Australia's Federal Court issues landmark judgment against S&P, ABN Amro
November 5, 2012--Australia's Federal court issued a landmark judgment on Monday that Standard & Poor's misled investors by giving its highest rating to derivatives that lost almost all their value in the run-up to the 2008 global economic crisis.
The Australian case marked the first time a ratings agency had faced trial over the complex financial products widely cited as one of the factors that triggered the crisis and could set a precedent for future litigation around the world.
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Source: Reuters
Australia moves toward "kill switches" for automated trades
November 5, 2012--The Australian Securities & Investments Commission is expected to release proposals to govern automated trading in the wake of incidents such as the May 2010 "flash crash" and the Knight Capital glitch this year.
The proposed changes are part of a broader overhaul, which includes task forces delving into high-frequency trading and dark pools. "You have got to make sure that [technological change] doesn't outpace regulation because if it does outpace regulation, that is where you get risk," ASIC Chairman Greg Medcraft said.
Source: FIA Smartbrief
South Korea 3Q GDP Grows at Slowest Pace in 3 Years
Third-quarter GDP growth at slowest pace in nearly three years, but largely in line with market expectations
Analysts expect fourth-quarter growth to accelerate, albeit at a meager rate, helped government stimulus and economic recovery in China
November 2, 2012--The South Korean economy grew at the slowest pace in nearly three years in the third quarter from the prior three months as the persistent euro-zone debt crisis hurt corporate investment, the Bank of Korea said Friday, adding to pressure on the central bank to keep
its policy rate low to promote growth.
Gross domestic product rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in the July-September period from the second quarter, slowing from the second-quarter's 0.3% rise. It marks as the worst quarter since the fourth quarter of 2009, when the economy also grew 0.2% from the previous quarter.
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Source: Nasdaq.com
Clarity on QFII tax issue expected in months
November 2, 2012--Chinese regulators are tipped to provide clarity within six months on a mooted 10% withholding tax to be applied retrospectively for capital gains made by QFII investors trading A-shares.
Speculation over the tax has been circulating since 2008, when a corporate income tax law came into force. In particular, foreign investors are concerned about how far back such a tax would be applied since it would hit performance of funds that had not fully provisioned for such a liability.
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Source: Pro Hedge
IMF Working Paper-The Evolution of Asian Financial Linkages: Key Determinants and the Role of Policy
November 1, 2012--This paper examines how Asian financial linkages with systemic economies have changed over time. After developing a factor model, it estimates Asian financial sensitivities to systemic economies, and then seeks to uncover their key determinants, which include trade and financial linkages, as well as policies.
In line with Asia’s growing role in the global economy—including through deeper financial integration—regional financial markets have become more sensitive to systemic economies. Asian financial sensitivities to systemic economies exhibit cyclical fluctuations, and reached historically high levels during the latest global financial crisis of 2008–09. While macroeconomic policy frameworks have helped Asian economies cope well with market turbulence, they cannot completely insulate Asian financial markets against major global financial shocks.
view IMF working paper-The Evolution of Asian Financial Linkages: Key Determinants and the Role of Policy
Source: IMF
DB-Asia-Pac Weekly ETF Market Review-ETP AUM remains flat amid bearish equity markets
November 1, 2012--Market Review
Last week, all the major markets in the Asia-Pacific region remained in negative territory except Singapore. Compared to the week before, from north to south:
Japan (Nikkei 225)-0.77%
Korea (KOSPI2) -2.99%
China (CSI 300) -3.63%
Hong Kong (HSI) -0.03%
Singapore (FSSTI) +0.28%
Australia (S&P/ASX 200) -2.16%%
New Product Launch Review
Three new ETFs were launched in the Asia-Pacific ETP market during last week. E Fund Management listed one equity ETF on Shanghai Stock Exchange offering exposure to Hang Seng China Enterprise Index and Mirae Asset MAPS Global Investments listed one equity ETF on the Korea Stock Exchange tracking KOSPI 200 Covered Call Index. Further, China Asset Management launched one equity ETF on Shenzhen Stock Exchange tracking Hang Seng Index and cross listed one equity ETF on Hong Kong Exchange tracking CSI 300 Index. (See Figure 4 for further details)
Turnover Review
Asia-Pacific ETP turnover totaled $7bn last week, 12.6% up from the previous week’s total. South Korea continued to top the turnover ranking with $2.7bn, followed by China ($1.6bn), Hong Kong ($1.4bn), Japan ($0.6bn), and Taiwan ($0.3bn). Among Equity ETFs, the Emerging Country, Leveraged Strategy, Asia-Pacific Developed Country, and Short Strategy ETFs had total turnovers of $3.3bn, $1.5bn, $1.1bn, and $0.7bn respectively. Among the Commodity asset class, turnover in Gold ETPs totaled $103mn.
Assets under Management Review
Last week, Asia-Pacific ETP AUM decreased by $715mn and ended at $123.6bn. On a year-to-date basis, Asia-Pacific ETP market is up by $32.1bn or 35.1% above last year’s closing.
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Source: Deutsche Bank - Synthetic Equity & Index Strategy - Asia
Revision in BSE indices
October 31, 2012--The Executive Management Committee of the Exchange in its meeting held on October 31, 2012 has decided to revise the composition of BSE indices as detailed below:
It has been decided to have the following changes in SENSEX on the effective date:
Merger of Sterlite Industries Ltd. with Sesa Goa Ltd.
Post merger, the merged entity to be called Sesa Sterlite Ltd. would replace Sterlite Industries Ltd., which is currently in SENSEX. The change would be effected on the day trading in the shares of Sterlite Industries Ltd. is discontinued (enters into “No Dealing Status”) at BSE. A separate intimation will be given to the market participants in this regard.
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Source: BSE
Weak Institutions Blamed for India's Decline in Financial Development, Report Finds
World Economic Forum Financial Development Report 2012 shows India falling 4 places to 40th
Weak institutional, business environment and relative instability drag down otherwise strong performance
First place goes to Hong Kong for second year, with Singapore (4) and Japan (8) also in top ten
October 31, 2012--India's financial development remains at risk from the country's continued inability to create the institutional framework and business environment to support growth, according to the fifth edition of the World Economic Forum's Financial Development Report 2012 released today.
The report highlighted a poor record in enforcing contracts, low levels of liberalization, inadequate IT and communication infrastructure and general high costs of doing business as areas that most urgently needed improvement.
While India's comparative strength in the area of non-banking financial services was recognized with a global ranking of 9th in this particular pillar, its overall decline sees it rank 9th out of the 15 Asia Pacific economies that were surveyed in the Report.
view The Financial Development Report 2012
Source: World Economic Forum (WEF)
TSE has published the index value of TSE Home Price Index for August.
October 30, 2012--The index value of TSE Home Price Index (Used Condominium, Composite of Tokyo Metro Area) is 76.39 points. The index value of TSE Home Price Index (Used Condominium, Tokyo) is 80.24 points.
The index value of TSE Home Price Index (Used Condominium, Kanagawa) is 76.27 points. The index value of TSE Home Price Index (Used Condominium, Chiba) is 66.00. The index value of TSE Home Price Index (Used Condominium, Saitama) is 65.18 points.
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Source: Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE)
Report on the Australian OTC Derivatives Market-October 2012
October 30, 2012--The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Reserve Bank of Australia are releasing a Report on the Australian OTC Derivatives Market-October 2012.
This report reviews the risk management practices of market participants in the domestic over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market. A particular focus of the report is how market participants are using centralised infrastructure, and the prospects for increased usage.
It reiterates the regulators' view that there are strong in-principle benefits from participants in the domestic OTC derivatives market making greater use of centralised infrastructure, such as trade repositories, central counterparties and trading platforms. The regulators recognise, however, that the suitability of using centralised infrastructure will not be the same for all products and participants. The main recommendations of the report are that:
the Australian Government consider a broad-based mandatory trade reporting obligation for OTC derivatives;
view the Report on the Australian OTC Derivatives Market report
Source: Reserve Bank of Australia
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