9.6 bn euro deficit for EU27-Euro area external trade surplus 2.4 bn euro
August 13, 2010--The first estimate for the euro area1 (EA16) trade balance with the rest of the world in June 2010 gave a 2.4 bn euro surplus, compared with +5.2 bn in June 2009. The May 20102 balance was -3.3 bn, compared with +1.9 bn in May 2009. In June 2010 compared with May 2010, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 5.2% and imports by 4.3%.
The first estimate for the June 2010 extra-EU271 trade balance was a 9.6 bn euro deficit, compared with -4.1 bn in June 2009. In May 20102 the balance was -14.8 bn, compared with -7.0 bn in May 2009. In June 2010 compared with May 2010, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 5.8% and imports by 5.2%.
ETFs and ETPs Update July 2010 -London Stock Exchange
August 13, 2010--Statistics
ETFs and ETPs statistics for July 2010 is now available here.
There are currently 279 ETFs and 307 other ETPs available on the London Stock Exchange from 14 issuers.
In July, 9 new ETFs and 11 new ETCs were admitted to trading. Issuers include Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Market Access.
Average daily value traded has increased 57% year on year to £362 million, the average number of trades is up 34% to 4,390.
There is now a total of 20 registered market makers providing continuous, electronically executable liquidity for ETFs and other ETPs.
Event News
The London Stock Exchange is holding its annual ETF Seminar on 8th October 2010. This seminar will be chaired by Anthony Hilton of the Evening Standard and includes a panel session with leading institutional investors. A full agenda will be published in the coming weeks.
This seminar is free to attend. To register, email academy_uk@londonstockexchange.com or call the UK Academy team on +44 207 797 1739.
view ETFs and ETPs statistics for July 2010
German juggernaut propels eurozone GDP 1 percent jump
August 13, 2010--European economic growth accelerated sharply in the second quarter of 2010 as Germany’s best performance since reunification more than made up for the struggles of Spain, Ireland and recession-ravaged Greece.
A forecast-beating surge in German gross domestic product combined with a solid if less impressive rise in France to push the aggregate GDP growth rate of the 16-country eurozone to 1 percent from the previous quarter and past that of the United States, which is showing signs of flagging.
Europe squares up to taxing budget questions
August 12, 2010--Europe geared up on Thursday for battle over EU funding, with a drive to slash contributions leaving a hole Brussels says can be filled only by new cross-border taxes or an end to political rebates.
Under pressure from European Union member states, the bloc's Polish budget commissioner Janusz Lewandowski has proposed lowering contributions by a combined 30-40 billion euros a year (up to 50 billion dollars).
He has suggested a variety of ways in which that can be done, so as to maintain the bloc's budget in the region of 140 billion euros per year (or just more than one percent of combined European gross domestic product).
June 2010 compared with May 2010-Industrial production down by 0.1% in euro area-
Stable in EU27
August 12, 2010--In June 2010 compared with May 2010, seasonally adjusted industrial production1 decreased by 0.1% in the euro area2 (EA16) and remained stable in the EU272. In May3 production increased by 1.1% and 1.3% respectively.
In June 2010 compared with June 2009, industrial production increased by 8.2% in the euro area and by 7.7% in the EU27
These estimates are released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
ETF Statistics of July 2010-Borsa Italiana
August 12, 2010--The ETF Statistics of the ETF Plus Market are now available.
view report
Eurex to Offer Euro Gold Contract
December 12, 2010--The international derivatives exchange Eurex today announced that it will launch futures and options on Xetra-Gold, the leading exchange-traded commodity (ETC) in Germany by order book turnover. The new gold contracts are set to launch on 28 September 2010.
Xetra-Gold is a zero-coupon bond denominated in euro and issued by Deutsche Börse Commodities GmbH. Launched in December 2007, Xetra-Gold is traded on Xetra®, Deutsche Börse AG’s pan-European electronic trading platform for the cash market.
“Commodities are a widely used asset class for its diversification benefits and low correlation to other markets. In particular, gold tends to be a popular investment as it’s considered a safe haven during uncertain economic times. Combining two benchmark currencies, euro and gold, in a single product, Xetra-Gold has proven to be a highly liquid and widely traded instrument among European investors. The new futures and options give our members further access to the gold market and will provide more flexibility to suit their specific needs,” said Peter Reitz, Eurex Executive Board member. “Furthermore, Eurex Clearing will accept Xetra-Gold as collateral starting on 27 August.”
The Xetra-Gold derivatives are the latest addition to Eurex’s precious metals derivatives. Since February 2009, Eurex has been offering US-dollar denominated gold futures and options based on fixing prices of the London Bullion Market. Silver futures and options based on the London Silver Fixing followed shortly after in June 2009.
The new contracts will be denominated in euro and will be physically settled with the delivery of the underlying Xetra-Gold ETC. Additionally, in a separate transaction between the holder of the ETC and Deutsche Börse Commodities, he has the right to request delivery of physical gold. Expiration dates of the derivatives will be on the third Friday of the next three calendar months as well as in March, June, September and December.
In the second quarter of 2010, Xetra-Gold achieved record inflows of 9.6 tons of gold. Electronic trading volume also totaled 757.3 million euro, an increase of 55 percent over the first quarter of 2010. Xetra-Gold is the most traded ETC available on Xetra, representing a 37 percent share of order book volume in the ETC segment.
OECD The paper-EU stress test and sovereign debt exposures
August 12, 2010--This working paper summarises the recently completed EU stress test for banks and, using new data on bank exposures to sovereign debt, appraises the way the tests have treated the sovereign debt crisis. It comments on market concerns about banking sector exposure to sovereign debt during and beyond the period of the stress test.
view the paper-The EU Stress Test and Sovereign Debt Exposures
Doubt cast over private equity returns record
August 12, 2010--The debate about whether private equity groups add value to their investments is set to take another twist with the publication of new research showing that the average buy-out fund has performed in line with stock markets.
Given that private equity is an illiquid asset class, locking up investors’ money for about 10 years, and is more risky, because of the extra debt used in many leveraged buy-outs, any suggestion that it struggles to beat public markets is a serious indictment.
A sample of 701 mature buy-out funds generated average annual returns of 7.6 per cent, against 6.8 per cent for “equally risky public market investments”, according to research by Oliver Gottschalg at the HEC School of Management in Paris.
ETF Landscape: STOXX Europe 600 Sector ETF Net Flows, week ending 06-Aug-10
August 11, 2010--Last week saw US$296.3 Mn net inflows to STOXX Europe 600 sector ETFs. The largest sector ETF inflows last week were in Banks with US$136.6 Mn and Basic Resources with US$136.0 Mn while Food & Beverage experienced net outflows of US$37.2 Mn.
Year-to-date, STOXX Europe 600 sector ETFs have seen US$146.1 Mn net inflows. Media sector ETFs have seen the largest net inflows with US$235.7 Mn, followed by Industrial Goods & Services with US$143.9 Mn while Telecommunications has experienced the largest net outflows with US$78.9 Mn YTD.
The US$9.2 Bn AUM invested in the ETFs is greater than the US$3.8 Bn open interest in the sector futures. The ETF AUM is greater than the open interest in each of the corresponding futures contract in all 19 sectors.