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IMF Working paper-China's Labor Market in the "New Normal"
July 13, 2015--Summary: As China implements reforms under the "new normal," maintaining stability in the labor market is a priority. The country's demography and labor dynamics are changing, after benefitting in past decades from ample cheap labor. So far, the labor market appears to be resilient, even as growth slows, driven in part by expansion of the services sector.
Migrant flows and possible labor hoarding in overcapacity sectors may also help explain this. Yet, while the latter two factors help serve as shock absorbers-contributing to labor market stability in the short term-if they persist, they may delay the needed adjustment process, contributing to an inefficient allocation of resources and curtailing productivity gains. This paper quantifies to what extent structural trends and the reform pace affect employment growth under the new normal. Delays in reform implementation would weaken growth prospects in the medium term, running the risk that job creation will fall below policy targets, leading to labor market pressures in the future. In contrast, successful transition might require faster reforms, including in the overcapacity and state-owned enterprise sectors, supported by well targeted social safety nets.
view the IMF Working paper-China's Labor Market in the "New Normal"
Source: World Bank
China police to fight crimes related to trading of stocks, futures
July 9, 2015--The Ministry of Public Security said Thursday it is planning a nationwide campaign to crack down on illegal operations in the field of securities and futures to protect the order of capital markets and investors' interests.
A statement from the ministry said it is judging and analyzing the "abnormal volatility" of the stock market with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).
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Source: chinadaily.com.cn
Chinese indices are removed from reality
July 9, 2015--China's market is broken. Not the way the New York Stock Exchange broke for four hours on Wednesday, and not merely because China's government is doing everything short of sending in tanks to make shares go up
It is broken because the indices everyone uses to measure the market are entirely disconnected from what's actually happening.
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Source: FT.com
ASIC Reports on financial benchmarks
July 8, 2015--ASIC today released a report on financial benchmarks. Report 440 Financial benchmarks (REP 440) highlights the importance of key indices to Australia's markets and the broader economy.
ASIC Commissioner Cathie Armour said,'Financial benchmarks can have flow-on effects to ordinary investors and borrowers. For example, the Bank Bill Swap (BBSW) rate is often used in setting commercial lending rates.
view the REP 440 Financial benchmarks report
Source: ASIC
China Bans Stock Sales by Major Shareholders for Six Months
July 8, 2015--China's securities regulator banned major shareholders, corporate executives and directors from selling stakes in listed companies for six months, its latest effort to stop the nation's $3.5 trillion stock-market rout.
Investors with stakes exceeding 5 percent must maintain their positions, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said in a statement. The rule is intended to guard capital-market stability amid an "unreasonable plunge" in share prices, the CSRC said.
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Source: Bloomberg
Indonesia Economic Quarterly, July 2015: Slower Gains
July 8, 2015--Growth is forecasted at 4.7 percent for 2015, revised down from the previous forecast of 5.2 percent, as real output growth slowed to 4.7% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2015, the slowest pace since 2009.
Subdued fixed investment and more recently weaker consumer spending growth are lowering GDP growth in Indonesia. However, Indonesia is still growing faster than other countries that export commodities to China, such as Brazil and South Africa.
view the Indonesia Economic Quarterly, July 2015: Slower Gains report
Source: World Bank
Assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed in Japan reached a record 120 billion US dollars at the end of the first half of 2015 according to ETFGI
July 8, 2015--Assets invested in ETFs and ETPs listed in Japan reached a new record of US$120 billion at the end of the first half of 2015 as well as a record level of US$18 billion in net new assets (NNA).
Net inflows in the first half of 2015 have surpassed the prior record of US$13.5 billion set in the first half of 2014, according to ETFGI's preliminary ETF and ETP global insights report. At the end of June 2015, the Japanese ETF/ETP industry had 157 ETFs/ETPs, with 212 listings, assets of US$120 Bn, from 20 providers on 2 exchanges.
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Source: ETFGI
Nearly 25% of Chinese stocks have stopped trading
July 7, 2015--The turmoil in China's stock market is so bad that some companies are calling it quits.
Over 700 Chinese companies have halted trading to 'self preserve," according to the state media. That means about a quarter of the companies listed on China's two big exchanges--the Shanghai and Shenzhen--are no longer trading.
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Source: CNN
BetaShares-A Greek tragedy: Our Global Market Outlook-July 2015
July 7, 2015--The Month in Review It wasn't a great month! Fears regarding Greece, combined with pre-existing concerns regarding share price overvaluation, weakened Australian equities again last month.
Global equities also fell, but less than in Australia. Rising bond yields-due to ongoing strength in the US economy and Fed tightening fears also hurt bond returns.
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Source: BetaShares
China's biggest ETF sees record trading after Beijing unveils rescue plan
July 6, 2015--China's biggest exchange-traded fund (ETF) jumped more than 6 percent on Monday in record turnover, in the clearest sign yet that money from Chinese brokerages, mutual funds and sovereign wealth funds could be flowing into blue chips as part of a rescue package unveiled over the weekend.
The China 50 ETF <510050.SS>, which buys into shares of the 50 biggest companies listed in Shanghai, registered turnover of 24.9 billion yuan ($4.01 billion), more than double the previous session.
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Source: Yahoo