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China's foreign reserves at new record
July 12, 2011-- China's foreign exchange reserves soared to a record $3.1975 trillion at the end of June, the central bank said on Tuesday, highlighting concerns over inflation in the world's second-biggest economy.
China's forex reserves have ballooned in recent years, fuelled by strong foreign investment, large trade surpluses and inflows of "hot money" - short-term speculative funds in search of quick profits.
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Source: FIN24
BetaShares launches British Pound and Euro currency ETFs
July 11, 2011--BetaShares has today listed two more currency ETFs on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Trading under the ASX Codes ‘POU’ and ‘EEU’, BetaShares British Pound ETF and BetaShares Euro ETF track the performance of the British Pound (GBP £) and the Euro (€) relative to the Australian dollar (A$).
The new ETFs employ the same simple, transparent and highly cost-effective structure of the BetaShares US Dollar ETF, which has been one of the most successful ETF launches in Australia since its introduction in February this year. The assets of the new funds consist of British Pounds or Euros held on deposit with JPMorgan Chase Bank.
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Source: BetaShares
Osaka Securities Exchange: Designation Of Market Maker For Nikkei 225 Mini: BNP Paribas Securities (Japan) Limited
July 8, 2011--OSE designates the Transaction Participants as a Market Maker for Nikkei 225 mini pursuant to Rule 8-2, Paragraph 2 of the Enforcement Regulations for the Special Rules of the Business Regulations and Brokerage Agreement Standards relating to
Stock Index Futures Trading as follows.
Designation as Market Maker:
| Transaction Participant | BNP Paribas Securities (Japan) Limited |
|---|---|
| Proprietary/ Brokerage | Brokerage (1 Company) |
| Date of Designation | July 11, 2011 |
(*) The designation as Market Maker will be made for the Transaction Participants that had applied for the tentative recruitment in June 2010 and applied for the formal recruitment of Serial Contract Months Market Maker.
Source: Osaka Securities Exchange (OSE)
HKEx Consults Market On The Proposals To Reform HKEx Clearing Houses’ Risk Management Measures
July 8, 2011--Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) published a consultation paper today (Friday) to seek views on its proposals to reform the risk management framework of HKEx’s clearing houses, which is crucial to the long term stability and competitiveness of Hong Kong.
The recent global financial crisis prompted governments, regulators and financial institutions around the world to increase their capital adequacy and risk management standards and to strengthen their risk management frameworks. In Hong Kong, HKEx’s experience in connection with the defaults of Lehman Brothers’ entities in 2008 underlined the need for HKEx to assess ways to enhance the robustness of its risk management measures and to bring them into line with international standards.
HKEx has reviewed its clearing houses’ risk management with particular focus on stress testing assumptions and whether there are sufficient financial resources to support the long term growth of its securities and derivatives markets. The review was conducted with reference to the main international standards setting bodies, the Technical Committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS). Working closely with its local regulator, HKEx has strived to ensure that the proposed changes meet the evolving international standards for clearing houses.
view the CONSULTATION PAPER-HKEx CLEARING HOUSE RISK MANAGEMENT REFORM MEASURES
Source: Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx)
Shanghai Futures Exchange expected to launch silver futures (Xinhua)
July 8, 2011-The statement was made by Yang Maijun, president&CEO of the SHFE, on the sidelines of the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai, an annual gathering of China’s top financial officials and economists. Yang also stressed the importance of introducing crude oil futures in China, noting that about 55 percent of China’s crude oil has to be imported and that this percentage is likely to increase in the future.
"Developing crude oil futures has a bearing on national energy security and economic security, and the SHFE hopes to step up its efforts to launch crude oil futures," he said.
However, "this will be determined by the domestic spot market for crude oil and by how much of its production and logistics is market-based," Yang said. He said the SHFE is also trying to internationalize prices of domestic futures. "While the import and export of commodities in China has been fully internationalized, international investors cannot directly participate in domestic futures trading, thus limiting the influence of domestic futures prices," said Yang. The Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), China’s biggest commodities market, is expected to launch silver futures by the end of this year, the head of the SHFE said Saturday.
Source: Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE)
SGX Proposes Circuit Breakers In Securities Market
July 7, 2011--The Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Thursday said it is consulting the public on a proposal to introduce circuit breakers for the local securities market.
SGX said circuit breakers can act as a safeguard to help prevent big changes in stock prices in times of price volatility.
Circuit breakers, which allow a pause for investors to take stock of any uncertain market situation, were introduced by global exchanges after the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the US last year tumbled about 700 points in just a few minutes.
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Source: Channel News Asia
China may cut spending on strategic industries
July 6, 2011--China may rein in plans to invest heavily in seven new strategic industries, including high speed rail and wind power, scaling back cutting-edge projects for industries suffering from old-fashioned problems such as corruption and overcapacity, sources said.
Beijing originally planned to invest up to $1.5 trillion over the next five years in the seven sectors, hoping they would grow into a pillar of economic growth and help shift the world's second-largest economy away from one centered on manufacturing cheap goods. The pullback on spending stems partly from worries about corruption in the country's high-speed rail project and overcapacity concerns in the wind power sector, said two sources with ties to China's Communist Party leadership and knowledge of the plan. "The government is now reconsidering the seven new strategic industries plan," one source told Reuters, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters. "The (size of the) retrenchment is still under deliberation," the source added.
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Source: Todays Zaman
Japan’s equities head for pre-tsunami levels
July 7, 2011--Four months ago Japan’s huge earthquake and tsunami wreaked havoc with Japanese equities, causing such frenzied selling that the Tokyo Stock Exchange came under pressure to shut the bourse temporarily.
The Nikkei 225 index is now rebounding and homing in on its March 11 close of 10,254.43, when traders had just 14 minutes to react to the quake before trading ended. It finished on Thursday at 10,071.14, above the psychologically important 10,000 level for a second day.
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Source: FT.com
Eurex names new head of its Singapore office
July 6, 2011--The international derivatives exchange Eurex announced today the appointment of a new Head of the Singapore Branch Office. As of 15 July 2011, Henk Huitema (48) will succeed Philip Joslin as Chief Representative of Eurex’s Singapore office.
Henk Huitema's responsibilities will include the further development of Eurex’s business in the region, in particular in Singapore, India, South Korea and Australia.
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Source: Eurex
Chinese media attack WTO ruling against China
July 6, 2011--Chinese media on Wednesday lashed out at a ruling by the World Trade Organisation that said Beijing's export restrictions on raw materials are illegal, and warned rare earths would be the next target.
The WTO on Tuesday upheld complaints by the United States, European Union and Mexico, ruling that China had failed to abide by accession commitments when it imposed quotas and duties on several types of minerals.
These include bauxite, coking coal, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon metal, silicon carbide, yellow phosphorus and zinc
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Source: EUbusiness