Chart: Which Countries Are Damaged Most by Low Oil Prices?
August 26, 2016--This week's chart looks at costs per barrel, exports, and total oil production.
The Chart of the Week is a weekly Visual Capitalist feature on Fridays.
Oil is by far the world's most-traded commodity, with $786.3 billion of crude changing hands in international trade in 2015.
While low commodity prices can hurt any major producer, oil prices can have a particularly detrimental effect on oil-rich economies.
Source: visualcapitalist.com
Exchanges call for regulatory clarity over blockchain use
August 25, 2016--A lack of clarity over regulation is holding back the development of blockchain technology for cutting the cost of share trading, the world's trade body for exchanges said on Thursday.
The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) asked its members about their plans to use blockchain, a tamper-proof shared ledger that can automatically process and settle transactions using computer algorithms, with no need for third party verification.
Source: Reuters
IOSCO Good Practice for CIS Fees and Expenses seeks to enhance market efficiency
August 25, 2016--The Board of the International Organization of Securities Commission today published the final report on Good Practice for Fees and Expenses of Collective Investment Schemes (CIS), which aims to identify common international examples of good practice that can be applied to CIS fees and expenses.
Regulators have long been concerned about the impact of CIS fees and expenses on the investment decisions taken by investors. Fee arrangements, even when fully disclosed, can give rise to conflicts of interest that are best addressed by rules of conduct.
view the Good Practice for Fees and Expenses of Collective Investment Schemes-Final Report
Source: IOSCO
FSB publishes progress report to G20 on action plan to assess and address the decline in correspondent banking
August 25, 2016--The Financial Stability Board (FSB) today published its Progress report to the G20 on the FSB action plan to assess and address the decline in corresponding banking.
The progress report is being submitted to the G20 Leaders' Summit in Hangzhou on 4-5 September 2016, as requested by G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in their communique following their July 2016 meeting in Chengdu.
Source: FSB
DMS-Investing In Cotton: A Tale Not Well Spun
August 24, 2016--This is absolutely fascinating. Just a short news item on a website led me to do research that ended up spanning four continents. The Americas, Asia, Europe, and Africa.
It started with the Indian company Welspun, whose stock plummeted nearly 50% in about three days when the U.S. company Target severed its relationship with them due to a concerted effort, they say, to mislabel products as Egyptian cotton.
Source: Peter Kohli, CEO, DMS Funds
4 key challenges for the global economy this autumn
August 24, 2016--Summer will soon be over; autumn is coming. The global economy and financial markets will have to face some of the gathering political storm clouds.
While the global economy is weak, the macroeconomic risk assessment is more balanced than it has been for some time. At the same time, however, political risks have become more pronounced.
In America, Donald Trump has stirred angry voters in a bitter presidential election; in Europe, rising populism, increased security risks and the ongoing refugee crisis is setting the tone; in Ukraine, there is a risk that Putin will escalate conflict ahead of Russia's parliamentary election in September; in China, a difficult political situation could pose long-term uncertainty for Asia; globally, turbulent oil prices are returning to centre stage. Political risks will dominate the autumn and the winter is getting closer: it is time to get ready.
Source: World Economic Forum
SPDR's Lesné says real yield to be found in emerging markets
August 24, 2016--In a client note today, Antoine Lesné, head of SPDR ETF Strategy & Research EMEA, says there is a striking difference in yield between emerging markets and developed markets at the moment; and even after adjusting for inflation, emerging markets yield is real.
He provides a number of reasons why emerging markets are worth another look, point to rebounding activity from depressed levels, loosening monetary policy, rallying currencies and renewed investor flows, following a hiatus ahead of the Brexit vote.
ftseglobalmarkets.com
Big banks plan to coin new digital currency
August 23, 2016--Four of the world's biggest banks have teamed up to develop a new form of digital cash that they believe will become an industry standard to clear and settle financial trades over blockchain, the technology underpinning bitcoin.
Source: FT.com
STOXX Changes Composition Of Benchmark Indices
August 23, 2016--STOXX Ltd., the operator of Deutsche Böerse Group's index business, and a global provider of innovative and tradable index concepts, today announced the new composition of STOXX Benchmarks and their sub and sector indices, among them the STOXX Europe 600 Index, STOXX North America 600 Index and STOXX Asia/Pacific 600 Index.
As announced previously, the changes resulting from the annual Emerging and Developing Markets Country Classification review will become effective at market open on Sep. 19, 2016. As a result Greece will no longer be classified as a developed market
Source: STOXX
ETF Securities Weekly Flows Analysis
August 22, 2016--Fifth consecutive week of inflows into long gold ETPs last week, as the market is still not pricing in much chance of a Fed rate hike in September.
Profit-taking snapped 7th straight weeks of inflows for crude oil ETPs with outflows recording US$82mn last week.
Investors boost long USD exposures ahead of Jackson hole, with pervasive bearishness for the Euro.
Industrial metal ETPs received inflows in six of past seven weeks.
Source: ETF Securities