Global ETF News Older than One Year
Russia, China to create joint rating agency as ties grow
June 3, 2014--Russia and China have reached an agreement to create a joint credit rating agency and are working on a series of measures to make trade easier, Russia's finance minister said on Tuesday, a sign of growing ties between the neighbors.
Speaking during a trip to China, Anton Siluanov told journalists that the new rating agency would be modeled on existing rating agencies.
"We would like (the agency's) ratings to be apolitical," Siluanov said in comments sent by the ministry's press service.
Source: Reuters
2014 A.T. Kearney FDI Confidence Index: U.S. Increases its Lead; an Overridingly Positive Outlook Develops for Global Economy
June 2, 2014--Global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney today released its 2014 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index (FDICI), an in-depth view of forward-looking investment sentiment. In this year's ranking, the U.S. not only maintains its first place position from last year, but also increases the lead it had in the 2013 study, which was referenced in the recent White House report, Winning Business Investment in the United States.
The findings bode well not only for the U.S., but for the global economy: Nearly four out of five respondents are more optimistic about the global economy than they were a year ago. Since its inception, the study has consistently pointed toward top global choices for foreign direct investment, with the top 10 most attractive FDI destinations receiving a majority share of global FDI inflows roughly one year after the survey.
Source: A.T. Kearney
Average daily volume of 8.1 million contracts at Eurex Group in May
June 2, 2014-- In May, the international derivatives exchanges of Eurex Group recorded an average daily volume of 8.1 million contracts (May 2013: 10.1 million). Of those, 6.0 million were Eurex Exchange contracts (May 2013: 7.4 million), and 2.1 million contracts (May 2013: 2.7 million) were traded at the U.S.-based International Securities Exchange (ISE).
In total, 126.3 million contracts were traded at Eurex Exchange and 45.0 million at the ISE.
Source: Eurex
State Street Global Advisors Expands Intermediary Business with Key Appointments
June 2, 2014--State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), the asset management arm of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), today announced five key appointments in the firm's intermediary business, which provides products supporting wealth management professionals, including SPDR ETFs and State Street mutual funds, for wirehouses, Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), private banks, family offices and regional/independent broker dealers.
The appointments will bolster SSgA's competency across its intermediary business, which was created in 2001 to better access the firm's deep institutional experience and broad investment knowledge.
Source: State Street Global Advisors
Exchange-traded derivatives volume up 7% last year
May 30, 2014--An increase in activity in interest rates and commodity-based futures and options helped drive up the volume of exchange-traded derivatives around the world last year.
Listed derivatives trading likely will continue to grow in 2014 as regulatory changes shift more swaps trading on to exchanges...
Source: SmartBrief
IOSCO consults on strategic framework for Investor Education/Financial Literacy
May 29, 2014--The International Organization of Securities Commissions today published a consultation report on the Strategic Framework for Investor Education and Financial Literacy, which describes IOSCO's role in promoting investor education and financial literacy and its strategic approach to both.
IOSCO has long recognised investor education as a key strategy for enhancing investor protection, promoting investor confidence and fostering investor engagement in financial planning and decision-making. Investor education is complementary to the traditional tools of regulation, supervision and enforcement, and is included in IOSCO's Principles for securities regulation.
view the Strategic Framework for Investor Education and Financial Literacy-Consultation Report
Source: IOSCO
BlackRock CEO says leveraged ETFs could "blow up" whole industry
May 29, 2014--BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said on Wednesday that leveraged exchange-traded funds contain structural problems that could "blow up" the whole industry one day.
Fink runs a company that oversees more than $4 trillion in client assets, including nearly $1 trillion in ETF assets
Source: Reuters
Food Price Watch, May 2014: First Quarterly Increase Since August 2012; The Role of Food Prices in Food Riots
May 29, 2014--The May 2014 Issue of Food Price Watch finds that international prices of food increased by 4% between January and April 2014, putting an end to the declining trend of food prices sustained since August 2012. The thematic section of this report discusses the role that food prices and food shortages may have on food riots, a term widely used but poorly defined, and partially reflecting decades of overlooking the food-to-conflict nexus.
International food prices increased by 4 percent between January and April 2014, interrupting sustained declining trends in food prices observed since August 2012. Prices remain in sight of their all-time peak, some 16 percent below their historical record in August 2012.
International prices of wheat and maize increased sharply during the last quarter, in contrast with generally declining prices of rice. In the case of wheat, such a steep price increase has not occurred since the months leading to the historical peak in the summer of 2012.
view the World Bank Food Price Watch
Source: World Bank
Northern Trust Asset Management Strengthens Leadership Team for Funds and Institutional Clients
Shundrawn Thomas to Lead ETF and Mutual Fund Groups; Jason Tyler Appointed Head of Client Solutions
May 29, 2-014--Northern Trust Asset Management today announced two leadership appointments to strengthen its focus on strategic priorities and increase alignment of investment sales and servicing activities around key growth channels.
Shundrawn A. Thomas, who has led the successful launch of the Flexshares exchange-traded fund (ETF) business over the past three years, will expand his responsibilities to oversee all fund activities, including Northern Funds, Northern Institutional Funds and financial intermediary distribution.
Source: Northern Trust
IMF Working paper-Optimal Prudential Regulation of Banks and the Political Economy of Supervision
May 28, 2014--Summary: We consider a moral hazard economy in banks and production to study how incentives for risk taking are affected by the quality of supervision. We show that low interest rates may generate excessive risk taking.
Because of a pecuniary externality,the market equilibrium may not be optimal and there is a need for prudential regulation. We show that the optimal capital ratio depends on the macro-financial cycle,and that,in presence of production externalities,it should be complemented by a constraint on asset allocation. We show that the political process tends to exacerbate excessive risk taking and credit cycles.
Source: IMF
