IMF-Germany: Staff Concluding Statement of the 2022 Article IV Mission
May 23, 2022--The fallout from the war in Ukraine and COVID-related disruptions to global supply chains are slowing Germany's economic recovery from the pandemic, with the spike in energy prices pushing up inflation to multi-decade highs. The recovery is expected to pick up some momentum in 2023 if energy supplies are secured, supply bottlenecks dissipate, and new COVID-induced restrictions are avoided.
The immediate policy priorities are to secure gas supplies, cushion the spillovers from the war, and build resilience. The uncertain outlook for fossil fuel supplies makes the government's plan to fast track the green transition even more critical. A ramp up in public and private investment will be needed to ensure a smooth and cost-effective transition. Looking ahead, population aging and structural transformation call for increasing labor supply and boosting skills.
1. The war in Ukraine has clouded the outlook before output had recovered to its pre-pandemic level. Just prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany's economic activity was firming up. Easing semiconductor shortages were allowing auto production to regain some momentum. Moreover, in recent months, falling hospitalizations and relaxation of pandemic restrictions were helping services activity to rebound.
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Source: IMF
Lagarde Says ECB Likely to Exit Negative Rates by End of September
May 23, 2022--Net bond buying set to end 'very early' in third quarter
Lagarde stresses that policy normalization will be gradual
The European Central Bank is likely to start raising interest rates in July and exit sub-zero territory by the end of September, President Christine Lagarde said.
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Source: bloomberg.com
BlackRock to close 2 UCITS iShares funds with exposure to Russia
May 20,2022--BlackRock will close two UCITS iShares exchange-traded funds that have exposure to Russian securities,it said in a statement Friday,citing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Both of the funds- the iShares MSCI Eastern Europe Capped UCITS ETF and the iShares MSCI Russia ADR/GDR UCITS ETF USD (Acc)- had already suspended creations and redemptions,and were suspended from trading on-exchange,according to BlackRock.
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Source: pionline.com
IMF Working Paper-Sovereign Eurobond Liquidity and Yields
May 20, 2022--Summary:
Market liquidity is of value to both investors and issuers of securities, and is therefore a crucial factor in asset pricing. For the important asset class of Eurobonds, significant feedback from liquidity to pricing is established, and it is shown that bid-ask spreads (a proxy for market liquidity) and yields are closely related to bond characteristics such as issue volume, time to maturity, the inclusion of collective action clauses, and the jurisdiction of issuance.
Debt management offices can choose these characteristics in a way that has economically significant and persistent effects on both liquidity and pricing.
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Source: IMF
ESMA publishes report on highly liquid instruments
May 19,2022--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA),the EU's securities markets regulator,today published its Final Report (FR) on highly liquid financial instruments for CCP investment policies under EMIR.
The Report concludes that further work is to be done regarding the extension of the list of eligible financial instruments to certain public entities and potentially to covered bonds pending further research. ESMA will also pursue further work within the CCP Supervisory Committee to ensure a common supervisory approach regarding CCP investment practices.
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Source: ESMA
Official Statistics: Forecasts for the UK economy: May 2022
May 18, 2022--A comparison of independent forecasts for the UK economy in May 2022.
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Source: gov.uk
ESMA consults on notifications for cross-border marketing and management of funds
May 17, 2022--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's securities markets regulator, is consulting stakeholders on the information and templates to be provided, and used by firms, when they inform regulators of their cross-border marketing and management activities under the UCITS Directive and the AIFMD.
The purpose of the draft ITS and RTS is to facilitate the process for notifying cross-border marketing and management activities in relation to UCITS and AIFs.
This will be achieved by defining harmonised information to be notified to competent authorities, and developing common templates to be...
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Source: ESMA
New thematic ETF from HANetf on Xetra: access to fintech companies worldwide
May 17, 2022--Since Tuesday, a new exchange-traded fund by HANetf in cooperation with Grayscale Investments is tradable on Xetra and Börse Frankfurt.
The Grayscale Future of Finance UCITS ETF offers investors access to companies that are important for the further development of the financial system, considering innovative technologies.
The companies included in the benchmark index can be classified under one of three pillars: Financial Foundations, which include exchanges, asset managers, brokers and wealth managers that use the digital economy; Technology Solutions, which include companies that develop and provide the technology used in the digital economy; and Digital Assets, which include digital asset miners and companies that support and power the digital ecosystem.
The benchmark index is composed of a total of 20 companies, with the weighting of a stock limited to a maximum of 8 per cent.
Name: Grayscale Future of Finance UCITS ETF
Asset Class:Equity ETF
ISIN:IE000TVPSRI1
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Source: Deutsche Börse
ESMA publishes Final Reports on CCP resolution regime
May 16, 2022--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU's securities markets regulator, today published six Final Reports on the central counterparties (CCPs) resolution regime under the CCP Recovery and Resolution Regulation (CCPRRR).
The Final Reports set out proposals for Regulatory Technical Standards (RTSs) on:
the content of CCP resolution plans;
resolution colleges;,
valuation of CCPs' assets and liabilities in resolution; and
safeguards for clients and indirect clients.
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Source: ESMA
EC-Spring 2022 Economic Forecast: Russian invasion tests EU economic resilience
May 16, 2022--The outlook for the EU economy before the outbreak of the war was for a prolonged and robust expansion. But Russia's invasion of Ukraine has posed new challenges, just as the Union had recovered from the economic impacts of the pandemic. By exerting further upward pressures on commodity prices, causing renewed supply disruptions and increasing uncertainty, the war is exacerbating pre-existing headwinds to growth, which were previously expected to subside.
This has led the European Commission to revise the EU's growth outlook downwards, and the forecast for inflation upwards.
Almost two years after the start of the pandemic, Russia's war against Ukraine poses new challenges to the EU economy.
Despite entering the year on a weak note, the outlook for the EU economy before the outbreak of the war was for a prolonged and robust expansionary phase. The pandemic situation was improving, while most of the headwinds posed by logistic and supply bottlenecks and pressures on the price of energy and other commodities were expected to fade in the course of this year.
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Source: EC (European Commission)
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