Bassanese Bites: $US Breather
March 19, 2017--The Week in Review
The key development last week was market's "sell the fact" reaction to the Fed rate hike.
With the Fed signalling an earlier than market expected March rate hike in recent weeks, traders seemed to be anticipating a more hawkish Fed statement and possible lift in the number of rate hikes the Fed expects to make this year from 3 to 4.
As it turned out, the Fed was not more hawkish and stuck with its (current) plans of only two further rate hikes this year. Bonds yields and the $US dollar dropped, and equities rejoiced.
Source: BetaShares
DECPG Global Weekly-March 17, 2017
March 17, 2017--Taking Stock
U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates. On March 15th, the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark federal fund rate by 25 basis points to a range of 0.75-1 percent, in line with market expectations.
The interest rate hike, the third during the ongoing tightening cycle, came amid strong employment numbers and rising inflation. In its statement, the Federal Reserve noted that headline price inflation had moved closer to the 2 percent target and business sentiment had improved.
Source: World Bank
Blockchains and the G20: Building an Inclusive, Transparent and Accountable Digital Economy
March 17, 2017--At a time when governments must fight to restore the public's faith in cross-border economic cooperation, blockchain technologies can play a critical role in strengthening economic resilience while ensuring the global economy works to the benefit of all.
The G20 must take decisive steps to harness this technology in service of its policy goals across the core focus areas of economic resilience, financial inclusion, taxation, trade and investment, employment, climate, health, sustainable development and women's empowerment.
Source: Centre for International Governance Innovation
ERI Scientific Beta paper-Accounting for Cross-Factor Interactions in Multi-Factor Portfolios: the Case for Multi-Beta Multi-Strategy High Factor Exposure Indices
March 17, 2017--In a research publication entitled "Accounting for Cross-Factor Interactions in Multi-Factor Portfolios: the Case for Multi-Beta Multi-Strategy High Factor Exposure Indices", we introduce Scientific Beta's well-diversified "top-down" multi factor approaches and compare them with "bottom-up" score-weighting approaches that target high factor intensity.
Source: ERI Scientific Beta
Citadel Securities to trade US Treasuries on Tradeweb
March 15, 2017-- Bloomberg and Tradeweb dominate e-trading of US Treasuries between investors and dealers
Chicago-based broker dealer Citadel Securities will begin trading US government bonds on electronic venue Tradeweb.
The move comes as non-banks, such as Citadel Securities, continue to extend their reach into Treasury trading while banks continue to pull back as new regulations increase the cost of trading.
Source: www.globalinvestormagazine.com
Buy-side brush off blockchain for AI technology
Research has revealed buy-side market participants are convinced artificial intelligence (AI) will be more disruptive for the industry than blockchain.
Source: thetradenews.com
When Harry Fired Sally: The Double Standard in Punishing Misconduct
There are substantial differences in the punishment of misconduct across genders. Although both female and male advisers are disciplined for misconduct, female advisers are punished more severely. Following an incidence of misconduct, female advisers are 20% more likely to lose their jobs and 30% less likely to find new jobs relative to male advisers. Females face harsher punishment despite engaging in less costly misconduct and despite a lower propensity towards repeat offenses. Relative to women, men are three times as likely to engage in misconduct, are twice as likely to be repeat offenders, and engage in misconduct that is 20% costlier.
Source: SSRN
Hedge funds run by women outperform
Source: FT.com
World Gold Council-Gold-backed ETF inflows gather momentum in February, up 4% MoM to 2,246.1t
These holdings were valued at US$90.7bn, 8% higher than a month earlier.
Increases in total North American and European fund holdings were a close match. The former added 44.1t to 1,207.5t, while the latter gained 43.4t to 922.9t. Funds in Asia saw a marginal outflow (-0.3t) to 68.8t while holdings by the Other regions grew by 8% to 46.8t.
Source: World Gold Council
World Economic Forum-The Future of Electricity: New Technologies Transforming the Grid Edge
Three trends in particular are converging to produce game-changing disruptions: electrification, decentralization and digitalization.
Source: WEF (World Economic Forum)
March 14, 2017--Investment professionals see AI technology as more disruptive for the industry than blockchain.
March 13, 2017--Abstract
We examine gender discrimination in the financial advisory industry. We study a less salient mechanism for discrimination, firm discipline following missteps.
March 11, 2017--But fewer than one in 20 alternative managers employ a female portfolio manager.
March 10, 2017--At the end of February, total holdings in gold-backed ETFs and similar products stood at 2,246.1t (72.2 moz), up 90.6t from January.
March 10, 2017--The electricity landscape is a prime example of the Fourth Industrial Revolution as it undergoes a transformation, becoming more complex than ever before with rapidly evolving technologies, declining costs, and shifting regulatory landscapes.
If you are looking for a particuliar article and can not find it, please feel free to contact us for assistace.