Global ETF News Older than One Year
ETF assets could overtake hedge funds this year
January 2, 2014--Exchange traded funds are poised to overtake hedge funds in 2014, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.
S&P Dow Jones Indices director of index investment strategy Tim Edwards argues that assets held in ETFs could come to outweigh hedge funds later this year if current trends continue.
Source: FundWeb
NASDAQ OMX and Borsa Istanbul Sign Landmark Deal
NASDAQ OMX to deliver its most advanced suite of technologies and advisory services
Borsa Istanbul, in partnership with NASDAQ OMX, to build world-class capital markets hub for Eurasia region, to have regional reselling rights and to develop multiple new platforms
NASDAQ OMX to take equity stake in Borsa Istanbul
December 31, 2013--NASDAQ OMX Group (Nasdaq:NDAQ) and Borsa Istanbul A.S. have today concluded a wide-ranging agreement, which includes the delivery of market-leading technologies and advisory services to Borsa Istanbul, and NASDAQ OMX taking an equity stake in Borsa Istanbul.
Key aspects of the agreement include the provision of NASDAQ OMX's most advanced and complete selection of market technology solutions and advisory services, based on the globally market-leading Genium INET suite and all associated platforms and applications, with regional resell rights and also eventual self-sufficiency for Borsa Istanbul.
Source: NASDAQ OMX
Gold miners braced for cuts in reserves after plunge in prices
December 29, 2013--The gold mining sector is braced for asset writedowns and a fall in the amount of reserves in the ground after the precipitous drop in the price of the metal this year.
Some of the world's largest gold miners face having to tell investors that their growth has gone into reverse because the falling price has made it uneconomic to mine some of the areas previously classed as reserves.
Source: FT.com
Russian, Chinese and Gulf state firms enter commodity trading to control pricing
December 30, 2013--As US and European banks dropout of commodity trading, Russian, Chinese and Gulf state firms are filling the gap in an attempt to exert greater control over the pricing of the raw materials on which their economies so heavily depend.
Last week, the Kremlin oil champion Rosneft bought the oil trading unit of Morgan Stanley, one of the largest and oldest trading desks on Wall Street, as banks reduce exposure to trading.
Source: Economic Times
Little glitter for gold in 2014
December 27, 2013--At the end of each year since 2001 anyone with gold in their investment portfolio would have had reason to smile.
The price of the metal rose every 12 months, from $271 a troy ounce to $1,670 an ounce by the end of 2012, a spectacular bull run.
Source: FT.com
Islamic Banks, Stuffed With Cash, Explore Partnerships in West
December 25, 2013--A noted Muslim law scholar, Yusuf DeLorenzo, recently pored through the books of Continental Rail, a business that runs freight trains up and down the East Coast.
Along with examining the company's financial health, Mr. DeLorenzo sought to make sure that the rail cars didn't transport pork, tobacco, or alcohol. He was brought in by American investment bankers who want to take rail cars bought by Continental Rail and package their leases into a security.
Source: New York Times
IMF Working paper-Financial and Sovereign Debt Crises: Some Lessons Learned and Those Forgotten
December 24, 2013--Summary: Even after one of the most severe multi-year crises on record in the advanced economies, the received wisdom in policy circles clings to the notion that high-income countries are completely different from their emerging market counterparts.
The current phase of the official policy approach is predicated on the assumption that debt sustainability can be achieved through a mix of austerity, forbearance and growth. The claim is that advanced countries do not need to resort to the standard toolkit of emerging markets, including debt restructurings and conversions, higher inflation, capital controls and other forms of financial repression. As we document, this claim is at odds with the historical track record of most advanced economies, where debt restructuring or conversions, financial Repression, and a tolerance for higher inflation, or a combination of these were an integral part of the resolution of significant past debt overhangs.
Source: IMF
IMF Working paper-Does Financial Connectedness Predict Crises?
December 24, 2013--Summary: The global financial crisis has reignited interest in models of crisis prediction. It has also raised the question whether financial connectedness- a possible source of systemic risk- can serve as an early warning indicator of crises.
In this paper we examine the ability of connectedness in the global network of financial linkages to predict systemic banking crises. Our results indicate that increases in a country's financial interconnectedness and decreases in its neighbors' connectedness are associated with a higher probability of banking crises after controlling for macroeconomic fundamentals.
Source: IMF
Low emerging markets returns have investors wary
December 23, 2013--Just when pension funds across the globe were getting comfortable with the idea of investing in emerging markets, their faith is being tested by disappointing performance.
The question is where performance in emerging markets-and institutional investments -go from here. Experts have different answers.
Source: Pensions & Investments
ASIC helps develop IOSCO report on the regulation of retail structured products
December 23, 2013--The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) today published a final report on Regulation of retail structured products, which provides a toolkit outlining regulatory options that securities regulators globally may find useful to regulate retail structured products.
ASIC Chairman Greg Medcraft and staff co-led the development of the report, together with representatives from the French Autorité des Marchés Financiers.
Source: ASIC
