Global ETF News Older than One Year
New S&P criteria draw line between sukuk issuers, sponsors
January 20, 2015--Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's said it had updated its criteria for Islamic bonds to distinguish more clearly between issuers of sukuk and sponsors of them.
Sukuk tend to be more complex than conventional bonds because they use structures designed to avoid interest payments. They often involve special-purpose vehicles (SPVs) which issue the paper and lend the proceeds on to the ultimate entity raising money, which is known as the sponsor.
Source: Reuters
BetaShares-Global Market Review: December 2014
January 20, 2015--Despite a few false dawns during the year, the overall Australian equity market ended up only 1.1% in 2014, with weaker commodity prices dragging down resource stocks while lower bond yields boosted returns from high income producing sectors such as financials and property.
Commodity prices fell harder than many imagined, not helped by weaker Chinese economic growth and a "capacity war" between producers in both the iron ore and oil markets.
A related surprise was the continued decline in bond yields despite the strength in the US economy, and heightened expectations the Federal Reserve would start to raise official interest rates in 2015.
Source: BetaShares
UN agency stresses need for genetic diversity in agriculture to combat climate change
January 19, 2015--Knowledge of agricultural genetic resources needs to grow more quickly because of the critical role they have to play in feeding the world as climate change advances faster than expected, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
As the FAO's Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture starts its biennial meeting today, the Organization has sounded a warning that much more must be done to study, preserve and use the biological diversity that underpins world food production
Source; UN
UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015
Global economy to improve marginally, but mounting uncertainties and risks could undermine economic growth, says UN Upcoming US interest rate increases, remaining euro area fragility, a further slowdown in developing economies and geopolitical conflicts pose major concerns for global economic outlook
January 19, 2015--Global economic growth is forecast to increase marginally over the next two years, according to the United Nations World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 (WESP) report, launched today.
The global economy is expected to grow 3.1 per cent in 2015 and 3.3 per cent in 2016, compared with an estimated growth of 2.6 per cent for 2014.
The global economy expanded during 2014 at a moderate and uneven pace. Legacies from the global financial crisis continue to weigh on growth, while new challenges have emerged, including geopolitical conflicts such as in Ukraine and the Ebola epidemic.
view the UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 report
Source: United Nations
Rising trading costs seen affecting investment strategies
January 19, 2015--The rising cost of trading is affecting investment strategies, says Mike O'Brien, director of global trading at Eaton Vance.
The trading cost for interest-rate swaps rose significantly last year because of central clearing and swap-execution facilities. As a result, swap futures have become more appropriate because they are more standardized and transparent and come with lower initial-margin requirements, he says.
Source: SmartBrief
Singapore approves Deutsche Boerse's clearinghouse plans
January 19, 2015--The Monetary Authority of Singapore has given "in principle" approval to Deutsche Boerse's plans to launch a
clearinghouse in the city-state next year.
Source: SmartBrief
Passive shift points to massive double down
January 19, 2015--Investors are likely to accelerate their move into indexed strategies as
criticism of active manager fees, and returns, hits unprecedented levels.
Source: Financial News
Beware the bias inherent in smart beta
January 19, 2015--Investors need to be aware that factor-based investing does not contain a magic formula that will
always conjure up better returns than their market capitalisation-based counterparts..
Source: Financial News
Africa: A Fresh Approach to Credit Ratings
January 19, 2015--Over the past few years there have been discussions amongst the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries to open up their own rating agency that will compete with the "big three" credit rating agencies
-that is, Standard and Poor's (S&P), Moody's and the Fitch Group. S&P and Moody's are based in the US.
Source: AllAfrica.com
IMF-World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update Cross Currents
January 19, 2015--Global growth will receive a boost from lower oil prices, which reflect to an important extent higher supply. But this boost is projected to be more than offset by negative factors, including investment weakness as adjustment to diminished expectations about medium-term growth continues in many advanced and emerging market economies.
Global growth in 2015-16 is projected at 3.5 and 3.7 percent, downward revisions of 0.3 percent relative to the October 2014 World Economic Outlook (WEO). The revisions reflect a reassessment of prospects in China, Russia, the euro area, and Japan as well as weaker activity in some major oil exporters because of the sharp drop in oil prices. The United States is the only major economy for which growth projections have been raised.
view the IMF-World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update Cross Currents
Source: IMF
