Global ETF News Older than One Year
Amid Geopolitical Instability, the Middle East and North Africa Continues Regulatory Reform, Yet Challenges Persist
October 29, 2014--A new World Bank Group report finds that amid unrest in the Middle East and North Africa, local entrepreneurs faced challenging circumstances in the past year. While several economies improved the business environment for local firms-such as the United Arab Emirates, among this year's 10 top global improvers-the pace of regulatory reform in the region was comparatively slow.
Released today, Doing Business 2015: Going Beyond Efficiency finds that 11 economies in the Middle East and North Africa reformed in at least one area tracked by the report in 2013/14: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Malta, Morocco, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, and West Bank and Gaza. With 55 percent of the region's economies reforming business regulations-compared with 60 percent in East Asia and the Pacific and 74 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa-the scope of business regulatory reforms remained narrow. The reforms did not span all areas measured by Doing Business, such as enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.
view the Doing Business 2015 Going Beyond Efficiency report
Source:World Bank
Nasdaq and Shenzhen Stock Exchange Sign MOU
October 29, 2014--Nasdaq (Nasdaq:NDAQ) and Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the World Federation of Exchanges' annual General Assembly to strengthen cooperation and promote mutual development between the two exchange companies.
SZSE's Chairman, as well as Nasdaq's Vice Chairman Sandy Frucher and Executive Vice President and Head of Market Technology Lars Ottersgård were present at the signing ceremony.
Source: NASDAQ.com
WEF-2095: The Year of Gender Equality in the Workplace, Maybe
Nine years of the Global Gender Gap Report suggests we'll have to wait 81 years for gender parity in the workplace
Overall gains in gender equality worldwide since 2006 are offset by reversals in a small number of countries
Nordic nations dominate the Global Gender Gap Index in 2014; Nicaragua, Rwanda and the Philippines all make the top 10
October 28, 2014--In nine years of measuring the global gender gap, the world has seen only a small improvement in equality for women in the workplace. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2014, launched today, the gender gap for economic participation and opportunity now stands at 60% worldwide, having closed by 4% from 56% in 2006 when the Forum first started measuring it.
Based on this trajectory, with all else remaining equal, it will take 81 years for the world to close this gap completely.
The ninth edition of the report finds that, among the 142 countries measured, the gender gap is narrowest in terms of health and survival. This gap stands at 96% globally, with 35 countries having closed the gap entirely. This includes three countries that have closed the gap in the past 12 months. The educational attainment gap is the next narrowest, standing at 94% globally.
Source: World Economic Forum (WEF)
IOSCO Updates Information Repository for Central Clearing Requirements for OTC Derivatives
October 28, 2014--The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) today released an update of its information repository for central clearing requirements for OTC derivatives, which provides regulators and market participants with consolidated information on the clearing requirements of different jurisdictions.
By providing this information, IOSCO seeks to assist authorities in their rule making and help participants comply with the relevant regulations in the OTC derivatives market. The repository sets out central clearing requirements on a product-by-product level, and any exemptions from them. IOSCO first made the repository public in August 2014. The information in the repository will be updated quarterly.
Source: IOSCO
Islamic bond market set for massive growth
October 28, 2014--Investments in Islamic bonds known as "sukuk" are set to grow worldwide as financial centres vie to tap an increasing appetite for Muslim-friendly debt, experts and officials said Tuesday.
The global value of outstanding sukuk was $269.4bn at the end of 2013, but the market is expected to expand at a double-digit rate, said the governor of Dubai International Financial Centre, Essa Kazim.
Source: FIN24
IOSCO Updates Information Repository for Central Clearing Requirements for OTC Derivatives
October 28, 2014--The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) today released an update of its information repository for central clearing requirements for OTC derivatives, which provides regulators and market participants with consolidated information on the clearing requirements of different jurisdictions.
By providing this information, IOSCO seeks to assist authorities in their rule making and help participants comply with the relevant regulations in the OTC derivatives market. The repository sets out central clearing requirements on a product-by-product level, and any exemptions from them. IOSCO first made the repository public in August 2014. The information in the repository will be updated quarterly.
Source: IOSCO
IMF Working paper-Non-Defaultable Debt and Sovereign Risk
October 28, 2014--Summary: We quantify gains from introducing non-defaultable debt as a limited additional financing option into a model of equilibrium sovereign risk.
We find that, for an initial (defaultable) sovereign debt level equal to 66 percent of trend aggregate income and a sovereign spread of 2.9 percent, introducing the possibility of issuing non-defaultable debt for up to 10 percent of aggregate income reduces immediately the spread to 1.4 percent, and implies a welfare gain equivalent to a permanent consumption increase of 0.9 percent. The spread reduction would be only 0.1 (0.2) percentage points higher if the government uses nondefaultable debt to buy back (finance a "voluntary" debt exchange for) previously issued defaultable debt. Without restrictions to defaultable debt issuances in the future, the spread reduction achieved by the introduction of non-defaultable debt is short lived. We also show that allowing governments in default to increase non-defaultable debt is damaging at the time non-defaultable debt is introduced and inconsequential in the medium term. These findings shed light on different aspects of proposals to introduce common euro-area sovereign bonds that could be virtually non-defaultable.
view the IMF Working paper-Non-Defaultable Debt and Sovereign Risk
Source: IMF
Middle East and Central Asia region--Regional Economic Outlook-October 2014
October 27, 2014--Economic developments in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAP) continue to reflect the diversity of conditions prevailing across the region. Most high-income oil exporters, primarily in the GCC, continue to record steady growth and solid economic and financial fundamentals, albeit with medium-term challenges that need to be addressed.
In contrast, other countries-Iraq, Libya, Syria-are mired in conflicts with not just humanitarian but also economic consequences. And yet other countries, mostly oil importers, are making continued but uneven progress in advancing their economic agenda, often in tandem with political transitions and amidst difficult social conditions. In most of these countries, without extensive economic and structural reforms, economic prospects for the medium term remain insufficient to reduce high unemployment and improve living standards.
view the
Source: IMF
ETFS Precious Metals Weekly-Precious Metals Await The Fed With News Of Increasing Physical Demand
China's gold imports from Hong Kong reached a six-month
high, contributing to a tighter physical market. Physical tightness is also manifesting in
GOFO rates moving into negative territory for the first time since June. In US dollar terms,
gold ended the week with a year-to-date (YTD) gain of 2.4% compared to the 6.3% YTD
increase in the S&P 500 index and despite a 7.1% increase in the US dollar index. The chart
below depicts the inverse relationship between gold and the S&P 500 since the beginning of
2013. Extending to new stock market highs would likely be a more immediate risk factor for
the price of gold. With the precious metals trading at or below their costs of production and
the potential for the new information (mentioned above) to raise the floor, we believe they
offer good value, with gold and silver well placed to benefit from further market volatility.
Source: ETF Securities
IMF Working paper-The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Banking Globalization
Especially advanced countries hit by a systemic crisis reduced their presence abroad, with far flung and relatively small investments more likely to be sold. Poorer and slower growing countries host fewer banks today, while large investments less likely expanded. Conversely, faster host countries’ growth and closeness to potential investors meant more entry. Lending by foreign banks locally grew more than cross-border bank claims did for the same home-host country combination, and each was driven by different factors. Altogether, our evidence shows that global banking is not becoming more fragmented, but rather is going through some important structural transformations with a greater variety of players and a more regional focus.
view the IMF Working paper-The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Banking Globalization
Source: IMF
October 27, 2014-Gold supported by physical market tightness. Despite the sharp recovery in the stock
indices, strength in the US dollar and increase in bond yields, precious metals ended last week mostly flat in anticipation of the FOMC meeting this week. While the Fed is expected
to announce the end of its quantitative easing program, with potentially negative implications
for gold, the latest polling results from Switzerland showed an increasing probability for passing the Swiss Gold referendum which would force the Swiss National Bank to purchase
significant quantities of gold.
October 27, 2014-- Summary: Although cross-border bank lending has fallen sharply since the crisis, extending our bank ownership database from 1995-2009 up to 2013 shows only limited retrenchment in foreign bank presence. While banks from OECD countries reduced their foreign presence (but still represent 89% of foreign bank assets), those from emerging markets and developing countries expanded abroad and doubled their presence.
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