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Wallstreet Systems recently sent out a white paper written by McLagan (Z/YEN). This has attempted to provide a proper analysis to the true cost per trade and suggest a methodology for benchmarking straight-through-processing rates. The report was commissioned as part of Wallstreet’s marketing for its Electronic Settlement Network (ESN), which was announced in October.

Icap's 16th annual global charity day

UniCredit has hired Dennis Height to trade G10 spot out of its New York office. He was previously chief dealer and EUR trader at Lehman New York.

The CME has named Marcus Katz as director, interest rate products. In his new role, Katz will be responsible for expanding the exchange’s presence in the over the counter interest rate market and growing the company's global customer base. He will report to Robin Ross, the CME’s managing director, interest rate products. Katz was most recently at Winnemac Investments, a fixed-income asset management company located in Chicago. Before that, he held senior roles at Lehman Brothers in New York and Bank of America in Chicago.

The flight to quality is leading to a bubble in government bonds. A better yield/credit risk can be found elsewhere, notably in young corporate bonds and emerging markets.

Two new indices, the Dow Jones Kuwait Titans 30 and Dow Jones UAE Select indexes have been licensed to BNP Paribas to serve as the basis for exchange-traded funds available on Euronext Paris. The Dow Jones Kuwait Titans 30 Index measures the performance of 30 of the largest and most liquid stocks traded on the Kuwait Stock Exchange. The Dow Jones UAE Select Index measures the performance of the largest and most liquid stocks trading on the Dubai Financial Market, Abu Dhabi Securities Market and Dubai International Financial Exchange.

PNC Global Investment Servicing plans to roll out an exchange-traded fund processing capability at the beginning of 2009. The move will be a reprise for the firm, which had offered the capability to one client beginning in 1996 but stopped offering a few years later when that client was acquired. Nancy Wolcott, recently appointed president of the group, said the capability will be full service and will include custody, accounting and transfer agency services, among others.

New York-based GoldenTree InSite Partners has sold 70% of E-Office building, condominium project in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to local investors. The 25-story building is in the Berrini area of the city.

--Jeanine Prezioso

A non-US investor considering acquiring exposure to US real estate through a financial instrument should be aware of the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 (FIRPTA). FIRPTA subjects a non-US investor to US tax on gain on the disposition of a "US real property interest" (USRPI) by creating the fiction that the non-US investor is engaged in a US trade or business and by treating the gain or loss from the disposition as effectively connected to such business. Under the statute, a USRPI includes "an interest in real property (including an interest in a mine, well, or other natural deposit) located in the US." USRPIs also include options or contracts to acquire land or land improvements and leaseholds of land or land improvements. Under FIRPTA, then, a non-US investor is generally subject to tax at regular rates on any gain realised on the sale of real estate. The regular US income tax rate is 35%, although individuals may qualify for a rate as low as 15% on capital gain, if certain holding period requirements are satisfied.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange is to list options on two new precious metal exchange traded funds. Options on iShares’ Comex Gold and Silver Trusts started trading on Monday December 8, after receiving approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Claymore Investments has lowered the management fees on its two Claymore CorePortfolio ETFs to 0.25%. Claymore Balanced Income CorePortfolio ETF and Claymore Balanced Growth CorePortfolio ETF are asset allocation portfolio solutions using exchange traded funds. The two funds invest in ETFs covering multiple asset classes, including Canadian and global equities, real estate securities and commodities.