Financial Stability Board Launches Peer Review On Compensation And Invites Feedback From Stakeholders
January 11, 2010--The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has launched a peer review of implementation of the FSB Principles for Sound Compensation Practices and their Implementation Standards. The Principles and Standards were endorsed by the G20 Leaders at their Summits in London in April 2009 and Pittsburgh in September 2009. In their Pittsburgh statement, G20 Leaders tasked the FSB “to monitor the implementation of FSB standards and propose additional measures as required by March 2010.”
The peer review on compensation will focus on the steps being taken or planned by FSB member jurisdictions to ensure effective application of the Principles and Standards, as well as progress to date in implementation by significant financial institutions.
A template (attached) to collect information from national authorities was distributed to FSB members in December 2009, and the responses will be analysed and discussed by the FSB. The initial review is to be completed by March 2010 and the report will be published.
As part of this review, we welcome feedback from financial institutions and other stakeholders on practical experiences in implementing the FSB Principles and Standards (or the respective national rules) – including descriptions of how compensation arrangements at financial institutions have changed in practice (governance, pay structures, risk adjustments), areas where implementation is proving challenging, and issues of consistency in regulatory responses across sectors and jurisdictions. Feedback can be submitted by 1 February 2010 to fsb@bis.org under the subject heading “FSB Thematic Peer Review on Compensation.” Individual submissions will not be made public.
view the FSF Principles for Sound Compensation Practices
view the FSB Principles for Sound Compensation Practices-Implementation Standards
Source: Financial Stability Board (FSB)
Financial Stability Board meets on the financial reform agenda
January 11, 2010--The Financial Stability Board (FSB) met in Basel on 9 January to take forward the regulatory policy reform agenda and reaffirm the timelines for policy development and implementation in 2010. The meeting also agreed on a framework for strengthening adherence to international standards, and reviewed current conditions and adjustment in the financial system.
Financial conditions
Financial conditions have strengthened across a range of markets in recent months. For many financial institutions, access to liquidity and capital from the private sector has improved. As a result, a variety of emergency financial sector support measures put in place during the crisis are being withdrawn or scaled back. Although there are signs of recovery in the global system as a whole, the strength of that recovery is increasingly differentiated among markets and institutions. The policy response, including continued official support, may therefore need to be more targeted to addressing specific areas of weakness than during the crisis itself and its immediate aftermath. It is important that liquidity and risk capital be directed toward supporting credit to sectors that will contribute to a stronger real economy,economy, including small and medium-sized enterprises.
Improving financial regulation
Further work is essential to address the underlying weaknesses that gave rise to the crisis. Momentum is being maintained towards meeting the clear targets set by G20 Leaders for improving financial regulation. Coordination is taking place to achieve consistency across borders and maintain a level playing field. Sound compensation practices. FSB members are undertaking substantial changes in oversight of compensation practices to assure they are better aligned with risk.
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Source: Financial Stability Board (FSB)
Tradegate Exchange successfully launched as regulated exchange
Increase in trading activity on the first few days of trading this year
Deutsche Börse finalizes acquisition of majority interest
January 11, 2010--Since the start of trading in 2010, yet another regulated stock exchange
has been in operation in Germany, namely the Berlin-based Tradegate Exchange.
With effect from 4 January, the former OTC trading platform has been awarded the status “regulated market” as defined in the MiFID.
Deutsche Börse AG has acquired a 75-percent interest plus 1 share in Tradegate Exchange GmbH, the stock exchange operator. Deutsche Börse AG also holds a 5-percent stake in Tradegate AG Wertpapierhandelsbank, one of the market makers on the Tradegate Exchange. This transaction was closed last Friday. Deutsche Börse has the option of gradually increasing its stake in Tradegate AG to a maximum of 20 percent. The two members of the Management Board of Tradegate Exchange GmbH have been appointed.
“We want to continue the exceptional success enjoyed by Tradegate and expand this retail business further as a regulated exchange in Europe. With trading hours from 8.00 am to 10.00 pm, the lowest trading costs among its peers, and functions and order types geared towards private investors, the Tradegate Exchange has significant advantages over its competitors”, said Jochen Thiel, member of the Management Board of Tradegate Exchange GmbH and Executive Director at Deutsche Börse.
Thorsten Commichau, who is also member of the Management Board of Tradegate Exchange GmbH, looks back at the rise in trading activity during the first week of trading in 2010: “On our first day of trading alone, around 5,000 more trades were concluded than the daily average in December 2009. The number continued to rise during the first week of trading.”
From 2001 to the end of 2009, the market share and trading activity of TRADEGATE, which was formerly an OTC trading platform, enjoyed ongoing and significant growth. From just under 40,000 trades in 2001, the number had risen to around 2.4 million by the end of 2009. In December 2009, just under 175,000 trades valued at 835.3 million euros were concluded on the Tradegate platform. The average order size in December was around 4,800 euros, which underscores the Tradegate Exchange’s focus on retail business.
Deutsche Börse’s majority interest in Tradegate Exchange GmbH will serve to expand its trading offering for private investors and strengthen its position in the European retail market; with the Tradegate Exchange, it will be operating a platform which offers particularly online brokers new trading functions, longer trading hours and innovative order types at attractive prices. Deutsche Börse AG’s participation will give market participants additional access and settlement alternatives based on existing infrastructures and processes, providing the ideal conditions for them to integrate Tradegate Exchange.
Source: Deutsche Börse
Two New UBS ETFs Launched on Xetra
ETFs on MSCI country/regional indices listed in XTF segment
January 8, 2010--Two more exchange-listed equity index funds issued by UBS ETF SICAV have been tradable on Xetra since Friday. Both UBS ETFs are based on the MSCI index family. These equity indices are weighted according to free float market capitalization and track the performance of international equity markets. The two UBS ETFs are primarily aimed at institutional investors.
ETF name: UBS-ETF MSCI Canada I
Asset class: Equity index ETF
ISIN: LU0446734955
Management fee: 0.28 percent
Distribution policy: distributing
Benchmark: MSCI Canada Index
The MSCI Canada Index tracks the performance of Canadian companies which, combined, represent 85 percent of market capitalization in Canada.
ETF name: UBS-ETF MSCI EMU I
Asset class: Equity index ETF
ISIN: LU0446735093
Management fee: 0.18 percent
Distribution policy: distributing
Benchmark: MSCI EMU Index
The MSCI EMU (European Economic and Monetary Union) Index tracks the performance of the equity markets of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The following industrialized nations are included: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
Source: Deutsche Börse
Credit Suisse will launch 7 new products in the ETF Segment of the SIX Swiss Exchange
Janaury 8, 2010--SIX Swiss Exchange is pleased to inform you that 7 new products will be listed and traded in the Exchange Traded Funds segment:
Xmtch (IE) on MSCI Pacific ex Japan-Trading Symbol:XMPXJ: ISIN:IE00B52MJY50
Xmtch (IE) on MSCI Canada
Trading Symbol:XMCA
ISIN: IE00B52SF786
Credit Suisse Xmtch (IE) on MSCI UK
Trading Symbol:XMUK
ISIN:IE00B539F030
Credit Suisse Xmtch (IE) on MSCI USA
Trading Symbol:XMUSA
ISIN: IE00B52SFT06
Credit Suisse Xmtch (IE) on MSCI Japan
Trading Symbol:XMJAP
ISIN: IE00B53QDK08
Credit Suisse Xmtch (IE) on MSCI Europe
Trading Symbol: XMEUR
ISIN: IE00B53QFR17
Credit Suisse Xmtch (IE) on MSCI EMU
Trading Symbol:XMEMU
ISIN: IE00B53QG562
Credit Suisse has concluded a Market Making contract with the SIX Swiss Exchange and consequently commits to be the Market Maker for these products. This means that the ETF segment will soon comprise 312 products. The first trading day will be 13 January 2010; the opening will take place at 09:15 a.m. The order-books will be open and available to traders for entering orders from 12 January 2010.
Source: SIX Swiss Exchange
New Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on SIX Swiss Exchange
January 8, 2010--28 new products have been listed in the Exchanged Traded Funds segment of
SIX Swiss Exchange, taking the total to 303 ETFs. The new funds are:
Julius Baer Physical Silver Fund (USD) A - optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Silver Fund (EUR) A - optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Silver Fund (CHF) A - optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Silver Fund (GBP) A - optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Silver Fund (USD) AX - no optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Silver Fund (EUR) AX - no optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Silver Fund (CHF) AX - no optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Silver Fund (GBP) AX - no optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Platinum Fund (USD) A - optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Platinum Fund (EUR) A - optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Platinum Fund (CHF) A - optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Platinum Fund (GBP) A - optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Platinum Fund (USD) AX - no optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Platinum Fund (EUR) AX - no optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Platinum Fund (CHF) AX - no optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Platinum Fund (GBP) AX - no optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Palladium Fund (USD) A - optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Palladium Fund (EUR) A - optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Palladium Fund (CHF) A - optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Palladium Fund (GBP) A - optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Palladium Fund (USD) AX - no optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Palladium Fund (EUR) AX - no optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Palladium Fund (CHF) AX - no optional redemption in kind
Julius Baer Physical Palladium Fund (GBP) AX - no optional redemption in kind
Bank Julius Bär & Co. AG will perform the market making for these funds.
ZKB Gold ETF hedged (CHF)
ZKB Gold ETF hedged (EUR)
ZKB Gold ETF hedged (GBP
ZKB Gold ETF (GBP)
Zürcher Kantonalbank will perform the market making for these shares.
Source: SIX Swiss Exchange
Moody's upgrades government bond rating amidst crisis
January 8, 2010--International credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service has upgraded Turkey's government bond rating one notch due to the agency's growing confidence in the “government's financial shock-absorption capacity.”
In a press release issued yesterday, Moody's revealed that it had increased Turkey's government bond rating by one notch from Ba2 from Ba3, also changing its outlook for the rating from stable to positive.
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Source: Today Zaman
Over 13 million electronic equity trades in December
January 8, 2010--During December, 13.3 million equity trades, with a combined value of £108.4 billion (€120.5 billion), were carried out across the electronic order books of London Stock Exchange Group during December. The average daily number of trades was 640,169, 18 per cent lower than December 2008, while the average daily value traded was £5.2 billion (€5.8billion), a decrease of six per cent on the same month last year.
A number of the Group’s other markets recorded strong performances during the month, with the average daily number of trades in ETFs and ETCs growing by 75 per cent and the average daily value traded on the MTS cash markets increasing by 79 per cent.
UK Cash Equities
During the month, the average daily value traded on the UK equity order book was £3.1 billion (€3.5 billion), a decrease of 19 per cent year on year, while the average daily number of trades was 426,732, down 24 per cent on the same month last year.
The total value traded on the UK order book in December was £65.7 billion (€73.0 billion) and the total number of trades was 9.0 million.
Italian Cash Equities
On the Italian equity order book, the average daily number of trades in December was 173,235, down six per cent year on year. The average daily value traded during the month was up 17 per cent on last year, reaching €1.8 billion (£1.6 billion).
The total number of trades was 3.5 million, slightly down on last year, while the total value traded was €35.7 billion (£32.1 billion), up 23 per cent on December last year.
International Cash Equities
During December, the average daily value traded in international stocks on the Group’s equity order books was up 59 per cent year on year at £511 million (€568 million). The average daily number of trades was 40,201, an increase of 23 per cent on December 2008.
ETFs and ETCs
Trading in ETFs and ETCs continued to grow, with the average daily number of trades in December up by 75 per cent year on year to 13,534. The average daily value traded was up 17 per cent to £354 million (€393 million).
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Source: London Stcok Exchange
Euro area unemployment rate up to 10.0%-November 2009
EU27 up to 9.5%
January 8, 2010-The euro area1 (EA16) seasonally-adjusted2 unemployment rate3 was 10.0% in November 2009, compared with 9.9% in October4. It was 8.0% in November 2008. The EU271 unemployment rate was 9.5% in November 2009, compared with 9.4% in October4. It was 7.5% in November 2008. For the euro area this is the highest rate since August 1998 and for the EU27 since the start of the series (January 2000).
Eurostat estimates that 22.899 million men and women in the EU27, of whom 15.712 million were in the euro area, were unemployed in November 2009. Compared with October, the number of persons unemployed increased by 185 000 in the EU27 and by 102 000 in the euro area. Compared with November 2008, unemployment went up by 4.978 million in the EU27 and by 3.041 million in the euro area.
These figures are published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Among the Member States, the lowest unemployment rates were recorded in the Netherlands (3.9%) and Austria (5.5%), and the highest rates in Latvia (22.3%) and Spain (19.4%).
Compared with a year ago, all Member States recorded an increase in their unemployment rate. The smallest increases were observed in Germany (7.1% to 7.6%), Luxemburg (5.2% to 6.0%) and Malta (6.2% to 7.0%). The highest increases were registered in Latvia (10.2% to 22.3%), Estonia (6.5% to 15.2% between the third quarters of 2008 and 2009) and Lithuania (6.4% to 14.6% between the third quarters of 2008 and 2009).
Between November 2008 and November 2009, the unemployment rate for males rose from 7.5% to 9.9% in the euro area and from 7.2% to 9.7% in the EU27. The female unemployment rate increased from 8.6% to 10.0% in the euro area and from 7.8% to 9.2% in the EU27.
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Source: Europa
T Bailey to launch global equity fund
January 7, 2010--Mirroring the asset allocation of an existing actively managed fund, the T Bailey Growth fund Lite will be a passive-only fund of funds investing in exchange traded funds (ETFs) and trackers.
The investment boutique says its fund of funds team will combine global asset allocation and active management with cost-effective passive instruments.
Jason Britton, the group’s chief investment officer, and Elliot Farley will manage the fund. Britton says the fund offers the performance and risk benefits of active portfolio management and the cost savings of passive investing.
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Source: Trustnet News
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