Global ETF News Older than One Year
Gold producers accused over 'misleading' data
October 25, 2013--A furious row has broken about between a high-profile gold investor and the industry body charged with promoting the precious metal on behalf of the world's biggest gold producers.
Eric Sprott, chief executive of Sprott Asset Management, which runs several bullion funds, has accused the World Gold Council of painting a misrepresentative picture of the real demand for gold.
Source: FT.com
Infographic: Building Low-Carbon Cities
October 24, 2013--The World Bank has issued the infographic: Building Low-Carbon Cities.
Source: World Bank
World Bank-DPG-Weekly Global Economic Brief
October 24, 2013--Developing-country financial markets have improved in recent months, but remain subject to risks stemming from US fiscal policy uncertainties and the eventual tapering of quantitative easing. On aggregate, developing-country industrial performance has improved in recent months led by robust growth in China.
Supported by a strengthening global economy, tourist arrivals picked up in the first eight months of 2013.
Developing-country financial markets have improved in recent months, but remain subject to downside risks. Concerns of an imminent tapering of US quantitative easing (QE) during the summer caused long-term US Treasury yields to rise by more than 100 basis points, thereby precipitating a portfolio rebalancing.
Consequently currencies, bond, and equity prices of several large developing countries experienced sharp declines. Market sentiment started improving in late August,and was further supported by the surprise delay of the Fed's tapering in September as well as the recent temporary resolution of the US budget impasse.
Nonetheless, developing countries remain vulnerable to uncertainties related to US fiscal policy and the pace and timing of eventual QE tapering. These include several middle-income countries with either large or rising current account deficits, in particular Brazil, India, Indonesia, Turkey and South Africa.
Source: World Bank
Nasdaq CEO Says Nasdaq Is a 'Credible Buyer' for Euronext
Exchange Operator Also Reports Higher Third-Quarter Results
October 23, 2013--The chief executive of Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. said his company is a credible buyer for NYSE Euronext and possesses the expertise and capacity to take on big European exchange deals.
Nasdaq CEO Bob Greifeld said Wednesday that he "would be remiss" not to evaluate a deal for Euronext, which is slated to launch an initial public offering early next year as part of IntercontinentalExchange Inc. planned takeover of NYSE Euronext. He added that Nasdaq wouldn't try to launch a bid ahead of the IPO and it remains too early to say whether Nasdaq would pursue European exchanges being spun off from NYSE Euronext.
Source: Wall Street Journal
IMF Working paper-The Economic Performance Index (EPI): an Intuitive Indicator for Assessing a Country's Economic Performance Dynamics in an Historical Perspective
October 23, 2013-- Summary: Existing economic indicators and indexes assess economic activity but no single indicator measures the general macro-economic performance of a nation, state, or region in a methodologically simple and intuitive way.
This paper proposes a simple, yet informative metric called the Economic Performance Index (EPI). The EPI represents a step toward clarity, by combining data on inflation, unemployment, government deficit, and GDP growth into a single indicator. In contrast to other indexes, the EPI does not use complicated mathematical procedures but was designed for simplicity, making it easier for professionals and laypeople alike to understand and apply to the economy. To maximize ease of understanding, we adopt a descriptive grading system. In addition to a Raw EPI that gives equal weights to its components, we construct a Weighted EPI and show that both indexes perform similarly for U.S. data. To demonstrate the validity of the EPI, we conduct a review of U.S. history from 1790 to 2012. We show that the EPI reflects the major events in U.S. history, including wars, periods of economic prosperity and booms, along with economic depressions, recessions, and even panics. Furthermore, the EPI not only captures official recessions over the past century but also allows for measuring and comparing their relative severity. Even though the EPI is simple by its construction, we show that its dynamics are similar to those of the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index(R)(CEI).
Source: IMF
NASDAQ OMX Reports Third Quarter 2013 Results
Third quarter 2013 net revenues1 were a record $506 million, up 23% from the prior year quarter. On an organic basis, assuming constant currency and excluding acquisitions, net revenues increased 4% year-over-year.
Third quarter 2013 GAAP and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.66.
Achieved organic revenue growth year-over-year in all three non-trading business segments, Information Services, Technology Solutions, and Listing Services.
Non-transaction based revenues were 73% of our total third quarter 2013 net revenues, and increased 27% from the prior year quarter.
Third quarter 2013 is the first full quarter to reflect the acquired eSpeed and Thomson Reuters IR, PR, and Multimedia businesses, establishing new revenue and operating profit base-lines.
De-leveraging plan is on schedule, NASDAQ OMX paid down $98 million of debt in the third quarter of 2013.
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today reported results for the third quarter of 2013. Third quarter net revenues were $506 million, up from $412 million in the prior year period, driven by both acquisitions and organic growth in Technology Solutions, Information Services, and Listing Services. On an organic basis third quarter net revenues increased 4% year-over-year.
Source: NASDAQ OMX
Mirae- The Delay in QE Tapering Triggered Market Rally
October 22, 2013--Global market responded positively to robust macroeconomic data.
China continued its rebound.
Performance in September was backed by improving macro numbers and technical rebounds from cheap valuations. Though HSBC PMI for September of 50.2 came in lower than the flash reading of 51.2, it was still a slight improvement over August's figure of 50.1.
Industrial production has also been on the upswing, rising 10.4% year-over-year in August, the fastest pace in 17 months, and surpassing the consensus forecast for 9.9% growth. Additionally, electricity generation expanded for a fifth consecutive month, rising 13.4% year-over-year.
India
Slight relief gained but still far to go
Similar to other countries with wide current account deficits, the Indian market benefited from the delay in QE tapering.
Additionally, actions taken by the new governor of the RBI to attract dollar deposits were positively received by the market. Together, these events also helped to stabilize the currency, with the rupee appreciating nearly 15% from recent lows.
Asean
Some ASEAN markets remain hampered by economic condition.
In Indonesia, to help stabilize the currency, the central bank resumed its tightening stance, raising interest rates by 25 basis points in September. However, inflation eased slightly for the month, rising 8.4% year-over-year, lower compared to 8.8% in August.
Malaysia underperformed the region for the month given its status as a defensive/low-beta market. That said, there was a positive market response to the Malaysian government’s announcement of a diesel fuel price hike as part of its subsidy reductions to meet the 4% target for the 2013 fiscal deficit.
Latin America
Markets overall experienced a strong September.
Brazilian equities reflected improved performance in September, with the local Bovespa Index gaining 4.7% in local currency terms and the MSCI Brazil Index rising 12.1% in US dollars.
Globally, the market responded positively to robust macroeconomic data out of developed markets and improving Chinese output figures, as well as the US Federal Reserve’s surprise decision not to reduce its asset purchase program, which helped to alleviate near-term concerns over capital flight from emerging markets.
EMEA
Russian market outperformed emerging markets overall.
The MSCI Russia Index gained more than 10% in September, outperforming emerging markets. In addition to the US Federal Reserve’s decision to postpone tapering and positive global macroeconomic data, the market also benefited from the Russian government’s discussions to require state-owned companies to pay 35% of net income as dividends.
The Eastern European region as a whole also outperformed, gaining 9.5% in September. In addition to Russia, Turkey outperformed due to the US Federal Reserve's decision to postpone tapering. The announcement helped calm the Turkish Lira and bring down bond yields.
Source: Mirae Asset Financial Group
ETF Securities Research-Global Commodity ETP Quarterly-Q3 2013
October 22, 2013--The Q3 2013 edition of the Global Commodity ETP Quarterly is now available.
The report includes:
A comprehensive and fully up-to-date reference guide to investing in global commodity ETPs and indexes-no ETP type or geographic area is excluded.
The report details the large and growing choice of commodity ETP exposures and strategies around the world.
Summary analysis of global commodity ETP flows, trading volumes and AUM trends. Includes a detailed analysis of the main trends in 2013 and the outlook for the remainder of the year and 2014.
Source: ETF Securities Research
New FTSE-BOCHK Offshore RMB Bond Index Series
Launched in partnership with Bank of China (Hong Kong) and FTSE Group
Combines Bank of China (Hong Kong's unique positioning in offshore RMB business and FTSE's global innovative expertise in index benchmarks
Allows investors to easily benchmark and provides access to markets in offshore RMB-linked fixed income products
October 22, 2013--Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited ("BOCHK") and FTSE Group ("FTSE") today announced the official launch of the new FTSE-BOCHK Offshore RMB Bond Index Series.
The Index Series will measure the performance of RMB-denominated bonds issued and settled outside the Mainland of China. The Index Series is designed, calculated and managed by FTSE, with BOCHK Asset Management Limited acting as an advisor, to offer global investors transparent benchmarks.
The FTSE-BOCHK Offshore RMB Bond Index Series includes a benchmark index, with a number of sub categories, which will allow market participants to group the market by type of issuer, outstanding maturity and credit rating.
The FTSE-BOCHK Offshore RMB Bond Index Series offers a unique benchmark to meet the increasing global demand for RMB-linked fixed income products, such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Source: FTSE
Eric Sprott's Open Letter To The World Gold Council
October 22, 2013--Dear World Gold Council Executives;
As you very well know,the business environment for gold producers has been extremely challenging over the past few years. While demand for physical gold remains extremely strong,prices on the COMEX have fallen precipitously. This contradictory situation is the single most important obstacle to a healthy gold mining industry.
In my opinion, the massive imbalance between supply and demand is not reflected in prices because available statistics are misleading. It is not the first time that GFMS (and World Gold Council) statistics come under pressure from the investment community. In his now celebrated "The 1998 Gold Book Annual",Frank Veneroso demonstrated the inconsistencies in GFMS gold demand data and proceeded to show how they grossly underestimated demand. The tremendous increase in the price of gold over the following years vindicated his conclusions.
For very different reasons,we are now at a similar pivotal point for gold. Over the past few years,we have seen incredible incremental demand from emerging markets. Indeed,so much so that the People’s Bank of China has announced that it is planning to increase the number of firms allowed to import and export gold and ease restrictions on individual buyers.1 In India,the government has been fighting a losing battle against gold imports by imposing import taxes and restrictions.2 Moreover,Non-Western Central Banks from around the world are replacing their U.S. dollar reserves by increasing their holdings of gold.3
Source: zerohedge.com
