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Italy Imposes Ban on ‘Naked’ Short Selling of Shares, Financial Times Says
November 12, 2011--Italy imposed a ban on so-called naked short selling of all Italian securities, the Financial Times reported, citing a statement from Consob, the nation’s securities market watchdog.
The ban will apply to foreign and domestic investors irrespective of where Italian-regulated shares are traded, the newspaper said. The measure will take effect Dec. 1, lasting for the foreseeable future, and could be modified or withdrawn depending on market conditions, according to the report.
Euro area securities issues statistics: September 2011
November 11, 2011--The annual growth rate of the outstanding amount of debt securities issued by euro area residents was 3.3% in September 2011, the same as in August. For the outstanding amount of quoted shares issued by euro area residents, the annual growth rate was 1.9% in September 2011, the same as in August.
New issuance of debt securities by euro area residents totalled EUR 1,010 billion in September 2011
(see Table 1 and Chart 1). Redemptions stood at EUR 1,005 billion and net issues amounted to EUR 12
billion (see Table 1). 1 The annual growth rate of outstanding debt securities issued by euro area
residents was 3.3% in September 2011, the same as in August (see Table 1 and Chart 3).
As regards the sectoral breakdown, the annual growth rate of outstanding debt securities issued by nonfinancial corporations decreased from 5.3% in August 2011 to 5.0% in September (see Table 2 and Chart 4). For the monetary financial institutions (MFIs) sector, this growth rate increased from 1.9% in August 2011 to 2.3% in September. The annual rate of change of outstanding debt securities issued by financial corporations other than MFIs was -0.3% in September 2011, compared with -1.1% in August. For the general government, this growth rate decreased from 6.4% in August 2011 to 5.9% in September.
ESMA launches a consultation on the considerations of materiality in financial reporting
November 11, 2011--The objective of financial statements is to provide information to a range of users for the purpose of eco-nomic decision making. To be useful, such statements must present fairly the financial position, perform-ance and cash flows of the reporting entity.
Where information which is required by the relevant financial reporting framework is omitted or misstated and such information could influence the economic decision-making of a user, financial statements cannot be said to achieve a fair presentation. The concept of ‘mate-riality’ is used to describe such information.
A recurring theme of discussions at the European Enforcers Coordination Sessions (a forum in which all European National Enforcers of financial information meet to exchange views and discuss experiences of enforcement of IFRS) is the apparent differing views regarding the practical application of the concept of materiality amongst preparers, auditors, possibly users of the financial reports and, in some instances, accounting enforcers. The purpose of this consultation paper is to seek comments from interested parties on their understanding of various aspects of materiality in an effort to contribute to a consistent applica-tion of this important concept in financial reporting.
Responses to this consultation paper should be submitted online in the section Consultations by 29 February 2012.
NYSE Euronext European ETF activity highlights for September 2011
October 10, 2011--Listings
September saw 8 new ETF listings from two different issuers, 1 from Lyxor and 7 from SPDR ETFs:
|
September ETF Listings | |||
|
Trading Symbol |
Listing Date |
Trading Name |
Underlying Index |
|
ACWI |
12/09/2011 |
LYXOR ACWI |
MSCI All Country World |
|
ACWE |
14/09/2011 |
SPDR ACWI |
MSCI All Country World |
|
September ETF Listings | |||
|
Trading Symbol |
Listing Date |
Trading Name |
Underlying Index |
14/09/2011 |
SPDR EM ASIA |
MSCI EM Asia |
|
EMEO |
14/09/2011 |
SPDR EM EUROPE |
MSCI EM Europe |
|
EMLA |
14/09/2011 |
SPDR EM LATAM |
MSCI EM Latin America |
|
EMRG |
14/09/2011 |
SPDR EMERGING |
MSCI Emerging Markets |
|
EMSP |
14/09/2011 |
SPDR EM SMALLCAP |
MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap |
|
IMIE |
14/09/2011 |
SPDR ACWI IMI |
MSCI ACWI IMI |
In total, NYSE Euronext had 684 listings of 586 ETFs from 18 issuers. So far this year, there have been a total of 139 new ETF listings on the NYSE Euronext European cash markets, including 111 new primary listings and 28 cross-listings (compared to 46 new primary listings and no cross-listing in the same period in 2010).
NYSE Euronext ETFs cover more than 400 indices exposed to an extensive range of assets and strategies (Equities, Fixed Income, Commodities, Short, Leverage, etc).
Trading activity
September continued in much the same fashion as August, with considerable volatility in the markets, as highlighted by the VIX Volatility Index seesawing its way through the month from a level of 31.91 on the first day of trading to close the month at 42.96, and hitting almost every level in between.
Macro-economic circumstances boosted a pick-up in trading of Fixed Income ETFs, and in particular those tracking credit default swap indexes. The latter traded 71.4 percent more than in the previous month. The overall uncertain sentiment was a major contributor to another month of strong ETF trading activity, which accounted for more than ten percent of total cash equity activity on more than a few days in September:
An average of 13,070 on-book trades were executed daily in September, up 56.1% on September 2010 and +26.6% year-to-date vs last year. The average daily value traded on-book in September was €558.0 million, +82.3% vs September 2010 and +28.6% year-to-date vs last year. The total traded on-book value amounted to €12.3 billion.
As a reminder, an enhanced version of the block-trade or off-book trading functionality was launched in early July. It features extended trading hours, standard clearing & settlement and reduced trading fees. Moreover, in a bid to increase post-trade transparency in the ETF space, off-book trading volume is aggregated to central order book volumes and made available by data vendors under the main, official ETF ticker. For example, under Bloomberg ticker LEM FP Equity QR a block of 5.2 million shares was printed on September 26 at 09:33:52 CET using the off-book trading functionality.
A total of €1.3 billion was exchanged in block trades in September, up 273.3% on the same month last year. Overall, block trade volume represented 9.5% of total regulated market ETF trading on NYSE Euronext.
More information about the enhanced block-trade or off-book trading functionality is available here.
Assets Under Management (AUM)
At the end of September 2011, the combined AUM of all ETFs listed on the NYSE Euronext European markets totaled €124.5 billion, an increase of 2.5% from the €121.4 billionat the end of September 2010.
Compared with August 2011, however, there was a slight decline of 1.3% in AUM with Agricultural and Industrial Metals ETFs suffering the sharpest drops, -29.7 and -34.0% respectively. Interestingly, Industrial Metals ETFs was one of only three categories in which net creations took place in September. The other two were Money Market (+10.2%) and Strategy (+5.3%) ETFs. At the same time, Aggregate and Covered Bond ETFs saw the relative largest redemptions, -14.8 and -14.3% compared to August 2011.
Market Quality
Our high-capacity, low-latency technology, combined with the flow from client orders, competitive market makers and our 23 first-class Liquidity Providers, contributed to a median spread for all listed ETFs of 38.83 bps.
Several LPs expanded their activity in September, both on new ETFs listed during the month and on existing ETFs. In total, 5 LPs took on liquidity responsibilities for 22 additional LP contracts on 16 ETFs:
Commerzbank: 2 new contracts for iShares.
IMC: 5 new contracts; 1 for db x-trackers, 3 for iShares and 1 for Lyxor.
Kyte / Bluefin championed the 7 new SPDR listings.
Société Générale signed on for the new Lyxor listing.
Unicredit also supported 4 of the new SPDR listings, while also taking on 3 new contracts for EasyETF.
view the September 2011 edition of the ETF Monthly Flash.
The AMF opens an investigation after Standard & Poor’s dissemination of mistaken information
November 10, 2011--The AMF Secretary General opened an investigation after the rating agency Standard & Poor’s indicated that it had mistakenly sent a message announcing a downgrade of France’s credit rating to some of its clients.
The AMF also contacted the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), as it is under
its jurisdiction to ensure that rating agencies meet their professional obligations.
S&P: France Rating Cut A Mistake, AAA Rating Unchanged
Accidental S&P message about France's rating prompts affirmation of nation's AAA standing
Mistake comes amid great euro-zone uncertainty, fuels questions about France
Error and subsequent clarification cause limited financial-market disruption
French government demands investigation from regulators
November 10, 2011--Standard & Poor's Ratings Services erroneously issued a message saying the ratings firm had cut France's triple-A credit rating, prompting it to clarify that the nation's rating remains unchanged and adding to already heightened anxiety in European bond markets.
The French Finance Ministry has asked regulators to investigate the incident.
Martin Winn, an S&P spokesman in London, said certain subscribers received a rating alert about the Republic of France as a result of a "technical error." He added that those who clicked on the link in the alert would have seen that France's rating was unchanged. He said S&P sent out a statement clarifying that the alert was sent in error at 4.30 p.m. London time.
"The ratings on Republic of France remain 'AAA/A-1+' with a stable outlook, and this incident is not related to any ratings surveillance activity," the firm wrote.
ESMA launches a consultation on the considerations of materiality in financial reporting
November 10, 2011--The objective of financial statements is to provide information to a range of users for the purpose of eco-nomic decision making. To be useful, such statements must present fairly the financial position, perform-ance and cash flows of the reporting entity. Where information which is required by the relevant financial reporting framework is omitted or misstated and such information could influence the economic decision-making of a user, financial statements cannot be said to achieve a fair presentation. The concept of ‘mate-riality’ is used to describe such information.
recurring theme of discussions at the European Enforcers Coordination Sessions (a forum in which all European National Enforcers of financial information meet to exchange views and discuss experiences of enforcement of IFRS) is the apparent differing views regarding the practical application of the concept of materiality amongst preparers, auditors, possibly users of the financial reports and, in some instances, accounting enforcers. The purpose of this consultation paper is to seek comments from interested parties on their understanding of various aspects of materiality in an effort to contribute to a consistent applica-tion of this important concept in financial reporting.
Responses to this consultation paper should be submitted online, by 29 February 2012
ESMA publishes the outcome of a Review of European enforcers on the implementation of IFRS 8 – Operating Segments
November 10, 2011--This Report provides the main findings of the review of European enforcers on the mplementation of IFRS 8 – Operating Segments and ESMA’s tentative recommendations to enhance the application of the standard.
On the basis of this review, the overall conclusion reached by European enforcers is that (i) the implementation of IFRS 8 resulted in a fairly similar level of information compared to its predecessor IAS 14 and that (ii) there is homogeneity in the issues faced by European enforcers when enforcing this standard. This stems from a combination of weaknesses in the standard and a failure to fully comply with its requirements by issuers.
view report-Review of European enforcers on the implementation of IFRS 8 – Operating Segments
New OMX Stockholm Benchmark Portfolio Selected
The new portfolio of the OMX Stockholm Benchmark index will become effective on
December 1, 2011
November 10, 2011--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ)
announces today the results of the semi-annual review of the OMX Stockholm
Benchmark index, (NASDAQ OMX Stockholm: OMXSB), which will become effective
with the market open on Thursday, December 1, 2011.
Nobia AB (NOBI), Opcon AB (OPCO), ReadSoft AB ser. B (RSOF B), Svenska
Cellulosa AB SCA ser. A. (SCA A) and Sigma AB ser. B (SIGM B) will be added to the index.
Active Biotech AB (ACTI), EnQuest Plc (ENQ), Medivir AB ser. B (MVIR B), Rezidor Hotel Group AB (REZT) and SSAB AB ser. B (SSAB B) will be removed from the index.
The OMXSB index consists of the 85 largest and most traded stocks, representing all ten sectors. The weight of the stocks is based on the market value adjusted by the free float, which means that only the part of the share capital that is considered available for trading is included in the index. The index serves as an indicator of the overall trend on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm, and is intended to offer a cost effective index that an investor can fully replicate.
OMXSB is sector diversified and major sectors represented are: Financials,
Industrials, Consumer Discretionary and Information Technology. The securities
must also meet other eligibility criteria including a turnover screening. The OMXSB index is evaluated on a semi-annual basis in May and November, and the new index portfolio becomes effective on the first trading day in June and December respectively.
New OMX Helsinki Benchmark Portfolio Selected
The new portfolio of the OMX Helsinki Benchmark index will become effective on December 1, 2011
November 10, 2011--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) announces today the results of the semi-annual review of the OMX Helsinki Benchmark index, (NASDAQ OMX Helsinki: OMXHB), which will become effective with the market open on Thursday, December 1, 2011.
There will be three new additions to the index; Ahlstrom Corporation (AHL1V), Ilkka-Yhtymä Oyj 2 (ILK2S) and Lännen Tehtaat Plc (LTE1S).
Atria Plc A (ATRAV) and Digia Plc (DIG1V) will be removed from the index.
The OMXHB index is a free float-capitalization index designed to act as a transparent and liquid benchmark with low transaction costs for the investors. OMXHB includes 54 securities compared with 129 in the All share index, and shows a high correlation of 99,6% with the main market.
OMXHB is sector diversified and major sectors represented are Information Technology, Industrials, Financials and Materials. The securities must also meet other eligibility criteria including a turnover limit. The OMXHB index is evaluated on a semi-annual basis in May and November, and the new index portfolio becomes effective on the first trading day in June and December respectively.
