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STOXX Changes Composition Of Benchmark Indices
Results Of The Second Regular Quarterly Review To Be Effective On June 20, 2011
May 24, 2011--STOXX Limited, the market-moving provider of innovative, tradable and global index concepts, today announced the new composition of the STOXX Global 1800 Index, STOXX Europe Total Market Index, STOXX Europe 600 Index, STOXX Americas 600 Index,
STOXX Asia/Pacific 600 Index, STOXX EU Enlarged Total Market Index, STOXX Eastern Europe Total Market Index, STOXX Eastern Europe 300 Index and their sub- and sector indices, as well as that of the STOXX Europe Football Index and STOXX Europe Private Equity 20 Index.
Effective as of the open of European markets on June 20, 2011, the following stocks will be added to and deleted from the STOXX Europe 600 Index and its respective size and sector indices:
New ETC from db ETC Index plc launched on Xetra
May 24, 2011-- A new exchange-traded commodity issued by db ETC Index plc has been tradable on Xetra since Tuesday.
ETC name: db Brent Crude Oil Booster ETC (EUR)
Asset class: Commodities
ISIN: DE000A1KYN55
Total expense ratio: 0.45 percent
Benchmark: db Brent Crude Oil Booster USD Index
The new ETC from db ETC Index plc offers investors the additional chance to participate in the performance of Brent Crude Oil, in this case without currency protection. Collateral for the db ETC is provided by physically deposited gold bars in allocated form.
Deutsche Börse’s ETC segment product range currently comprises 180 instruments. The monthly trading volume of ETCs on Xetra averages around €550 million.
iShares launches sustainable ETFs on NYSE Euronext
May 24, 2011--– NYSE Euronext is pleased to announce that iShares, the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) platform of BlackRock, Inc. today has listed two sustainable equity ETFs on the Amsterdam market of NYSE Euronext. The launch of the new products is in response to demand for funds which invest according to environmental, social and governance criteria.
The new launched iShares ETFs are:
iShares Dow Jones Global Sustainability Screened;
iShares Dow Jones Europe Sustainability Screened;
The ETFs allow investors cost efficient and liquid access to European and Global companies which operate in a sustainable manner. The ETFs aim to track the performance of the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index and the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. There is an element of negative screening, choosing to exclude companies with involvement in alcohol, tobacco, gambling, armaments & firearms and adult entertainment.
Roel Thijssen, managing director of BlackRock and head of iShares Benelux: ‘’I am excited to introduce the first Dutch ETFs based on sustainable criteria. As a market leader we have taken our responsibility to be the first in the market to respond to the increasing demand of sustainable financial products in The Netherlands. I am proud our innovation power gives Dutch investors the opportunity to invest in sustainable companies in Europe and on a global level.’’
Clampdown on derivatives trading
May 24, 2011--New EU legislation designed to regulate the trade in derivatives - widely believed to have contributed to the global financial crisis - moved a step closer on Tuesday with a vote by Parliament's Economic Affairs Committee.
The draft regulation - on over-the-counter derivatives (OTCs), central clearing parties (CCPs) and trade repositories - aims to bring greater safety, transparency and stability to the OTC derivatives market, which was valued at around €425 trillion in 2009. Information on OTC derivative contracts would have to be reported to 'trade repositories' and be accessible to supervisory authorities. OTC derivative contracts would need to be cleared through central counterparties (CCPs), thus reducing counterparty credit risk, i.e. the risk that one party to the contract defaults. A key supervisory role is envisaged for the new European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).
The Commission's draft was approved with amendments by the Economic Affairs Committee and will now go to the full Parliament for a vote in July. The result of today's committee vote was 36 in favour, 1 against and 2 abstentions.
Supervision
The committee envisages a central role for ESMA. The new European supervisor will work closely with national supervisory authorities, have an important stake in authorising new CCPs to the market and should be allowed to carry out on-site inspections.
Narrow scope, few exemptions
MEPs rejected suggestions by some EU Member States that all derivatives should be governed by this regulation. Instead they want the rules to apply only to OTC derivatives, as the Commission proposes and was agreed by the G20 group. However, to ensure ESMA has the full picture, they want reporting obligations to apply to all derivatives.
The committee's report, drafted by Werner Langen (EPP, DE), is strict regarding exemptions to the clearing obligation. However, for pension funds there will be a special regime, provided that the national capital requirements provide a guarantee similar to cleared contracts.
Alan Miller, chief investment officer and founding partner of SCM Private, manages exchange traded funds and gives a robust response to Terry Smith's blog post on the risks he sees in ETFs
May 24, 2011--Alan Miller, chief investment officer and founding partner of SCM Private, manages exchange traded funds and gives a robust response to Terry Smith's blog post on the risks he sees in ETFs.
Read Terry Smith's view of exchange traded funds here.
1. “Being tradeable on the secondary market, Smith says, means there is a possibility that market participants will short ETFs themselves.”
As Mr Smith should know, and I can speak as someone who years ago took the great pleasure of shorting Mr Smith’s former employer, Collins Stewart (Other OTC: COLLF.PK - news) , for someone to short a share requires someone on the other side to buy it (so they can lend it to the person shorting it!).
ETFs Are Becoming a Shadow Banking System, Tullett’s Smith Says
MAy 24, 2011--Exchange-traded funds are developing in a similar way to the shadow banking system that almost brought down the world’s financial system in 2008, according to Terry Smith, chief executive officer of Tullett Prebon Plc. (TLPR)
ETFs often fail to track the underlying asset whose behavior they’re designed follow, are exposed to the risk of a provider going bankrupt and are vulnerable to heavy short- selling, Smith, 58, wrote today in a blog titled “ETFs - Worse than I thought.”
Survey raises concerns over eurozone recovery rate
May 23, 2011--Rising concerns emerged Monday over the state of European economic recovery -- with key indicators slowing sharply, and eurozone stragglers behind Germany and France showing signs of stagnation, a widely-watched survey said.
London-based research giant Markit's composite eurozone index for manufacturing and services output, compiled via company purchasing managers' questionnaire replies, suggested eurozone growth slowed to a seven-month low in May.
Italy reports decade of lowest growth in Europe
May 23, 2011-- - Italy has clocked the lowest growth rate in the European Union in the past decade with an average yearly rise in gross domestic product (GDP) of just 0.2 percent, official data out on Monday showed.
The average for the European Union between 2001 and 2010 was 1.1 percent.
State Street sees increased private equity and real estate footprint from Mourant purchase
May 23, 2011--The acquisition earlier this year of Mourant International Finance Administration, the alternative fund services arm of the Jersey-headquartered legal and financial services firm, is proving a highly successful move, according to State Street senior vice-president and head of private equity and real estate services Phil McGowan (pictured).
"We are expecting strong growth in Jersey and Guernsey, and we are thinking that private equity and real estate are extremely good places to be right now,” McGowan says. “That’s why we made the acquisition and are putting our resources into the Channel Islands.
Euro-priced gold jumps to record high
May 23, 2011--The price of gold jumped to a record in euros as renewed fear about the eurozone debt crisis drove investors to move money out of the single currency and into the precious metal.
On the spot market, gold bullion rose to a peak of €1,080.04 a troy ounce, surpassing the previous euro-denominated record set in December last year.
