Europe ETF News up to 1 year Ago
IMF Staff Country Report-Ireland: Selected Issues
December 18, 2023--A. Savings Funds in Ireland
Evolution of Public Finances
1. Sound fiscal policies have contributed to healthy public finances and put Ireland in a good position to weather shocks. The solid fiscal position of recent years has enabled the authorities to conduct countercyclical fiscal policy in the face of the Covid and energy price shocks and contributed to a fast decline in public debt.
Ireland’s path of primary surpluses, except for during the GFC, is not out of line with that in some peer countries. Some countries, like Korea and New Zealand, have also established sovereign wealth funds (SWF).
2. Ireland's healthy fiscal position has been supported in recent years by a fast increase in CIT revenues, which have grown beyond what would be implied by economic fundamentals. Ireland's share of CIT in total revenue (almost 1/3) is much larger than the average of European countries in the OECD (about 6 percent) and CIT has become the second largest source of tax revenues. While
ESMA proposes changes and updates timeline for its Guidelines on funds' names
December 14, 2023--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's financial markets regulator and supervisor, today provides an update on the status of ESMA's guidelines on ESG and sustainability-related terms in fund names, including details on the timing of their publication.
Since the launch of the work on the guidelines, the AIFMD and UCITS Directive reviews have progressed. ESMA has decided to postpone the adoption of the Guidelines to ensure that the outcome of these reviews may be fully considered.
In particular, the text of the provisional agreement resulting from the interinstitutional negotiations contains two new mandates for ESMA to develop guidelines specifying the circumstances where the name of an AIF or UCITS is unclear, unfair, or misleading.
ESMA plans to adopt the Guidelines shortly after the date of entry into force of those amended legal texts and is publishing this statement to highlight the key content of the guidance that it intends to provide in the forthcoming Guidelines.
IMF Working Papers-Feeling Rich, Feeling Poor: Housing Wealth Effects and Consumption in Europe
December 8, 2023-Summary:
Households across Europe are struggling with a double crisis-the worst inflation shock since the World War II and a sudden correction in house prices. There is a rich literature on how housing price cycles affect consumer spending, finding mixed results with a wide range of consumption responses to changes in housing wealth.
In this paper, using quarterly data on 20 countries in Europe over the period 1980-2023, we analyze the dynamic relationship between inflation-adjusted housing wealth and consumer spending and obtain statistically significant and economically intuitive results.
Household consumption responds positively and swiftly to changes in real house prices and gross disposable income as expected. Using the estimated coefficients, we can deduce that the average quarter-on-quarter decline of -1.96 percent in real house prices in the first quarter of 2023 in Europe could dampen consumer spending by about -0.51 percentage points in real terms on a cumulative basis over a horizon of eight quarters.
ESAs put forward amendments to sustainability disclosures for the financial sector
December 4, 2023--The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA-ESAs) are today publishing their Final Report amending the draft Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) to the Delegated Regulation supplementing the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
The ESAs propose adding new social indicators and streamlining the framework for the disclosure of principal adverse impacts of investment decisions on the environment and society.
The ESAs also suggest new product disclosures regarding "greenhouse gas emissions reduction" targets.
Additionally, the ESAs propose further technical revisions to the SFDR Delegated Regulation:
Improvements to the disclosures on how sustainable investments "Do No Significant Harm" (DNSH) to the environment and society;
Simplification of the pre-contractual and periodic disclosure templates for financial products; and
Other technical adjustments concerning, among others, the treatment of derivatives, the calculation of sustainable investments, and provisions for financial products with underlying investment options.
IMF Working Papers-Geoeconomic Fragmentation: What's at Stake for the EU
December 1, 2023-- Summary:
Geoeconomic fragmentation (GEF) is becoming entrenched worldwide, and the European Union (EU) is not immune to its effects. This paper takes stock of GEF policies impinging on-and adopted by-the EU and considers how exposed the EU is through trade, financial and technological channels.
Motivated by current policies adopted by other countries, the paper then simulates how various measures-raising costs of trade and technology transfer and fossil fuel prices, and imposition of sectoral subsidies-would affect the EU economy.
Due to its high-degree of openness, the EU is found to be exposed to GEF through multiple channels, with simulated losses that differ significantly across scenarios. From a welfare perspective, this suggests the need for a cautious approach to GEF policies. The EU's best defence against GEF is to strengthen the Single Market while advocating for a multilateral rules-based trading system.
The ESAs provide clarity and tips to consumers on sustainable finance
November 30, 2023--The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA-ESAs) today published an interactive factsheet that answers consumers' most frequently asked questions about sustainable finance. The factsheet provides tips to consumers considering buying financial products with sustainability features, including loans, investments, insurances and pensions.
The factsheet provides answers to frequently asked questions and steps consumers can take to understand how their financial choices could contribute to a more sustainable future.
In addition, the factsheet provides four tips consumers should take into account before choosing financial products with sustainability features. Consumers are encouraged to:
decide how important sustainability is for them and what financial goals they want to achieve before they choose a product;
pay attention to the conditions and the sustainability features, to avoid being misled by 'greenwashing';
ECB-Monetary developments in the euro area: October 2023
November 28, 2023--Annual growth rate of broad monetary aggregate M3 was -1.0% in October 2023, compared with -1.2% in September
Annual growth rate of narrower monetary aggregate M1, comprising currency in circulation and overnight deposits, stood at -10.0% in October, compared with -9.9% in September
Annual growth rate of adjusted loans to households decreased to 0.6% in October from 0.8% in September
Annual growth rate of adjusted loans to non-financial corporations decreased to -0.3% in October from 0.2% in September
Components of the broad monetary aggregate M3
The annual growth rate of the broad monetary aggregate M3 was -1.0% in October 2023, compared with -1.2% in September, averaging -1.2% in the three months up to October. The components of M3 showed the following developments. The annual growth rate of the narrower aggregate M1, which comprises currency in circulation and overnight deposits' stood at -10.0% in October, compared with -9.9% in September
ECB-Meeting of 25-26 October 2023 Account of the monetary policy meeting of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank
November 23, 2023--Held in Athens on Wednesday and Thursday, 25-26 October 2023
1. Review of financial, economic and monetary developments and policy options
Financial market developments
Ms Schnabel started her presentation by noting that the market's immediate response to the dramatic geopolitical upheaval in the Middle East, following the terrorist attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, had so far been contained.
Bolstered by continued robust economic growth in the United States, the surge in global long-term bond yields that started over the summer had continued in recent weeks, as investors were increasingly internalising the prospect of interest rates staying high for longer. At the same time, expectations for the future path of short-term interest rates had remained broadly unchanged.
New equity ETFs from SPDR on Xetra: access to information technology and healthcare companies worldwide
November 20, 2023--Since Monday, two new exchange-traded funds issued by State Street Global Advisors have been tradable on Xetra and via the trading venue Börse Frankfurt.
The two ETFs give investors access to large and mid-cap companies from developed countries around the world that are either in information technology or healthcare. The maximum weighting of one issuer is 35 per cent and all other companies 20 per cent.
The SPDR MSCI World Technology UCITS ETF invests in information technology companies, which include hardware, storage and peripherals, systems software and semiconductors, and are the most represented at over 20 per cent each.
The SPDR MSCI World Health Care UCITS ETF focuses on healthcare companies. The most strongly represented business areas include pharmaceuticals, healthcare equipment, biotechnology and managed health care.
ECB-Euro area investment fund statistics: third quarter of 2023
November 17, 2023--This release on investment fund statistics is being discontinued. As of November 2023, investment fund statistics are published on a dedicated page on the ECB's website, which features comprehensive charts containing the information previously available in this release.
In third quarter of 2023, outstanding amount of shares/units issued by investment funds other than money market funds fell to €15,207 billion, down €92 billion on previous quarter
Net redemptions in quarter amounted to €15 billion, with €852 billion in gross issuances and €867 billion in gross redemptions
Outstanding amount of shares/units issued by money market funds rose to €1,563 billion, up €56 billion on previous quarter
