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AMF and FINRA Sign MoU on Financial Market Surveillance and Supervision

October 29, 2009--Richard G. Ketchum, Chairman and CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), and Jean-Pierre Jouyet, Chairman of the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), signed on 19 October 2009 a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on information-sharing with a view to strengthening and improving cooperation in the surveillance and supervision of the markets under their jurisdictions

The memorandum establishes a formal basis for cooperation among FINRA and the AMF in order to more effectively conduct their oversight of regulated markets and financial firms.

FINRA is the self-regulatory organisation responsible for regulating and overseeing broker-dealers in the United States and for supervising a number of markets.

Commenting, Jean-Pierre Jouyet said: "I welcome this agreement with FINRA Chairman and CEO Richard G. Ketchum, which strengthens our cooperation with the United States in the field of investigations and market surveillance. Surveillance and transparency are more important than ever and demand close cooperation between regulators".

"We are very pleased to sign this Memorandum of Understanding with the AMF," said Ketchum. "Both FINRA and the AMF share significant common ground in our mission to protect investors and ensure the integrity of capital markets. In today's global environment, international regulatory cooperation is more important than ever. We look forward to a long and productive partnership with the AMF."

The MoU has two main aims:
organise the transmission of information between authorities regarding market surveillance and investigations into market abuse;
facilitate the sharing of information on trading by firms coming within the two authorities' respective jurisdictions.

The agreement will also allow the AMF and FINRA to keep each other informed about practices in their markets and about issues concerning financial markets in general.

October 2009 “Market’s Measure” - Preliminary Report - A Monthly Report From Dow Jones Indexes And STOXX Ltd. On The Performance Of U.S., European, Asia And Other Global Stock Market Indexes

October 28, 2009--Dow Jones Industrial Average Posts 1.75% Gain in OCTOBER, European Stocks Gain 0.36%, Asia Rises 0.32% and World Equities Rise by 2.25%
Oil & Gas Sector Posts Biggest Gain for October in U.S. Europe & Worldwide
Travel & Leisure Sector Takes the Hardest Hit for October in Worldwide

As of October 27 the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.75% in October, closing at 9882.17. Stock market indexes in Europe, Asia and globally were up in October, according to preliminary monthly figures from global index providers, Dow Jones Indexes and STOXX Ltd.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.75% in October, closing at 9882.17. Year-to-date, the index is up 12.60%.
• Measuring Europe, the Dow Jones STOXX 50 Index is up 0.36% for October, closing at 2462.60. Year-to-date, the index is up 18.17%.
• Measuring Eastern Europe, the Dow Jones STOXX EU Enlarged Total Market Index is up 3.44% for October, closing at 205.38. Year-to-date, the index is up 35.58%.
• The performance of the Dow Jones STOXX EU Enlarged 15 blue-chip index is up 5.11% for October, closing at 2219.35. The index is up 35.01% so far this year.
• The Dow Jones Asian Titans 50 Index rose 0.32% in October to 132.16. So far this year, the index is up 28.83%.
• The Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index rose 2.25% in October, closing at 168.50. Year-to-date, the index is up 17.02%.

OCTOBER 2009 Sector Winners and Losers

• In the U.S., the Dow Jones U.S. Oil & Gas Index was the biggest winner in October, posting a 6.78% gain. The Dow Jones U.S. Telecommunications Index posted the biggest loss, dropping -5.36%.
• In Europe, the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Oil & Gas Index posted the biggest gain, climbing 5.78%. The Dow Jones STOXX 600 Insurance Index had the sharpest decline, falling -4.87%.
• In Asia, the Dow Jones Asia/Pacific Basic Materials Index posted the biggest gain, rising 2.71%. The Dow Jones Asia/Pacific Telecommunications Index posted the biggest loss, down -5.00%.
• Globally, the Dow Jones World Oil & Gas Titans Index had the best performance, climbing 6.93%. The Dow Jones World Travel & Leisure Titans Index posted the biggest loss, dropping -5.72%.

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October 2009 “Islamic Market’s Measure” – Preliminary Report - Monthly Report On The Performance Of The Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes

October 27, 2009--Based on the close of trading on October 26, the global Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 Index, which measures the performance of 100 of the leading Shari’ah compliant stocks globally, gained 2.17% month-to-date, closing at 2025.76. In comparison, the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, which measures the 50 biggest companies worldwide, posted a gain of 1.96%, closing at 168.03.

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, decreased -0.42%, closing at 1795.29. The Dow Jones Asian Titans 50 Index, in comparison, posted a gain of 2.15%, closing at 134.57.

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 2076.65, a gain of 3.77%, while the pan-European blue chip Dow Jones STOXX 50 Index gained 1.87%, closing at 2728.85.

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, closing at 2036.15. It represents a gain of 1.99%. The U.S. blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1.60%, closing at 9867.96.

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Dow Jones Indexes Launches Dow Jones Islamic Market Greater China Index

October 26, 2009--Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, today launched the Dow Jones Islamic Market (DJIM) Greater China Index. The index measures the performance of companies in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan that have passed screens for Shari’ah compliance.

The Dow Jones Islamic Market Greater China Index is designed to serve as underlying for financial products such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or as a benchmark for mutual funds. The index is licensed to Prudential Fund Management Berhad, the regional Islamic hub for the global Prudential network and one of the leading fund management companies in Malaysia, to be used as the benchmark for Prudential Dinasti Equity Fund.

“Expanding the Dow Jones Islamic Market index series to the Greater China region enables market participants to track the performance of leading Shari’ah compliant companies in one of the most dynamically evolving regions worldwide,” said Michael A. Petronella, president, Dow Jones Indexes. “While China, Hong Kong and Taiwan are markets in different developmental stages with different economic characteristics, they share a common, robust business culture. That along with expectations for long-term growth and market demand were important factors in our introduction of the Dow Jones Islamic Market Greater China Index.”

Mark Toh, regional head of Islamic Fund Management, Prudential Corporation Asia, and chairman and acting chief executive officer of Prudential Fund Management Berhad said, “When we first realized there was a gap in the current marketplace where no index could provide us with a fitting measure of Shari’ah compliant equities in the Greater China region, we approached Dow Jones Indexes to create one because we recognize Dow Jones Indexes as one of the global leaders in indexes. We have worked with them before, and we trust their expertise.”

The Dow Jones Islamic Market Greater China Index measures the stock performance of Shari’ah compliant companies with primary operations in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, which are traded at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the Taiwan Stock Exchange as well as at U.S. exchanges. To determine their eligibility for the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes, stocks are screened based on their industry type and their financial ratios. Excluded are companies engaged in the following lines of business: alcohol, tobacco, pork-related products, financial services, defense/weapons and entertainment. Also excluded are companies for which the following financial ratios are 33% or more: debt divided by trailing 12-month average market capitalization; cash plus interest-bearing securities divided by trailing 12-month average market capitalization; and accounts receivables divided by trailing 12-month average market capitalization.

The U.S. dollar denominated Dow Jones Islamic Market Greater China Index is free-float market capitalization weighted. The total weight of all Taiwanese companies is capped at 30% of the index and each component’s weight is capped at 10% of the index. The index composition is reviewed quarterly in March, June, September and December. The index is also reviewed on an ongoing basis to account for corporate actions such as mergers, de-listings or bankruptcies.

Year-to-date, the Dow Jones Islamic Market Greater China Index is up 59.49% through October 22, 20091.

The Dow Jones Islamic Market Greater China Index comprises 290 components as of October 22, 2009. The top five components of the index are China Mobile Ltd. (Telecommunications, China), China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. (Telecommunications, China), CNOOC Ltd. (Oil & Gas, China), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd. (Industrial Goods & Services, Taiwan), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (Technology, Taiwan) as of October 22, 2009

The Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes were introduced in 1999 as the first indexes intended to measure the global universe of investable equities that pass screens for Shari’ah compliance. With more than 100 indexes, the series is the most comprehensive family of Islamic market measures and includes regional, country, and industry indexes, all of which are subsets of the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index. An independent Shari’ah Supervisory Board counsels Dow Jones Indexes on matters related to the compliance of index-eligible companies.

There are currently more than 150 licensees with more than US$7 billion in assets benchmarked to the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes

NASDAQ Announces Mid-month Open Short Interest Positions In NASDAQ Stocks As Of Settlement Date October 15, 2009

October 26, 2009--At the end of the settlement date of October 15, 2009, short interest in 2,432 NASDAQ Global Market(SM) securities totaled 6,196,860,577 shares compared with 6,171,639,447 shares in 2,449 Global Market issues reported for the prior settlement date of September 30, 2009. The mid-October short interest represents 2.70 days average daily NASDAQ Global Market share volume for the reporting period, compared with 2.54 days for the prior reporting period.

Short interest in 454 securities on The NASDAQ Capital Market(SM) totaled 172,054,929 shares at the end of the settlement date of October 15, 2009 compared with 165,957,841 shares in 461 securities for the previous reporting period. This represents 1.65 days average daily volume, compared with the previous reporting period's figure of 1.18.

In summary, short interest in all 2,886 NASDAQ(R) securities totaled 6,368,915,506 shares at the October 15, 2009 settlement date, compared with 2,910 issues and 6,337,597,288 shares at the end of the previous reporting period. This is 2.65 days average daily volume, compared with an average of 2.46 days for the previous reporting period.

The open short interest positions reported for each NASDAQ security reflect the total number of shares sold short by all broker/dealers regardless of their exchange affiliations. A short sale is generally understood to mean the sale of a security that the seller does not own or any sale that is consummated by the delivery of a security borrowed by or for the account of the seller.

For more information on NASDAQ Short interest positions, including publication dates, visit http://quotes.nasdaq.com/asp/MasterDataEntry.asp?page=ShortInterest or http://www.nasdaqtrader.com/asp/short_interest.asp.

Dollar plummets to new 14-month lows vs euro

October 26, 2009-The dollar hit a fresh 14-month low against the euro as a regional Chinese central bank researcher argued for diversification of the country’s reserves away from the greenback. A strong economic report from South Korea sparked an equities rally and dulled the buck’s safe-haven luster.

The euro touched a 14-month high of $1.5061 in overnight trading before falling to $1.5023 early in New York Monday. Late on Friday in New York, the euro was at $1.5002. Meanwhile, the dollar dipped to 91.89 Japanese yen from 92.10 yen, and the British pound rose to $1.6327 from $1.6311.

Politicians and bank officials from big exporters, including China, that hold huge amounts of US Treasuries as reserves have expressed unease with this situation as the value of their dollar holdings falters.

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NASDAQ Portfolio Manager "QFolio App" Now Available From App Store

October 26, 2009--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced it has introduced a new stock market application called NASDAQ Portfolio Manager (QFolio) now available from the Apple App Store. With the NASDAQ Portfolio Manager, investors can use their iPhone or iPod touch to build a quick watch list or a detailed portfolio of U.S. stocks to track price performance in real time, access pre-market and after-hour quotes and view dynamic charts.

The NASDAQ Portfolio Manager also provides access to StockTwits -- a rapidly growing community for private investors.

A video accompanying this release is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/news.html?d=176455

"Investing and watching the markets have gone mobile and there is a significant demand from iPhone and iPod touch users for real-time market tools and information," said Anna Ewing, Chief Information Officer of NASDAQ OMX. "At NASDAQ OMX we believe in market transparency and making real time prices available to everyone so we developed the NASDAQ Portfolio Manager as a way for investors to access and work with the most critical information they seek."

The NASDAQ Portfolio Manager is available for free from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

NASDAQ OMX Announces Third Quarter 2009 New Listings Statistics

October 23, 2009--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced that The NASDAQ Stock Market(R) captured a total of 33 new listings in the third quarter, highlighted by 12 IPOs including Avago Technologies (Nasdaq:AVGO), a leading designer, developer and global supplier of analog semiconductor devices, and lithium-ion battery producer A123 Systems (Nasdaq:AONE).

NASDAQ attracted 7 listings from the NYSE Group in the third quarter with a total market capitalization of $27.6 billion. NASDAQ welcomed the transfers of Mattel (Nasdaq:MAT), the worldwide leader in toy design and manufacture, R.R. Donnelley & Sons (Nasdaq:RRD), a global provider of integrated communications, and TriMas Corporation (Nasdaq:TRS), provider of engineered and applied products. Transfers from NYSE Amex included Iridium Communications (Nasdaq:IRDM), Zion Oil & Gas (Nasdaq:ZN), Reading International (Nasdaq:RDI) and Prospect Medical Holdings (Nasdaq:PZZ).

NASDAQ continues to draw new listings from the NYSE Group. On October 29, NASDAQ welcomes Vodafone Group PLC (Nasdaq:VOD), an international mobile communications group with a capitalization of $13.2 billion. BMC Software (Nasdaq:BMC), a management solutions provider with a $7.0 billion market capitalization, joins NASDAQ on October 26.

The new listings are comprised of the following categories:

 
 
 
                                                3rd Qtr 2009
                                                ------------
 Total New Listings                                 33
 NYSE Group Switches                                 7
 Initial Public Offerings                           12
 Upgrades from Over-the-Counter                      9
 ETFs, Structured Products & Other Listings          5
 

NASDAQ welcomed 10 companies from Greater China and currently lists 113 companies headquartered in Greater China, more than any other U.S. exchange. Third quarter listings from Greater China included the following:

 
 
 
 Symbol         Company Name
 ------         ------------
 CDCS           CDC Software Corp.
 CAGC           China Agritech Inc.
 CRTP           China Rita Power Corp.
 DEER           Deer Consumer Products Inc.
 GAME           Shanda Games Ltd.
 LIWA           Lihua International Inc.
 RCON           Recon Technology Ltd.
 RINO           RINO International Corp.
 TRIT           Tri-Tech Holdings Inc.
 YONG           Yongye International Inc.
 

Other notable listings included the spin-offs of Alitsource Portfolio Solutions (Nasdaq:ASPS), a provider of real estate mortgage portfolio management products, from Ocwen Financial (NYSE:OCN) and off-shore driller Seahawk Drilling (Nasdaq:HAWK) from Pride International (NYSE:PDE).

Statistics are sourced from internal NASDAQ information. For more information about these and other NASDAQ market performance statistics, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com/listingcenter/usmarket/.