World Bank-Doing Business Records Nearly 3,200 Reforms in 15 Years to Improve Business Climate Worldwide
October 31, 2017--Governments in 119 economies carried out 264 business reforms in the past year to create jobs, attract investment and become more competitive, says the World Bank Group's latest Doing Business 2018: Reforming to Create Jobs report.
Marking its 15th anniversary, the report notes that 3,188 business reforms have been carried out since it began monitoring the ease of doing business for domestic small and medium enterprises around the world.
view the World Bank-Doing Business 2018 Reforming to Create Jobs report
Source: World Bank
How Billionaire Investors Hedge Against Geopolitical Black Swans
October 31, 2017--Investors must always be comfortable with the idea that the market bears risk.
Sometimes this risk flies under the radar and isn't as pronounced as it probably should be.
However, in other cases, the topic of risk can catapult to the forefront of discussion. There can be specific events or signals unfolding that give investors the jitters-and during these times, investors will make adjustments to their portfolios to avoid getting caught off guard.
Source: visualcapitalist.com
Thomson Reuters Launches Latest Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report
October 31, 2017--Highlights relationship between decarbonization strategies and long-term financial performance
Thomson Reuters today released its report, Global 250 Greenhouse Gas Emitters: A New Business Logic, in tandem with the United Nation's flagship emissions gap report. Both reports were released in advance of the upcoming Climate Change Conference (COP 23). The report was written in collaboration with CDP' an international not-for-profit organization holding the world's largest collection of self-disclosed corporate environmental data, Constellation Research and Technology, a team of sustainability experts from Yale University, and BSD consulting, a global sustainability consultancy. Key contributions were also made from Baker McKenzie, KPMG, State Street Global Exchange, the United Nations Gigaton Coalition, and the Norwegian Climate and Environment Ministry, and the European Space Agency.
view the GLOBAL 250 GREENHOUSE GAS EMITTERS A NEW BUSINESS LOGIC report
Source: Thomson Reuters
IMF Working paper-Liquidity Stress Tests for Investment Funds: A Practical Guide
October 31, 2017--Summary:
This paper outlines a framework to perform liquidity stress tests for investment funds. Practical aspects related to the calibration of the redemption shock, the measurement of liquidity buffers and the assessment of the resilience of investment funds are discussed.
The integration of liquidity stress tests with banking sector stress tests and possible bank-fund interlinkages are also covered.
view the IMF Working paper-Liquidity Stress Tests for Investment Funds: A Practical Guide
Source: IMF
IMF Working Paper-Measuring Global and Country-Specific Uncertainty
October 30, 2017--Summary:
Motivated by the literature on the capital asset pricing model, we decompose the uncertainty of a typical forecaster into common and idiosyncratic uncertainty. Using individual survey data from the Consensus Forecasts over the period of 1989-2014, we develop monthly measures of macroeconomic uncertainty covering 45 countries and construct a measure of global uncertainty as the weighted average of country-specific uncertainties.
Our measure captures perceived uncertainty of market participants and derives from two components that are shown to exhibit strikingly different behavior. Common uncertainty shocks produce the large and persistent negative response in real economic activity, whereas the contributions of idiosyncratic uncertainty shocks are negligible.
view the IMF Working paper-Measuring Global and Country-Specific Uncertainty
Source: IMF
Assets of world's largest fund managers passes US$80 trillion for the first time
October 30, 2017--Passively managed assets continue to gain share of total assets at the expense of active management
Total assets under management (AuM) of the world's largest 500 managers grew to US$ 81.2 trillion in 2016, representing a rise of 5.8% on the previous year, according to latest figures from Willis Towers Watson's Global 500 research.
The research, which takes into account data up to the end of 2016, found that AuM for North American managers increased by 7.7% over the period and now stand at US$ 47.4 trillion, whilst assets managed by European managers, including the UK, increased by 2.8% to US$ 25.8 trillion. However, UK-based firms saw AuM decline for the second consecutive year, falling by 4.5% in 2016 to US$ 6.3 trillion.
Source: Willis Towers Watson
ETF Securities Weekly Flows Analysis-Bargain hunters look for laggard platinum to play catch-up
October 30, 2017--Platinum ETPs receive largest weekly inflows in 18 months, totalling US$43.2mn.
Gold ETP inflows resume, totalling US$42.8mn, as investors remain defensive.
Oil ETPs have experienced outflows in 14 of the past 15 weeks, totalling US$459mn over the period.
Highest inflows for copper ETPs in eight weeks, totalling US$6.1mn.
Platinum ETPs receive largest weekly inflows in 18 months, totalling US$43.2mn. Platinum has been by far the laggard of the precious metals sector with just 0.7% gains, compared to the stellar performance of palladium with 43.2% in 2017. Bargain hunters are expecting this underperformance to turn around, driving inflows in three out of the past four weeks. Meanwhile, palladium ETPs have seen investors booking profits, with three consecutive weeks of outflows, totalling US$9.6mn over that period.
Source: etfsecurities.com
IMF warns volatility products loom as next big market shock
October 30, 3027--Assets invested in such strategies estimated to have risen to about $500bn
The International Monetary Fund has warned that the increasing use of exotic financial products tied to equity volatility by investors such as pension funds is creating unknown risks that could result in a severe shock to financial markets.
Source: FT.com
PWC-Global Assets under Management set to rise to $145.4 trillion by 2025
October 30, 2017--In a new report 'Asset & Wealth Management Revolution: Embracing Exponential Change', PwC anticipates that global Assets under Management (AuM) will almost double in size by 2025, from US$84.9 trillion in 2016 to US$111.2 trillion by 2020, and then again to US$145.4 trillion by 2025.
While the report predicts rapid growth for the asset & wealth management industry, it also warns that firms needs to take action now, if they're to survive an exponential level of change.
view the PWC Asset & Wealth Management Revolution: Embracing Exponential Change report
Source: PWC
Global assets forecast to swell to $145tn by 2025
October 30, 2017--Surge in pension savings as people age, and rising emerging market wealth spur growth
Money run by investment managers is forecast to surge by more than 70 per cent to $145tn by 2025 if interest rates globally stay relatively low and economic growth is sustained, according to a new report that underlines the phenomenal growth in the asset management sector since the financial crisis.
Source: FT.com