Global ETF News Older than One Year
Capital standard for bank exposures to central counterparties finalised by the Basel Committee
April 10, 2014--The Basel Committee has today published a final standard for calculating regulatory capital for banks' exposures to central counterparties (CCPs).
The final standard will replace the interim capital requirements that were published in July 2012. When developing the final standard- in close cooperation with the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)- the Basel Committee sought to simplify the underlying policy framework and to complement relevant initiatives undertaken by other supervisory bodies, including the CPSS-IOSCO Principles for financial market infrastructures. The Committee also aimed to support broader policy efforts advanced by the G20 leaders and the Financial Stability Board, particularly those relating to central clearing of standardised OTC derivative contracts.
view the Capital requirements for bank exposures to central counterparties
Source: BIS
IMF Report-The Caucasus and Central Asia: Transitioning to Emerging Markets
April 10, 2014--Summary: The countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) have recorded significant macroeconomic achievements since independence. These countries have grown more rapidly-on average by 7 percent over 1996-2011-than those in many other regions of the world and poverty has declined.
Inflation has come down sharply from high rates in the 1990s and interest rates have fallen. Financial sectors have deepened somewhat, as evidenced by higher deposits and lending. Fiscal policies were broadly successful in building buffers prior to the global crisis and those buffers were used effectively by many CCA countries to support growth and protect the most vulnerable as the crisis washed across the region. CCA oil and gas exporters have achieved significant improvements in living standards with the use of their energy wealth.
view the IMF Report-The Caucasus and Central Asia: Transitioning to Emerging Markets
Source: IMF
UBS inks Bloomberg index pact
April 9, 2014--UBS is shifting the management of its commodity indices to data giant Bloomberg, the latest example that large investment banks are reassessing their involvement in an area that has suffered a string of reputational blows.
Bloomberg has formed a strategic partnership with the Swiss bank that will see its index unit become responsible for the calculation, distribution, licensing and governance of the commodity indices, which UBS will continue to own.
Source: Financial News
IMF World Economic Outlook (WEO) - Recovery Strengthens, Remains Uneven, April 2014
April 9, 2014--Global activity has broadly strengthened and is expected to improve further in 2014-15, according to the April 2014 WEO, with much of the impetus for growth coming from advanced economies. Although downside risks have diminished overall, lower-than-expected inflation poses risks for advanced economies, there is increased financial volatility in emerging market economies, and increases in the cost of capital will likely dampen investment and weigh on growth.
Advanced economy policymakers need to avoid a premature withdrawal of monetary accommodation. Emerging market economy policymakers must adopt measures to changing fundamentals, facilitate external adjustment, further monetary policy tightening, and carry out structural reforms.
view the WORLD ECONOMIC OUTLOOK April 2014 Recovery Strengthens, Remains Uneven
Source: IMF
BNY Mellon rejects call to split off asset management arm
April 8, 2014--Bank of New York Mellon faced down shareholder angst over costs, profitability and executive pay at its annual meeting, with Gerald Hassell, its chairman and chief executive, rejecting calls to spin off the company's asset management business
Mr Hassell told investors that such a spin-off had been considered. "We've done the math, we've done it several times, we continue to look at it," he said. "We're not afraid to take action.
Source: FT.com
US warns China over currency depreciation
April 8, 2014--The United States warned Beijing on Monday that the recent depreciation of the Chinese currency could raise "serious concerns" if it signaled a policy shift away from allowing market-determined exchange rates.
Washington has been pressing China for years to allow its currency to trade at stronger values. Last month, US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew welcomed a decision by China to allow its currency to vary more against the dollar in daily trading. Monday's comments by a senior official from the Treasury Department suggested the United States was not completely sold on China's intention to reduce authorities' interventions in exchange markets.
Source: Today's Zaman
STOXX updates rules on country classification
April 7, 2014--STOXX Limited, a leading provider of innovative, tradable and global index concepts, today announced
an update of its country classification rules. The announcement follows a meeting of the STOXX Advisory Board.
The updated rulebook is introduced with immediate effect.
The STOXX country classification model relies on a rules-based methodology, and is the first such concept to exclude any subjective decisions from the process. The five criteria for the classification of a country as a developed or emerging marked include macroeconomic data, market capitalization, market liquidity, free currency convertibility on onshore and offshore markets, and restrictions on capital flows
Source: STOXX
UBS sees spike in ETN interest
April 7, 2014--UBS has seen its exchange-traded note program assets more than triple in less than 18 months. The program had approximately USD1 billion at the end of 2012 and now has USD3 billion.
An area that has seen particular growth is commodity-related products. "Our commodity products have begun to pick up steam again. There was a period of two-to-three years where commodities were not very interesting to investors but it seems that they're starting to put their toe back in the..
Source: Global Capital
IMF Working paper-Monetary Policy in the New Normal
April 4, 2014--Summary: The proposed SDN would take stock of the current debate on the shape that monetary policy should take after the crisis.
It revisits the pros and cons of expanding the objectives of monetary policy, the merits of turning unconventional policies into conventional ones, how to make monetary policy frameworks more resilient to the risk of being constrained by the zero-lower bound going forward, and the institutional challenges to preserve central bank independence with regards to monetary policy, while allowing adequate government oversight over central banks' new responsibilities. It will draw policy conclusions where consensus has been reached, and highlight the areas where more work is needed to get more granular policy advice.
view the IMF Working paper-Monetary Policy in the New Normal
Source: IMF
New Mercer study: gold is a sensible insurance in periods of capital market crisis
Portfolio risks can be reduced by adding gold
April 3, 2014--A current Mercer study examines the suitability of gold for hedging a portfolio, particularly against the backdrop of a loss in confidence in the global monetary and economic system.
The study primarily looked at gold as an asset class for institutional investors. It defines and analyses three possible scenarios that differ according to the extent of the loss in confidence. The quantitative evaluation shows that an investment in gold represents a sensible diversification for a portfolio of large-cap equities and euro zone government bonds, particularly in times of crisis on the capital market.
view the Mercer study: Gold as an asset class for institutional investors
Source: Deutsche Börse Commodities
