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Asset owners reasons for ESG integration vary markedly across Europe: survey
November 10, 2010--European asset owners give marked differences behind their reasons for integrating environmental, social and governance issues into investment, according to a survey by Novethic, the French SRI research and media company.
The survey, which received responses from 251 asset owners, was carried out in partnership with the European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif). It found that 59% of French asset owners and 68% of their German peers believe the main incentive for ESG integration is to contribute to a more sustainable development model for investment.
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Source: Responsible Investor
Government publishes draft legislation to implement tax changes
December 9, 2010--The Government has today published draft clauses for Finance Bill 2011. This is the first time the Government has published the majority of draft clauses for consultation and marks the first step towards the Government’s commitment to improving tax policy making.
The Government is also publishing a response to the consultation Tax policy making: a new approach, setting out changes to the way in which tax policy will be developed and communicated. As part of this, the Government has announced that Finance Bill 2011 will be published on 31 March 2011.
Draft clauses for the 2011 Finance Bill As part of improving the way in which tax policy is made, the Government has, for the first time, published the majority of measures for the Finance Bill in draft.
The Government’s intention is to keep the number of new additional measures that will subsequently need to be included in this Bill to a minimum. The draft clauses published today point to a significantly shorter Finance Bill than has been seen over the past decade.
view Finance Bill 2011: a consultation on draft legislation
Source: HM Treasury
UK Government Publishes Final Legislation On The Bank Levy
December 9, 2010--Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban MP, announced today the publication of final legislation to implement the bank levy announced in the June Budget.
Following two periods of consultation since June, the final legislation contains changes to the rate of the levy. The rate for 2011 will be 0.05 per cent, rather than 0.04 percent, and it will rise to 0.075 per cent from 2012, instead of the 0.07 per cent announced in June.
These changes, along with the introduction of an allowance, rather than a threshold, for those liabilities to which the levy applies, will generate around £2½ billion of annual revenues. This is in line with the Budget estimates.
The levy is intended to encourage banks to move to less risky funding profiles, and the £2½ billion is a fair contribution in respect of the risks the banking system poses to the wider economy, while ensuring that the industry remains competitive.
The levy will take effect from 1 January 2011 and will be permanent.
Mark Hoban said:
"We have consulted on the design of the scheme so that it achieves two objectives: first, ensuring that banks make a fair contribution in respect of the potential risks they pose to the UK financial system and wider economy. Second, the final scheme design will encourage the banks to make greater use of more stable sources of funding, such as long-term debt and equity, working with the grain of our wider reform programme."
view Bank Levy
Source: HM Treasury
EBRD and Deutsche Bank team up to issue green bonds
December 9, 2010--The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Deutsche Bank have launched green bonds to finance environmental projects.
The proceeds of the ‘Environmental Sustainability Bonds’ will support a projects aimed at promoting sustainable development and clean energy technologies in central and eastern Europe and central Asia, the duo said in a statement.
They would also help to improve energy efficiency, water and waste management, environmental services and public transport.
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Source: Responsible Investor
CISI Survey Shows Two Thirds Of Financial Services Practitioners Believe Government Spending Review Is Good News For UK
December 9, 2010--Two-thirds of financial services players believe the Government Spending Review is good news for the UK economy, a Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) survey shows.
Of respondents, 14% believe the impact of the review, which will cut £81bn from public spending over four years to tackle the UK budget deficit, will be strongly positive. A further 52% think the effect will, on balance, be positive.
However 34% say it will harm the country, with 10% of those concerned that the result will be strongly negative.
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Source: Mondovisione
EDHEC survey shows modest but growing use of ETFs by pension funds
December 9. 2010-- European pension funds remain modest users of ETFs, but their participation is growing.
The EDHEC-Risk European ETF Survey 2010, unveiled at EDHEC-Risk's Institutional Day in Monaco, gives an insight into how ETFs are used by 192 respondents across Europe, 68% of which were institutional investors, of which 15% were pension funds (10% of the total).
A panel discussion and views from the conference fringe also suggested pension providers use ETFs differently from the core wealth and asset management client base.
The survey revealed that most respondents use ETFs to achieve buy-and-hold broad market exposure, rather than for tactical asset allocation (TAA) or diversification via style- or sector-specific vehicles.
Felix Goltz, EDHEC-Risk's head of applied research, said: "That was surprising, seeing that the big advantage is the liquidity they offer."
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Source: IP&E
ISE "Sustainability Index" will increase Turkish companies' competitive edge
December 8, 2010--Implemented together by Turkish Business Council for
Sustainable Development (TBCSD) and Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE), ISE
Sustainability Index Project (ISESI) moves on in accordance with its time schedule. The workshop, titled "Corporate Sustainability Indicators for Turkish Business World &
Expectations of the Investors" took place in Istanbul within the scope of this project,
which aims to form a sustainability index for the companies quoted at ISE.
With the creation of the index, where the operations of companies, quoted at the ISE, will be evaluated in terms of sustainability, it is expected that the competitive edge of Turkish
companies will increase and that they will become more attractive for the investors, as they will be assessing their social and corporate management risks, in addition to financial risks.
Criteria for the index were discussed
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Source: Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE)
Europe to recycle and dig in drive for rare earths
December 9, 2010-- Europe will look to recycle used goods and start prospecting on home turf as it joins the international scramble for rare earth minerals, European Industry Commissioner Antonio Tajani told AFP Thursday.
After a June report forecast an upcoming shortage of 14 critical mineral raw materials across the bloc, Tajani said he would issue a plan January 26 "to ensure a supply of rare earths for companies across the European Union."
Rare earth minerals are used in everything from guided missiles to flat screen televisions and cars but availability is increasingly under pressure.
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Source: EUbusiness
Rabobank and ETF Exchange launch new ETFX Exchange Traded Funds on NYSE Euronext Amsterdam
December 9, 2010--ETF Exchange and Rabobank today announce the launch of the ETFX AMX® Fund (EAMX NA), a new ETF on the Dutch mid-cap AMX index®. This follows the earlier listing of the ETFX AEX® Fund (NTH NA), in March 2010, which tracks the Dutch blue chip benchmark, the AEX Index®.
The ETFX funds track the two main indices on NYSE Euronext Amsterdam. The ETFX AEX® Fund tracks the AEX Index® of the top 25 Dutch companies on the exchange; the ETFX AMX® Fund tracks the AMX Index®, which gives exposure to 25 Dutch mid-cap companies. The advantages of these Exchange Traded Funds include low expenses, transparency and intra-day liquidity.
The launch of these two ETFs continues the unique cooperation between Rabobank and ETF Exchange and signals Rabobank International’s growing commitment to the ETF market for the Dutch investing community. Over the coming months, Rabobank will be looking to enhance its ETF product offering, especially in its core market segments of Food & Agriculture and Sustainability.
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Source: Rabobank
European Senior Fixed-Income Investor Survey Q410
Cautious Optimism for Corporates and Banks Amid Persistent Sovereign Gloom and Contagion Concerns
December 8, 2010--Highlights
Fitch Ratings’ latest quarterly survey of fixed?income investors across Europe
signalled rising optimism regarding the outlook for corporates and banks. However, similarly to Q3, investors also felt contagion concerns from sovereign debt problems were the greatest risk to credit market stability, as borne out by recent events. Conducted from early October until 5 November 2010, the survey preceded Ireland’s request for financial assistance from the EU and IMF on 19 November, which has negatively impacted market access for banks in peripheral economies.
The survey responses show that austerity measures in progress by the euro zone and UK governments are overall regarded as well balanced, although a significant
minority are concerned that cuts are too severe and may backfire, especially in the UK. The Q4 results remained broadly consistent with the last quarter, with sovereigns remaining the asset class least favoured by investors (36%), facing the greatest refinancing challenge (51%) and the area where most investors expect further deterioration in credit fundamentals (52%).
Respondents’ concern over bank refinancing subsided and there was a clear bias in anticipation of improving credit fundamentals, despite the interconnectedness between sovereign credit risk and the financial system. Banks as an asset class saw the highest expectations for increasing debt issuance.
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Source: Fitch Research
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