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IMF Executive Board Concludes 2019 Article IV Consultation with Norway
June 12, 2019--On June 10, 2019, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded its 2019 Article IV consultation [1] with Norway.
Norway's economic momentum remains strong, supported by higher oil prices, competitiveness gains stemming from the weaker krone, and a robust labor market.
After growing by 2.2 percent in 2018, mainland economic activity is expected to accelerate further and rise by about 2.5 percent this year, before growth slows to 2.1 percent in 2020.view more
IMF Departmental Papers/Policy Papers-Trade Tensions, Global Value Chains, and Spillovers: Insights for Europe
June 12, 2019--Summary:
Europe is deeply integrated into global value chains and recent trade tensions raise the question of how European economies would be affected by the introduction of tariffs or other trade barriers.
This paper estimates the impact of trade shocks and growth spillovers using value added measures to better gauge the associated costs across European countries.
Norway's Economic Outlook in Seven Charts
June 12, 2019--Norway's economy has performed well over the past year, especially compared to its neighbors. It is enjoying low unemployment and a broadly neutral budget, while its economy continues to grow. Given its strong momentum, now would be the ideal time for the country to address long-term challenges, suggests the IMF in its latest assessment of the Norwegian economy.
Here are seven charts that tell the story.
Growth in many advanced economies has slowed, but Norway's economy continues to expand strongly. The weaker krone is helping exporters, low unemployment is boosting incomes, and oil prices remain materially above break even levels, supporting investment. Although global trade tensions and uncertainty about European growth cloud the horizon, Norway's outlook remains positive.
Ossiam lists low carbon ESG ETF on LSE
June 11, 2019--Ossiam, the affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, has launched its US ESG Low Carbon Equity Factors Ucits ETF on the London Stock Exchange.
The fund uses a quantitative strategy to select small to large cap US equities based on environmental, social and governance characteristics and exposure to equity factors that are deemed to deliver alpha over the long term.
New UBS ETF on Xetra: Companies worldwide
June 11, 2019--A new Exchange Traded Fund from UBS Global Asset Management has been available for trading on Xetra and Börse Frankfurt since Tuesday.
With the UBS (Irl) ETF plc-MSCI World UCITS ETF (USD) A-acc, investors have access to the stocks of the MSCI World Index, which tracks the performance of large and medium-sized companies from 23 industrialised countries.
The reference index comprises nearly 1,700 equities weighted by market capitalisation.
Incoming profits such as dividends are reinvested.
Name: UBS (Irl) ETF plc- MSCI World UCITS ETF (USD) A-acc
Asset class: Equity ETF
ISIN: IE00BD4TXV59
ESMA to address regulatory concerns over Frequent Batch Auctions
June 11, 2019--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has today published its Final Report on Frequent batch auctions (FBAs). ESMA identified four main characteristics of FBA trading systems through its call for evidence and intends to issue supervisory guidance on pre-trade transparency and on the price determination process of FBAs.
The Final Report also includes the feedback received to the call for evidence and presents an analysis of developments in equity trading.
New EU shareholders' rights rules enter into force
June 10, 2019--The new Shareholder Rights Directive, which entered into force on Monday, addresses corporate governance shortcomings that contributed to the financial crisis, says the EU Commission.
Under the revised Directive, institutional investors and asset managers are required to be transparent about their investment and engagement policy, and to disclose how they take social and environmental impact into account.
There are also new transparency requirements for proxy advisers who advise institutional investors on how to vote in companies' general meetings. With the new rules, the remuneration policy of companies will be more transparent, as will be the actual remuneration of directors.
view the Company Law and Corporate Governance EU rules
Monday Morning Memo: Fund Closure-The Hidden Risk of Mutual Funds
June 10, 2019--The news about the closure of the Woodford Income Fund hit the U.K. fund market quite hard-and a number of market observers made this event big news-but the reality is the closure of a fund is nothing unusual. This kind of corporate action happens frequently and is a protection mechanism which is stated in the fund prospectus.
From my perspective, the Woodford case showed once again that investors have to read the prospectus carefully and need to consider the general risks, as some of these risks tend to happen more often than one would expect. That said, the closure of a fund due to high redemptions is a risk for those who want to redeem shares in the respective fund, but is a protection mechanism for those who want to stay invested. A closure period helps the fund manager to gather cash to meet redemptions without being forced to sell securities he may have wanted to keep or which do not have a proper valuation due to a lack of liquidity or other market events.
Modest Growth Ahead for Russia, but Opportunities to Boost Formal Employment, Says World Bank
June 10, 2019--Real GDP growth in Russia surpassed expectations in 2018, reaching 2.3 percent, mostly due to the one-off effects of energy construction. Growth forecasts of 1.2 percent in 2019 and 1.8 percent in both 2020 and 2021 reflect a more modest outlook, in line with Russia's current potential growth of about 1.5 percent, says the World Bank's latest Russia Economic Report (#41 in the series).
In the first quarter of 2019, GDP growth slowed for several reasons, including a VAT rate increase, relatively tight monetary policy, a high base from the previous year, and a slowdown in oil production.
view the World Bank Russia Economic Report No. 41 Modest Growth; Focus on Informality
New iShares ETF on Xetra: shares worldwide with currency hedging
June 7, 2019--Since Friday a new Exchange Traded Fund of iShares is tradable via Xetra and Börse Frankfurt.
The iShares Core MSCI World UCITS ETF EUR Hedged (Dist) offers an investment in the global MSCI World Index, which tracks the performance of large and medium-sized companies from 23 industrial countries. Currency fluctuations of individual stocks to the euro are minimised.
The reference index comprises almost 1,700 shares weighted by market capitalisation. Composition and weighting are adjusted quarterly.
Profits from dividends or similar are distributed.
