Dollar's Jump May Reveal China's Line in the Sand for Yuan
September 20, 2017--China's bid to rein in appreciation pressure on the yuan will get a helping hand from dollar today' and also provide the market with some valuable intelligence.
How far the People's Bank of China lets the yuan pull back during this session could indicate to traders the level they’re comfortable with right now.
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Source: Bloomberg
ETF Securities Australia Targets Growth in Robotics & Automation with Global Robotics ETFs
September 20, 2017--ETF Securities Australia, part of the ETF Securities Group, has created the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Australia giving investors access to global companies focusing on robotics, automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
ETFS has teamed up with US-based specialist robotics and automation index and research provider ROBO Global to launch the ETFS ROBO Global Robotics and Automation ETF (ASX code: ROBO).
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Source: ROBO Global (R)
ETFGI reports assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed in Japan have increased 35.4% in 2017 to reach a new record of 235 billion US dollars at the end of August 2017
September 19, 2017--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm on trends in the global ETF/ETP ecosystem, reported today that assets invested in ETFs/ETPs listed in Japan have increased 35.4% in the first 8 months of the year to reach a new record of US$235 billion at the end of August 2017, according to ETFGI's August 2017 Japanese ETF and ETP industry insights report an annual paid for research subscription.
The Japanese ETF and ETP industry had 190 ETFs/ETPs, with 235 listings, assets of US$235 Bn, from 21 providers on 2 exchanges.view more
Source: ETFGI
Central bank official says China keen to promote use of yuan in commodity pricing
September 19, 2017--Beijing studying 'market rules and mechanisms to meet demand from investors' deputy head of monetary policy committee says
China is keen to raise the profile of its currency in the pricing of commodities, according to a central bank official.
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Source: South China Morning Post
Former BlackRock Execs Target Hong Kong ETFs Where Others Failed-Bloomberg
September 19, 2017--Premia Partners sees smart-beta as key for China-focused funds
Move follows Hong Kong retreat by BlackRock, Deutsche Asset
Former executives at BlackRock Inc. think they've found a way to succeed with Chinese exchange-traded funds where their erstwhile employer failed to gain traction -in Hong Kong.
The key, in a phrase, is multi-factor smart-beta.
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Source: Bloomberg
'Better than blockchain' new asset trading system unveiled
September 19, 2017--The chief scientist of the Capital Markets Cooperative Research Centre, Michael Aitken, has demonstrated a new asset trading system -known as digi.cash-which he says will allow a broad range of financial assets to be traded at virtually no cost with immediate settlement, potentially disruptive to existing markets like the Australian Securities Exchange.
Digi.cash works via a system of "tokenisation", where a digital representation is made of a physical asset. When the "token" is sent from one person to another, settlement is instant. The receiver can then "withdraw" the real asset.
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Source: Financial Review
Australian House Price Update: Where's the value?
September 19, 2017--Although the official measure of house price inflation suggested Sydney property gains remained solid in the June quarter, more timely indicators point to a softening in this long red-hot market.
That's consistent with estimates suggesting mortgage affordability constraints in Sydney are now around previous peak levels. Meanwhile, better value appears evident in other capital cities, suggesting the overall national housing market need not weaken dramatically anytime soon.
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Source: betashares.com.au
Chinese Central Bank said to be drafting fresh package of reforms for more financial market opening
Monday 18, 2017--Details may include permission for foreign institutions to control their local finance-sector joint ventures, as well as raising the current 25pc ceiling on foreign ownership in Chinese banks
China's central bank is drafting a package of reforms which would give foreign investors greater access to the nation's financial services industry, according to sources familiar with the matter.
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Source: South China Morning Post
IMF Country Report-Japan: Financial Sector Assessment Program-Technical Note-Long-Term Challenges for Financial Intermediation
September 18, 2017--Summary:
Sustained demographic change can have potentially significant effects on the economy and the financial system. Aging can affect financial intermediation through its effects on potential growth, on the term structure of interest rates and risk premiums in general, and on the demand for retirement-related products and services.
At the same time, in an aging society, the financial sector has a particularly important role to play in helping to foster growth and productivity. This note analyzes and quantifies the effect of aging in Japan-both at the national and regional levels-on the nature of financial intermediation and concludes that the relative role of banks is likely to diminish.
India Considers Issuing Its Own Bitcoin-Like Cryptocurrency as Legal Tender
September 17, 2017--While working on creating a legal framework for bitcoin and other digital currencies, the Indian government is now considering launching its own bitcoin-like cryptocurrency.
The proposed government cryptocurrency is to be issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).