Europe securities face downgrades
January 18, 2011--Nearly half of all European securitisations could be downgraded following changes in the criteria Standard & Poor’s uses to measure the creditworthiness of deals.
The criteria, which cover how third parties involved in deals are evaluated, are global but the new changes will more heavily affect European deals because of their higher use of counterparties to provide interest rate and currency swaps.
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Source: FT.com
Renewables 'could supply 99.5% of power by 2050'
January 18, 2011--Renewable energies could furnish 99.5 percent of European Union electricity needs by 2050 if nuclear loses its priority access to distribution networks, Greenpeace said in a report released Tuesday.
The environmental campaigners said that windfarms are "often stopped in peak production periods to give priority access" to electricity generated by nuclear reactors and coal-fired power stations.
Greenpeace researchers said that solar energy in Europe's south and wind energy from the north could supply 68 percent of the 27-nation EU's electricity needs in 2030 and 99.5 percent by the middle of the century.
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Source: EUbusiness
ESMA finds diversity across Europe in regulators’ contingency measures for financial crisis situations
January 18, 2011--ESMA publishes today a summary of a pan-European mapping on contingency measures (Ref. ESMA/11-
26). In December 2009, a mapping exercise was launched under CESR in order to provide a better
understanding on how national authorities in the financial sector across Europe, are equipped to deal with
emerging crisis situations and apply contingency measures available to them at national level, in times of
financial crisis. This work will help to ensure better co-ordination in future crisis situations under ESMA.
The mapping carried out by the Review Panel, ESMA’s peer pressure group, contributes to achieving
increased supervisory convergence amongst national authorities.
Jean Guill, Member of the Management Board of ESMA, Chair of the Luxembourg Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), and Chair of ESMA’s Review Panel that conducted the mapping, stated:
“Today’s publication shows the importance of creating a common legal basis in order to enable national supervisors to act in a co-ordinated way in times of financial crisis and also in order for ESMA to succeed in effectively facilitating and co-ordinating the response in a crisis situation. To enable both ESMA and national supervisors to effectively fulfil their functions and roles, should a crisis arise, further steps seem to be necessary in order to vest competent authorities with suitable tools to address in a common way future situations that constitute or might lead to a crisis. This work therefore provides a useful foundation for consideration by Member States and EU Institutions.”
read Summary of the report on the mapping of contingency measures
Source: ESMA
Investors avoiding real estate, equities due to Solvency II uncertainty – Invesco
January 18, 2011--– The uncertainty surrounding the ongoing Solvency II debate is putting many investors off real estate and equities, according to Invesco
The new solvency regulations, which are to come into effect for insurers across the European Union from 2013, are still under discussion, and some details – such as the buffer requirement for certain investments deemed risky – are not yet fully clear.
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Source: IP&E
EU bank tests to assess liquidity and debt exposure
January 18, 2011--European Union economic leaders said Tuesday they will shortly launch new transparent, uniform stress tests on banks that will aim to check liquidity levels after Ireland's banks needed bailing out.
EU financial services commissioner Michel Barnier said the tests, still being designed by the European Central Bank and the new European Banking Authority which holds its first board meeting in Frankfurt on Thursday, would also assess the risk of exposure to sovereign debt losses.
The tests are set to begin in February or March with results to be published mid-year, an EU official said.
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Source: EUbusiness
Clearstream increases collateral range by adding the asset class investment funds
New asset class for Clearstream’s Global Liquidity Hub
First provider to offer the leverage of funds to secure money market transactions
Approximately 700 billion euros of additional collateral to improve liquidity management activities
January 18, 2011--Clearstream, the international central securities depository (ICSD) within Deutsche Börse Group, has added investments funds to its portfolio of asset classes eligible for collateral use. Clearstream customers can now leverage investment funds shares that are settled via and held by Clearstream to collateralise money market transactions in line with the product range offered through the company’s Global Liquidity Hub.
Clearstream estimates that around 700 billion euros will be made available as collateral based on the most liquid money market funds managed in Luxembourg and Dublin. With this new asset class, Clearstream has added an additional element to its Global Liquidity Hub strategy which reaches across continents, timezones and a wide coverage of collateral types. This goes hand-in-hand with Clearstream’s ongoing extension towards a global exposure coverage service steered out of the company’s collateral management facility which allows customers to further optimise their use of accessible collateral.
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Source: Clearstream
Deutsche Börse launches ShortTecDAX index
January 17, 2011--Deutsche Börse is expanding its offering in the area of short indices. As of today, the company calculates ShortTecDAX which is offered to investors as a hedge against falling prices.
The daily performance of ShortTecDAX is directly opposed to that of TecDAX, i.e. if TecDAX rises by 5 percent ShortTecDAX falls by 5 percent, and vice versa.
TecDAX comprises the 30 largest companies from the technology sector below DAX according to market capitalization and stock exchange turnover
Source: Deutsche Börse
ETF Stat December 2010 Borsa Italiana
January 17, 2011--The ETF Stat December 2010 of the Borsa Italiana are now available.
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Source: Borsa Italiana
NYSE Liffe Commodity Derivatives Record-Breaking Performance - 2010 Highlights
January 17, 2011--NYSE Liffe’s Commodity Derivatives trading volumes reached new highs in 2010, experiencing double digit growth both in futures and options. Annual volume grew by 37% year on year, reaching a new record of 16,679,006 contracts against 2008’s volume of 13,245,517 contracts.
Total futures volume in 2010 of 14,133,913 contracts increased by 33% against 2009, while total options volume
2,545,093 contracts increased by 65%.
Ian Dudden, Director, Commodity Derivatives, said: “With year on year growth of 37%, 2010 was a particularly strong year for NYSE Liffe’s Commodities portfolio. Strong gains were seen across a broad range of products, both in futures as well as options.
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Source: NYSE Euronext
Russian IOB stock dividend futures launched on EDX London
First Russian stock dividends to be traded on Exchange
LSE Group broadens its derivatives offering
January 17, 2011--Today EDX London, London Stock Exchange Group’s (LSEG) international derivatives market has gone live with dividend futures on six Russian International Order Book (IOB) underlyings. This is the first time Russian dividend futures will be traded on exchange.
Nicolas Bertrand, Head of Equities and Derivatives for London Stock Exchange Group, said:
“The launch of this new service on EDX London demonstrates our innovative approach to product development, giving investors the ability to trade or hedge dividend exposure to Russia on exchange for the first time.”
“London has long been the natural home for Russian companies looking to gain access to international capital. This, coupled with the world’s most liquid order book for GDRs, and the broad range of Russian derivatives products we now offer, reinforces London’s credentials as a global gateway for trading in Russian instruments and markets.”
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Source: London Stock Exchange Group
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