The race to Peru has been won by iShares, as it launches an ETF focused on that part of the world.

 

With a global start-up preparing to launch the first exchange-traded fund focused on Peru in coming weeks, industry giant Barclays Global Investors has sneaked to the finish line.

On Monday, the soon-to-be BlackRock Global Investors opened the iShares MSCI All Peru Capped Index (NYSE Arca: EPU). It follows an earlier announcement by fledgling Global X Management Co. of a similar ETF. But that fund hasn't come out yet, although it's expected to launch soon.

According to a BGI statement, Peru is Latin America's fastest-growing economy, with a gross domestic product growth rate of more than 9% last year. The firm added that in May, emerging markets net inflow of $14.9 billion into ETFs included some $6 billion from ETF investors.

“With the fastest growing economy in Latin America and one of

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Top financial officials from the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations on Friday issued an upbeat evaluation of the global financial crisis, describing signs that markets were stabilizing around the world and warning that it was necessary to devise “exit strategies” to disengage from stimulus programs that have been put in place.

The G8 met for two days in Lecce, Italy. Eight world finance ministers – including U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, and his global counterparts from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia – also agreed to create “a set of common principles and standards governing the conduct of international business and finance,”The Washington Post reported.

In a communiqué called “the Lecce Framework” – which described the strategy for obtaining those goals – the finance ministers called on government leaders to fill in the regulatory gaps that led to the global financial crisis, including

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The markets were down for most of the day, until a late rally sent two of the three major indexes positive, all except the NASDAQ which was down 0.19%.  The Dow Jones and S&P 500 were up 0.32% and 0.14% respectively, closing at 8799.26 and 946.21.  The 10-year saw prices climb once again, as the yield ended at 3.792%.  Oil was down today settling at $72.04, while gold also had an off day settling at $940.70.

Late Thursday night, Blackrock [BLK: 176.56, -6.04 (-3.31%)] agreed to buy Barclays Global Investors from Barclays Plc [BCS: 19.27, -0.63 (-3.17%)] for 37.8 million shares of common stock and equivalents and $6.6 billion in cash.  The deal was worth a total of $13.5B.  This deal will make Blackrock and BGI the world’s biggest fund manager, managing over $2.7 trillion in assets.  The buzz about a potential buy of BGI by

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Just when you thought “too big to fail” was going out of style

Ohh… and they’ve already got a great, devious name!

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) announced a $13.5 billion merger with Barclays Global Investors today, making the former company the biggest money manager in the world. BlackRock will soon oversee $2.7 trillion in assets, making it roughly twice the size of State Street or Fidelity, its closest competitors. That’s $2.7 trillion under management… with a market cap of just $34 billion.

If that marriage of assets to equity wasn’t unnerving enough, BlackRock will also pick up iShares in the deal. That makes the new world’s biggest asset manager also the world’s biggest wielder of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) — the rabidly popular, complex derivatives (many of which track other complicated derivatives) that millions own, but very few truly understand. Hmmm…

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BlackRock will buy BGI for $13.5 billion in a mega-merger sure to send shock waves throughout the industry.

 

 

In perhaps one of the worst-kept secrets in exchange-traded funds industry history, giant asset manager BlackRock Inc. said late Thursday it had finalized a $13.5 billion deal to buy Barclays Global Investors.

The combined company, to be called BlackRock Global Investors, will represent nearly $3 trillion in assets under management.

Interestingly, Barclays will keep about a 20% stake in the new BGI. BlackRock will only have to fork over about half of the estimated deal amount in cash; according to reports, BlackRock is exchanging shares of its common stock to complete roughly the other half of the mega-merger.

Officially, Barclays' original buyer (CVC Capital Partners ) has about a week to try to match BlackRock's offer. But the private equity firm would face a big upgrade in terms. CVC Capital  almost had a deal for all

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New reports put BlackRock's deal for BGI at $13 billion.

 

During the weekend, several new articles appeared in British papers reporting that BlackRock Inc. is closing in on a deal to acquire Barclays Global Investors, the parent company of iShares, in a transaction worth up to US$13 billion.

But not all the reports were as definitive as the one coming out of the US late last week. Pensions & Investments magazine, on its Web site, broke the news late Friday afternoon after markets had closed in the US. It quoted unnamed sources as saying that the groundwork for a deal was in place and that an announcement would be forthcoming.

The story also had estimates that a BlackRock purchase of BGI would surpass $10 billion. (See related story here.)

However, in a story over the weekend, a report out of London by the Financial Times said that Barclays isn't expected to

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* Barclays (NYSE:BCS) is reportedly in talks to sell its Barclays Global Investors, in a deal valued at about $12 billion. Reports suggest those interested include, BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), which is expected to succeed competing bidder Bank of NY Mellon (NYSE:BK)

* Citigroup (NYSE:C), no longer among the DJIA components, is reportedly ready to restart last week's delayed $58 billion stock swap

* Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) worldwide development conference this week promises heightened attention for a major new product announcement of a lower-priced iPhone, priced at either $149 or $99, compared to the current low end of $199, with expectations that Steve Jobs would make an appearance.  Apple has closed higher over the past nine consecutive trading days.

* According to the International Air Transportation Association, global airline losses are expected to reach $9 billion this year, almost twice its projections three months ago, due to rising fuel costs and weak demand

* General Mills (NYSE:GIS)

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Reports surfaced in London on Sunday that at least three new bids for iShares have surfaced.  

(Editor's note: The following was submitted by IndexUniverse.com's Murray Coleman in San Francisco and IndexUniverse.EU's Paul Amery in London.)

The recently announced $4.4 billion deal by Barclays Global Investors to sell its exchange-traded funds business to private equity manager CVC Captial Partners could be in jeporday. 

Reports surfaced in London on Sunday that at least three new bids have surfaced. The Daily Telegraph is naming private equity groups Apax, BC Partners and Hellman & Friedman as parties expressing an interest in bidding more for iShares than the original terms offered by CVC Capital.

A Barclays spokesman told the paper that it was too early to tell if any new offers would turn into anything concrete. But he did tell

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Reports surfaced in London on Sunday that at least three new bids for iShares have surfaced.  

(Editor's note: The following was submitted by IndexUniverse.com's Murray Coleman in San Francisco and IndexUniverse.EU's Paul Amery in London.)

The recently announced $4.4 billion deal by San Francisco-based Barclays Global Investors to sell its exchange-traded funds business to private equity manager CVC Captial Partners could be in jeporday. 

Reports surfaced in London on Sunday that at least three new bids have surfaced. The Daily Telegraph is naming private equity groups Apax, BC Partners and Hellman & Friedman as parties expressing an interest in bidding more for iShares than the original terms offered by CVC Capital.

A report by the Sunday Times of London also listed BC Partners. In fact, the paper says that the firm is now willing

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I wish I could say I never heard of Dendreon (DNDN) before today, but a reader was good enough to email me about this stock not even a month ago in the $3s. As a general rule, except for some of the really huge biotech stocks, I stay away from these type of names – the stock market is difficult as it is, and small cap biotech stocks make the normal stock market gambling look like child’s play. Of course after today’s news I wish I had investigated further. Outside of the stock reaction, it is hopefully a promising new turn in medicine.

Reuters – Dendreon Cancer Vaccine Works

An experimental medicine from Dendreon Corp improved survival in men with advanced …