Placing Traders News

Facebook Rings The NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell

Fri, 18 May 2012 23:48:48 GMT

New York Attorney General Schneiderman Applauds Court Decision Upholding Key Voting Rights Act Provision - Schneiderman Filed Brief Against Challenge To Voting Rights Act - Argued Law Provides Important Protections For Minority Voters, Blocks Ongoing Disc

Fri, 18 May 2012 23:42:32 GMT

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman applauded a federal court decision today upholding a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that protects voters from disenfranchisement. In Shelby County, AL v. Holder, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit rejected an attempt to strike down the provision of the law that requires certain jurisdictions with a history of discrimination to obtain pre-approval from the federal government for any changes to election procedures. In December, Attorney General Schneiderman filed a brief in the case, underscoring the important role that the Voting Rights Act plays in protecting minority voters and preventing discrimination. In today's ruling, the Court observed that "intentional racial discrimination in voting remains so serious and widespread in covered jurisdictions that section 5 preclearance is still needed."

“This is a significant victory for those committed to the twin goals of protecting voting rights and preserving the sanctity of our democracy,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “By upholding a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, today’s decision recognizes the critical role this provision plays in combating and deterring ongoing voting discrimination. As noted in our brief in this important case, the Voting Rights Act remains a necessary tool to support political participation and ensure...

Network confusion links Facebook and Nasdaq

Fri, 18 May 2012 23:40:48 GMT

The reputation of both the social network and the stock exchange could be damaged by the glitch which held up opening trades in Facebook’s stock

Fitch Downgrades Greek Banks To 'CCC'

Fri, 18 May 2012 23:10:02 GMT

Fitch Ratings has downgraded National Bank of Greece's, Efg Eurobank Ergasias', Alpha Bank's, Piraeus Bank's and Agricultural Bank of Greece's Long-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) and Support Rating Floors (SRF) to 'CCC' from 'B-' and Short-term IDRs to 'C' from 'B'. The Viability Rating (VR) of the five banks has been affirmed at 'f'. A full list of rating actions is at the end of this comment.

The rating actions follow the downgrade of Greece's sovereign rating to 'CCC' from 'B-' (see "Fitch Takes Negative Rating Actions on Greece" dated 17 May 2012 on www.fitchratings.com). State-guaranteed issues have been also downgraded to 'CCC' from 'B-'.

The five Greek banks' Long-term IDRs remain on their SRF which has been downgraded to 'CCC' to reflect the heightened risk that Greece may not be able to sustain its membership of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).

In the event that the new general elections scheduled for 17 June fail to produce a government with a mandate to continue with the EU-IMF programme of fiscal austerity and structural reform, an exit of Greece from EMU would be probable and/or this could be followed by a withdrawal of...

Three Financial Industry Leaders Elected To DTCC’s Board Of Directors

Fri, 18 May 2012 23:05:13 GMT

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) today announced the election of three renowned and well respected leaders in financial services to its Board of Directors. The three new Board members are Darryll Hendricks, Head of Strategy and Regulatory Reform for UBS Investment Bank; Cynthia Meyn, Executive Vice President and Senior Operations Manager for PIMCO; and Brian T. Shea, Chief Executive Officer of Pershing LLC.

Hendricks, Meyn and Shea are among the 11 representatives of DTCC's participants who serve on DTCC's 19-member Board.

“We are very pleased to have such an exceptional group of people from a diverse set of companies join DTCC's Board, especially during this time of change that has highlighted the important role operational infrastructure plays in mitigating risk and achieving greater efficiency for our industry,” said DTCC Executive Chairman Robert Druskin. “Darryll, Cynthia and Brian have exceptional expertise and insight and will do an outstanding job of helping DTCC continue to protect our customers and the financial markets.”

Nominations for Board membership are sought each December from DTCC's common shareholders (firms that use DTCC’s services). Shareholders are then invited to vote for nominees, with the newly-elected members joining...

BATS 1000 Index Declines 3.8% This Week

Fri, 18 May 2012 22:48:08 GMT

BATS Global Markets, a leading operator of securities markets in the U.S. and Europe, reports the BATS 1000®Index (Ticker: BATSK) was down for the third week in a row, dropping 574.24 points, or 3.8%, this week to close at 14,590.18 as of 4 p.m. ET today.

All ten sectors that comprise the Index declined this week with the Basic Materials sector, the weakest sector on the week, down 10.1%.

Below is an overview of the BATS 1000 Index and sub-indices for the week:

...

IMF Convenes Advisory Committee Meeting On Modernizing Government Finance Statistics

Fri, 18 May 2012 22:38:29 GMT

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) convened a meeting of the Government Finance Statistics Advisory Committee (GFSAC) during May 16-18, 2012 in Washington to continue discussions on a range of steps designed to update and modernize statistical methodologies globally.

IMF Deputy Managing Director Min Zhu, who opened the meeting organized by the Fund’s Statistics Department, highlighted the “importance of high quality fiscal data to maintain global financial stability in a changing world”. And he added, “We need to revise and upgrade statistical manuals to ensure statistics reflect accurately developments in the real world.”

The GFSAC is comprised of a group of experts from 14 countries and eight international organizations and is currently involved in working with the IMF on updating the Fund’s Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 (GFSM 2001), which provides the framework for compiling analytically relevant fiscal statistics. The GFSAC reached agreement on a number of outstanding methodological issues, such as public sector debt, contingent liabilities, public-private partnerships, resource revenues, and bank restructuring agencies guaranteed by the government. It is anticipated that the update of the GFSM 2001 will be completed later in the year.

The update is designed to harmonize the...

TMX Group Top 20 Largest - Consolidated Short Position Report – Highlights - May 15, 2012

Fri, 18 May 2012 22:36:08 GMT

Please find below the Top 20 Largest Consolidated Short Position Report Highlights. The report is produced twice monthly, effective the 15th and the end of each month. The report below covers the 2-week period ending May 15, 2012.

TSX Datalinx collects this information on behalf of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada. Participating Organizations are required to file this information pursuant to Universal Market Integrity Rule 10.10.

For further information please call Catherine McGravey at (416) 947-4655 or to subscribe to the complete report, call TSX Datalinx at (416) 947-4778.

Related Documents:
Top 20 Largest Consolidated Short Position Report

BM&FBOVESPA Registers Record Financial Volume And Number Of Trades In The BOVA11 ETF

Fri, 18 May 2012 22:35:43 GMT

BM&FBOVESPA registered an all-time record financial volume and number of trades today in the BOVA11 ETF, an index fund that tracks the performance of the BOVESPA Index (Ibovespa). There were 11,767 trades in 7,106,960 units, totaling financial volume of BRL 380.69 million. The previous record number of trades was 10,154 on May 17, 2012 and the previous record financial volume was BRL 309 million on May 04, 2012.

ETFs are index funds traded on the Exchange like stocks and which replicate the composition of an index. An investor that buys a unit in an ETF is making a simultaneous investment in a share portfolio composed of companies in different sectors of the Brazilian economy, without having the buy the separate shares of the respective index.

Generally speaking, round lots are made up of 10 units with a management fee of under 0.75% and require an initial minimum investment that ranges from BRL 200 to BRL 1,000 (depending on the ETF that the investor selects), plus brokerage and custody fees. In April, the 12 ETFs traded on BM&FBOVESPA totaled 73,632 transactions and a financial volume of BRL 2.69 billion. The ETFs traded on...

CFTC Approves Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Regulations On Aggregation For Position Limits For Futures And Swaps

Fri, 18 May 2012 22:31:59 GMT

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today approved a notice of proposed rulemaking that would modify the CFTC’s aggregation provisions for limits on speculative positions. The proposed rulemaking would permit any person with a greater than 10 percent ownership or equity interest in an entity to disaggregate the owned entity’s positions, provided there are protections and firewalls in place to ensure trading decisions are made independently of one another.

This proposed rulemaking is in response to a January 19, 2012, petition of the Working Group of Commercial Energy Firms (WGCEF) filed under section 4a(a)(7) of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) seeking relief from the aggregation provisions of rule 151.7. The Commission invites the public and interested parties to comment on the proposed rule. The comment period will be open for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

Background

On November 18, 2011, the CFTC published in the Federal Register new part 151, which establishes a speculative position limits regime for 28 physical commodity derivative contracts. Those limits were established under section 4a of the CEA, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires the Commission to establish speculative position limits for...

Concurring Statement Relating To The Commission’s Proposal On Aggregation Under Part 151, Position Limits For Futures And Swaps, CFTC Commissioner Jill E. Sommers

Fri, 18 May 2012 22:28:28 GMT

I support the Commission’s proposed rules that, among other things, expand the exemptions relating to information sharing restrictions, expand the circumstances under which market participants will not be required to aggregate positions, and reduce the reporting burdens on higher tier entities. I am pleased that we recognize that the final position limits rules issued on November 18, 2011 set forth an unworkable and overly restrictive approach to these issues.

Essentially, as they relate to “owned entities,” the proposed rules contain three “tiers” for purposes of aggregation. First, if the ownership interest is less than 10 percent, one need not aggregate positions with those of the owned entity. Second, if the ownership interest is between 10 percent and 50 percent, one must aggregate positions with those of the owned entity unless it can be shown that there is a lack of knowledge of, and control over, the trading of the owned entity. Third, if the ownership interest exceeds 50 percent, one must always aggregate positions with those of the owned entity, even if there is a lack of knowledge of, and control over, the trading of the owned entity.

I question whether a bright-line approach...

JPMorgan returns $168m to MF trustee

Fri, 18 May 2012 22:11:32 GMT

The money is not part of the more than $1bn in missing customer cash that has been missing since the broker-dealer filed for bankruptcy in October

MGEX Announces Revised Expanded Trading Hours

Fri, 18 May 2012 19:47:21 GMT

MGEX, a Designated Contract Market and Derivatives Clearing Organization, today announced it has received CFTC approval to expand its trading hours. Effective May 20, 2012, the trading hours will be from 5:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Central Time (CT), Sunday to Friday.

“The revised 21 hour electronic trading day demonstrates MGEX’s commitment to the needs of our market participants who rely on the MGEX North American Spring Wheat contract for price discovery and risk management purposes,” Rita Maloney, Director Marketing & Communications, MGEX said.

Beginning Sunday, May 20, the expanded electronic trading hours for all MGEX futures and options contracts will be 5:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. CT, Sunday to Friday. Open outcry options trading hours are unchanged from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. CT, Monday to Friday. Contract settlement period remains 1:14:00 p.m. to 1:14:59 p.m. CT.

For more information on MGEX and to learn more about our risk management products and services, visit www.mgex.com.

James McNamara Named Managing Executive Of SEC’s Division Of Trading And Markets

Fri, 18 May 2012 19:40:14 GMT

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that James P. McNamara has been named to the newly-created position of Managing Executive of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets.

Mr. McNamara is currently an Assistant Director in the SEC’s Office of Financial Management. In his new position, Mr. McNamara will be responsible for the administrative and operational aspects of the Division of Trading and Markets, including human resources, budget, information technology, and strategic planning.

“The breadth of Jamey’s management experience, including his expertise with respect to managing and improving business processes in the financial, human resources, and IT areas, will be invaluable to the Division,” said Robert Cook, Director of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets.

Mr. McNamara previously worked in the Division of Trading and Markets from 2003 to 2005, when he served as a Branch Chief for Administration. He then moved to the Office of Financial Management and became a Branch Chief for Budget Formulation and Performance Management until 2006, when he left to work in the private sector. Mr. McNamara returned to the SEC’s Office of Financial Management in 2010, serving as the agency’s Budget Officer for a year before becoming an Assistant Director.

“I am...

ICAP secures Plus exchange licence

Fri, 18 May 2012 19:38:30 GMT

The world’s largest interdealer broker will pay a nominal £1 and take on liabilities and running costs for lossmaking quotations and listings arm

Ticker	Index Name	Performance
BATSK	BATS 1000 Index	-3.8%