UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015
December 10, 2014--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
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 infographic-World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015
Source: UN DESA
Independent Report Into CFDs & Spread Betting Compared To Short & Leverage ETPs
December 10, 2014--Research from iMarkserv and Indxx find attributes of ETP structure align with investor preferences in leveraged trading space
100% of respondents would like a leveraged trading product that is listed on a regulated exchange and 95% would prefer to trade with multiple market makers
90% of respondents prefer a product where they can offset capital losses, this is possible with ETPs but not with spread bets
Vast majority of respondents are looking for various features that are standard in short and leverage ETPs and not available in CFDs and spread betting
72% of respondents already trade ETFs as well as CFDs and spread bets
Source: Boost
Independent Report Into CFDs & Spread Betting Compared To Short & Leverage ETPs
December 10, 2014--Research from iMarkserv and Indxx find attributes of ETP structure align with investor preferences in leveraged trading space
100% of respondents would like a leveraged trading product that is listed on a regulated exchange and 95% would prefer to trade with multiple market makers
90% of respondents prefer a product where they can offset capital losses, this is possible with ETPs but not with spread bets
Vast majority of respondents are looking for various features that are standard in short and leverage ETPs and not available in CFDs and spread betting
72% of respondents already trade ETFs as well as CFDs and spread bets
Source: Boost
CBOE Enters Into Agreement With MSCI Inc. To List Index Options
In U.S., MSCI Index Options to Be Solely Listed on CBOE
December 10, 2014--CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) announced today that it has entered into a licensing agreement with MSCI Inc., a leading provider of investment decision support tools worldwide, to offer options trading on several MSCI indexes.
Under the agreement, in the U.S., options on the MSCI indexes will be solely listed for trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE).
Source: CBOE Holdings
BlackRock predicts ETP assets will hit $6trn in five years
December 10, 2014--The fund management giant BlackRock has predicted global exchange traded product assets will more than double to
$6 trillion over the next five years.
Source: Financial News
Lack of consistency in regulating active ETFs
December 9, 2014--In preparing a presentation to discuss the state of active exchange-traded funds globally at the London Stock Exchange I discovered how differently these products are being treated in Europe
and the US and even, surprisingly, within Europe. Recent pronouncements by regulators have done little to eliminate inconsistencies.
Source: Financial News
Regulators concerned at banks scaling back market making commitments
December 9, 2014--Global financial regulators worry that banks are scaling back costly market making functions and that this could leave investors stranded, as well as squeezing funds to drive economic recovery, a senior official said on Tuesday.
Some banks have already warned that tougher rules designed to make the financial system safer since the crisis of 2008-2009 have pushed up the cost of market making, or providing facilities for investors to buy and sell shares, bonds and derivatives.
Source: Reuters
BetaShares Global Market Review: November 2014...
December 9, 2014--The major development over the month of November was the sharp drop in commodity prices which caused the A$ to fall and the local equity market to underperform globally.
On the other hand, global equity markets rose strongly, reflecting the strength in the US economy and hopes that further central bank policy stimulus will help to foster growth in the more challenged economies of Japan, Europe and China. Lower commodity prices and accommodative policy helped bond yields fall further, supporting fixed income returns.
Source: BetaShares
BlackRock ETP Landscape: Flows break annual record
December 9, 2014-- NOVEMBER SURGE IN EQUITY ETP FLOWS PROPELS 2014 ASSET GATHERING TO NEW ANNUAL RECORD
Global ETPs attracted $40.1bn to lift year-to-date asset gathering into record territory at $267.9bn, with investors returning to equities after October's stock market correction boosted fixed income
US equities brought in $36.1bn concentrated in large cap funds as the outlook for the U.S. economy improved and slowing global growth led to accommodative central bank activity in other regions
Japanese equity ETPs listed in the U.S. and Europe accumulated $4.1bn in response to announcements of expanded stimulus and GPIF equity purchases, though Japan-listed funds saw offsetting outflows following a significant stock rally
Source: BlackRock-ETP Research
Economic stagnation compounds demographic pressure on pension systems, says OECD
December 8, 2014--Low growth, low interest rates and low returns on investment linked to the slow global economy are now compounding the problems of population ageing for both public and private pension systems, according to a new OECD report.
The OECD Pensions Outlook 2014 says that the crisis spurred most countries to speed up reforms to make their pension systems more financially sustainable. These included raising taxes on pension income and pension contributions, reducing or deferring the indexation of pension benefits, and increasing the statutory retirement age.
view the summary-OECD Pensions Outlook 2014
Source: OECD