IMF Policy Paper-Corporate Taxation in the Global Economy
March 10, 2019--Summary:
The policy paper Corporate Taxation in the Global Economy stresses the need to maintain and build on the progress in international cooperation on tax matters that has been achieved in recent years, and in some respects now appears under stress.
With special attention to the circumstances of developing countries, the paper identifies and discusses various options currently under discussion for the international tax system to ensure that countries, and in particular low-income countries, can continue to collect corporate tax revenues from multinational activities.
view the IMF Policy Paper-Corporate Taxation in the Global Economy
Source: IMF
Deutsche Bank begins talks over merger with rival Commerzbank
March 10, 2019--Union would form Europe's second largest bank and a rival to HSBC
Deutsche Bank has begun tentative merger talks with rival Commerzbank, which would create Europe's second biggest bank behind HSBC and fend off unwanted potential bidders such as French giant BNP Paribas.
Reports in Germany's Welt am Sonntag suggest that the banks have come under political pressure to consider a merger and avert a foreign takeover of Commerzbank, much the smaller partner in any deal.
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Source: theguardian.com
Monday Morning Memo: ESG a new paradigm for the European Investment Industry?
March 10, 2019--Following the news about product releases and trends in the European fund industry, one may get the impression sustainable investing is the new hot topic in the industry since there are funds with a sustainable investment objective launched every week.
Some observers may already see an inflationary use of the terms environmental, social and governance (ESG) and socially responsible investing (SRI). In addition to the specialist funds, an increasing number of asset managers state they have the so-called non-financial data integrated into their research and portfolio management systems so analysts and portfolio managers can use the data within their decision-making processes.
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Source: Refinitiv
Brexit fallout on UK finance intensifies-think tank
March 10, 2019--More than 275 financial firms are moving a combined $1.2 trillion (£925 billion) in assets and funds and thousands of staff from Britain to the European Union in readiness for Brexit at a cost of up to $4 billion, a report from a think tank said on Monday.
UK lawmakers are due to vote on Tuesday on an EU divorce settlement. But with less than three weeks to go before Brexit day on March 29, it is still unclear whether the deal will be approved, whether departure from the EU will be delayed, or whether it will happen without agreement.
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Source: Reuters
IMF Working Paper-The Russian State's Size and its Footprint: Have They Increased?
March 8, 2019--Summary:
The short answer: The size of the Russian State has not increased much in the last few years, but its economic footprint remains significant. Concretely, the state's size increased from about 32 percent of GDP in 2012 to 33 percent in 2016, not far from the EBRD's estimate of 35 percent for 2005-10.
This is different from the mainstream narrative, which contends that the state's size doubled in the last decade. However, a deep state footprint is reflected in a relatively high state share in formal sector activity (close to 40 percent) and formal sector employment (about 50 percent). The deep footprint is also reflected in market competition and efficiency. Although sectors in which the state is present are more concentrated, concentration is large even in sectors where the state's share is low. This suggests the need to protect and promote competition, in particular in state procurement. Finally, state-owned enterprises' performance appears weaker than that of privately-owned firms, which may be subtracting from growth.
view the IMF Working Paper-The Russian State's Size and its Footprint: Have They Increased?
Source: IMF
New Invesco ETFs on Xetra offer Access to US Government Bonds
March 8, 2019--Since Friday, four new Exchange Traded Funds from Invesco have been tradable via Xetra and B&ouul;rse Frankfurt.
With the four bond index ETFs, investors can participate in the performance of tradable government bonds issued by the US government.
-The securities are denominated in US dollars, have an investment grade rating of at least Baa3/BBB-/BBB- and an outstanding nominal value of at least USD 300 million. The Benchmark Index excludes inflation-linked and variable-rate bonds, STRIP bonds and treasury bills. Investors can choose between ETFs containing government bonds with residual maturities of up to one year, one to three year(s), three to seven years or seven to ten years.
Name: Invesco US Treasury Bond 1-3 Year UCITS ETF Dist
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Source: Deutsche Börse Group
Sweden's Avanza licenses gender equality index for tracker
March 8, 2019--Avanza, the Swedish online stock broker and fund services provider, has licensed use of the Equileap European Gender Equality 75 index to support the launch of its AVA Gender Equality Tracker-an exchange traded note listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.
The index is one of five indices calculated for Equileap by Solactive. It tracks 75 European companies out of 3,000 globally that are included in Equileap's database. To be included in the index, companies must pass gender screening that ranks them according to the proprietary Equileap Gender Equality Scorecard.
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Source: investmenteurope.net
Net sales of UCITS and AIFs dropped to EUR 245 billion in 2018, a level not seen since 2011
March 8, 2019--The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) has today published its latest Quarterly Statistical Release describing the trends in the European investment fund industry in the fourth quarter of 2018 with key data and indicators for each EFAMA member country.
Highlights on the developments in 2018 include:
Investment fund net assets in Europe decreased by 3% in 2018 to EUR 15,157 billion. The fall in worldwide stock markets in the fourth quarter of 2018 wiped out completely the net asset growth recorded during the first three quarters of 2018.
Net assets of UCITS declined by 4.6% to EUR 9,284 billion. Twenty-four European countries recorded a decline in net assets in 2018.
Net assets of AIF dropped by 0.4% to EUR 5,873 billion. Nine countries recorded positive asset growth in 2018.
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Source: European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA)
ECB-Monetary policy decisions
March 7, 2019--At today's meeting the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) took the following monetary policy decisions:
(1) The interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and -0.40% respectively.
The Governing Council now expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present levels at least through the end of 2019, and in any case for as long as necessary to ensure the continued sustained convergence of inflation to levels that are below, but close to, 2% over the medium term.
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Source: ECB
ESMA report values EU Alternative Investment Funds at 4.9 trillion Euros
March 7, 2019--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) today published its first statistical report on European Union (EU) Alternative Investment Funds (AIF). The study finds that the EU AIF sector in 2017, as measured by Net Asset Value (NAV), amounted to €4.9tn or nearly one third of the total EU fund industry. The report is based on data from 26,378 AIFs, or 80% of the market, and will be published annually.
Sector breakdown
Funds of Funds accounted for 16% of the industry, followed by Real Estate (RE) Funds (11%), Hedge Funds (5%) and Private Equity Funds (4%). The remaining category of Other AIFs accounts for close to two-thirds of the industry (63%), which highlights potential classification issues and therefore a more detailed analysis of this category will be carried out by ESMA.
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Source: ESMA