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UNFCCC publishes reports summing up results of 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen

April 1, 2010--The UN Climate Change Secretariat Wednesday published official reports on the results of last year’s UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (7-19 December 2009). The reports detail the outcomes of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties at its 15th session (COP 15) and of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol on its fifth session (CMP 5). Each report is in two parts: one on formal proceedings and one on the decisions adopted by the relevant body.

Since the closing of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has received submissions of national pledges to cut or limit emissions of greenhouse gases by 2020 from 75 Parties, which together account for more than 80% per cent of global emissions from energy use.

41 industrialised countries have formally communicated their economy-wide targets to the UNFCCC. 35 developing countries have communicated information on the nationally appropriate mitigation actions they are planning to take, provided they receive the appropriate support in terms of finance and technology. These communications can be found on the web site at: http://unfccc.int/5265.php.

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Average daily volume of 10 million contracts at Eurex and ISE in March

April 1, 2010--In March 2010, the international derivatives exchanges of Eurex Group recorded an average daily volume of 10 million contracts (March 2009: 12.2 million) – a decline of 17 percent. Of those, 7.1 million were Eurex contracts and 2.96 million contracts were traded at the U.S.-based International Securities Exchange (ISE). In total, 163.7 million contracts were traded at Eurex (March 2009: 172.3) and 68.1 million at the ISE (March 2009: 96.7).

The equity index derivatives product segment recorded 69.5 million contracts (38.5 million index futures and 31 million index options), down from 92.5 million contracts the year before. Futures on the EURO STOXX 50 Index stood at 31.9 million contracts while options on the index stood at 23.1 million.

The equity derivatives (equity options and single-stock futures) segment at Eurex recorded 36.4 million contracts (March 2009: 33.7 million) and thus marked an increase of 8 percent. Thereof, equity options totaled 29 million contracts and single-stock futures another 7.4 million contracts. Dividend-based derivatives continued to grow significantly: The number of traded contracts was up by 134 percent and stood at 355.000 contracts.

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Preqin:Q1 2010 Private Equity Fundraising Update

April 1, 2010--Private equity fundraising shows slight improvement in Q1 2010: $50.4bn raised in Q1 2010 represents a 5% improvement from Q4 2009.

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The Options Clearing Corporation Announces Total Contract Volume in March Grew 2%

April 1, 2010--The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) announced today that total OCC cleared volume in March reached 353,294,816 contracts. This represents a 2 percent increase over the March 2009 volume of 346,360,655 contracts. OCC year to date total contract volume is up 8 percent from 2009 with 931,269,641 contracts.

Options: Exchange-listed options trading in the U.S for the month of March was up 1.44 percent from the previous year. Index options volume rose 15 percent higher than last year with 27,363,133 contracts in March. The year to date average daily contract for equity options is up 6.48 percent from 2009.

Futures: Futures cleared by OCC in March rose to 2,289,938 with an average daily contract of 102,770. Equity futures volume reached 385,125 contracts, a 64.87 percent increase over the same month last year where 233,598 were traded. Index and other futures volume came in at 1,904,039 this month and show a year to date average of 85,579 daily contracts.

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ETF Landscape: Industry Review February 2010

March 31, 2010--Highlights
• At the end of February 2010 the global ETF industry had 2,091 ETFs with 3,998 listings, assets of US$1,001.9 Bn, from 115 providers on 40 exchanges around the world.

• YTD assets decreased by 3.3% which is more than the 3.0% fall in the MSCI World Index in US dollar terms.
• The top 100 ETFs, out of 2,091, account for 64.7% of global ETF AUM, while 404 ETFs have less than US$10.0 Mn in assets.
• YTD the number of ETFs increased by 7.3% with 143 new ETFs launched.
• The number of ETFs listed in Europe has surpassed the US with 901 ETFs listed in Europe, compared to 807 in the US.
• There are currently plans to launch 838 new ETFs.
• YTD the number of exchanges with official listings remains at 40.
• YTD the average daily trading volume in US dollars increased by 47.8% to US$74.3 Bn.
• MSCI ranks first in terms of ETF AUM tied to their benchmarks with assets of US$234.5 Bn and 293 ETFs, while Standard & Poor’s (S&P) ranks second with US$232.4 Bn and 259 ETFs, followed by Barclays Capital in third with US$93.4 Bn and 75 ETFs.
• The top three ETF providers, out of 115, have 71.1% market share.
• Globally, iShares is the largest ETF provider in terms of both number of products, 437 ETFs, and assets of US$471.9 Bn, reflecting 47.1% market share; State Street Global Advisors is second with 107 products and US$144.5 Bn, 14.4% market share; followed by Vanguard with 47 products and assets of US$95.4 Bn and 9.5% market share at the end of February 2010.
• Globally, net sales of mutual funds (excluding ETFs) were positive US$6.0 Bn, while net sales of ETFs were minus US$13.8 Bn during the first month of 2010 according to Strategic Insight.
• Over the last five years the S&P 500 has outperformed 60.8% of actively managed large-cap US equity funds; the S&P MidCap 400 has outperformed 77.2% of mid-cap funds and the S&P SmallCap 600 has outperformed 66.6% of small-cap funds. The five-year data results are similar for actively managed fixed income funds. Across all categories, with the exception of emerging market debt, more than 70% of active managers have failed to beat benchmarks1.
• Additionally, there were 630 other Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) with 921 listings and assets of US$150.3 Bn from 40 providers on 18 exchanges.
• Combined, there were 2,721 products with 4,919 listings, assets of US$1,152.2 Bn from 139 providers on 43 exchanges around the world at the end of February 2010.

Europe
• 11 April 2010 will mark the tenth anniversary of ETFs in Europe.
• At the end of February 2010 the European ETF industry had 901 ETFs with 2,490 listings, assets of US$220.1 Bn, from 35 providers on 18 exchanges.
• YTD assets have decreased by 3.0%, which is less than the 8.2% fall in the MSCI Europe Index in US dollar terms.
• The top 100 ETFs, out of 901, account for 73.5% of European ETF AUM, while 171 ETFs have less than US$10.0 Mn in assets.
• YTD the number of ETFs increased by 8.7% with 72 new ETFs launched.
• YTD the number of exchanges with official listings remains at 18.
• YTD the average daily trading volume in US dollars increased by 34.2% to US$3.1 Bn. Most ETF trades are not required to be reported in Europe as ETFs are not covered by the European Union Directive on Markets in Financial Instruments (MiFID).
• The top three ETF providers, out of 35, have 73.5% market share.
• The average Total Expense Ratio (TER) for equity ETFs in Europe is 40 bps versus 91 bps per annum for the average equity index tracking fund and 180 bps for the average active equity fund2.
• In Europe net sales of mutual funds (excluding ETFs) were US$44.3 Bn while net sales of ETFs domiciled in Europe were US$2.6 Bn during January 2010 according to Lipper FMI.
• Additionally, there were 185 other Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) with 452 listings and assets of US$15.6 Bn from four providers on five exchanges.
• Combined, there were 1,086 products with 2,942 listings and assets of US$235.7 Bn from 36 providers on 18 exchanges in Europe.

United States
• At the end of February 2010 the US ETF industry had 807 ETFs, assets of US$678.6 Bn, from 28 providers on two exchanges.
• YTD assets decreased by 3.8%, which is more than the 0.9% fall in the MSCI US Index in US dollar terms.
• The top 100 ETFs, out of 807, account for 83.5% of US ETF AUM, while 114 ETFs have less than US$10.0 Mn in assets.
• YTD the number of ETFs increased by 4.5% with 35 new ETFs launched.
• YTD the average daily trading volume in US dollars has increased by 51.1% to US$69.2 Bn.
• The top three ETF providers, out of 28, have 85.4% market share.
• The average Total Expense Ratio (TER) for equity ETFs in the US is 34 bps versus 93 bps per annum for the average equity index tracking fund and 146 bps for the average active equity fund.2
• In the US net sales of mutual funds (excluding ETFs) were minus US$108.2 Bn, while net sales of ETFs domiciled in the US were positive US$5.5 Bn during the first two months of 2010 according to Strategic Insight.
• Additionally, there were 145 other Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) with assets of US$84.5 Bn from 17 providers on one exchange.
• Combined, there were 952 products with assets of US$763.1 Bn from 41 providers on two exchanges in the US.
• 29 January 2010 marked the 17th anniversary of ETFs in the US.

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International Derivatives Clearing Group Announces Interest Rate Swap Link With MarkitSERV

March 31, 2010--The International Derivatives Clearing Group (IDCG) announced today that it will be able to accept interest rate derivative products into its clearinghouse via MarkitSERV, the leading electronic platform for processing over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives.

MarkitSERV provides a single gateway for over-the-counter derivative transaction processing globally, covering credit, interest rate, equity and commodity derivatives.

"MarkitSERV's support of the IDCG platform is very important," said Garry O'Connor, Chief Executive Officer of IDCG. "Allowing market participants to deliver trades to our clearinghouse through their existing infrastructure is a major step forward for IDCG and the interest rate derivative market."

"We are pleased to implement electronic connectivity between MarkitSERV's interest rate swap trade processing platform and IDCG's clearinghouse. This represents another milestone in the industry's efforts to reduce operational risk and counterparty risk in the OTC derivative markets," said Jeff Gooch, CEO of MarkitSERV.

IDCG is a majority owned, independently operated NASDAQ OMX subsidiary that operates a CFTC licensed designated clearing organization for clearing and settling interest rate derivative products. IDCG has cleared in excess of $3 trillion in notional value in its Shadow Clearing environment, a process to prepare market participants for central clearing of derivatives. Newedge, the world's largest futures commission merchant, announced the week of March 8, 2010 that it would become a clearing member of IDCG's clearinghouse, joining MF Global who joined previously.

2009 International Public Finance Rating Transition Study Released

March 30, 2010--The global recession left a lasting impact on sovereign nations as well as local and regional authorities, faced with shrinking revenues and bulging deficits. Despite these recent economic difficulties, the rate of downgrades among Fitch-rated international public finance issuers remained relatively modest in 2009, edging lower to 4.2% from 5.2% in 2008. Upgrades however contracted to 2.6% from 8.7% a year earlier.

As a result, the international public finance downgrade to upgrade ratio turned negative in 2009, with downgrades outpacing upgrades by 1.6 to 1, up from positive results of 0.6 to 1 recorded a year earlier.

There were no Fitch-rated international public finance issuer defaults in 2009, echoing 2008's results.

Fitch's new study provides data and analysis on the performance of Fitch's international public finance ratings in 2009 and over the long term, covering the period 1995-2009. The report provides summary statistics on the year's key rating trends.

The study is titled 'Fitch Ratings International Public Finance 2009 Transition and Default Study' and is available on Fitch's web site under Credit Market Research.

Component Changes Made To Dow Jones Select Dividend Indexes

March 30, 2010--Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, today announced that Acea S.p.A. (Italy, Utilities, ACE.MI) will be removed from the Dow Jones Italy Select Dividend 20 and Dow Jones EPAC Select Dividend indexes.
Acea S.p.A. is being removed due to the cancellation of its dividend payment.

In the Dow Jones Italy Select Dividend 20 Index, Acea S.p.A. will be replaced by Banca Popolare di Sondrio S.C.A.R.L. (Italy, Banks, BPSO.MI).
In the Dow Jones EPAC Select Dividend Index, Acea S.p.A. will be replaced by Snam Rete Gas S.p.A (Italy, Utilities, SRG.MI).
All changes in the Dow Jones Italy Select Dividend 20 Index and Dow Jones EPAC Select Dividend Index will be effective as of the open of trading on Monday, April 5, 2010.
Further information on the Dow Jones Select Dividend indexes can be found at http://www.djindexes.com.
Company additions to and deletions from the Dow Jones Italy Select Dividend 20 and Dow Jones EPAC Select indexes do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the company.

March 2010 Monthly Preliminary Performance Report Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Indexes

March 29, 2010--The Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index was down -3.09% for the month of March. The Dow Jones-UBS Single Commodity Indexes for Nickel, Platinum and Copper had the strongest gains with month-to-date returns of 11.48%, 3.66%, and 3.62%, respectively. The three most significant downside performing single commodity indexes were Sugar, Natural Gas and Wheat, which were down -27.97%, -19.45%, and -10.50% respectively, in March.

Year to date, the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index is down -6.81% with the Dow Jones-UBS Nickel Sub-Index posting the highest gain of 27.05% so far in 2010. Dow Jones-UBS Sugar Sub-Index has the most significant downside YTD performance, down -35.06%.

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Global Recession Weighed on Sovereign Ratings in 2009

March 25, 2010--Highlights
Credit quality eroded for sovereign issuers in 2009, as the global recession's impact on advanced and emerging economies continued to deepen. The share of sovereign issuers downgraded remained steady year-over-year at roughly 14%, while upgrades tumbled to just 2% in 2009 from nearly 10% a year earlier.

Emerging markets registered the most negative, as well as positive, movements on the year, recording 11 downgrades, while simultaneously accounting for the two sovereign upgrades in 2009. Developed market sovereigns observed a total of three downgrades with no upgrades on the year.

'Despite the unprecedented global recession, there were no Fitch-rated sovereign issuer defaults in 2009,' said Charlotte Needham, Senior Director in Fitch Ratings' Credit Market Research Group.

'Fitch Ratings believes diverging sovereign credit trends between advanced and emerging markets will remain a predominant theme in 2010 as public debt/GDP ratios climb steeply toward 100% in the former, even as comparable debt ratios settle at less than half this level in emerging markets,' said Paul Rawkins, Senior Director in Fitch Ratings' Sovereign Group London.

Fitch Ratings' current assessment is that 2010 will be characterized by a gradual rebalancing between positive and negative rating actions and notes that already this year the gap between Stable and Negative Outlooks has already begun to narrow.

The new study provides data and analysis on the performance of Fitch's sovereign ratings in 2009 and over the long term, capturing the period 1995-2009. The report provides summary statistics on the year's key sovereign rating trends.

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Americas


September 20, 2024 Volatility Shares Trust files with the SEC-2x Corn ETF
September 20, 2024 Simplify Exchange Traded Funds files with the SEC-4 Simplify Wolfe ETFs
September 20, 2024 ETF Series Solutions files with the SEC-Defiance Connective Technologies ETF
September 20, 2024 Precidian ETFs Trust files with the SEC
September 20, 2024 Impax Asset Management LLC files with the SEC

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Europe ETF News


September 10, 2024 ESAs warn of risks from economic and geopolitical events

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Asia ETF News


August 26, 2024 ETF Empowering Investors in China's Transition to Sustainable Economy
August 23, 2024 India: With markets at peak, mutual fund redemptions surge: Report
August 23, 2024 China Bond Trading Collapses Amid PBOC Crackdown on Record Rally
August 22, 2024 India surpasses China to become Russia's top oil buyer in July

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Middle East ETF News


August 30, 2024 ADX logs $506.4mln in ETF trading Jan-Aug 2024
August 28, 2024 TCW expands global footprint with opening of Dubai office
August 23, 2024 Saudi GDP growth set to turn positive in H2 2024
August 22, 2024 Saudi targets Indian, Chinese, other Asian investors to boost stock market

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Africa ETF News


September 04, 2024 Africa: Climate-ECA Reveals Africa Loses Up to 5 Percent of GDP
August 27, 2024 Uganda joins African exchanges link
August 15, 2024 Economic reforms are tempting finance back to Ethiopia and Zambia
August 13, 2024 Africa: Carbon Trading-an Opportunity for Economic Development
August 12, 2024 African Economic Expansion Need Not Threaten Global Carbon Targets-Study Points Out the Path to Green Growth

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ESG and Of Interest News


September 09, 2024 World Trade Report 2024 highlights trade's role in supporting inclusiveness
September 03, 2024 State of the Climate in Africa 2023
August 27, 2024 US unveils new tools to withstand encryption-breaking quantum. Here's what experts are saying
August 16, 2024 Africa: Gender Equality Has Everything to Do With Climate Change
August 15, 2024 Researchers Have Ranked AI Models Based on Risk-and Found a Wild Range

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Infographics


August 27, 2024 Charted: $5 Trillion in Global Commodity Exports, by Sector

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