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EU Business Group: Euro Exchange Rate At "Pain Threshold"
November 9, 2009--The euro's exchange rate has reached a "pain threshold" for industry, the head of the European Union's largest business lobby said Monday.
The euro on Monday traded just below $1.50. When the currency rises, euro-zone exports become relatively more expensive in foreign markets, hampering a sector considered crucial to the region's economic recovery.
"This is not good news for growth in Europe," BusinessEurope's President Juergen Thumann said in a statement following a meeting with key EU economic officials, including European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Joaquin Almunia.
Growth and Independence through Equity Financing
Study highlights the importance of equity financing for innovation and growth in German SMEs in the wake of the financial crisis
November 9, 2009--The importance of equity financing has become a bigger issue both for companies and the public in general as a result of the financial crisis. Structural changes in corporate financing are a result of changes in the credit markets and the increasing harmonization between the transparency requirements of lenders and equity providers.
A joint study conducted by the Technical University in Munich, Ernst & Young and Deutsche Börse examined the reasons for this trend towards an excess of equity, and analyzed the importance of IPOs for business performance and the economy.
“The majority of companies use IPOs to finance growth strategies and strengthen their equity base,” said Frank Gerstenschläger, member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Börse. “The study clearly shows that an IPO boosts companies' domestic and foreign sales, encourages broader diversification and higher spending on research and development.”
According to Ulrich Lenz from Ernst & Young, the study shows that for many companies, there will be no return to traditional-style bank and debt financing, “Only with a broad financing approach and a clear focus on equity can companies secure their future independence and embark on new routes towards profitable growth,” said Ulrich Lenz.
Christoph Kaserer, professor at Munich’s Technical University said that the study also reveals a series of obstacles which still have to be surmounted en route to deeper equity markets and a strong equity culture. According to him, other countries – particularly Anglo-Saxon ones – have already overcome these obstacles. “Germany has to find a way to develop a more active equity market for both the supply side (investors) and the demand side (companies).”
The study, entitled “Corporate Growth and Entrepreneurial Independence through Equity Financing – Structural Changes and New Approaches for the German Mittelstand in the Current Financial Crisis” will be presented at the 13th German Equity Forum Fall in Frankfurt from 9-11 November 2009. A panel discussion will follow the presentation.
The German Equity Forum is organized by Deutsche Börse and KfW Bankengruppe. It is the largest international information and networking platform for companies seeking equity capital.
German Equity Forum Fall 2009 Opens in Frankfurt
November 9, 2009--Deutsche Börse and KfW Bankengruppe have opened the 13th German Equity Forum in Frankfurt am Main. The capital market conference runs from 9 – 11 November, and is the largest information and networking platform in Europe for companies seeking equity capital.
“Equity has never been more important,” said Reto Francioni, CEO of Deutsche Börse at the opening of the Fall Forum 2009. “The issue of equity supplied via the stock exchange is moving slowly but surely into the spotlight. The large number of participants this year alone shows the great interest in the primary market.”
Ulrich Schröder, Chairman of the Board of Managing Directors of KfW Bankengruppe had this to say at the opening of the forum, “Innovations are particularly important if we are to overcome this financial and economic crisis as quickly as possible. They are the key driving force behind economic growth. Companies have to find support in this respect and thus need a functioning market.”
The Equity Forum offers panel discussions, presentations and workshops on corporate financing and capital market regulation. International companies from China, India, Belarus and the Ukraine will introduce themselves in country forums. Some 200 listed companies will be presenting their current financial figures at investor and analyst conferences. The event also includes presentations by the top 25 non-listed high-growth companies from the Alternative Energies, Life Science, Consumer & E-Commerce, High Technology and Software & Internet sectors to a broad group of investors. The forum is expected to attract 5,000 attendees.
Leading global market organizer Deutsche Börse and development bank KfW have been organizing the German Equity Forum, held twice a year, since 1996. The fall event focuses on listed companies and those in later-stage financing, while the primary focus of the spring forum is on early-stage and growth companies.
Electronic equity trading up eight per cent month on month - Record Levels of Trading in ETFs and ETCs, and on EDX London
November 6, 2009-19.7 million equity trades were carried out across London Stock Exchange Group’s electronic order books during October, an increase of eight per cent on the previous month. The total equity value traded across the Group during the month was £173.4 billion (€189.4 billion).
Significant volatility during October 2008, which led to record volumes across the Group’s equity markets last year, affected year on year comparisons. Nevertheless, trading in ETFs, ETCs, fixed income and derivatives products showed strong growth in October. ETF and ETC trading set new records, with the average daily number of ETF and ETC trades up 84 per cent on last year. The average daily value traded on the MTS cash markets increased 76 per cent year on year, while EDX London also performed strongly, seeing its second busiest month ever for number of contracts traded.
UK Cash Equities
The average daily value traded on the UK order book was £4.2 billion (€4.6 billion), seven per cent higher than the previous month but a decrease of 44 per cent year on year. The total value traded was £92.9 billion (€101.5 billion).
There was a six per cent month on month increase in the average daily number of trades in UK equities, with 566,377 trades per day, a decrease of 39 per cent year on year. The total number of UK equity trades during the month was 12.5 million.
Italian Cash Equities
On the Italian equity order book, the average daily number of trades in Italian equities was 270,340, up 14 per cent on the previous month, though down 11 per cent on last October. The average daily value traded remained flat year on year at €3.2 billion (£2.9 billion).
The total number of trades was 5.9 million and the total value traded was €69.4 billion (£63.6 billion).
International Cash Equities
The average daily value traded in international stocks on the Group’s equity order books was up 11 per cent year on year, totalling £770 million (€841 million), 18 per cent ahead of the average for the previous month. The average daily number of trades was 57,561, an increase of eight per cent on the previous month and up five per cent on last October.
ETFs and ETCs
It was a record month for trading in ETFs and ETCs across the Group; the number of trades reached 381,581, a 76 per cent increase on the same month last year, while the total value traded was up 34 per cent year on year to £9.9 billion (€10.8 billion). The average daily number of trades rose 84 per cent year on year to 17,345, while the average daily value traded was up by 40 per cent to £448 million (€490 million).
Derivatives
The average daily number of contracts traded on the Group’s derivatives markets, EDX London and IDEM, was up 17 per cent on last year at 467,292. The average daily notional value traded was £4.5 billion (€4.9 billion), 20 per cent lower than the same month last year.
EDX London enjoyed another strong performance during October, recording its second busiest month ever, with 7.0 million contracts traded across its Russian and Scandinavian products, including a record 4.8 million Russian stock options, 700,000
contracts more than the previous record, set last month. Trading in the FTSE Russia IOB Index grew for the fourth consecutive month, with a record 15,806 contracts traded, over three times as many as the previous record of 4,261, set in March 2007.
Fixed income
Trading on the MTS Cash markets remained strong, with the average daily value traded up by 76 per cent year on year at €10.7 billion (£9.8 billion), while on the MTS Repo market the average term adjusted daily value traded increased by 81 per cent year on year to €177.9 billion (£162.9 billion).
On MOT, Borsa Italiana’s retail fixed income market, the average daily value traded was €868 million (£795 million), a seven per cent month on month increase, while the average daily number of trades was 13,105, a six per cent month on month increase.
Standard & Poor's Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index
November 9, 2009--Standard & Poor's will make the following changes in the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index after the close of trading on Monday, November 9, 2009:
The shares of Cadan Resources Corporation (TSXVN:CNF) will trade on a consolidated basis following a 1-for-5 consolidation.
The new CUSIP number will be 12721D 20 3 and the new ticker symbol will be CXD.
Company additions to and deletions from an S&P equity index do not in any way reflect an opinion on the investment merits of the company.
Spain buys EUR 25m carbon emission rights from Poland
November 9, 2009-Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero Monday signed an agreement for the purchase of carbon dioxide emission rights from Poland worth 25 million euros.
"This agreement is beneficial to Spain and to Poland and also for limiting the influence of (greenhouse gas) emissions on climate change," Zapatero said at a joint press conference with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Poland's Baltic Sea resort of Sopot.
The Polish leader said the agreement would "provide ample resources for investment" to "effectively reduce CO2 emissions in Poland."
"This means that Spanish money will work in Poland to improve environmental protection," Tusk added.
UK commercial property values surge
November 9, 2009--A rapid recovery in UK commercial property values from the deepest slump on record to near bubble-like conditions could see the sector turn positive this year, a leading property consultancy has forecast.
Real estate values are set to overturn most of the losses suffered in the first half, according to research by Colliers CRE, as booming investor demand has taken prices back to near peak levels in some sectors.read more
FSA sees fall in applicants for authorisation
November 9, 2009--The number of new financial firms and individuals seeking regulatory authorisation fell in the third quarter to the lowest levels in at least three years, suggesting that the worst is not yet over for the City.
Only 247 new banks, brokers and insurance firms sought authorisation from the Financial Services Authority in the three months to September 30, while 643 firms cancelled their registration, according to data compiled by IMAS Corporate Advisors.read more
FSA chief says cultural change needed to drive reform
Reform will only come if both the regulator and the regulated are committed to genuine change, according to Financial Services Authority (FSA) chief executive Hector Sants.
November 9, 2009--Speaking today at Bloomberg, London, Hector Sants emphasised how the FSA has changed and how its radical new intensive supervisory regime is already delivering the right outcomes for firms, consumers and for financial stability, but that there needs to be genuine cultural and behavioural change within the financial industry to ensure the lessons of the crisis provide the outcomes society expects.
Hector Sants warned:
"There remains, I believe, an absence of the acceptance of collective responsibility for what has happened. I personally remain unconvinced that all senior management have taken on board the need to change and operate in a genuinely different manner."
Hector Sants demonstrated how the experience of the past two years has equipped the UK regulator to deliver a new, stronger supervisory approach. Having completed the implementation of its Supervisory Enhancement Programme (SEP), it now has 280 more supervisory and specialist staff, a new training regime and a new risk identification process. Supervisors are now judging firms on the likely consequences of their decisions and proactively challenging business models.
This radical new approach to supervision has successfully delivered results on both prudential and conduct issues; helping to protect consumers and secure financially stronger, more resilient firms. This year, the FSA has taken action and secured redress for consumers in respect of payment protection insurance for both mortgages and personal loans (MPPI and PPI), for mortgage arrears handling and pension switching. It will be increasingly proactive in testing risks inherent in products from their development and using techniques such as mystery shopping to test the true outcome for consumers.
Stronger prudential supervision is already ensuring that firms are able to better deal with financial pressures, enhancing financial stability throughout the crisis. Without the FSA’s rigorous stress tests the recent bank recapitalisations would not have been possible and the FSA was the first major regulator, globally, to introduce new rules to tackle liquidity risk.
However, Hector Sants continued:
"I believe it is important to recognise that there are limits to what regulatory rules can achieve. It would be a mistake not to recognise that some of the failures which have occurred have their roots in the issues of culture and behaviour."
The FSA has already introduced a tougher approval process for senior management and has seen a number of applicants withdraw as a result of greater challenge, but is now looking to explore an individual’s ability to create a strong ethical framework. Acknowledging that culture is driven by those at the top of an organisation, the FSA will be opening the debate on how it can assess a senior executive’s impact on an institution’s culture as part of its authorisation regime. This topic will be included in a forthcoming FSA discussion paper.
Commenting on the current debate on regulatory structure, Hector Sants stated that all organisational structures will have fault lines but given the demonstrable effectiveness of the revised FSA approach of integrated supervision of individual firms it is critical that "society must not lose the benefits of the hard learning experience the FSA has been through".
Two New ETFs From XACT Fonder start trading on NASDAQ OMX
November 6, 2009--NASDAQ OMX Stockholm AB, part of the NASDAQ OMX Group (NASDAQ:NDAQ), today starts trading in two new exchange traded funds (ETFs), XACT Bull 2 and XACT Bear 2.
The two ETFs issued by XACT Fonder are based on the OMXS30 (OMX Stockholm 30) index which reflects the performance of the 30 most traded shares on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm. The OMXS30 index is in 2009 the third most traded domestic index in Europe with more than 400 million derivatives contracts since its start in 1986.
XACT Bull 2 and XACT Bear 2 are leveraged exchange traded funds that offer twice the return of the daily change in the underlying OMXS30 index. Hence, for XACT Bull 2, which has a positive exposure against OMXS30, a daily index increase of 1% means an increase in value of 2%. For XACT Bear 2, which has a negative exposure against OMXS30, a 1% a daily index decrease generates a 2% value return. The leverage increases the potential return but also the risk level.
Jenny Rosberg, Deputy CEO at NASDAQ OMX Nordic said, “These two new products from XACT Fonder will make a good addition to our offering of exchange traded funds and continue to attract investor interest to this exciting market. In 2009 we have seen a significant increase in ETF trading compared to the same period last year, proving that this is a market with great growth potential”.
