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Deutsche Boerse introduces DAX ex Financials Index
April 26, 2012--Deutsche Börse has launched the DAX ex Financials Index, which measures all stocks in the German blue-chip DAX index except for banks and financial services companies.
The DAX ex Financials Index is geared toward institutional investors who want to access the performance of leading German companies without exposure to the financials industry. This index responds to client demand for a flexible yet transparent, rules-based solution for their benchmarking and passive investment needs.
The DAX measures the performance of the 30 largest and best performing companies on the German equities market and represents around 80% of the listed market capitalization in Germany. The DAX ex Financials Index currently comprises 25 of the 30 DAX components, as it excludes stocks that are members of the Banks, Financial Services, Insurance and Real Estate sectors according to the Deutsche Börse classification scheme.
Selectors believe Alt Ucits are a 'disaste' waiting to happen'
April 26, 2012--Fund selectors are split on the viability of Alternative Ucits funds with a majority voicing concern over their risks, according to a poll conducted at the latest Citywire event in Luxembourg.
When asked to give their views on Alternative Ucits, 44% of the selectors questioned said the asset class is ‘a disaster waiting to happen’ whilst 24% said it is ‘a good replacement for hedge funds’.
Of those remaining, 19% of respondents said that Alternative Ucits were ‘a passing trend’ whilst 13% said they were ‘the only solution for the current environment’.
Standard & Poor's cuts rating on Spain's debt 2 notches on debt concerns; outlook negative
April 26, 2012--Standard & Poor's lowered Spain's long-term credit rating by two notches on Thursday, saying the country's budget problems are likely to get worse because of the weak economy.
S&P reduced Spain’s long-term sovereign credit rating to “BBB+” from “A.” The agency also lowered Spain’s short-term rating and assigned a negative outlook, which suggests the possibility of another downgrade in the near future.
Economic sentiment flat in the EU and down in the euro area
April 26, 2012--The Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) remained stable in April in the EU at 93.2. In the euro area it decreased significantly by 1.7 points (to 92.8), thereby offsetting the gains recorded over the first quarter of 2012. The decline in the euro area was mainly driven by weakening confidence in the industry and services sectors.
Confidence improved only in the retail sector. The more positive reading of the ESI in the EU reflects a strong improvement in the UK. In both regions, the ESI remains well below its long term average.
Synthetic ETF market to continue growing
April 26, 2012--A new report projects continued growth for derivative-based exchange traded funds, despite outflows hitting record levels last year amid worries over increased regulation.
The report called "Exchange-traded funds: Growth and challenges" by global research firm Celent suggests that Europe will remain the leading market for synthetic ETFs over the coming years, with Asia in second place.
Upcoming regulations are not expected to deter growth in Europe, the report said, but could prevent the US from becoming a major market.
ECB Says European Financial Integration Dealt Setback by Crisis
April 25, 2012--The European Central Bank said the sovereign debt crisis has caused a "marked deterioration" in financial integration in the euro area and urged governments to strengthen policy frameworks.
“During 2011, the intensification of the sovereign bond crisis strongly affected the euro-area financial system” and “the integration of markets has deteriorated further,” the ECB said in its annual report on financial integration in Europe published in Frankfurt today. “The indicators of money-market integration presented in this report suggest that, at shorter maturities, the integration gains achieved in early 2011 were reversed.”
Financial transaction tax: a wider and stronger net is possible
April 25, 2012--The proposed financial transaction tax should be better designed to capture more traders and to make evading it unprofitable, says a resolution adopted on Wednesday by the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee. The resolution also says the tax should go ahead even if only some Member States opt for it.
Parliament has been calling for a financial transaction tax (FTT), for close to two years and the Commission tabled a legislative proposal for one late in 2011.
Rapporteur Anni Podimata (S&D, EL), said "the committee has been consistent with what Parliament has been pushing for and I now expect Member States to show the same consistency with their declarations. It is time to change the financial services business model, away from high frequency trading to serving the real economy".
BME upgrades Spanish stock exchange trading platform
April 25, 2012--BME has upgraded the Spanish stock exchange's trading platform (SIBE) successfully, in this way bringing trading in Shares, ETFs, Warrants and other investment products into one single system.
BME's platform multiplies transactional capacity while providing the Spanish stock market with sufficient growth potential to respond to the present and future needs.
The new technological environment, fully developed using BME Group's technology, allows the system to accommodate the future growth in trading volumes and in the number of transactions. It also shows major improvements in terms of the latency of transactions, which has been reduced by over ten times.
Sterling hit as UK back in recession, Fed eyed
Sterling drops after UK GDP data surprises on downside
Pound retreats from 7-1/2 month high vs dollar
April 25, 2012--Sterling retreated from a 7-1/2 month high against the dollar and fell against the euro on Wednesday, after data showed the UK economy had slid back into recession, keeping alive the chances of more monetary stimulus from the Bank of England.
But losses were likely to be limited, with a few sovereign investors buying on dips given a worrying euro zone economic outlook and expectations that U.S. Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke will strike a dovish tone when he speaks later.
Vanguard Move May Ignite Euro ETF Price War
April 25, 2012--Vanguard has added three hires to their London-based sales force in preparation to target Europe with a number of ETFs, reports Sophia Baker for Financial News.
The report adds that market watchers are anticipating that Vanguard's move will kick off "an ETF price war in Europe."
