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Banner Corporation to Join NASDAQ OMX ABA Community Bank Index
December 12, 2011--Banner Corporation (Nasdaq:BANR), the parent company of Banner Bank and Islanders Bank, today announced that it will join the NASDAQ OMX ABA Community Bank Index (Nasdaq:ABQI) which will become effective prior to the market open on Monday, December 19, 2011.
"Our addition to the NASDAQ OMX ABA Community BankIndex will expand awareness of our accomplishments among institutional investors and the investment community," said Mark. J. Grescovich, President and CEO.
The Index is designed to track the performance of banks and thrifts, or their holding companies, listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market®. The Index is intended to serve as a benchmark for investment products by including the larger and more liquid community banks. The NASDAQ OMX ABA Community Bank Index is reviewed on a semi-annual basis. For more information about the NASDAQ OMX ABA Community Bank Index, including detailed eligibility criteria, visit https://indexes.nasdaqomx.com/.
Source: NASDAQ OMX
DTCC Files with SEC to Operate a CCP for Mortgage-Backed Securities
December 12, 2011--The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced today that the Mortgage-Backed Securities Division (MBSD) of its Fixed Income Clearing Corporation (FICC) subsidiary has filed an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to provide central counterparty (CCP) and pool netting services for trades in U.S. mortgage-backed securities.
This initiative is designed to reduce the risks and costs associated with trading in the $100 trillion-a-year market.
“We anticipate that our central counterparty services will reduce risk by greatly streamlining the settlement of mortgage-backed securities trades,” said Murray Pozmanter, DTCC managing director and general manager, Clearing Services.
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Source: Yahoo Finance
Morgan Stanley-ETF Weekly Update
December 12, 2011--Highlights
Weekly Flows: $2.8 Billion Net Inflows
ETF Assets Stand at $1.1 Trillion, up 6% YTD
Launches: 5 New ETFs
No news items
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Flows by Market Segment
ETFs posted net inflows 4 out of the past 5 weeks
Over the past 2 weeks ETFs have generated net inflows of $9.5 bln
ETF assets stand at $1.1 tln, up 6% YTD as net inflows have offset volatile equity markets
13-week flows were mostly positive among asset classes; combined $39.9 bln net inflows
Fixed Income ETFs have exhibited the greatest net inflows over the past 13 weeks ($16.1 bln net inflows)
Over the past 13 weeks US Dividend ETFs have posted net inflows of $5.5 bln (18% of category market cap)
We estimate ETFs have generated net inflows 30 out of 49 weeks in 2011; $107.1 bln YTD
US-Listed ETFs: Estimated Largest Flows by Individual ETF
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) posted net inflows of $1.1 bln last week, the most of any ETF
For the second consecutive week, SPY generated large net inflows; SPY has historically posted strong inflows
during the fourth quarter (4Q11 SPY net inflows=$2.8 bln)
Over the past 13 weeks, despite volatile markets and a flight to quality, the iShares Barclays Short Treasury Bond Fund (SHV) has exhibited net outflows of $1.5 billion, the most of any ETF
US-Listed ETFs:
Short Interest
Data Updated: Based on data as of 11/30/11
SPY exhibited the largest increase in USD short interest since last updated
$3.5 billion in additional short interest
SPY’s shares short have been elevated since 8/15/11
XRT’s shares short divided by shares outstanding in excess of 400%
Retail continues to be one of the most heavily shorted areas of the ETF market
Based on multiple borrowings and the ability to continuously create new shares to cover shorts, short interest
as a % of market cap can exceed 100%
US-Listed ETFs: Most Successful Recent Launches by Assets
$6.6 billion in total market cap of ETFs less than 1-year old
Over past 13 weeks, newly launched Fixed Income ETFs generated most net inflows ($596 mln)
225 new ETF listings and 9 liquidations in 2011; surpassed 2010’s 179 new ETF listings
Newly issued defensive portfolios have been successful in garnering assets
7 different ETF sponsors and 3 asset classes represented in top 10 most successful launches
Top 10 account for $3.3 bln in market cap and posted net inflows of $956 mln over last 13 weeks
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Source: Morgan Stanley
Canada pulls out of Kyoto protocol
December 12, 2011--Canada on Monday became the first country to announce it would withdraw from the Kyoto protocol on climate change, dealing a symbolic blow to the already troubled global treaty.
Environment Minister Peter Kent broke the news on his return from talks in Durban, where countries agreed to extend Kyoto for five years and hammer out a new deal forcing all big polluters for the first time to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
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Source: FIN24
Forum Investment Advisors, LLC files with the SEC.
November 12, 2011--Forum Investment Advisors has filed an application for exemptive relief with the SEC.
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
ISE Adopts Exegy Ticker Plant
Options exchange taps Exegy's hardware-accelerated appliance to reduce latency of handling inbound data feeds.
December 12, 2011--In a move to lower latency on market data calculations, International Securities Exchange has adopted the Exegy Ticker Plant, a hardware-accelerated appliance, to handle all inbound market data feeds.
With this new technology, ISE, a leading U.S. options exchange, will not only lower the latency of its inbound data feeds, but it expects to reduce its production server footprint, the exchange said in today’s announcement.
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Source: Wall Street & Technology
Global Regulators Joint Statement on OTC Derivatives
December 9, 2011--Leaders and senior representatives of the authorities responsible for regulation of the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets in Canada, the European Union, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the United States met yesterday in Paris.
The meeting included Steven Maijoor, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), Jonathan Faull, Director General for Internal Market and Services at the European Commission, Ashley Alder, Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, Masamichi Kono, Vice-Commissioner of the Japan Financial Services Agency, Teo Swee Lian, Deputy Managing Director (Financial Supervision) of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Mary Condon, Vice-Chair of the Ontario Securities Commission, Louis Morisset, Superintendent of Securities Markets at l’Autorité des Marchés Financiers du Québec, Gary Gensler, Chairman of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and Mary Schapiro, Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Since mid-2011, the authorities have engaged in a series of bilateral technical dialogues on OTC derivatives regulation. The meeting, held at ESMA headquarters in Paris, is the first time the authorities have met as a group to discuss their implementation efforts.
In the meeting, the authorities addressed the cross-border issues related to the implementation of new legislation and rules to govern the OTC derivatives markets in their respective jurisdictions.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the authorities agreed to continue bilateral regulatory dialogues and to meet as a group again in early 2012.
Source: CFTC.gov
Russell files with the SEC
December 9, 2011--Russell has filed a post-effective amendment, registration statement with the SEC for the Russell High Dividend Yield ETF (HDIV)
Russell Small Cap High Dividend Yield ETF (DIVS) and the
Russell International High Dividend Yield ETF (IDIV)
view filing
Source: SEC.gov
Standard & Poor's Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Canadian Indices
December 9, 2011--Standard & Poor's Canadian Index Operations announces the following index changes as a result of the Quarterly S&P/TSX Composite Index Review. These changes will be effective at the open on Monday, December 19, 2011:
view changes
Source: Standard & Poor's
Global X Funds Launches First Greece ETF
December 8, 2011 – Global X Funds, the New York based provider of exchange traded funds, today launched the Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF (NYSE Arca Ticker: GREK), the first ETF listed on the New York Stock Exchange targeting Greece.
“Global X Funds strives to facilitate access to foreign markets. Whether bullish or bearish, this new ETF allows investors to take a viewpoint on the recent news coming out of Greece,” said Bruno del Ama, chief executive officer of Global X Funds.
Since reaching a peak market capitalization of over $220 billion in 2007, the market cap of the Athens Stock Exchange has fallen nearly 90% to under $28 billion as of November 2011 (Bloomberg). While there is no guarantee that the Greek economy will recover to previous levels, current valuations may create an attractive entry point for the long term investor.
The Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF tracks the FTSE/ATHEX 20 Capped Index which is designed to reflect broad based equity market performance in Greece. The index is comprised of the top 20 companies listed on the Athens Exchange ranked by full market capitalization, providing investors with a comprehensive and transparent way to measure the performance of these companies. As of December 1, 2011, the Underlying Index’s three largest stocks were National Bank of Greece, Coca-Cola HBC, and Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics SA.
Source: Global X
