Regulating the Gig Economy
December 22, 2015--By some measures, 40% of US workers will be in non-standard jobs by the year 2020. These could be a series of part time roles, or as a freelance contractor working via a technology platform such as Uber.
In the developing world, these forms of employment are also increasing at a time when the push to move employment from the informal to the formal sector is gathering pace. The great question is therefore how do you regulate these working arrangements?
Source: World Bank
ETF issuers with currency-hedged ETFs ride high on strong dollar
December 22, 2015--As the U.S. dollar strengthened throughout 2015, managers of currency-hedging exchange-traded funds had a banner year-they collected one of every four dollars invested in U.S. ETFs and rewarded their investors well
Now, they are doubling down with plans for as many as 41 new currency-hedging funds on file with regulators. But many of those funds may come to market after the easy money in currency hedging has been made.
Source: Reuters
Qatar's QNB acquires Turkey's Finansbank for 2.7 bln euros
December 22, 2015--Qatar National Bank, the Gulf Arab region's largest bank, said on Tuesday it had reached an agreement with National Bank of Greece to acquire its entire 99.81 percent stake in Turkey,s Finansbank for 2.7 billion euros ($2.95 billion).
The closing of the transaction had been approved by the board of directors of both banks and the General Council of the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund, QNB said in a statement. The closing of the transaction, which
Source: Today's Zaman
IOSCO publishes Sound Practices at Large Intermediaries Relating to the Assessment of Creditworthiness and the Use of External Credit Ratings
December 22, 2015--The International Organization of Securities Commissions today published the final report on Sound Practices at Large Intermediaries Relating to the Assessment of Creditworthiness and the Use of External Credit Ratings.
The report recommends 12 sound practices that regulators could consider as part of their oversight of market intermediaries.
Source: IOSCO
IOSCO reports on business continuity plans for trading venues and intermediaries
December 22, 2015-The Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) today published two reports that seek to enhance the ability of financial markets and intermediaries to manage risks, withstand catastrophic events, and swiftly resume their services in the event of disruption
Source: IOSCO
Forget BRICS-2016 Is The Year Of The ASEAN Bloc
December 22, 2015--2015, what a year that was for BRICS! It will be the year to remember Brazil's economic slowdown and turbulent political scene, China's botched response to a rout in its stocks that gripped financial markets in mid-2015, and geopolitical tensions and economic sanctions placed on Russia.
But what's happening with other emerging markets outside the BRICS?
Source: emergingequity.org/
33 Signs that Bitcoin Growth Isn't Slowing in 2016
December 21, 2015--It's been a year of mixed results for cryptocurrency enthusiasts and speculators.
The biggest positive for Bitcoin is that it was actually the best performing currency this year, ahead of the US Dollar and the Israeli Shekel.
Source: visualcapitalist.com
BIS-Guidance on the application of the Core principles for effective banking supervision to the regulation and supervision of institutions relevant to financial inclusion
December 21, 2015--The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has today issued for public consultation proposed guidance for the regulation and supervision of institutions relevant to financial inclusion.
This consultative document builds on past work by the Committee to elaborate additional guidance in the application of the Committee's Core principles for effective banking supervision to the supervision of financial institutions engaged in serving the financially unserved and underserved. This includes a report of the Range of practice in the regulation and supervision of institutions relevant to financial inclusion, and expands on Microfinance activities and the Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision.
Surce: BIS
Will Vanguard Manage to Crack the Active ETF Market?
By launching a range of active factor ETFs, Vanguard looks to ride two waves at the same time: smart-also know as strategic-beta and active ETFs
December 21, 2015--On December 10, Vanguard launched four new European-domiciled actively managed ETFs which provide global exposure to four factors-value, liquidity, momentum and low volatility.
For a number of reasons, Vanguard's move has confounded industry observers.
Source: Morningstar
LSEG acquires XTF
December 21, 2015--XTF is a provider of U.S. ETF data, analytics and ratings
Acquisition adds to LSEG's leading offering in the ETF space
Growing demand for greater research tools to track $3 trillion global ETF market
London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) today confirms that it has completed the acquisition of assets, through its Information Services division, from XTF Inc., a U.S. based provider of high-quality ETF data, analytics and ratings. The terms of the transaction have not been disclosed. The business will be integrated into LSEG's Information Services Division, which includes FTSE Russell, a global leader in indexes, and a range of real time and reference data products, including SEDOL, UnaVista and RNS.
Source: London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)