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EU to ban controversial 'naked' credit default swaps
October 18, 2011-- The European Union decided late Tuesday to ban "naked" credit default swaps, a controversial financial instrument that traders use to bet on a country's failure to pay off debt.
EU states and the European parliament reached a deal after long negotiations to prohibit the highly speculative instrument partly blamed for exacerbating Europe's debt crisis.
A CDS serves as an insurance against the risk of default by a company or a government. In a "naked" CDS, the investors do not own the debt, betting they can purchase it later at a cheaper price if a default occurs.
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Source: EUbusiness
In spite of their shortcomings and the development of alternative indices, cap-weighted and debt-weighted indices remain the reference for European institutional investors and asset managers
October 17, 2011--In a new survey which elicited responses from 104 European institutional investment professionals, EDHEC-Risk Institute analyses the current uses of and opinions on equity and fixed-income indices. Among the most prominent results of the survey are that liquidity, objectivity and transparency are the most important quality criteria investors have for indices.
However, respondents suggest that a buy-and-hold character is not a requirement for an index–only slightly more than 50% of respondents find it important or very important. This finding is interesting as the dominance of cap-weighted indices in various asset classes is often attributed to their buy-and-hold nature. This new attitude from investors opens the door to new approaches based on dynamic rebalancing rules, as long as these are transparent and systematic.
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Source: EDHEC
Two new SPDR equity index ETFs launched on Xetra
Both ETFs focus on high dividend yields
October 17, 2011--: Two further exchange-listed equity index funds issued by SPDR (State Street Global Advisors) have been tradable on Xetra® since Monday. The new ETFs have a focus on companies with high dividend yields, one concentrating on the USA and the other on emerging markets.
ETF name: SPDR S&P US Dividend Aristocrats ETF
Asset class: equity index ETF
ISIN: IE0B6YX5D40
Total expense ratio: 0.35 percent
Distribution policy: distributing
Benchmark: S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index
ETF name: SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend ETF
Asset class: equity index ETF
ISIN: IE00B6YX5B26
Total expense ratio: 0.65 percent
Distribution policy: distributing
Benchmark: S&P Emerging Markets Dividend Opportunities Index
The S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index tracks the performance of 60 companies in the S&P 1500 which show the highest dividend yields and have increased their dividends continuously over the last 25 years.
The S&P Emerging Markets Dividend Opportunities Index tracks the performance of 20 emerging market companies with a high dividend yield.
The product offering in Deutsche Börse’s XTF segment currently comprises a total of 876 exchange-listed index funds, while average monthly trading volume stands at €14 billion.
Source: Deutsche Börse
Review into HM Treasury’s Management of the Financial Crisis
Octobetr 17, 2011--HM Treasury is reviewing its response to the financial crisis.
The review is being led by Sharon White, formerly a Director General at the Ministry of Justice and the Department for International Development, and has begun work today. The Review will examine:
the Treasury’s capability on financial services ahead of the crisis;
the pace at which the Treasury built its capability when the crisis hit; and
whether the capability and senior management arrangements put in place to handle the crisis and the aftermath have been adequate.
The review will inform decisions on organisational arrangements of HM Treasury as part of its Spending Review settlement. It will make recommendations with the aim of:
ensuring that the Treasury has the capability it needs going forward; improving the retention of people with the necessary skills, expertise and experience, having consideration to issues of Treasury culture and values, as well as remuneration; and ensuring that the Treasury has robust arrangements for risk management, contingency planning and knowledge management.
This review follows recommendations from the Public Accounts Committee and the National Audit Office.
The final report will be publicly presented to the Treasury’s executive management board no later than Easter 2012.
Source: SEC.gov
EU dangles EUR 50bn infrastructure investment carrot
October 16, 2011--The EU will next week dangle a 50-billion-euro ($70-billion) carrot of investment funds in a bid to "plug" cross-border holes in Europe's transport, telecommunications and energy infrastructure.
Plans seen by AFP on Friday describe new inducements for European inter-connectivity, intended to re-route European Union funding towards projects that have fallen into abeyance among governments facing tough economic conditions.
Transport accounts for the lion's share, with nearly 32 billion earmarked for development in this sector between 2014 and 2020.
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Source: EUbusiness
September 2011 Euro area inflation up to 3.0% Eu up to 3.3%
October 14, 2011--Euro area1 annual inflation was 3.0% in September 20112, up from 2.5% in August. A year earlier the rate was 1.9%. Monthly inflation was 0.8% in September 2011.
EU3 annual inflation was 3.3% in September 2011, up from 2.9% in August. A year earlier the rate was 2.3%. Monthly inflation was 0.6% in September 2011.
These figures come from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Inflation in the EU Member States
In September 2011, the lowest annual rates were observed in Ireland (1.3%), Sweden (1.5%) and the Czech Republic (2.1%), and the highest in Estonia (5.4%) and Lithuania (4.7%). Compared with August 2011, annual inflation fell in seven Member States, remained stable in five and rose in fourteen.
The lowest 12-month averages4 up to September 2011 were registered in Ireland (0.6%), Sweden (1.6%), the Czech Republic and Slovenia (both 1.9%), and the highest in Romania (6.9%) and Estonia (5.2%).
Euro area
The main components with the highest annual rates in September 2011 were transport (5.9%), housing (5.0%) and alcohol & tobacco (3.7%), while the lowest annual rates were observed for communications (-1.9%), recreation & culture (0.5%) and household equipment (1.3%). Concerning the detailed sub-indices, fuels for transport (+0.55 percentage points), heating oil (+0.19) and electricity (+0.12) had the largest upward impacts on the headline rate, while telecommunications (-0.16), vegetables (-0.11) and rents (-0.10) had the biggest downward impacts.
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Source: EUROPA
S&P cuts rating on Spanish debt
Standard & Poor's has downgraded Spainish debt by one notch. Here is the text of the report from the credit rating agency.
October 14, 2011--Despite signs of resilience in economic performance during 2011, we see heightened risks to Spain's growth prospects due to high unemployment, tighter financial conditions, the still high level of private sector debt, and the likely economic slowdown in Spain's main trading partners.
The financial profile of the Spanish banking system will, in our opinion, weaken further, with the stock of problematic assets rising further, as highlighted by the recent revision in our Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment on Spain to Group 4 from Group 3.
As a consequence, we are lowering our long-term sovereign credit ratings on Spain to 'AA-' from 'AA'.
The outlook on the long-term rating is negative.
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Source: The Telegraph
Ireland coming out of the crisis, but challenges remain
October 14, 2011--The Irish economy faces tough challenges as the country exits from a deep recession and banking crisis, but its long-term prospects now appear better than many of the other hard hit European countries, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Survey of Ireland.
The report, presented today in Dublin, shows that gains in competitiveness and increased exports are driving a modest recovery which should see growth reach 1.2 percent in 2011, an upward revision from the zero percent rate projected last May in the OECD’s last Economic Outlook.
The new forecast comes with significant downside risks, however, notably market fears over financial stability in the euro area.
The OECD Survey urges Ireland to persevere on the path of fiscal consolidation established under an EU-IMF stabilisation programme, notably that its budget defict drop below 3% of GDP by 2015. The OECD projects that the Irish deficit will be 10% of GDP this year before beginning a downward trajectory in the coming years.
view the Economic Survey of Ireland 2011
Source: OECD
Watchdogs set sights on bank trading floors
October 13, 2011--Europe's watchdogs are lining up a next wave of regulation to crack down on the often opaque and lucrative trading floors of investment banks.
Over-the-counter dealing of financial instruments -- out of sight from closely scrutinised trading platforms -- is under fire, as is computerised trading, a practice often blamed for causing wild swings in markets.
The sprawling trading floors are vast money-spinners. In Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities alone, banks such as Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX), Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE), UBS (UBSN.VX), HSBC (HSBA.L) and Barclays (BARC.L) generate between 40 and 60 percent of investment banking revenues.
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Source: Reuters
The debt crisis in the eurozone
October 13, 2011--Key dates in the latest phase of Europe's financial crisis:
JULY
21: Eurozone leaders agree on a new bailout of Greece totalling 159 billion euros ($216 billion) and for the first time involving private bondholders such as banks.
They also agree to boost the eurozone's bailout fund, European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), to 440 billion euros and give it new tools to fight a spread of the debt crisis.
AUGUST
3: Borrowing costs for Italy and Spain hit record highs.
10: Concern emerges that France could be the next country to suffer a debt crisis.
11: Trading authorities in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium restrict the financial technique known as "short selling".
15: The European Central Bank (ECB) says it bought a record 22 billion euros of government bonds, mainly to support Italy and Spain.
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Source: EUbusiness
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