MSCI leaves Chinese stocks out of indices
June 11, 2014--MSCI has chosen not to press ahead with a controversial plan to add mainland Chinese equities to its global benchmark indices, while South Korea and Taiwan will no longer be considered for a developed markets ranking.
The inclusion of mainland Chinese equities in global benchmarks would have been a major milestone in the opening up of China's financial markets.
Source: FT.com
Euronext stock market set for ICE spin-off
June 11, 2014--US stock market operator ICE began spinning off the pan-European market Euronext on Tuesday in an operation which could raise 1.75 billion euros and will leave three main operators fighting for business in Europe.
ICE said on Tuesday that shares in the newly floated entity would be issued at 19-25 euros, valuing Euronext at 1.33-1.75 billion euros ($1.8-2.37 billion).
Source: Daily Times
IMF Working paper-Economic Impact of Selected Conflicts in the Middle East: What Can We Learn from the Past?
June 11, 2014--Summary: Using narrative-based country-case studies, war episodes in the Middle East were examined to assess their economic impact on conflict and neighboring economies. The paper found that conflicts led to a contraction in growth, higher inflation, large fiscal and current account deficits, loss of reserves, and a weakened financial system.
Post-conflict recovery depended on the economic and institutional development of the country, economic structure, duration of the war, international engagement, and prevailing security conditions. The net economic impact on neighboring countries varied according to their initial economic conditions, number and income level of refugees they hosted, economic integration, and external assistance.
Source: IMF
What Does It Mean to Put a Price on Carbon?
June 11, 2014--STORY HIGHLIGHTS: Carbon pricing is gaining attention as a way to address climate change. About 40 countries and more than 20 cities, states and provinces use carbon pricing mechanisms such as emissions trading systems and carbon taxes or are preparing to implement them.
A price on carbon helps shift the burden for damage from greenhouse gas emissions back to those who are responsible for it and who can reduce emissions.
The private sector has been increasingly outspoken in its support for consistent carbon pricing. Many companies already operate in countries with carbon pricing and use shadow carbon pricing in their planning and investments
Source: World Bank
WB Lowers Projections for Global Economic Outlook, Urges Developing Countries to Double Down On Domestic Reforms
June 10, 2014--Developing countries are headed for a year of disappointing growth, as first quarter weakness in 2014 has delayed an expected pick-up in economic activity, according to the World Bank's Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report, released today.
Bad weather in the US, the crisis in Ukraine, rebalancing in China, political strife in several middle-income economies, slow progress on structural reform, and capacity constraints are all contributing to a third straight year of sub 5 percent growth for the developing countries as a whole.
view the World Bank Global Economic Prospects Report June 2014
Source: World Bank
IMF Working Paper--After the Fall: Lessons for Policy Cooperation from the Global Crisis
June 10, 2014-Summary: A crisis is a terrible thing to waste, and nowhere is this truer than in the arena of international economic policy cooperation. With the world facing the largest and most synchronized plunge in output of the postwar era, policy makers banded together to find solutions. This paper looks at the lessons from what did-and did not-occur in the area of policy cooperation since the crisis.
Outcomes seem to be weaker over time in areas such as macroeconomic policies, where institutional procedures were less well defined and there were disagreements over spillovers. By contrast, cooperation seems to have been most effective where there was a consensus that such policies could avoid the risk of highly detrimental outcomes and institutional arrangements were more concrete. Principle amongst these was trade, but bank capital buffers, IMF resources, and derivatives exchanges also fall into this category. Lessons for those interested in promoting cooperation seems to be: it may be more fruitful to: focus on the potential for major costs from a lack of cooperation, rather than the minor gains from fuller coordination; strive for more consensus estimated spillovers; convince policy-makers costs of loss of cooperation are large; and focus on building better and more enduring institutional arrangements.
view the IMF Working Paper--After the Fall: Lessons for Policy Cooperation from the Global Crisis
Source: IMF
The Case for a Long-Run Inflation Target of Four Percent
June 9, 2014--Summary: Many central banks target an inflation rate near two percent. This essay argues that policymakers would do better to target four percent inflation.
A four percent target would ease the constraints on monetary policy arising from the zero bound on interest rates, with the result that economic downturns would be less severe. This benefit would come at minimal cost, because four percent inflation does not harm an economy significantly.
view the IMF Working paper-
Source: IMF
According to ETFGI: Assets of ETFs and ETPs listed globally reached 2.55 trillion US dollars at end of May 2014
At the end of May the Global ETF/ETP industry had 5,283 ETFs/ETPs, with 10,293 listings, from 219 providers listed on 59 exchanges.
Source: ETFGI
Russian companies prepare to pay for trade in renminbi
"Over the last few weeks there has been a significant interest in the market from large Russian corporations to start using various products in renminbi and other Asian currencies and to set up accounts in Asian locations...
Source: FT.com
Nigeria, Argentina and Vietnam Prove Top Picks for Multinationals
Nigeria is joined by Argentina and Vietnam as the frontier markets that multinational corporations are most interested in, according to a new index of corporate sentiment.
Source: Wall Street Journal
June 9, 2014--ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered US$22.4 billion in net new assets in May which, when combined with a small positive market performance in the month, pushed assets in the global ETF/ETP industry to a new record high of US$2.55 trillion, according to preliminary data from ETFGI's May 2014 Global ETF and ETP industry insights report.
June 8, 2014--Russian companies are preparing to switch contracts to renminbi and other Asian currencies amid fears that western sanctions may freeze them out of the US dollar market, according to two top bankers.
June 6, 2014--Fresh from its coronation as the biggest economy in Africa, Nigeria has scored another first. The troubled West African country has emerged as the frontier-market economy that is attracting the most attention from American and European multinationals.
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