Top German court tosses objection to EU coronavirus recovery fund
April 21, 2021--The German Constitutional Court's decision paves the way for Berlin to ratify the EU's £s;750 billion recovery fund. Judges said they had not found any indication that the approval was unconstitutional.
Germany's Constitutional Court gave the green light to approve legislation ratifying the European Union's recovery fund on Wednesday, as it dismissed legal challenges against the debt-financed investment plan.
The decision is key to launching the bloc's £s;750 billion ($900 billion) recovery spending to mitigate the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Source: dw.com
Britcoin' not bitcoin? UK considers new digital currency
April 19, 2021--British finance minister Rishi Sunak told the Bank of England on Monday to look at the case for a new "Britcoin", or central bank-backed digital currency, aimed at tackling some of the challenges posed by cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.
A BoE-backed digital version of sterling would potentially allow businesses and consumers to hold accounts directly with the bank and to sidestep others when making payments, upending the lenders' role in the financial system.
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Source: reuters.com
IMF-Regional Economic Outlook for Europe
April 15, 2021--With new waves of COVID-19 infections hitting Europe, the recovery remains halting. However, vaccinations are progressing and thus Europe's GDP growth is projected to rebound by 4.5 percent in 2021. The main priority is to quickly ramp up the production and administration of vaccines.
At the same time, policymakers need to continue providing emergency support to households and firms. And they need to prepare measures to stimulate hiring and investment once the pandemic is under control. Such measures will foster a quicker and fuller recovery, by reducing scarring from unemployment, missed education and training, and low investment.
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Source: IMF.org
Widely used UK fund comparison tool adds ETFs for the first time
April 15, 2021--UK investors are expected to be able to compare the performance of index-tracked exchange-traded funds with the performance of actively managed products for the first time increasing the popularity of passive ETFs in the country.
Approximately 530 ETFs from 11 asset managers, including BlackRock, Vanguard, Legal & General Investment Management and Fidelity, will be included in the Investment Association's Fund Sector Comparison Framework from April 19th.
The IA sector provides an important tool for financial advisors and individual investors to make similar comparisons among thousands of funds by dividing them into well-defined groups, each with a clear investment target.
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Source: londonnewstime.com
First WisdomTree Bitcoin ETN tradable on XetraEasy access to the performance of Bitcoin/product with physical collateral/central clearing reduces risks during settlement
April 14, 2021--The first WisdomTree crypto ETN has been tradable via Xetra and Börse Frankfurt since Wednesday.
With the WisdomTree Bitcoin, investors get easy and inexpensive access to the performance of the crypto currency Bitcoin without having to set up crypto wallets.
The exchange traded note is physically secured by Bitcoin. The reference price is the Bitcoin settlement price on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). Due to the central clearing, investors also benefit from significantly reduced risks in the processing of transactions. The product is only available for institutional investors.
Name: WisdomTree Bitcoin
Asset class: ETN
ISIN: GB00BJYDH287
Ongoing charges: 0.95 per cent
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Source: Deutsche Börse
New Invesco ETFs on Xetra: Nasdaq 100 and 600 US Small Cap companies
April 14, 2021--Since Wednesday, two new exchange traded funds issued by Invesco are tradable on Xetra and Börse Frankfurt.
The Invesco Nasdaq-100 Swap UCITS ETF - Acc enables investors to invest in the 100 largest national and international companies listed on the Nasdaq stock market. Industry groups include biotechnology, computers, retail/wholesale, healthcare, telecommunications, and transportation. Companies belonging to the financial industry are not included.
The Invesco S&P Small Cap 600 UCITS ETF-Act provides investors with access to 600 US companies with small market capitalisations. Companies with a market capitalisation of between $750 million and $3.3 billion that meet minimum liquidity and free float criteria and have reported positive earnings in recent quarters are included. The focus is on the industrial, financial services, consumer discretionary, IT, and healthcare sectors.
Dividend payments are reinvested in both products.
Name: Invesco Nasdaq-100 Swap UCITS ETF- Acc
Asset class: Equity ETF
ISIN: IE00BNRQM384
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Source: Deutsche Börse
New UBS ETF on Xetra: sustainable eurozone corporate bonds with investment grade rating
April 14, 2021--A new exchange traded fund issued by UBS Global Asset Management has been tradable on Xetra and Börse Frankfurt since Monday.
With the UBS ETF (LU) Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Euro Area Liquid Corporates Sustainable UCITS ETF (EUR) A-acc, investors participate in the performance of euro-denominated, fixed-rate corporate bonds from the eurozone with an improved ESG profile compared to their peers.
The index currently only includes debt securities from the financial institutions, industrials, and utilities sectors. Bonds with an investment grade rating and a minimum residual term of one year and a minimum outstanding volume of 500 million euros are considered. The debt instruments of an issuer are limited to five per cent.
Companies with significant business activities in the areas of alcohol, tobacco, gambling, adult entertainment, nuclear energy, weapons, and genetically modified organisms are excluded from the index.
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Source: Deutsche Börse
Deutsche B0rse to expand crypto offering on Xetra with ETC Group's Litecoin ETN
April 14, 2021--Easy access to the performance of Litecoin / product with physical collateralisation / central clearing reduces settlement risks
Deutsche Börse continues to expand its range of cryptocurrency products: from today, an Exchange Traded Note (ETN) on Litecoin is available for trading via Xetra and Börse Frankfurt for the first time. The issuer of the product is ETC Group.
The LTCetc- ETC Group Physical Litecoin ETP now enables investors to participate in the performance of the cryptocurrency Litecoin on Xetra without having to set up crypto wallets. The ETN, which is physically backed by Litecoin, has been admitted to the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and is centrally cleared via Eurex Clearing. This allows investors to benefit from significantly reduced risks in the settlement of exchange transactions.
Name: LTCetc- ETC Group Physical Litecoin ETP
Asset class: ETN
ISIN: DE000A3GN5J9
Ongoing charges:: 2 per cent
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Source: Deutsche Börse
Retail clients continue to lose out due to high investment products costs
April 14, 2021--The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU securities regulator, today publishes its third annual statistical report on the cost and performance of European Union (EU) retail investment products. In the report ESMA finds that the costs of investing in key financial products, such as UCITS funds, retail alternative funds, and structured investment products (SRPs) remain high and diminish the investment outcome for final investors.
Clear and understandable information about the impact of costs on the returns that retail investors can expect to receive is key to allowing investors to make informed investment decisions. Ensuring this information is made available is a key element in meeting ESMA's investor protection objective.
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Source: ESMA
Euro area securities issues statistics: February 2021
April 14, 2021--The annual growth rate of the outstanding amount of debt securities issued by euro area residents was 7.6% in February 2021, compared with 7.4% in January.
For the outstanding amount of listed shares issued by euro area residents, the annual growth rate was 1.7% in February 2021, compared with 1.5% in January.
Debt securities
New issuances of debt securities by euro area residents totalled EUR 658.8 billion in February 2021. Redemptions amounted to EUR 529.3 billion and hence net issues to EUR 129.5 billion. The annual growth rate of outstanding debt securities issued by euro area residents was 7.6% in February 2021, compared with 7.4% in January.
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Source: ecb.com