Egeli urges Turkish investors to invest in Greece during crisis
December 17, 2009--Turkish-Greek Business Council President Selim Egeli yesterday said that just as Greek banks had invested in the Turkish financial sector, Turkish investors should also look for possible investment opportunities in Greece despite the severe financial difficulties the country faces.
Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Egeli said he does not expect the financial crisis in Greece to expand and influence other countries, such as Turkey, as he predicts the Greek government will take necessary measures to prevent such a thing from happening. However, he added that the Turkish private sector can take advantage of this crisis by attracting Greek consumers with its cheaper and high quality goods. “If Turkey’s exports to Greece increase by 5 percent, annual exports [to Greece] will rise from their current level of $3.5-5 billion to some $8 billion,” Egeli said, predicting that this figure can be reached within one to one-and-a-half years.
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Source: Todays Zaman
NASDAQ OMX And HQ Bank Launch New ETF Based On NASDAQ-100 Index
NASDAQ OMX Stockholm, part of the NASDAQ OMX Group (NASDAQ:NDAQ), today starts trading in a new Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), NASDAQ-100 ETF. The ETF, issued by December 17, 2009--Sweden-based HQ Bank, is based on the NASDAQ-100 Index and includes 100 of the largest domestic and international securities listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market in the U.S.
Jenny Rosberg, Deputy President at NASDAQ OMX Nordic said, "The NASDAQ-100 ETF allows Nordic investors easy and cost-efficient access to some of the world's largest and most well-known brands. This product is a great example of the possibilities of being a global exchange company, and how to transform this to benefits for our local customers."
NASDAQ-100 ETF, which is traded in SEK with USD as denominated currency, aims to give a daily return equivalent to NASDAQ-100 Index. The NASDAQ-100 Index includes 100 of the largest domestic and international non-financial securities listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market based on market capitalization. The Index reflects companies across major industry groups including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology.
The weight of the shares included in the underlying index (NASDAQ-100 Index) is based on the company's total market value but limited to ten percent. This is in line with the rules in the UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investments In Transferable Securities) directive.
Companies encompassed within the NASDAQ-100 ETF include Apple, Cisco, Dell, Google, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Starbucks, Symantec and Yahoo. For a complete list of the companies included in NASDAQ-100 Index, visit: http://dynamic.nasdaq.com/dynamic/nasdaq100_activity.stm
Source: NASDAQ OMX
Eurex to Roll-out Enhanced Trader Development Program in 2010
December 17, 2009--The international derivatives exchange Eurex will continue to expand its global distribution network by launching an enhanced Eurex Trader Development Program in January 2010 based on the current successful program. The new scheme offers an extensive range of training, further education measures and lucrative trading conditions for new traders who start trading on Eurex next year.
Michael Peters, member of the Eurex Executive Board, said: “On 1 January 2010, Eurex will introduce the next generation of its Trader Development Program which will support traders new to Eurex markets by providing them with broad educational support and reduced trading and clearing fees. In particular, our program aims to support Eurex members who plan to extend their trading activities through the training of junior staff.”
The reduction and waiver of trading and clearing fees depends on the trader’s location and on the number of individually traded contracts per month. Preconditions are that they are performing proprietary trading via order routing systems and have not been admitted to trading on Eurex before.
Applications for the Trader Development Program will be accepted until 31 December 2010, and the benefits will be granted for one year from application.
Source: Eurex
Clearstream to Launch Global Emissions Market Access
December 17, 2009--Clearstream, the international central securities depository within Deutsche Boerse Group, is launching Global Emissions Market Access (GEMA), a settlement and custody service for carbon trading rights.
Clearstream to Launch Global Emissions Market Access
17. December 2009
Clearstream: Clearstream, the international central securities depository within Deutsche Boerse Group, is launching Global Emissions Market Access (GEMA), a settlement and custody service for carbon trading rights.
GEMA is aimed at financial institutions interested in carbon trading rights without the burden and risk of manual settlement of trade. As of February 2010, it will leverage Clearstream’s existing connectivity and applications by simply making carbon rights - European Union Allowances (EUAs) and Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) –eligible in Clearstream Banking (Luxembourg). GEMA thereby provides customers with access to a new market without requiring any system developments or new back office processes. Identification codes for carbon rights will be allocated using industry recognised formats as for any other security eligible in Clearstream.
According to the World Bank, the volumes of traded carbon rights worldwide doubled to € 86 billion in 2008 compared to € 43 billion in 2007. The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and the Clean Development Mechanisms currently account for the great majority of traded volumes.
Carbon emission rights trading is a way of controlling pollution by providing an economic incentive for reducing levels of carbon dioxide emissions. A cap is set on the total amount of emissions any given installation may produce. Installations reducing their emissions are able to sell their excess rights to others, resulting in a financial reward for protecting the environment. Financial institutions active in this market can act as intermediaries but also hold and trade proprietary positions.
Source: Clearstream
Dividend and bonus rules face reform
December 17, 2009--Banks will be blocked from paying dividends to shareholders or bonuses if their capital levels fall below a minimum threshold, under the terms of a new, more invasive international regulatory regime unveiled on Thursday.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which is reviewing the rules governing banks’ strength, said the ban would apply if a bank failed to maintain a yet-to-be determined buffer above a new regulated minimum.
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Source: FT.com
Euro-Parliament approves EUR 123bn budget for 2010
December 17, 2009--The European parliament on Thursday approved a 122.9-billion-euro EU "recovery" budget for 2010, a six percent increase over this year, aimed at helping the bloc emerge from recession.
"If we want Europeans to feel more secure in 2010, we have to implement this budget cleverly," parliamentary rapporteur Laszlo Surjan said ahead of the vote.
"This is why we are enhancing energy security, supporting the creation of jobs, introducing the microfinance facility. We support research and development and life-long learning. We want to help the milk sector and mitigate the harmful effects of climate change," he added.
Spending on the bloc's common agriculture policy, rural development and the environment continues to account for the biggest slice of the EU's budgetary pie in 2010, amounting to over 50 billion euros (72 billion dollars).
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Source: EU Business
Measures adopted by CESR Members on short selling - Updated -
December 17, 2009--EU securities regulators are closely monitoring the functioning of the markets under the current circumstances and are considering together possible actions which might be taken to contribute to orderly functioning markets. Any such actions will be taken with a view to strengthening confidence in financial markets and protecting investors.
Particularly, CESR, in its role as a network bringing together EU securities regulators, has been co-ordinating actions by its Members regarding the short selling practices, in particular in financial companies. Some EU securities regulators have adopted measures in their respective markets either to limit, or to introduce stringent requirements or further reporting obligations by firms to supervisory authorities on short-selling.
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Source: CESR
Publication of DWP research report 623: Employer Attitudes to Collective Defined Contribution Pension Schemes: A Qualitative Study
December 17, 2009--A report is published today by DWP which presents the findings from qualitative research with forty-five employers examining their attitudes to, and understanding of, potential collective defined contribution (CDC) pension schemes.
If enabled in the UK, these schemes would be similar to defined contribution (DC) schemes for employers as they would provide no guarantee of any level of pension and employer contributions would be fixed. For the employee, the risks associated with a pure DC scheme could be somewhat mitigated as contributions would be paid into a collective fund and investment risk could be shared between different generations of members. In particular they could increase certainty for members about the pension they can expect as they approach retirement.
This research was commissioned as part of the Governments’ response to a consultation last year, which looked at a range of ways in which risks could be shared in pension schemes. The consultation was part of the rolling deregulatory review of private pension legislation, announced in the 2006 White Paper ‘Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system”.
view the Employer attitudes to collective defined contribution pension schemes report
Source: Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
Deutsche Börse: Scenario calculation for German equity indices
December 17, 2009--With effect from 21 December 2009, new weightings will apply to companies in the Deutsche Börse equity indices. Deutsche Börse announced the fundamental parameters on Thursday. The final weighting based on Friday’s Xetra closing prices will be published on the Deutsche Börse website on Saturday (www.deutsche-boerse.com/indices).
There will be one index change as of this adjustment date: The share of Teleplan will replace the share of MPC in SDAX®.
The next equity indices review will be on 3 March 2010.
Further information
The complete list for all indices can be found at www.deutsche-boerse.com in the section Market Data & Analytics/Indices/Statistics+Analytics/Weightings+Related Values. The final figures will be published on the same webpage on Saturday.
Scenario Calculation for DAX (As of 16 December 2009)
Business Forecast - Index Chaining (As of 16 December 2009)
Source: Deutsche Börse
Muslims in Europe: A Report on 11 EU Cities
December 16, 2009--The Open Society Institute Muslims in Europe report series constitutes the comparative analysis of data from 11 cities in seven European countries. It points out common trends and offers recommendations at the local, national, and international levels, including to the European Union and to international organizations.
While not representative of the situation of all Muslims in these cities, this report does capture a snapshot of the experiences of Muslim communities in select neighborhoods in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, Antwerp, Berlin and Hamburg, Copenhagen, Leicester and Waltham Forest–London, Marseille and Paris, and Stockholm.
This body of work comes in response to major trends with regards to Muslims living in Europe: whether citizens or migrants, native born or newly-arrived, Muslims are a growing and varied population that presents Europe with one of its greatest challenges, namely how to ensure equal rights and opportunities for all in a climate of rapidly expanding diversity.
The following overview report includes:
Executive Summary
Policy Context
Cohesion, Belonging, Discrimination and Interactions
Education
Employment
Neighborhood and Housing
Health Care
Policing and Security
Civic and Political Participation
Media
Recommendations
Muslims in Europe: A Report on 11 EU Cities - Overview
Source: Open Society Institute
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