ESMA publishes summary of responses to its consultation on materiality in financial reporting
August 16, 2012--ESMA published today a summary of responses received to its consultation paper on materiality in financial reporting. The summary provides an overview of the key issues raised by respondants in relation to the consultation paper.
In November 2011, ESMA issued a consultation paper entitled ‘Considerations of Materiality in Financial Reporting’ to seek comments from interested parties about their understanding of various aspects of materiality in an effort to contribute to a consistent application of this important concept in financial reporting. The deadline for responses was 31 March 2012.
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Source: ESMA
AMF- 2012 Risk And Trend Mapping For Financial Market And Savings
August 16, 2012--SUMMARY OF RISKS IDENTIFIED AND ACTION TAKEN BY
THE AMF
Scope of the analysis
The annual risk and trend mapping report from the Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF) describes
the main trends on markets and in financing (Chapter 1), market structure and intermediation (Chapter 2), household saving (Chapter 3) and asset management (Chapter 4).
The report has several
goals. It seeks to set France’s situation within a broader context that captures major international
trends and to appraise the latest research with a view to better understanding the often complex and
fast-moving changes taking place within our environment. It also brings together different perspectives:
supply and demand, retail and wholesale, market operation and business strategy, macro and micro.
Finally, it is intended to highlight observations and areas of concern flagged by AMF staff when carrying out the regulator’s supervisory and inspection duties and in their dealings with retail investors.
Review of 2011 and early 2012 The main event of 2011 was the deepening sovereign debt crisis in Europe, which reached a “systemic dimension”1 in summer 2011, leading to market closures in the second half of the year. In this uncertain setting, marked by high levels of volatility and sharp swings in risk aversion, the major trends identified during the last mapping exercise in May 2011 persisted and became more pronounced. Bond markets and banks remained under heavy pressure, equities were flat, and there was no real upturn in securitisation, while emerging markets and high yield segments continued to exert strong appeal(Chapter 1).
Retail investors showed a marked preference for bank deposits over life insurance, drawn by the returns and liquidity of these products as they built up precautionary savings. The proportion of low-risk assets in the financial assets of individual investors rose again in 2011 to account for 80% of the total. Meanwhile, direct and indirect holdings of equities fell once more, and now account for less than 11% of household financial assets (Chapter 3). Finally, the challenging conditions identified for French asset management in 2010 carried through to 2011. Assets under management shrank by 10%, reverting to 2005 levels (Chapter 4).
view the AMF- 2012 Risk And Trend Mapping For Financial Market And Savings
Source: AMF
Six new iShares bond and commodity index ETFs launched on Xetra
August 16, 2012--Four new commodity index and two new bond index ETFs issued by iShares have been tradable in Deutsche Börse's XTF segment since Thursday.
The four new iShares commodity index ETFs from the S&P GSCI index family give investors the opportunity to target participation in performance of four commodity groups: agriculture, energy, industrial metals and a comprehensive commodity basket. Futures contracts are used to track the indices, with roll costs optimised. The weighting of a commodity component in the index may not exceed a maximum of 35% and no single legal commodity component may be allocated a weight of more than 20%.
The agricultural commodities group is currently comprised of cotton, coffee, cocoa, corn, soy beans, wheat and sugar. The energy sector is composed of unleaded petrol, diesel, natural gas, Brent crude and WTI. Industrial metals are made up of aluminium, lead, copper, nickel and zinc. The commodities basket covers the agricultural, precious metals, energy, industrial metals and livestock sectors.
iShares S&P GSCI Dynamic Roll Agriculture Swap (DE000A1J0ZD5)
iShares S&P GSCI Dynamic Roll Energy Swap (DE000A1J0ZE3)
iShares S&P GSCI Dynamic Roll Industrial Metals Swap (DE000A1J0ZF0)
iShares S&P GSCI Dynamic Roll Commodity Swap (DE000A1J0ZC7)
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Source: Deutsche Börse
Minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee Meeting held on 1 & 2 August 2012
August 15, 2012--The Governor invited the Committee to vote on the propositions that:
Bank Rate should be maintained at 0.5%;
The Bank of England should continue with the programme of asset purchases totalling £375 billion financed by the issuance of central bank reserves.
Regarding Bank Rate, the Committee voted unanimously in favour of the proposition.
Regarding the stock of asset purchases, the Committee voted unanimously in favour of the proposition.
view the Minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee Meeting held on 1 and 2 August 2012
Source: Bank of England
Banks withdraw food commodity funds
August 14, 2012--European banks are withdrawing vehicles that allow investors to speculate on food prices due to reputational concerns amid pressure from campaigners and politicians.
Volksbanken of Austria on Tuesday became the fifth European bank to announce that it was either discontinuing investment funds linked to food commodities or ceasing to issue new ones. German banks Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, DekaBank and Landesbank Baden-Württemberg have announced similar measures.
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Source: FT.com
Deutsche Bank-Equity Derivatives and Quantitative Strategy Research -Europe
August 14, 2012--Please find attached the most recent issue of the Weekly European ETF Market Monitor. The report includes key statistics on the European ETF market as well as global ETF market highlights.
For more detailed coverage please refer to our monthly report, issued in the first week following the end of each month.
The following link will be available for 90 days. For more information, please click on the link for the full PDF. If you have any trouble viewing the link, copy and paste the link in a browser.
http://pull.db-gmresearch.com/p/547-F3C5/36969760/ETF_Research.pdf
Source: Christos Costandinides, European Head of ETF Research & Strategy, Deutsche Bank
IPO sentiment indicator on the primary market remains subdued
Deutsche Börse publishes forecast for Q3 2012
August 13, 2012--Deutsche Börse published the IPO sentiment indicator forecasting issuing activity for the 3rd quarter of 2012 on Monday.
The IPO climate, which reflects the mood of market participants, remained at the low level seen in the previous quarter and even fell slightly from 31.35 to 29.94 points.
The uncertainty on the equity markets as a result of the persisting euro crisis is also continuing to have a direct impact on the primary market. In the face of price increases on the equity market and sideways volatility, the Deutsche Börse IPO indicator was unable to rise despite a slight improvement in overall sentiment. High price fluctuations in equities trading are having a major influence on sentiment in the primary market. One possible explanation for the impact of volatility on issuing activity is the uncertainty that larger price movements mean for an IPO's proceeds and thus for the success of the IPO from the point of view of the companies and banks involved.
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Source: Deutsche Börse
Asian ETF market boosted by product launches
August 10, 2012-The Asian exchange-traded fund market has seen its assets under management boom in the first seven months of this year driven by new cash flows and new product launches
The growth underlines a broader macro-trend which is seeing inflows move away from Europe and into the Asia-Pacific region.
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Source: Finacial News
Independent Review into Libor publishes discussion paper
August 10, 2012--Martin Wheatley, head of an independent review set up by the Government into Libor, has today launched a discussion paper setting out initial proposals for reforming the current framework for setting and governing Libor.
The paper now seeks feedback from all stakeholders over a four week period and sets out initial analysis on:
the role that Libor play in financial markets;
the flaws in the current structure of setting Libor, its governance and oversight; and
a range of options for reform, including the issue of transition.
Mr Wheatley said:
“It is clear that regardless of the outcome of ongoing international investigations, trust in a vital part of the financial system has been badly damaged and timely action is needed to repair it. Today, we are taking the first step in this process by launching the Wheatley Review discussion paper, which seeks responses from a wide range of market experts and international stakeholders. This review aims to ensure that LIBOR is reformed in whichever way fully restores credibility and trust.”
read moreview the Independent Review into Libor publishes discussion paper
Source: HM Treasury
ESMA publishes responses to consultation on the Draft Technical Standards for the Regulation on OTC Derivatives, CCPs and Trade Repositories
August 10, 2012--ESMA published today the responses it received to its consultation on the Draft Technical Standards for the Regulation on OTC Derivatives, CCPs and Trade Repositories which ended on August 5.
The responses received are available here.
Source: ESMA
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