IMF Working paper-Credit, Securitization and Monetary Policy: Watch Out for Unintended Consequences
March 23, 2016--Summary: We show evidence that interest rate hikes slowdown loan growth but lead intermediation to migrate from banks' balance sheets to non-banks via increased securitization activity.
As such, higher interest rates have the potential for unintended consequences; raising systemic risk rather than lowering it by pushing more intermediation activity to more weakly regulated sectors. In the past,this increased securitization activity was driven primarily byb private-label securitization. On the other hand, the government sponsored entities like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae appear to react to higher policy rates by cutting back on their securitization activity but expanding loans to the Federal Home Loan Bank system.
Source: IMF
Investors replace futures with ETFs
Lower costs and wider range attract institutional funds
March 23, 2016--Competition is heating up between exchange traded funds and listed derivatives to win the business of big investors.
In recent years, retail and institutional money has flocked to ETFs, attracted by lower fees compared with buying mutual funds.
Source: FT.com
ETF Securities: Precious metals update: Gold responds to policy error
March 23, 2016--The price of the gold was driven higher on the lack of follow-up from the Federal Reserve (Fed) after it embarked on a rate tightening cycle in December 2015.
Investors fear that the US central bank is committing a policy error after it downgraded the number of times it expects to raise rates this year. The market expects the next rate rise to occur in September. We believe the Fed needs to raise rates more and sooner.
Source: ETF Securities
IMF Working paper-Avoiding the New Mediocre: Raising Long-Term Growth in the Middle East and Central Asia
March 22, 2016-- Summary: Raising the Middle East and Central Asia's long-term growth prospects is critical for meeting the region's pressing need for jobs and higher living standards.
Source: IMF
Morningstar's Annual Global Asset Flows Report Shows 2015 Inflows One-Third Lower than in 2014
Equity funds again top other category groups despite lower year-over-year inflows
March 22, 2016--Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN, a leading provider of independent investment research, today published its fourth annual Global Asset Flows Report examining worldwide 2015 mutual fund and exchange-traded product (ETP) asset flows.
At $949 billion, total flows in 2015 were notably lower than the $1.4 trillion that flowed into funds globally in 2014. The U.S. fund industry had new asset flows of $263 billion, down from $580 billion in 2014. Asia showed the strongest organic growth rate, 18.6 percent, among the regions analyzed by Morningstar.
view the Morningstar 2015 Global Asset Flows Report
Source: Morningstar
Money managers shake up ETF landscape
March 22, 2016--The booming exchange traded fund industry, in which investors can buy shares that track an underlying basket of securities, shows few signs of slowing down.
Within the industry, institutional investors play a prominent role, attracted by lower costs and flexibility of the product.
Source: FT.com
IMF Working paper-Financial Stability and Interest-Rate Policy: A Quantitative Assessment of Costs and Benefits
March 21, 2016--Summary: Should monetary policy use its short-term policy rate to stabilize the growth in household credit and housing prices with the aim of promoting financial stability?
We ask this question for the case of Canada. We find that to a first approximation, the answer is no-especially when the economy is slowing down.
Algo rules could catch commodities trades
March 20, 2016--Olam is nobody's idea of a high-frequency trading firm.
The Singapore-based agricultural commodities merchant grows almonds, processes cocoa and deals bales of cotton. But Olam worries it may soon be classed alongside the world's fastest market
Source: FT.com
Liquidity crunch elevates bond traders
March 20, 2016--There is greater integration between portfolio managers and dealing desks in the current market
Falling liquidity in fixed income markets has created a new sphere of influence at some of the world's largest investment houses: the trading desk.
Source: FT.com
Why Forests are Key to Climate, Water, Health, and Livelihoods
March 18, 2016--March 21, the International Day of Forests, is an opportunity to highlight the central role forests play in ecology and climate change, and the significant economic, social and health benefits that forests can provide.
1.3 billion people-one-fifth of the global population-depend on forests for employment, forest products, and contributions to livelihoods and incomes.