News Centre

ASIC Takes Action On Misleading Or Deceptive Conduct In ICOs

Date 01/05/2018

ASIC is focused on misleading or deceptive conduct in the marketing and selling of digital or virtual tokens via initial coin offerings (ICOs). These offers can involve significant risks for investors that are often not disclosed or well understood.

Tokyo Commodity Exchange: Final Settlement Prices of Cash-Settled Oil Futures April 2018 Contracts

Date 01/05/2018

Final settlement prices for cash-settled oil futures April 2018 contracts are as follows:

(Yen/kl)
Platts cash-settled Dubai Crude Oil  46,130
Cash-settled Barge Gasoline          62,280
Cash-settled Lorry Gasoline          60,830
Platts cash-settled Barge Kerosene   60,940
Platts cash-settled Lorry Kerosene   62,170
Platts cash-settled Barge Gas Oil    62,840
Platts cash-settled Lorry Gas Oil    62,200

Shanghai Stock Exchange-Listed Companies Present Sound Business Performance, Improved Management Quality

Date 01/05/2018

A total of 1,417 listed companies in the Shanghai market released their 2017 annual reports on April 30, 2018. Over the past year, the socialist economic construction has come to a new era; the supply-side structural reform has been further advanced; and the SSE-listed companies have seized the momentum to advance their business performance to new levels. The SSE-listed companies have taken the initiative to adapt to the national strategic development of promoting economic restructuring and upgrading, realized the reform in quality, efficiency and driving force for their business operation, and achieved an array of outstanding results. In 2017, they realized the operation revenue of RMB27.97 trillion, up by 14.46% year on year, and the net profit of about RMB2.62 trillion, up by 18.55%. The growth rate has set a new record in recent years, and achieved continuous growth since the implementation of the 13th Five-year Plan. Judging from the business performance, the SSE-listed companies have presented 8 new highlights in terms of their economic development tenacity, structural optimization and new kinetic energy development.

Economy Statement For The Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee Of The Securities Industry And Financial Markets Association

Date 30/04/2018

Over the past four quarters, real GDP has grown by 2.9 percent, the most rapid pace since early 2015.  At nearly nine years old, the current expansion is set to become the second-longest stretch of continuous economic growth in the postwar period.  Although the pace of U.S. economic growth moderated to an annual rate of 2.3 percent in the first quarter, compared with 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter, a rebound is expected in coming months and overall strong growth is forecast for the year as a whole.

Federal Court Enters $3.5 Million In Final Judgments Against Ryan Madigan Of Pittsford, New York, Randell A. Vest Of Fort Myers, Florida, And Colorado Company R2 Capital Group, LLC - Judgment Follows Partial Summary Judgment In Which Federal District Court Concluded That Ryan Madigan Engaged In Various Acts Of Commodities Fraud

Date 30/04/2018

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that on April 11, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado entered Default Judgment against Defendants Randall A. Vest and his holding company, Bulletproof Vest, Inc. (Bulletproof Vest).  The judgment resolves a CFTC enforcement action filed on August 6, 2014, charging Defendants Ryan Madigan of Pittsford, New York; Vest of Fort Meyers, Florida; and Ryan Tomazin of Stamford, Connecticut with commodity futures and off-exchange retail foreign currency(forex) fraud and misappropriation (see CFTC Complaint and Press Release 6981-14, August 21, 2014).

US Treasury Announces Marketable Borrowing Estimates

Date 30/04/2018

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced its current estimates of privately-held net marketable borrowing[1] for the April – June 2018 and July – September 2018 quarters:

• During the April – June 2018 quarter, Treasury expects to borrow $75 billion in privately-held net marketable debt, assuming an end-of-June cash balance of $360 billion.  The borrowing estimate is $101 billion lower than announced in January 2018.  The decrease in borrowing is driven primarily by the higher end-of-March cash balance combined with the higher cash surplus during the quarter.2
• During the July – September 2018 quarter, Treasury expects to borrow $273 billion in privately-held net marketable debt, assuming an end-of-September cash balance of $350 billion.

Report On Foreign Portfolio Holdings Of U.S. Securities

Date 30/04/2018

The final results from the annual survey of foreign portfolio holdings of U.S. securities at the end of June 2017 were released today on the Treasury website at https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/tic/Pages/fpis.aspx. The survey was undertaken jointly by Treasury, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The next survey will cover holdings at the end of June 2018; preliminary data are expected to be released by February 28, 2019.

S&P Dow Jones Indices - Europe Dashboard

Date 30/04/2018

• A strong start to the earnings season and easing geopolitical tensions competed with concerns of a trade war to hold the market’s attention over April. Fundamentals won the day; the S&P Europe 350® gained.
• Energy led the way among equity sectors this month, outperforming in Europe by a whopping 8% in total return. Strong gains in energy prices fueled the sector, but it was a good month for commodities generally.
• All of our reported S&P Europe 350 equity strategy indices rose this month. Interestingly, Momentum and Enhanced Value both topped the charts – more typically, one outperforms when the other falters.

Office Of International Affairs Director Paul A. Leder To Leave SEC

Date 30/04/2018

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Paul A. Leder, Director of the Office of International Affairs (OIA), will leave the agency in June. Mr. Leder rejoined the agency as OIA Director in February 2014. OIA advises the Commission on cross-border enforcement and regulatory matters and coordinates the SEC's involvement with regulatory authorities outside the United States.

US Department Of Justice: Panasonic Avionics Corporation Agrees To Pay $137 Million To Resolve Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Charges

Date 30/04/2018

Panasonic Avionics Corporation (PAC), a subsidiary of multinational electronics company Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic), has agreed to pay a $137.4 million criminal penalty to resolve charges arising out of a scheme to retain consultants for improper purposes and conceal payments to third-party sales agents, in violation of the accounting provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).