Compliance December 1, 2011

DoL Creates Hotline for Former USProtect Corp. Employees

The U.S. Department of Labor has created a hotline for former employees of USProtect Corp. 
Reported by

The dedicated number, (443) 872-0160, will provide updates related to back wages and retirement assets due to the employees, as well as give them the opportunity to submit updated contact information.

USProtect Corp. is a defunct Silver Spring, Maryland, company that provided security services for federal buildings in California, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and the Virgin Islands.

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In November, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland approved a global settlement allowing the U.S. Department of Labor to recover $7,968,744 in back wages, fringe benefits and 401(k) plan assets for more than 2,000 security guards formerly employed by USProtect Corp. (see “DoL Recovers 401(k) Assets for Former Security Guards“).  

Products December 1, 2011

State Street Introduces Fixed Income ETFs

State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) announced the SPDR Barclays Capital Short Term Treasury ETF and the SPDR Barclays Capital Investment Grade Floating Rate ETF began trading on the NYSE Arca.
Reported by

The SPDR Barclays Capital Short Term Treasury ETF (Symbol: SST) is designed to track the performance of the Barclays Capital 1-5 Year U.S. Treasury Index. The Index includes all publicly issued U.S. Treasury securities that have a remaining maturity of greater than or equal to one year and less than five years, are rated investment grade and have $250 million or more of outstanding face value.  As of November 18, 2011, there were approximately 114 securities included in the Index with an average maturity of 2.8 years. The SPDR Barclays Capital Short Term Treasury ETF’s expense ratio is 0.12%.  

The SPDR Barclays Capital Investment Grade Floating Rate ETF (Symbol: FLRN) is designed to track the performance of the Barclays Capital U.S. Dollar Floating Rate Note  5 Years Index. The Index includes U.S. dollar-denominated, investment grade floating rate notes that have a remaining maturity of greater than or equal to one month and less than five years, and have $300 million or more of outstanding face value.  As of November 18, 2011, there were approximately 320 securities in the Index with an average maturity of 1.71 years. The SPDR Barclays Capital Investment Grade Floating Rate ETF’s expense ratio is 0.15%.  

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Floating rate notes, which are often referred to as “FRNs” or “floaters,” are debt issues with variable coupon payments that are based on a reference rate, such as 3-month LIBOR with a fixed spread, the company explained. Coupons are reset periodically and can rise or fall with changes in the reference rate while the spread remains constant.  

For more information, visit http://www.spdrs.com.  

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