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Kan vows ‘decisive’ action on yen
August 27, 2010--Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan on Friday said he was ready to take “decisive” action on the yen, and urged the Bank of Japan to implement “expeditious” monetary policy measures.
The prime minister said he would meet Masaaki Shirakawa, the central bank governor, possibly as early as Monday before the release of a stimulus plan on Tuesday.
His remarks suggested that the central bank could soon introduce additional easing measures to tackle the waning economy.
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Source: FT.com
Gold ETFs mushroom in India
August 27, 2010--Gold exchange-traded funds (ETF) may be new for India, but are gaining in popularity as investors become aware of the benefits of investing in gold in a non-material form as opposed to holding it as jewellery.
ETFs are instruments that trade like shares and are backed by physical holdings of the commodity. India is the world's top consumer of gold, accounting for 20% of global demand. Indians traditionally invest in gold jewellery.
Some key facts and figures on India's gold ETFs:
India has eight gold ETFs listed with a total collection of more than 11 tonne, nearly double compared to last year.
Mumbai-based Benchmark Mutual Fund was the first to start a gold ETF in 2007 and has the largest collection of more than five tonnes.
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Source: The Financial Express
Hong Kong Members Gain Direct Access To NYSE Liffe
August 26, 2010--NYSE Liffe, the Europe-based derivatives business of NYSE Euronext (NYX), has received regulatory approval from the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to provide Automated Trading Services (ATS) in Hong Kong with immediate effect giving customers in Hong Kong direct and therefore faster access than ever before to trading on the London market of NYSE Liffe via its electronic platform, LIFFE CONNECT®.
Until now, customers in Hong Kong have had to connect to NYSE Liffe via order routing or other indirect means. This step enables customers in Hong Kong to benefit from much lower latency and to access directly NYSE Liffe’s Short Term Interest Rate, Bond, Swapnote and Equity and Equity Index products.
Garry Jones, Group Executive Vice President and Head of Global Derivatives, NYSE Euronext, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer our growing customer base in Hong Kong direct and quicker access to our products. Asia is an increasingly important market for us and we are committed to developing our business in the region.”
NYSE Liffe extended the trading hours for its benchmark Euribor interest rate futures contract in order to incorporate the Asian trading day three years ago in 2007 (with trading beginning at 01:00 hours London time) and in 2008/2009 expanded its Singapore and Tokyo offices to develop NYSE Liffe’s business. The company has doubled its staff in Asia in the last year and will continue to expand in 2010/2011. NYSE Liffe also offers direct access to customers in Japan and Singapore (and access via order routing to customers in Thailand, Korea and Australia).
In addition, NYSE Euronext continues to develop partnerships with Asian exchanges in many countries including China, India, Japan and the ASEAN region.
Source: NYSE Euronext
Banks back switch to renminbi for trade
August 26, 2010--A number of the world’s biggest banks have launched international roadshows promoting the use of the renminbi to corporate customers instead of the dollar for trade deals with China.
HSBC, which recently moved its chief executive from London to Hong Kong, and Standard Chartered, are offering discounted transaction fees and other financial incentives to companies that choose to settle trade in the Chinese currency.
We’re now capable of doing renminbi settlement in many parts of the world,” said Chris Lewis, HSBC’s head of trade for greater China. “All the other major international banks are frantically trying to do the same thing.”
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Source: FT.com
KBW Announces Changes to KBW Bank Index (BKX) and KBW Mortgage Finance Index (MFX)
August 25, 2010--Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, Inc., a full-service investment bank that specializes in the financial services sector, and a wholly owned subsidiary of KBW, Inc., announces upcoming changes to the KBW Bank Index and KBW Mortgage Finance Index.
Effective prior to the opening of business on Monday, August 30, 2010, Citigroup Inc., will undergo an increase in shares to account for the shares sold by the U.S. Treasury. In addition, NewAlliance Bancshares, Inc., will be deleted from the MFX due to its announced merger with First Niagara Financial Group, Inc. NAL will be replaced by Radian Group Inc.
The KBW indices that have tradable exchange-traded funds are: KBW Bank Index (Index Symbol: BKX(SM), ETF Symbol KBE(SM)); KBW Capital Markets Index (Index Symbol: KSX(SM), ETF Symbol KCE(SM)); KBW Insurance Index (Index Symbol: KIX(SM), ETF Symbol KIE(SM)); KBW Mortgage Finance Index (Index Symbol: MFX(SM), ETF Symbol: KME(SM)); and KBW Regional Banking Index (Index Symbol: KRX(SM), ETF Symbol: KRE(SM), KRS(SM), KRU(SM)).
Source: KBW
India warns about balance of payments
August 24, 2010--The Reserve Bank of India warned on Tuesday that volatile capital flows threatened to increase pressure on the country’s balance of payments, which is recording the widest current account deficit among large emerging economies
Analysts identify the current account deficit – which will put downward pressure on the Indian rupee – alongside double-digit inflation as the biggest challenges for the Indian economy.
India’s current account deficit has widened in the past year as fast-paced economic growth drives greater demand for imported goods, and is forecast to grow larger in the year ahead.
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Source: FT.com
Tokyo under pressure to tackle rising yen
August 24, 2010--The Japanese government is under intense pressure to tackle the economy after the yen surged to a 15-year high against the US dollar and the stock market fell below 9,000, sparking fears of a double-dip recession.
Naoto Kan, the Japanese prime minister, said on Tuesday that steep currency moves were “undesirable” but failed to calm markets amid perceptions that he was more focused on a potential leadership challenge next month than the waning economic recovery. Concerns about Japan returning to recession as other Asian economies steam ahead have grown since it posted anaemic growth for the second quarter, allowing the Chinese economy to eclipse Japan’s.
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Source: FT.com
DB Global Equity Index & ETF Research : Asia Pacific ETP Market Weekly Review
August 24, 2010--Overview
There are 230 equity-based ETFs in the Asia Pacific region with 323 listings across 12 countries and 15 exchanges. Japan has the largest market share by AUM, accounting for 38.36% of the whole market, whilst China has the largest market share by turnover with 40.05%
There were three new listings in the last week. HDFC Asset Management Company Ltd. listed its first ever ETF in National Stock Exchange, India, becoming the eighth provider in India to offer a fund tracking gold. Similarly Nomura Asset Management listed two ETFs on Osaka Stock Exchange, Japan both of which aim to deliver exposure to well-established US benchmarks.
Turnover
Monthly average daily turnover remained at about the same level in the last week. Turnover for the previous week was USD 860m. The largest ETF by turnover was the iShares Asia Trust - iShares FTSE/Xinhua A50 China Tracker, issued by BlackRock with USD 172m, accounting for 20% of total turnover.
Assets Under Management
AUM remained at about the same level in the last week. AUM as of Aug 20th was USD 63.4bn. The largest ETF by AUM is the iShares Asia Trust - iShares FTSE/Xinhua A50 China Tracker managed by BlackRock with AUM of USD 6.7bn.
To request a copy of the report
Source: DB Global Equity Index & ETF Research
Sensex opens over 39 pts down on global cues
August 24, 2010--The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex opened over 39 points lower than the yesterday's close, on selling by funds and retail investors in realty, banking and metal sector stocks, triggered by weak global markets.
The 30-share barometer, which had slid by 97.76 points in the previous session, fell by another 39.33 points or 0.21 per cent to 18,272.26 points in the first five minutes of trading.
The wide-based National stock Exchange, Nifty index dipped below 5,500 points level to trade 16.05 points lower at 5,489.05 points.
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Source: Pres Trust of India
New intra-second streaming of FTSE SET Large Cap will provide fastest delivery of Thai market data
August 23, 2010--FTSE Group (“FTSE”), the award-winning global index provider, and the Stock Exchange of Thailand (“SET”), announce that the SET Large Cap Index is being upgraded to provide the Thai market with the first truly real time index service. From today, the FTSE SET Large Cap Index will be delivered on a streaming, intra-second basis, rather than the standard 15 second tick dissemination for real time indices.
FTSE continues to lead the way in index innovation and is the first index provider to launch indices on a truly real time basis. The FTSE SET Large Cap Index value will now be disseminated each time there is a change in the underlying constituent price. This provides investors with a better reflection of market activity and increased transparency on trades against the index. Market participants, including investment banks and investment managers, using the new service can make trading decisions based on the latest index values and so respond more quickly to immediate market events.
As well as the faster dissemination of index values, FTSE has introduced real time total return index (TRI) values that were previously only available on an end-of-day basis. Extending this enhancement to the FTSE SET Large Cap Index supports the development of financial products against TRI benchmarks for Thailand and allows product issuers to make truly real-time intra-day valuations of index portfolios.
Paul Hoff, Director of Business Development Asia, FTSE Group said: “By always anticipating investors’ need, FTSE is at the forefront of innovation in investment solutions. Our new real time streaming of the FTSE SET Large Cap will enable investors respond to changes in the Thai markets faster. The service also enhances our ongoing work with the Stock Exchange to provide investors with the best index solutions for Thailand.”
“This latest development is another SET and FTSE effort to enhance market efficiency and we believe that this service will add lots of benefits to clients. The faster the data is released, the better the clients are able to make investment decisions.", said Ms. Kesara Manchusree, SET Group Head, Markets Division.
Further information on the FTSE SET Index Series is available at http://www.ftse.com/thailand and www.set.or.th.
Source: FTSE.com
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