IMF Working paper-Financial Plumbing and Monetary Policy
June 20, 2014-Summary: This paper focuses on how changes in financial plumbing of the markets may impact the monetary policy options as central banks contemplate lift off from zero lower bound (ZLB).
Under the proposed regulations, banks will face leverage ratio constraints. As a result of quantitative easing (QE), banks want balance sheet "space" for financial intermediation/non-depository activities. At the same time, regulatory changes are boosting demand for high quality liquid assets. The paper also discusses the role of repo markets and the importance of collateral velocity and the need to avoid wedges between repo and monetary policy rates when leaving ZLB.
view the IMF Working paper-Financial Plumbing and Monetary Policy
Source: IMF
WGC-Gold Investor: risk management and capital preservation-Volume 6
June 19, 2014--The sixth edition of Gold Investor discusses gold's role as a liquid alternative to stocks, bonds and cash, and highlights its ability to improve portfolio risk-adjusted returns for investors-even if they hold other alternative assets.
The latest edition (Volume 6, June 2014) includes three articles:
I. How gold improves alternative asset performance
II. Gold: metal by design, currency by nature
III. The most liquid of all 'liquid alts'
view the Gold Investor: risk management and capital preservation-Volume 6
Source: World Gold Council
BlackRock's iShares Canada Chief Wiley Departs Company
June 19, 2014--Mary Anne Wiley left her position as managing director and head of iShares Canada, the exchange-traded funds unit of BlackRock Inc. (BLK), as competitors encroach on the company's leading market share.
Wiley told management earlier this year she planned to leave and departed the company last week, said Maeve Hannigan, a spokeswoman for iShares Canada. Warren Collier, chief operating officer for U.S. iShares, is replacing Wiley as acting head while the firm seeks a successor, Hannigan said in an interview today.
Source:Bloomberg
World Gold Council calls meeting to explore gold fix reform
June 18, 2014--A discussion by gold buyers and sellers across the market on ways to reform or replace London's global price benchmark, known as the "fix", will be held next month by the World Gold Council.
The discussion comes as gold and silver fixes, along with other commodity benchmarks, face increased scrutiny by regulators in Europe and the United States following the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) manipulation case in 2012.
Source: Reuters
Minerals Can Boost Well-being in Developing Countries
June 18, 2014--STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Mineral wealth need not be 'curse', study says.
Well-being improved faster where mining fueled growth.
Appropriate structures must be in place to manage the large revenue inflows in a responsible and transparent manner.
Since 1995, when Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Warner published their influential study claiming that natural resource abundance has a strong negative impact on growth, the term "resource curse" has been associated with mineral wealth in developing countries.
view The contribution of the mining sector to socioeconomic and human development report
Source: World Bank
Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management Expands its Passive Distribution Team for U.S. Western Region
June 18, 2014--Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) announced today that it has hired four Regional Vice Presidents to support the growth and coverage of its U.S. exchange-traded products (ETP) platform in the Western region.
The team reports to Mick McLaughlin, Head of Passive Distribution in the Americas.
Source: Deutsche Asset & Wealth Managemen
IMF Working paper-Impact of Fed Tapering Announcements on Emerging Markets
June 17, 2014--Summary: This paper analyzes market reactions to the 2013-14 Fed announcements relating to tapering of asset purchases and their relationship to macroeconomic fundamentals and country economic and financial structures. The study uses daily data on exchange rates, government bond yields, and stock prices for 21 emerging markets.
It finds evidence of markets differentiating across countries around volatile episodes. Countries with stronger macroeconomic fundamentals, deeper financial markets, and a tighter macroprudential policy stance in the run-up to the tapering announcements experienced smaller currency depreciations and smaller increases in government bond yields. At the same time, there was less differentiation in the behavior of stock prices based on fundamentals.
view the IMF Working paper-Impact of Fed Tapering Announcements on Emerging Markets
Source: IMF
IOSCO Research Department Publishes Securities Markets Risk Survey
June 17, 2014--The Research Department of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) today published a Staff Working Paper entitled A Survey of Securities Markets Risk Trends 2014: Methodology and Detailed Results, which provides a detailed analysis of responses to its annual survey on market trends and emerging risks.
The views expressed in this Staff Working Paper are solely those of the IOSCO Research Department and do not necessarily reflect the views of IOSCO or its members.
The survey is an annual exercise formulated to collect the views of financial market regulators and experts globally on emerging trends that are or could be of concern. This edition of the survey was conducted in March 2014 and is based on some 200 responses.
Source: IOSCO
ETF strategy waits to gain in currency
June 17, 2014--While investors have been ploughing money into exchange-traded products over the past few years, niche exchange-traded funds that specialise in currency strategies have proved an exception to the rule.
Net inflows into global ETPs over the past two calendar years amounted to $507.8 billion. However, currency ETPs suffered more than $3.1 billion in outflows over the same period, and a further $918 million had been withdrawn this year by May, according to consultancy ETFGI.
Source: Financial News
Smart beta: A deeper look at asset owner usage and perceptions-findings from Russell's global survey
June 16, 2014--Overview:
Smart beta poses an interesting opportunity and challenge for assert owners, managers and consultants as the industry discussion continues to evolve. In January 2014, Russell's index business conducted a survey of approximately 200 institutional asset owners with at least $200 million in assets under management(AUM) in North America and Europe.
The goal was to better understand perceptions and adoption of smart beta within this important investor population. The survey intentionally recruited equity investment decision-makers across a broad spectrum of AUM and at different stages in their evaluation of smart beta.
So what did Russell learn? Smart beta is here to stay.
Source: www.financiallibrary.co.uk