Global ETF News Older than One Year
OCC Announces 2011 Options Volume Passes 4 Billion Contracts
November 10, 2011-OCC announced today that year-to-date total options volume surpassed 4 billion contracts yesterday. This is the first time that U.S. exchange-listed options volume has ever reached this milestone in a single year.
Options volume has continued the high-growth trend of recent years to reach unprecedented levels in 2011. Total options volume hit 3 billion contracts for the fourth time ever on August 23, 2011. Roughly 2 and a half months or 55 trading days later, 4 billion options contracts changed hands on November 9.
"This has been a year when more investors have looked to options for risk management than ever before," said Michael E. Cahill, OCC President and Chief Operating Officer. "Average volume today is higher than the single highest volume day of just four years ago."
Year-to-date average daily options volume stands at 18.5 million contracts, about 3 million contracts per day more than the daily average in 2010. Total year-to-date options volume reached 3,921,499,350 contracts on Tuesday, November 1, passing 2010's annual record volume of 3,899,068,670.
2011 will be the ninth consecutive year a new annual trading volume record has been set.
Source: OCC
Ties to Old World Hit Emerging Markets
November 10, 2011--As the eurozone crisis spreads from Greece to Italy, countries far afield are being sucked into the maelstrom.
The world’s emerging markets, which led the way out of global recession in 2009, are now suffering because of their ties to the Old Continent. And they may not be as well placed as three years ago to again help pull the world back from the brink.
On Thursday, Asia bore the brunt, with equities falling 3.8 percent in U.S. dollar terms, the biggest drop for nearly two months, and Asian currencies generally sliding against the dollar, led by a 1.2 percent drop in South Korea’s won.
Source: CNBC
FTSE and Nairobi Securities Exchange present new index solutions for the Kenyan market
November 8, 2011--FTSE Group (“FTSE”), the award winning global index provider, and the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) today announce the creation of a new family of indices- the FTSE NSE Kenya Index Series – which track the performance of the largest and most widely traded stocks listed on the NSE, Africa’s fourth oldest securities exchange.
The launch of the indices is the result of an extensive market consultation process with local asset owners and fund managers and reflects the growing interest in new domestic investment and diversification opportunities in the East African region. Designed to enhance and capture the depth of information available on the Kenyan market, the indices are also suitable as the foundation for ETFs and other index-linked products which can be utilised by global investors wishing to access this frontier market.
Source: FTSE
TMX Group Equity Exchanges Lead the World in Number of New Listings
November 7, 2011-- TMX Group Inc. today announced that, as of September 30, Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture together had more new listings in 2011 than any other exchange group in the world. The ranking is part of a recently-released statistics report from the World Federation of Exchanges.
“We are extremely pleased to be first in number of new listings among global exchanges,” said Kevan Cowan, President, TSX Markets and Group Head of Equities, TMX Group. “We are proud to support companies of all sizes across all sectors access the capital they require to meet their business objectives. We look forward to fostering the growth and success of these new companies on our Exchanges.”
This is the third straight year that TMX Group's equity exchanges have led global exchanges in the number of new listings.
As of September 30, 2011, TMX Group was second in the world by number of listings, seventh by market capitalization and seventh by equity capital raised.
Source: TMX Group Inc
FSB announces policy measures to address systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs) and names initial group of global SIFIs
November 4, 2011-1. At recent Summits, G20 Leaders asked the FSB to develop a policy framework to address the systemic and moral hazard risks associated with systemically important
financial institutions (SIFIs).
2. In Seoul last year, G20 Leaders endorsed this framework and the timelines and processes for its implementation. The development of the critical policy measures that form the parts of this framework has now been completed. Implementation of these measures will begin from 2012. Full implementation is targeted for 2019.
3. SIFIs are financial institutions whose distress or disorderly failure, because of their size, complexity and systemic interconnectedness, would cause significant disruption to the wider financial system and economic activity.
To avoid this outcome, authorities have all too frequently had no choice but to forestall the failure of such institutions through public solvency support. As underscored by this crisis, this has deleterious consequences for private incentives and for public finances.
4. Addressing the “too-big-to-fail” problem requires a multipronged and integrated set of policies. Accordingly, the policy measures we have agreed comprise:
Source: Financial Stability Board
MF Global: Exchange Clearing House Liquidations Website Statement
November 4, 2011--Based on information received from the following exchanges and clearing houses, open trades and positions of MF Global UK Limited (in special administration) have been liquidated, with effect from the corresponding date listed.
Accordingly, all open trades and positions with clients of MF Global UK Limited (in special administration) relating to products traded on these exchanges and clearing houses have been closed with effect from the corresponding date listed, and notifications are being sent to those clients that are affected.
As a result of trades/positions being closed or terminated by counterparties of MF Global UK Limited (in special administration), since 31 October 2011, certain trade and/or position, price and cash balance data provided to customers may have contained inaccuracies. Accurate closing prices and statements of final trades and/or positions will be sent to clients of MF Global UK Limited (in special administration) in due course.
Source: MF Global
MSCI to collaborate on Access to Nutrition Index
November 4, 2011--MSCI will provide research and analysis for the Access to Nutrition Index (ATNI) Project, a collaboration between the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the Wellcome Trust, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The ATNI Project’s goal is to achieve sustainable changes in the nutrition practices of the global food and beverage industry, ranging from obesity to undernutrition. The main output of the ATNI Project will be the Access to Nutrition Index, which will publicly rate and rank major food and beverage companies on their nutrition practices.
Source: The Sustainability Report
FSB issues International Standard for Resolution Regimes
November 4, 2011--Addressing the “Too-big-to fail” issue in global finance requires effective national resolution regimes and recovery and resolution planning at the global level. Today, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a new internationally-agreed standard that sets out the responsibilities, instruments and powers that national resolution regimes should have to resolve a failing systemically important financial institution (SIFI); it also sets out requirements for resolvability assessments and recovery and resolution planning for global SIFIs (G-SIFIs), as well as for the development of institution-specific cooperation agreements between home and host authorities.
The new standard “Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions” will help address the “too-big-to-fail” problem by making it possible to resolve any financial institution in an orderly manner and without exposing the taxpayer to the risk of loss, protecting vital economic functions through mechanisms for losses to be shared (in order of seniority) between shareholders and unsecured and uninsured creditors.
The Key Attributes are a core component of the FSB policy measures, endorsed by the G20 Leaders to address the risks to the global financial system from SIFIs.
view the Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions
Source: Financial Stability Board (FSB)
FEAS Newletter for October 2011
November 3, 2011--The FEAS October 2011 newsletter in now available.
Source: FEAS
Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes October 2011 Performance Report
November 3, 2011--—The global Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 Index, which measures the performance of 100 of the leading Shari’ah compliant stocks globally, had an up month in October with a gain of 10.26%, closing at 2226.61. In comparison, the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, which measures
the 50 biggest companies worldwide, posted a gain of 9.41%, closing at 175.29.
The Dow Jones Islamic Market Asia/Pacific Titans 25 Index, which measures the performance of 25 of the leading Shari’ah compliant stocks in the Asia/Pacific region, increased 9.35% in October, closing at 2021.78. The Dow Jones Asian Titans 50 Index, in comparison, posted a gain of 9.00%, closing at 126.52.
Measuring Europe, the Dow Jones Islamic Market Europe Titans 25 Index, which measures the performance of the 25 of the leading Shari’ah compliant stocks in Europe, closed at 2094.47, a gain of 11.71% in October, while the conventional Dow Jones Europe Index gained 11.95%, closing at 248.26.
Measuring the performance of 50 of the largest Shari’ah compliant U.S. stocks, the Dow Jones Islamic Market U.S. Titans 50 Index increased in October, closing at 2307.28. It represents a gain of 9.88%. The U.S. blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 9.54%, closing at 11955.01.
Source: Dow Jones Indexes
