China's Record Dumping Of US Treasuries Leaves Goldman Speechless
July 27, 2015--On Friday, alongside China's announcement that it had bought over 600 tons of gold in "one month", the PBOC released another very important data point: its total foreign exchange reserves, which declined by $17.3 billion to $3,694 billion.
We then put China's change in FX reserves alongside the total Treasury holdings of China and its "anonymous" offshore Treasury dealer Euroclear (aka "Belgium") as released by TIC, and found that the dramatic relationship which we first discovered back in May, has persisted-namely virtually the entire delta in Chinese FX reserves come via China's US Treasury holdings.
Source: emergingequity.org
Fed and BoE roar ahead of rate race rivals
July 24, 2015--Central banks are starting to resemble Formula One drivers of current vintage -two of them well out in front, dominating the field, the rest trailing in their wake.
For Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, read the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.
Source: FT.com
World Gold Council-Market Commentary-July 2015
July 23, 2015--On Monday 20th July the gold price fell sharply, dropping 4.3% from its Friday closing price.
This note explains what happened and counters some misconceptions.
Source: World Gold Council
Monetary Policies in Advanced Economies: Good for Them, Good for Others
July 23, 2015--Actions to close output gaps in advanced economies will help other economies too
Emerging markets more resilient than in the past to effects of dollar appreciation
Corporate debt buildup in emerging markets bears watching
Accommodative monetary policies in systemic advanced economies can have a positive impact on economic activity in other countries if they are perceived as good news about growth prospects in advanced economies, according to a new IMF analysis on the "spillover" impact of policies on other economies.
view the IMF 2015 Spillover Report
Source: IMF
Russia, China Deepen Stock Exchange Ties
July 23, 2015--Russia's largest exchange group the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) and the China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX) signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday that will help further develop financial ties between the countries.
The MoU signed by both exchanges aims to strengthen the bilateral partnership and facilitate the development of both parties through information sharing, reciprocal visits by senior executives, staff exchange, and closer business cooperation in various areas, MOEX said in a statement. The MoU was signed by Zheng Hu, CEO of CFFEX and Alexander Afanasiev, CEO of MOEX.
Source: emergingequity.org
Russia To Launch A Rating Agency By Year End
July 23, 2015--Russia is planning to launch a rating agency by the end of this year. The Central Bank of Russia (CBR) reported, the initial capital would be around $52 million.
The CBR said today in a statement the following:
...credit rating agencies are one of the most important elements of the financial market infrastructure. Their activities must be stable to various factors, including geopolitical risks.
...Russian market needs a strong credit rating agency with a high level of corporate governance and professional competence.
Source: emergingequity.org
Final criteria for identifying "simple, transparent and comparable" securitisations issued by the Basel Committee and IOSCO
July 23, 2015--The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) today released final Criteria for identifying simple, transparent and comparable securitisations. The criteria are available on the websites of the Bank for International Settlements and IOSCO.
The purpose of these criteria is to assist in the financial industry's development of simple, transparent and comparable securitisation structures. They are not intended to serve as a substitute for investors' due diligence.
view the Criteria for identifying simple, transparent and comparable securitisations
Source: BIS
WEF Alternative Investments 2020: An Introduction to Alternative Investments
July 23, 2015--The goal of this report is to provide policymakers, regulators, journalists, and the public with an objective overview of the industry in order to better understand the benefits and risks associated with the industry. We believe this is to be a critically important task, given the industry's increasingly central role in the economy and society and the often polarized debate about alternatives.
Source: WEF (World Economic Forum)
FTSE Russell Announces Launch of FTSE 50% Hedged Index Series
July 22, 2015--Underpins investor demand for more diverse currency index measures
Initially available on FTSE Developed ex-North America, Europe and Japan Indexes
IndexIQ to use as basis for the first suite of 50% currency-neutral hedged ETFs
FTSE Russell, the global index provider, today announced the launch of the FTSE 50% Hedged Index Series, becoming the first index provider to introduce an index series that is 50% hedged to the US dollar. The new suite of international equity benchmarks is designed to help index users evaluate their currency exposures and hedging strategies when investing outside the US.
Source: FTSE
Here's why ETFs are overtaking hedge funds
July 22, 2015--The active versus passive debate just got a new wrinkle, and one analyst thinks he knows why.
Exchange-traded funds, which are the primary vehicle for passive management, now have assets under management greater than hedge funds, according to a count from research firm ETFGI. ETFs primarily follow market indexes, while hedge funds use a mix of strategies to beat those same benchmarks.
Source: CNBC.com