IMF Working Papers-Pouring Oil on Fire: Interest Deductibility and Corporate Debt
December 7, 2018--Summary:
This paper investigates the role of tax incentives towards debt finance in the buildup of leverage in the nonfinancial corporate (NFC) sector, using a large firm-level dataset. We find that so-called debt bias is a significant driver of leverage, for both small and medium-sized enterprises and larger firms, with its effect accounting for about a quarter of leverage.
The strength of this effect differs with firm size, the availability of collateral, income and income volatility, cash flow, and capital intensity. We conclude that leveling the playing field between debt and equity finance through tax policy reform would decrease NFC leverage, reducing economic risks posited by leverage.
view the IMF Working Papers-Pouring Oil on Fire: Interest Deductibility and Corporate Debt
Fidelity eyes robo-advice launch as banks pile in
December 7, 2018--Fidelity eyes robo-advice launch as banks pile in
Fidelity International is weighing up the launch of a robo-advice service, in the latest sign that fund supermarkets are feeling the pressure to appeal to a wider range of customers amid increased competition.
$11trn emerging-market lure that heralds 2019 revival
December 4, 2018--First, the bad news: corporate earnings across emerging markets aren't as good as analysts hoped.
In four out of every five emerging economies, company finances have fallen short of estimates that were made 12 months ago, according to a study of 25 benchmarks. That's even after analysts cut their forecasts by 6% since a peak in April.
Cyber-resilience: range of practices report issued by the Basel Committee
December 4, 2018--The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision today published the report Cyber-resilience: range of practices. It identifies, describes and compares the range of observed bank, regulatory and supervisory cyber-resilience practices across jurisdictions.
Based on analysis of authorities' responses to previous international surveys and on exchanges between international experts, the report gains insight into the effective practices and expectations in place. It also benefited from industry participants' input.
The Basel Committee classifies the expectations and practices into four broad dimensions of cyber-resilience:
Governance and culture
Risk measurement and assessment of preparedness (both in preventing and recovering/learning)
Communication and information-sharing
Interconnections with third parties
BlackRock warns investors to 'build resilience' against recession
December 2, 2018--BlackRock has warned clients to "build resilience" into investment portfolios with the help of new asset-class performance forecasts that it will release this week.
The detailed guides from the world's biggest fund manager look ahead for between five and 20 years.
Fidelity Looking to Expand Digital Asset Trading Beyond Bitcoin and Ether
November 29, 2018--Fidelity Investments is looking to expand its institutional crypto asset platform to include trading services for the top five to seven cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.
Revealed today at the Block FS conference in New York, the news came in response to a question from CoinDesk posed to Tom Jessop, head of Fidelity Digital Assets, on what other cryptocurrencies may be added to the platform, to be launched next year.
Independent broker-dealers fastest-growing brokerage group
November 28, 2018--Independent broker-dealers saw the greatest asset growth over the past five years compared with other types of broker-dealers, according to new research from industry consultant Cerulli.
IBDs registered a five-year compound annual growth rate in assets of 11%, almost double that of wirehouses, Cerulli reports.
OECD International trade statistics: trends in third quarter 2018
November 28, 2018--Weak growth of G20 international merchandise trade in third quarter of 2018
G20 international merchandise trade, seasonally adjusted and expressed in current US dollars, grew marginally in the third quarter of 2018, on the back of rising oil prices, with G20 exports rising by 0.3% and imports by 0.7%, following the minor contractions in the second quarter of 2018.
Excluding large oil exporters, such as Russia and Saudi Arabia, G20 trade was flat suggesting that the steady expansion seen over the last two years may have stalled as recent protectionist measures begin to bite.
In the United States, exports contracted by 1.7%. Although exports grew in China (by 2.4%)-partly reflecting the exceptional sale of an oil platform to Brazil, which helped push up Brazilian imports by 18.0%-this only partially offset the significant contraction of Chinese exports (down 4.9%) in the previous quarter.
Galaxy Digital, Cumberland and More Plan New Crypto Code of Conduct
November 27, 2018--A group of 10 companies focused on cryptocurrencies and financial services have formed a new group aimed at standardizing a code of conduct for the still-nascent digital asset space.
Announced Tuesday, the Association for Digital Market Assets, or ADAM, is backed by founding members Galaxy Digital, Genesis Global Trading, GSR, Hudson River Trading, Paxos, Symbiont, BitOoda Technologies, BTIG, Cumberland and XBTO.
OECD-New report says better metrics could have prompted stronger response to the crisis
November 27, 2018--Better measurement of the economy and of people's well-being could have led governments to respond more strongly to mitigate the damage caused by the 2008 financial crisis and reduce people's continuing loss of trust in public institutions, according to a new report.
Beyond GDP: Measuring What Counts for Economic and Social Performance says that different metrics, including of people's economic insecurity, would have revealed that the consequences of the recession were deeper than GDP statistics suggested. As a result, the importance of bolstering safety nets and social protection was not sufficiently taken into account.