BIS December 2014 Quarterly Review: Buoyant yet fragile?
December 7, 2014--Flip-flopping from "risk-on" to "risk-off" sentiment in financial markets suggests that fragility underlies the current buoyant mood.
International banking activity expanded in the first half of 2014, regaining some of the ground lost in the previous two years.
China is now by far the largest emerging market borrower from BIS reporting banks. Outside the EME world, China ranked seventh overall. More and more CDS contracts are cleared centrally. This should reduce counterparty risk.
The risk profile of debt from EME non-financial corporations may vary considerably, depending on whether it is issued through non-financial subsidiaries abroad or via financial affiliates.
The co-movement of exchange rates is the main factor behind the choice of reserve currencies. Country size alone is less relevant, argue Robert McCauley and Tracy Chan of the BIS.
view the BIS Quarterly Review, December 2014
Source: BIS
DECPG Weekly Economic Brief
December 5, 2014--An environment of exceptionally low interest rates has continued to support capital flows to developing countries, as investors search for higher yields.
A lift-off in U.S. policy rates next year should eventually result in tighter conditions, but declining inflation expectations in the United States, global economic headwinds and additional policy easing in the Euro Area and Japan have continued to put downward pressure on long-term yields. This allowed many emerging and frontier market economies to tap international bond markets on relatively favorable terms in recent months.
Global interest rates remain exceptionally low. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield -a key benchmark for international bond markets- has fallen to 2.3 percent since mid-October and is currently predicted to stay below 3 percent until 2018 (Figure 1). Such low yield levels, despite a broadening recovery in the United States and approaching tightening cycle by the U.S. Federal Reserve, have been tightly connected to falling inflation expectations. These have been driven down by a number of factors, including sharply lower oil prices, an appreciating U.S. dollar and increasing global economic headwinds. Signs of persistent stagnation in the Euro Area and Japan led their respective central banks to commit to more aggressive stimulus measures in recent months, contributing to a broad-based appreciation of the U.S. dollar and a further compression of global term-premia. Emerging market bond spreads increased only modestly since August despite rising volatility on foreign exchange markets and increasing pressure on some commodity exporting countries.
Source: World Bank
Credit Suisse sells $24m of notes linked to gold miners
December 5, 2014--The gold miners index is made up of 40 companies, including Barrick and Newmont.
Credit Suisse Group AG sold $24 million of U.S. structured notes tied to an index of gold-miner stocks, the largest such offering in 14 months, as investors bet the companies will rebound from close to a six-year low.
Source: MineWeb
Pensions & Investments Supplement-Research for Institutional Money Management-"Smart Factor" Special Issue
December 4, 2014--The EDHEC-Risk Institute "Research for Institutional Money Management" supplement in cooperation with Pensions & Investments is now available.
Source: EDHEC
EY Global ETF Survey: 2015 and beyond
December 4, 2014--Background and methodology
By the end of the third quarter, the global ETF/ETP industry included assets of US$2.6 trillion across 225 providers on 61 exchanges.
view the EY Global ETF Survey: 2015 and beyond
Source: Ernst & Young
Zalando to be included in SDAX
Deutsche Börse reviews index composition/ Changes are effective on 22 December 2014
December 3, 2014--On Wednesday Deutsche Börse decided on changes in its selection indices which will become effective on 22 December 2014.
The following changes will be made to the indices:
The shares of Zalando SE will be added to SDAX.
Source: Deutsche Börse
BlackRock tweaks ETFs following Credit Suisse deal
December 3, 2014--BlackRock has made changes to more than 30 of its exchange traded funds to create "operational efficiencies" at its iShares division.
The move is part of a cleanup of the iShares fund range following the US firm’s acquisition of Credit Suisse's ETF business last year.
Source: FT.com
BATS Global Markets November Update: Reports Best Month in Europe This Year with 22.9% Market Share; 20.3% U.S. Equities Market Share
BATS Options Reports 5.8% Market Share, up from 2.8% One Year Ago
December 3, 2014--BATS Global Markets (BATS) today reported November volume, market share, and monthly highlights including the strongest month this year in Europe, with 22.9% market share.
Source: BATS Global Markets, Inc.
Development Economics and Development Policy Are Due For a Redesign, Says World Bank Report
December 2, 2014--Development policies based on new insights into how people actually think and make decisions will help governments and civil society achieve development goals more effectively.
A richer and more accurate understanding of human behavior can make it easier to tackle such difficult development challenges as increasing productivity, breaking the cycle of poverty from one generation to the next, and acting on climate change, finds a new World Bank report.
World Development Report 2015: Mind, Society, and Behavior, examines early, exciting work that suggests ways of diagnosing and solving the psychological and social factors that influence development. The new approaches are complements to a host of other standard economic tools.
view the World Development Report 2015: Mind, Society, and Behavior
view the Infographic: Mind, Society, and Behavior
Source: World Bank
Deciphering Developing Markets-9% Growth for India | Malaysia's Middle Class
December 2, 2014--In a Times of India article, Price Waterhouse Coopers is quoted as saying,"India is on the cusp of major change...For India to take the winning leap and grow its GDP by 9 per cent per annum to become a $10 trillion economy, a concerted effort from corporate India, supported by a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem and a constructive partnership with the government will play a critical role."
And I agree.
Under the new government of Mr. Narendra Modi, there is not just a willingness but also a keen sense of getting the job done. Add to this the millions of 20 to 30 year olds who, for the first time in the country's history, see the entrepreneurial opportunities in India without having to travel further afield. As infrastructure continues to be built out and connectivity improved, more and more high tech and industrial plants will be built, thus providing the high paying jobs that will be essential to India’s future.
Source: Peter Kohli, DMS Funds