health of the global economy.

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Source: Todays Zaman