London International Vintners Exchange - an exchange for investment-grade wine based in London

Liv-ex indices
 

Liv-ex publishes two indices, based on the prices of 100 and 500 wines, respectively. The prices that are used to compute the index are wines in bond in London, priced in Pound sterling. Both indices are hugely dominated by red Bordeaux wine. In their construction these indices are similar to a stock market index. The composition of the index is regularly updated as wines are added and removed from the index, and their index weight revised.

Liv-ex 100 Fine Wine Index

The Liv-ex 100 Fine Wine Index is the most widely used Liv-ex price index. As of November 2008, the index was composed to 94.62% of red Bordeaux, to 2.96% of Champagne (vintage préstige Champagne in the form of Cristal, Krug and Dom Pérignon), to 1.02% of red Burgundy wine (three vintages of mixed Domaine de la Romanée-Conti wines), to 0.85% of white Bordeaux (two vintages of Château d'Yquem) and to 0.55% of red Italian wine (two vintages of Ornellaia). The 88 red Bordeaux wines in the index represented vintages from 1983 to 2005, 12 wines from the 1980s, 32 from the 1990s, and 44 from the 2000s. 39 of these wines were different vintages of the five First Growth reds of the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855.

Futures contracts based on the Liv-ex 100 Fine Wine Index are traded on Intrade and ODL Markets.

Liv-ex 500 Fine Wine Index

The Liv-ex 500 Fine Wine Index includes 500 wines, is less used than the 100-wine index, and is slightly less dominated by Bordeaux.

Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index

Index characteristics

The Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index is a market capitalization-weighted index, meaning the securities in the index are weighted according to the market size of each bond type. Most U.S. traded investment grade bonds are represented. Municipal bonds, and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities are excluded, due to tax treatment issues. The index includes Treasury securities, Government agency bonds, Mortgage-backed bonds, Corporate bonds, and a small amount of foreign bonds traded in U.S.

The Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index is an intermediate term index. The average maturity as of December 31, 2009 was 4.57 years.

Investing

Many index funds and exchange-traded funds attempt to replicate (before fees and expenses) the performance of the Lehman Aggregate. Some examples of such funds include iShares Lehman Aggregate Bond (AGG), Thrift Savings Plan Fixed Income Index fund, Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund (VBMFX), and Fidelity U.S. Bond Index Fund (FBIDX). Fund managers sometimes subdivide the different parts of the Aggregate by maturity or sector for managing individual portfolios. The Municipal section of the index is the only part of the index that cannot be used for this purpose - because municipal debt is issued by so many different entities, the Municipals in the Aggregate are only intended to be representative, and Lehman maintains separate indices for maintaining Municipal-only portfolios.

Reference : Richard A. Ferri, All About Asset Allocation, McGraw-Hill, 2006, ISBN 0-07-142958-1

Source : Google, Wikipedia

iTraxx (Bloomberg code 'ITRX') - credit default swap index

iTraxx is the brand name for the family of credit default swap index products covering regions of Europe, Australia, Japan and non-Japan Asia. They form a large sector of the overall credit derivative market. The indices are constructed on a set of rules with the overriding criterion being that of liquidity of the underlying Credit Default Swaps (CDS). The iTraxx suite of indices are owned, managed, compiled and published by International Index Company (IIC), who also license market makers.

Credit Default Swap indices allow an investor to transfer credit risk in a more efficient manner than using groups of single CDSs. They are standardised contracts and reference a fixed number of obligors with shared characteristics. Investors can be long or short the index which is equivalent to being protection sellers or buyers.

The most widely traded of the indices is the iTraxx Europe index composed of the most liquid 125 CDS referencing European investment grade credits, subject to certain sector rules as determined by the IIC and also as determined by the SEC. There is also significant volume, in nominal values, of trading in the HiVol and Crossover indices. HiVol is a subset of the main index consisting of what are seen as the most risky 30 constituents at the time the index is constructed. Crossover is constructed in a similar way but is composed of 50 sub-investment grade credits.

The constituents of the indices are changed every six months, a process known as "rolling" the index. The roll dates are March 20 and September 20 each year. For example, Series 13 was launched on March 20, 2010, with a matury of June 20, 2015 for the 5 year contract. Other maturities for Europe and HiVol are 3 year, 7 year and the 10 year, whilst the Crossover only trades at maturities of 5 and 10 years.

These indices are tradable instruments in their own right, with pre-determined fixed rates, and the prices set by market demand. Official pricing is collected on-behalf of IIC by Markit Group Limited on a daily basis by polling the trading desks at banks that are licensed market makers. The most liquid indices also have a weekly Tradable Fixing calculated in a similar fashion to the Libor fixings process. The tradable fixing is often used as a reference price for calculating payments of other structured credit instruments.

At present trading in iTraxx CDS contracts is limited to the over-the-counter (OTC) market. Eurex the futures exchange launched exchange-traded futures (not CDS) contracts based upon the iTraxx Europe, HiVol and Crossover 5 year indices in 2007, but these products achieved minimal volume at launch and do not currently trade.

NYSE Euronext made iTraxx CDS contracts available for processing and clearing on its Bclear platform on 22 December 2008.

Petrobras (Petróleo Brasileiro S.A) - Brazilian multinational energy company

Petrobras' most important assets are petroleum reserves in Brazil. Its oil field in the Campos Basin accounts more than 80% of the Brazilian oil production. The company also works on developing the "green energy", including biodiesel fuel. Petrobras recently opened its business to the ethanol fuel, facing great competition against the North American ethanol. However, investment in biofuels will represent only 1% of the company's profit between 2008 and 2012.

Petrobras is involved in the following areas of business:

• Domestic sales: Domestic sales represent the majority of the company's profit and includes the extraction and distribution of oil, natural gas, electricity and petrochemical products;

Petrobras' financial growth between 2002 and 2006

• Export: The main exports are not of oil extraction itself, but are related to mechanic technologies. However, it is planned to the company exports oil in large quantities when it begins to explore the Jupiter and the Tupi fields (see "List of recent oil field discoveries");
• Foreign exchange gains: The company imports natural gas from other South American countries, mostly from Bolivia. According to the Brazilian group National Petroleum Agency, Petrobras owns Brazil's largest and most important gas pipe network, having a near monopoly of the natural gas marketed in the country.

Petrobras works extensively with foreign acquisitions too, buying and controlling the most important energy companies in South America and exploring huge deep-water fields of West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico. Petrobras is known for its technology in deep-water exploration. The Tupi field, which could be the world's third largest oil field (although data is still unverified), is a deep-water discovery, located in the pre-salt layer.

The company began to increase profits from 2002, with the government's heavy investments. In the first quarter of 2008, Petrobras reached the market value of US$295.6 billion, surpassing Microsoft (US$274 billion) and becoming America's third largest company, ahead of giant oil companies such as BP and Chevron-Texaco, and only behind of ExxonMobil and General Electric. Petrobras' market value is also bigger than Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (US$289.3 billion), making it the sixth biggest company by market value in the world.

Comparison with world-wide companies

Company	Reserves (MM boe)	Current Years of Production	Oil & Gas Production (1000s boe/d) 2006	Oil & Gas Production Growth (%) 2006
Petrobras	11,458	14.2	2,287	4.5
BP	17,368	10.4	3,926	-1.9
ChevronTexaco	11,020	10.9	2,667	6.1
ExxonMobil	21,518	11.3	4,238	3.8
Royal Dutch Shell	11,108	6.7	3,474	-1.0

Growth

• Rising prices: the company profited from rising oil prices in 2007-2008.
• Increasing demand: oil demand has increased drastically in the emergent countries, for which Petrobras exports its technologies. The BRIC countries' (Brazil itself, Russia, India and China) growth explains this huge demand. The Brazilian self-sufficiency in Petroleum (as of May 2006) allowed the company to export small quantities of oil.
• Political issues: despite of being nearly half privately owned, the majority of shares belong to the Brazilian government, which gives it control of the company's finances and operations. The recent growth of the company is explained by political stability. Since 1997 the Brazilian oil market was opened to foreign investments, but Petrobras continues to be the largest oil company in the country, enjoying a near monopoly.

The Perth Mint Certificate Programme - investors, savers and pension holders to own investment grade gold, silver and platinum bullion

S.A.F.E. Features

Secure

• The Perth Mint is wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia and has been providing investors with secure vault storage of precious metals along with trading facilities since 1899.
• Western Australia is rated AAA by the US international credit rating agency, Standard and Poor's.
• The bullion bar products of the Gold Corporation group enjoy accreditation from the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), the New York Mercantile Exchange (COMEX) and the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM).
• All PMCP metal is insured (at The Perth Mint's expense) by Lloyds of London.

Affordable

• No storage fees for unallocated (unsegregated) precious metals.
• No import or export duties on precious metals in Australia for non-residents.
• An investor can collect precious metals from The Perth Mint or arrange insured delivery to an international location.
• Low minimum purchase requirements. Entry to the Perth Mint Certificate Program requires only a low minimum investment of USD 10,000 (c. EUR 7,500; c. GBP 7,000). Minimum subsequent purchase or sale amounts are USD 5,000 (c. EUR 3,750; c. GBP 3,500).

Flexible

• No predetermined transaction size, other than the minimum requirements listed above.
• Investors have the option of holding precious metals (Gold, Silver and Platinum) in either bullion coin or bullion bar form. * Investors can convert from an unallocated account to an allocated account at any time.
• Certificates can be redeemed, all or in part, at any time.
• Metal can be shipped, insured, to a location of your choice. Exclusive
• Overseas relationship is with a Government Vault, not a foreign bank.
• Investors have a private client vaulting relationship with The Perth Mint.
• The Perth Mint is operated by the Gold Corporation, a unique diversified Australian precious metals group created by statute in 1987 and wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia.
• The Perth Mint Certificate Program is the only government-guaranteed, precious metal accumulation program in the world.
• Transaction confidentiality is provided for under the Gold Corporation Act 1987 and the Perth Mint Certificate Programs administrative procedures.
• The Perth Mint's records utilize a code number to ensure client confidentiality and security. * The document is registered to the owner and it is referenced by client name and Certificate number.

How to apply Perth Mint Certificate Programme

If you wish to apply to open an account with the Perth Mint Certificate Programme you can do so by contacting an authorised dealer for the Perth Mint.

Deutsche Börse

Deutsche Börse AG is a marketplace organizer for the trading of shares and other securities. It also is a transaction services provider. It gives companies and investors access to global capital markets. It is a joint stock company and was founded in 1993. The headquarters are in Frankfurt, Germany.

More than 3,200 employees service customers in Europe, the U.S. and Asia. Deutsche Börse has locations in Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Spain, as well as representative offices in London, Paris, Chicago, New York, Hong Kong, and Dubai.

FWB Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse (Frankfurt Stock Exchange), is one of the world's largest trading centers for securities. With a share in turnover of around 90 percent, it is the largest of the German stock exchanges. The other German stock exchanges are located in Berlin (Berliner Börse, merged with Bremen in 2003), Düsseldorf (Börse Düsseldorf), Hamburg (Börse Hamburg), Hanover (Börse Hannover), Munich (Börse München), and Stuttgart (Börse Stuttgart). Deutsche Börse AG operates the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Deutsche Börse is the owner of Clearstream, a clearing house based in Luxembourg.

In 2001, Deutsche Börse tried to merge with the London Stock Exchange, followed in 2006 by a takeover bid, both rejected by LSE. After CEO Werner Seifert was forced to resign by the main shareholders in 2005, Deutsche Börse changed plans and entered into advanced negotiations for a merger with Euronext which would have brought two of the biggest stock exchanges in Europe into one holding. The New York Stock Exchange beat out Deutsche Börse's final bid for Euronext in 2006.

On 7 December 2008, Deutsche Boerse rebuffed rumors that it might join with NYSE Euronext to create the world's leading stock exchange. While the company claims that it pursued the matter, on December 8, 2008 it reported that talks with which began on November 25, 2008 were closed without any result due to differences in valuation of the company.

The Capital Markets Index (CPMKTS) - is a real-time, market-weighted index

Product Details

CPMKTS measures the capital markets on a consolidated basis. Rather than further subdivide the market as other indexes do, CPMKTS views the capital markets on a broader basis and therefore includes stocks, bonds and money market instruments. It satisfies the needs of both professional and lay investors for a measurement tool for mixed or blended portfolios and provides the basis for a wide variety of investment instruments.
Other indexes within the CPMKTS family measure sub-segments of the market.
The Amex also publishes sub-indexes CPMKTE, CPMKTB and CPMKTL, tracking equities, bonds and liquidity, respectively.
The CPMKTS and its family of indexes were created to meet the market's need for:

1. More sophisticated measures of capital market performance
2. Improved measures of risk and return
3. Better tools to make asset-allocation and investment decisions

Highlights of the CPMKTS index include:

1. Comprises stocks, bonds, and money market instruments from the US investment grade capital markets.
2. Component fixed income securities and money market instruments are revised monthly. Component equity securities are revised quarterly. All weightings are revised monthly.
3. Completely transparent rules-based selection criteria.
4. Has documented demand from investment professionals and individual investors as benchmark tool and as a basis for investment product basis, as documented by Harris Interactive/Quest Business Agency Market Research
5. Delivers capital market return for capital market risk
6. Replicates the capital markets' actual asset allocation
7. No known competitors in measuring the broader capital markets' performance
8. Back-tested to December 1979 using the same methodology employed for ongoing revisions and calculations.

How it works

Dorchester [www.cpmkts.com] has collected over 30 years of historical data—including government statistics and market changes—which now are stored in the company's computers (two systems in Houston and a redundant system in Chicago). Each day 200 million pieces of information are added.
The data is organized, processed and updated every 15 seconds. This statistical selection removes the subjectivity associated with other indexes. It accurately represents the history, mix and behavior of the capital markets.

How the index is calculated

1. Real-time and historical data have been acquired from multiple financial and government sources.
2. Data is organized, normalized and processed.
3. Dorchester's CPMKTIG is formulated, using all the investment-grade capital market assets and allocations.
4. CPMKTS is the real-time index representation of the entire investment-grade U.S. capital market as derived from CPMKTIG and calculated by Dorchester and the AMEX.
5. The AMEX publishes CPMKTS and its component indexes on the "tape" every 15 seconds.

Source : CPMKTS, Amex, Global Factiva, Wikipedia

Standard & Poor's - Standard & Poor's (S&P) is a division of McGraw-Hill that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks and bonds

 History

Standard & Poor's traces its history back to 1860, with the publication by Henry Varnum Poor of History of Railroads and Canals in the United States. This book was an attempt to compile comprehensive information about the financial and operational state of U.S. railroad companies. Henry Varnum went on to establish H.V. and H.W. Poor Co with his son, Henry William, and published updated versions of this book on an annual basis.

In 1906 Luther Lee Blake founded the Standard Statistics Bureau, with the view to providing financial information on non-railroad companies. Instead of an annually published book Standard Statistics would use 5" x 7" cards, allowing for more frequent updates.

In 1941, Poor and Standard Statistics merged to become Standard & Poor's Corp. Then in 1966 S&P was acquired by The McGraw-Hill Companies, and now encompasses the Financial Services division.

Long-term credit ratings

S&P rates borrowers on a scale from AAA to D. Intermediate ratings are offered at each level between AA and CCC (e.g., BBB+, BBB and BBB-). For some borrowers, S&P may also offer guidance (termed a "credit watch") as to whether it is likely to be upgraded (positive), downgraded (negative) or uncertain (neutral).
Investment Grade

• AAA  : the best quality borrowers, reliable and stable (many of them governments)
• AA  : quality borrowers, a bit higher risk than AAA
• A  : economic situation can affect finance
• BBB  : medium class borrowers, which are satisfactory at the moment

Non-Investment Grade (also known as junk bonds)

• BB  : more prone to changes in the economy
• B  : financial situation varies noticeably
• CCC  : currently vulnerable and dependent on favorable economic conditions to meet its commitments
• CC  : highly vulnerable, very speculative bonds
• C  : highly vulnerable, perhaps in bankruptcy or in arrears but still continuing to pay out on obligations
• CI  : past due on interest
• R  : under regulatory supervision due to its financial situation
• SD  : has selectively defaulted on some obligations
• D  : has defaulted on obligations and S&P believes that it will generally default on most or all obligations
• NR  : not rated

Short-term issue credit ratings

S&P rates specific issues on a scale from A-1 to D. Within the A-1 category it can be designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the issuer's commitment to meet its obligation is very strong. Country risk and currency of repayment of the obligor to meet the issue obligation are factored into the credit analysis and reflected in the issue rating.

• A-1  : obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong
• A-2  : is susceptible to adverse economic conditions however the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory
• A-3  : adverse economic conditions are likely to weaken the obligor's capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation
• B  : has significant speculative characteristics. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial obligation but faces major ongoing uncertainties that could impact its financial commitment on the obligation
• C  : currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation
• D  : is in payment default. Obligation not made on due date and grace period may not have expired. The rating is also used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition.

Stock market indices

Standard & Poor's publishes a large number of stock market indices, covering every region of the world, market capitalization level, and type of investment (e.g. indices for REITs and preferred stocks)
These indices include:

• S&P 500 -- value weighted index of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States.
• S&P 400 MidCap Index
• S&P 600 SmallCap Index
• Read more at

  	standardandpoors.com