Global ETF News Older than One Year
MSCI Completes Sale of ISS
April 30, 2014--MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of investment decision support tools worldwide, announced today that it has completed the sale of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. ("ISS"), its wholly-owned subsidiary comprising MSCI's Governance segment, to Vestar Capital Partners for total cash
consideration of $367 million, subject to customary post,closing adjustments.
Source: MSCI
Eurex to launch index futures contracts based on TASE's main index in June
New contracts available as of 9 June 2014
The Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) and Eurex Exchange, the international derivatives marketplace and part of Deutsche Börse Group, announced today during a joint press briefing, that Eurex Exchange will list index futures based on the TA-25, Israel's blue chip index, as of 9 June 2014.
The TA-25 index is one of the most heavily traded regional equity indexes. Eurex Exchange's TA-25 index futures will be denominated in US dollars.
Source: Eurex
IMF Working paper-Monetary Policy Coordination and the Role of Central Banks
April 29, 2014--Summary: The unconventional monetary policies (UMPs) pursued by the advanced economies (AEs) have posed macroeconomic challenges for the emerging market economies (EMEs) through volatile capital flows and exchange rates. AE central banks need to acknowledge and appreciate the spillovers resulting from such UMPs.
Central banks of the AEs, who have set up standing mutual swap facilities, should explore similar arrangements with other significant EMEs with appropriate risk mitigation measures. These initiatives could do much to actually curb volatility in global financial markets and hence in capital flows to EMEs, thus obviating the need for defensive policy actions on the part of EMEs.
IMF Working paper-Monetary Policy Coordination and the Role of Central Banks
Source: IMF
Advancing Investment in Infrastructure for the Digital Economy
Delivering Digital Infrastructure: Advancing the Internet Economy, a World Economic Forum report, examines the technological, commercial and policy challenges associated with digital infrastructure
Recommendations address spectrum availability, IP interconnection disputes, and policies and regulations
April 29, 2014--The World Economic Forum released today a new report that examines the long-term growth of the digital economy and the viability of the infrastructure that supports it.
The report, Delivering Digital Infrastructure: Advancing the Internet Economy, produced in collaboration with The Boston Consulting Group, focuses on current threats to digital infrastructure-including fixed and mobile internet infrastructure, telecommunications equipment and devices, and cloud infrastructure-in the United States, Europe and emerging markets.
view the WEF-Delivering Digital Infrastructure-Advancing the Internet Economy report
Source: WEF (World Economic Forum)
2011 International Comparison Program Summary Results Release Compares the Real Size of the World Economies
April 29, 2014--The International Comparison Program (ICP) released new data today showing that the world economy produced goods and services worth over $90 trillion in 2011, and that almost half of the world's total output came from low and middle income countries.
Under the authority of the United Nations Statistical Commission, the 2011 round of ICP covered 199 economies-the most extensive effort to measure Purchasing Power Parities (PPPs) across countries ever. ICP 2011 estimates benefited from a number of methodological improvements over past efforts to calculate PPPs.
view the Main Results for the Largest Economies and Economies with Highest and Lowest GDP per capita
Source: World Bank
ETF Securities-Precious Metals Weekly-Gold Benefits with Bonds as Russia-Ukraine Tensions Escalate
April 28, 2014--The deteriorating situation in the Ukraine continues to benefit gold and other defensive assets. Escalating Russian aggression towards the Ukraine is causing investors
to build their holdings of defensive assets, including gold. Indeed, US long bonds, along with gold have been some of the best investments so far in 2014, highlighting investor anxiety
about the potential ramifications from Russian conflict.
Gold is also gaining traction as a portfolio diversifier as equity markets have displayed their sensitivity to emerging market headwinds. It is also interesting to note that gold forward offered (GOFO) rates have recently moved negative again, indicating a tight market. As the chart below shows, often a sharp fall in GOFO rates precedes a rise in the gold price.
False hopes of South Africa strike resolution pressures platinum price-we expect weakness to be short lived. Platinum and palladium prices were pressured last week by the prospect of a strike resolution as the major (PGM) producers agreed to raise wages near to levels being demanded by the union.
Source: ETF Securities
IMF Policy Paper-Global Liquidity-Issues for Surveillance
April 25, 2014--Summary:The paper starts by presenting evidence of commonality in global financial conditions. This commonality is then related to specific drivers of global financial conditions through a range of transmission channels, including cross-border banking and portfolio flows. Empirical analysis shows a range of price and quantity factors, including measures of risk, bank leverage, and interest rates in financial centers, to drive in part these flows.
ountry specific policies, including exchange rate and prudential frameworks, are shown to affect the transmission of global conditions. Much remains unknown though, including how evolving structures of global funding, changing institutions, and ongoing financial innovations affect the mechanics of liquidity creation, the channels of liquidity transmission, and potential risks going forward.
view the IMF Policy Paper-Global Liquidity-Issues for Surveillance
Source: IMF
Learning about the unknown: the economic impacts of aging in Europe and Central Asia
April 25, 2014-- Population aging is becoming a key global challenge that will have profound economic, social and cultural implications for decades ahead.
Many countries in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Region have rapidly aging populations, yet significantly less income and wealth than other regions to deal with the adverse economic consequences of aging.
Economists from the World Bank Group recently met during a workshop in Munich, Germany to discuss these challenges, share ongoing work on a forthcoming report, and exchange knowledge with international experts.
Source: World Bank
Shanghai Stock Exchange to act as official distributor and licensor of Deutsche Borse market data in mainland China
April 24, 2014--Deutsche Börse and Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) announced on 23 April 2014 a partnership in which SSE via its wholly owned subsidiary China Investment Information Services (CIIS) will act as the official distributor and licensor of Deutsche Börse market data products in mainland China.
A signing ceremony attended by Deutsche Börse Executive Board Member Hauke Stars and Bo Que, Vice President of Shanghai Stock Exchange, was held today in Suzhou, China to celebrate the new partnership.
Source: Deutsche Börse
EDHEC-Risk Institute study shows that progress remains to be made in risk management for pension funds
April 24, 2014--In a new study produced as part of the BNP Paribas Investment Partners research chair on "Asset-Liability Management and Institutional Investment Management," EDHEC-Risk Institute attempts to assess the views of pension funds and sponsor companies as they relate to their reactions to dynamic liability-driven investing (LDI) strategies and their desire to integrate this approach into their processes.
Between November 2013 and January 2014, EDHEC-Risk Institute surveyed 104 investors, to determine how LDI and DLDI strategies are used in practice and the reasons that motivate the adoption or non-adoption of such techniques.
Source: EDHEC
