Global ETF News Older than One Year
Global trade faces setback amid rising tariffs
April 16, 2025-The WTO Secretariat's latest Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report, issued today (16 April), comes at a time of growing uncertainty for the global economy- and with it, a sharp deterioration in the prospects for world trade.
Following a strong performance in 2024, global trade is now facing headwinds from a surge in tariffs and rising trade policy uncertainty.
The volume of world merchandise trade is projected to decline by 0.2 per cent in 2025- almost three percentage points lower than it would have been without the recent policy shifts. A modest recovery of 2.5 per cent is expected in 2026.
This marks a notable reversal from forecasts earlier this year, when WTO economists anticipated continued trade expansion, supported by improving macroeconomic conditions.
Source: WTO (World Trade Organization)
IEA-Oil Market Report-April 2025
April 15, 2025--Highlights
Global oil demand growth for 2025 has been revised down by 300 kb/d since last month's Report to 730 kb/d, as escalating trade tensions have negatively impacted the economic outlook. Growth is expected to slow further in 2026, to 690 kb/d, but risks to the forecasts remain rife given the fast-moving macro backdrop. The downgrade comes on the heels of robust oil consumption in 1Q25, up by 1.2 mb/d y-o-y-its strongest rate since 2023.
World oil supply rose by 590 kb/d to 103.6 mb/d in March, up 910 kb/d y-o-y, with non-OPEC+ leading both monthly and annual gains. OPEC+ will lift output targets by 411 kb/d in May, but the increase may be substantially lower given overproduction by some countries. Global supply growth for 2025 has been cut by 260 kb/d to 1.2 mb/d, due to a decrease in US and Venezuelan output. Production in 2026 is set to rise by 960 kb/d, with offshore projects taking the lead.
Global crude runs are forecast to average 83.2 mb/d this year, as demand growth expectations cut the projected annual increase by 230 kb/d to 340 kb/d. In 2026, throughputs are set to rise by 360 kb/d to 83.6 mb/d. Refining margins were mixed in March, with declines in the Atlantic Basin but gains for processing sour crude in Singapore. Weaker middle distillate cracks drove much of last month's decline in profitability.
Source: International Energy Agency (IEA)
How Rising Geopolitical Risks Weigh on Asset Prices
April 14, 2025--Heightened tensions can hurt stock markets, raise government borrowing costs, and pose risks to financial stability
Global geopolitical risks remain elevated, raising concerns about their potential impact on economic and financial stability.
Shocks such as wars, diplomatic tensions, or terrorism can disrupt cross-border trade and investment. This can hurt asset prices, affect financial institutions, and curtail lending to the private sector, weighing on economic activity and posing a threat to financial stability.
Such risks are challenging for investors to price due to their unique nature, rare occurrence, and uncertain duration and scope. This can lead to sharp market reactions when geopolitical shocks materialize.
Source: IMF
Investors lose $25bn in leveraged ETFs in sector's biggest meltdown
April 8, 2025-Risky funds drop almost a quarter of their value as Trump's trade war hits market
Investors lost $25.7bn in leveraged exchange traded funds late last week, in the biggest ever meltdown for risky funds that have drawn huge inflows in recent years from retail traders seeking quick returns.
The high-octane funds, which magnify the daily returns of individual stocks or indices by up to five times, lost almost a quarter of their value on Thursday and Friday as they were hit by Donald Trump's trade war and the unravelling of financial markets, according to calculations by FactSet.
Source: ft.com
The Ocean Economy to 2050
March 31, 2025-Abstract
The ocean economy has long been a powerful driver of global growth, creating jobs, fuelling development, and ensuring food security for millions worldwide. If the ocean economy were a country, it would be the fifth largest economy in the world. However, climate change, environmental degradation, lagging productivity, and slow digital transformation are intensifying pressures on marine ecosystems and economic potential.
Tackling these challenges requires bold, co-ordinated action, not only to safeguard marine ecosystems but to sustain the ocean economy as a source of prosperity for future generations.
The OECD report The Ocean Economy to 2050provides groundbreaking data, analysis, and insights to support policymakers in fostering a sustainable and resilient ocean economy. It explores potential pathways for the sector's development through 2050, emphasising the urgent need for science-based decision-making and improved ocean governance. The report underscores the need to phase out harmful practices and combat illicit activities-the so-called "dark ocean economy." It also highlights the critical role of transitioning to cleaner energy and harnessing digital technologies to mitigate environmental impacts, address climate change, and enhance the productivity of ocean
Source: oecd.org
WEF-2024 Global Retail Investor Outlook
March 25, 2025--Key insights
Global capital markets have undergone a sustained fundamental shift, increasingly integrating individual investors into the financial ecosystem. This transformation has revolutionized how markets operate, establishing more accessible pathways for individuals to participate in spaces traditionally reserved for institutional and professional investors.
The 2024 Global Retail Investor Outlook identified four key structural trends shaping the retail investing landscape:
1. Investors are becoming increasingly diverse across age, geography, gender and income, demonstrating earlier interest and engagement in markets. Younger generations learn and engage in capital markets earlier than previous generations. Overall, 30% of Gen Z began investing in university or early adulthood, compared to 15% of Millennials, 9% of Gen X and 6% of Baby Boomers.
2. Between 2021 and 2024, rising inflation eroded the purchasing power of disposable income, shifting investor focus to short-term goals. Market cycles and inflation can create uncertainty and constraint for individuals; despite stocks' potential as an inflation hedge, their volatility remains a deterrent. Across asset classes, 21% of investors avoid certain products due to unpredictability, and 40% of individuals choose not to invest because they are fearful of losing money in the market.
Source: World Economic Forum (WEF)
More Record-Breaking Growth Expected as Investors Lean on ETFs to Manage Global Uncertainty: BBH 2025 Global ETF Investor Survey
March 24, 2025--The ever-increasing demand for ETFs is fueled by investor appetite for liquidity, risk management, and diverse strategies.
Brown Brothers Harriman's 12th annual Global ETF Investor Survey of institutional investors, fund managers and financial advisors identifies a paradigm shift across the ETF landscape. The report reveals that a remarkable 95% of investors intend to increase their ETF allocations over the next 12 months, an increase from 82% in last year's survey.
This sentiment portends that investors will continue to utilize the flexibility of the ETF wrapper in the face of heightened volatility, by leveraging the wide range of asset classes and strategies that are now available in ETF form.
Additionally, nearly 30% of investors plan to re-allocate from both actively-managed and index-based mutual funds to ETFs, while 33% plan to shift their passive allocation (mutual funds and ETFs) to active ETFs over the next 12 months, underscoring continuing market trends.
Source: Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH)
OECD- Global Debt Report 2025
Financing Growth in a Challenging Debt Market Environment
March 20, 2025—Introduction
Global debt markets played a key role in supporting the recoveries from the 2008 financial crisis and COVID-19 pandemic, continuously providing capital to governments and companies. But their role needs to shift from supporting recovery to financing investment and growth. This will be a challenge. Debt levels are already high and increasingly costly, economic growth is slowing, and geopolitical risks are rising.
The second edition of the Global Debt Report analyses the latest trends in global sovereign and corporate debt markets up to the end of 2024. It also looks at sovereign borrowing in emerging markets and developing economies and assesses how debt markets could help finance the climate transition.
$25 trillion-sovereign and corporate bond borrowing in 2024, nearly three times the 2007 level
$100+ trillion-total sovereign and corporate bond debt worldwide
40%-amount of OECD sovereign and global corporate bond debt maturing by 2027
Both sovereign and corporate borrowing continued to rise in 2024 and are expected to rise further in 2025
Sovereign bond issuance in OECD countries is projected to reach a record USD 17 trillion in 2025, up from USD 14 trillion in 2023. Emerging markets and developing economies' (EMDE) borrowing from debt markets has also grown significantly, from around USD 1 trillion in 2007 to over USD 3 trillion in 2024.
Source: OECD
Infographic-Charted: Global Economic Policy Uncertainty (1997-2025)
March 17, 2025---Key Takeaways
-In January, the Economic Policy Uncertainty Index surged to 428.9, hovering near COVID-19 highs.
This index has tracked global economies since 1997, leveraging a variety of metrics ranging from media coverage of trade to differences in economic forecasts by the Federal Reserve.
New trade wars are driving up uncertainty, as range of consumer goods-from groceries to automotives-could rise in price.
Today, economic policy uncertainty is surging to its highest point since 2020.
As Trump tariffs stand to recalibrate supply chains, the U.S. stock market has whipsawed in response. So far, Canada and Europe have hit the U.S. with retaliatory tariffs while businesses around the world are looking to diversify supply chains as they brace for tariffs.
Source: visualcapitalist.com
IMF-Global Financial Stability Note-Pension Funds and Financial Stability
March 6, 2025-Summary
This Global Financial Stability Note examines the growth of the pension fund sector and the potential financial stability implications. Historically, pension funds have been seen as a contributor to financial stability because of their long-term and well-diversified liabilities.
However, the sector has undergone significant structural shifts accelerated by a prolonged period of low interest rates, increasing its exposure to traditional risks while introducing emerging risks; this is reflected in growing intra-financial sector interconnectedness and exposure to long-term sovereign bonds. The recent transition to higher interest rates should be positive for the pension sector, albeit its pace and abruptness has been associated with liquidity stress and contagion risks in some countries.
Source: imf.org
