Global ETF News Older than One Year
MSCI weighs boosting China exposure in key EM index
September 26, 2018--Index provider proposes 20% A-shares inclusion and addition of smaller tech stocks.
Source: FT.com
Economic Freedom of the World: 2018 Annual Report
September 25, 2018--Hong Kong and Singapore retain the top two positions with a score of 8.97 and 8.84 out of 10, respectively. The rest of this year's top scores are New Zealand, Switzerland, Ireland, United States, Georgia, Mauritius, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.
It is worth noting that the United States returned to the top 10 in 2016 after an absence of several years. The rankings of other large economies in this year’s index are Germany (20th), Japan (41st), Italy (54th), France (57th), Mexico (82nd), Russia (87th), India (96th), China (108th), and Brazil (144th). The 10 lowest-rated countries are: Sudan, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Syria, Algeria, Argentina, Libya, and lastly Venezuela.
Source: Cato Institute
OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report September 2018
September 24, 2018--Oil Market Highlights
Crude Oil Price Movements
In August, the OPEC Reference Basket declined by $1.01 m-o-m, settling at $72.26/b. Crude oil futures were
also down for the month. Price declines were mainly due to worries that the ongoing global trade disputes
would lower oil demand, strengthening US dollar, US stock builds and reported supply increases.
ICE Brent was $1.11 lower at $73.84/b compared to the previous month, while NYMEX WTI was down $2.74 at $67.85/b and DME Oman dropped 24¢ to $72.67/b. However, year-to-date (y-t-d) ICE Brent was still $19.86 higher at $72.00/b, while NYMEX WTI increased by $17.12 to $66.42/b and DME Oman was up $18.70 at $69.55/b. The Brent-WTI spread widened to average $6.00/b. Speculative net long positions ended mixed, with those of NYMEX WTI lower.
Source: OPEC
BIS Quarterly Review, September 2018
September 23, 2018--Emerging market economies (EMEs) came under pressure in recent months, pushing bond yields higher and domestic currencies lower. Asset prices in EMEs were shaken by the strong dollar, trade tensions, and signs of a slowdown in China. The impact differed across countries; some faced crises. But contagion was limited.
Advanced economy markets also diverged, reflecting differences in the pace of monetary policy normalisation as well as in the macroeconomic fortunes of Europe and the United States. US fiscal stimulus bolstered expectations of higher near-term economic growth but no doubt also of higher bond yields.
view the BIS Quarterly Review, September 2018
Source: BIS
Investors ignore human rights at their peril
September 22, 2018--Investors ignore human rights at their peril. From land grabs to illegal labour, civil liberties issues should matter to investors.
Source: FT.com
World Gold Council Market Update: Central bank buying activity
September 20, 2018--Gold is an important part of central banks, foreign exchange (FX) reserves. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), at the end of H1 2018 central banks collectively owned US$1.36tn of gold, around 10% of global FX reserves.
And central banks are an important part of the gold market: in H1 2018 they accounted for 10% of demand. Looking ahead, we expect central bank demand to remain buoyant. Diversification will continue to be an important driver of demand, as will the transition to a multipolar currency reserves system over the coming years.
A solid start to 2018
Central banks added a net total of 193.3 tonnes (t) of gold to their reserves in the first six months of 2018, an 8% increase from the 178.6t bought in the same period last year. This marks the strongest H1 for central bank gold buying since 2015.
Source: World Gold Council
Global Waste to Grow by 70 Percent by 2050 Unless Urgent Action is Taken: World Bank Report
September 20, 2018--Without urgent action, global waste will increase by 70 percent on current levels by 2050, according to the World Bank's new What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050 report.
Driven by rapid urbanization and growing populations, global annual waste generation is expected to jump to 3.4 billion tonnes over the next 30 years, up from 2.01 billion tonnes in 2016, the report finds.
Although they only account for 16 percent of the world's population, high-income countries combined are generating more than one-third (34 percent) of the world's waste. The East Asia and Pacific region is responsible for generating close to a quarter (23 percent) of all waste. And by 2050, waste generation in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to more than triple from current levels, while South Asia will more than double its waste stream.
view the World Bank report-What A Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot on Solid Waste Management to 2050
Source: World Bank
Most IoT Solutions Fail -But Six Are Primed for Worldwide Adoption and Impact
September 20, 2018--New roadmap to accelerate global impact of internet of things (IoT) technologies, in six clusters
IoT solutions will not necessarily replace humans
China and wider Asia region will be among greatest beneficiaries
More than $1.2 trillion will be spent on internet of things (IoT) solutions over the next four years, notwithstanding that three-quarters of IoT projects currently fail.
New analysis released today by the World Economic Forum,the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation,aims to help governments and companies think more strategically about which IoT solutions can generate the greatest impact and return on investment.
Source: World Economic Forum (WEF)
Basel Committee finalises stress-testing principles, reviews ways to stop regulatory arbitrage behaviour, agrees on annual G-SIB list, discusses leverage ratio, crypto-assets, market risk framework and implementation
September 20, 2018--The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision met in Basel on 19-20 September to discuss a range of policy and supervisory issues, and to take stock of its members' implementation of post-crisis reforms.
The Committee discussed:
the results of the annual assessment exercise for global systemically important banks (G-SIBs). These were approved by the Committee and will be submitted to the Financial Stability Board before it publishes the 2018 list of G-SIBs. The Committee also agreed to publish the high-level indicator values of all the banks that are part of the G-SIB assessment exercise;
progress on revising the market risk framework. The Committee expects to finalise these revisions around the end of the year;
Source: BIS
The 'Blue Economy' and its vast potential
September 20, 2018--MANY investors are fascinated by the allure of the Blue Economy which aims to harness-potentially-trillions of dollars of the assets of the oceans, while its spin-off idea of Blue Bonds is making a splashy start.
The global blue economy-which taps the oceans' resources-is expected to grow at twice the rate of the mainstream economy by 2030, says the European Commission.
Source: businesstimes.com
