Global ETF News Older than One Year
Eurex to Enter Currency Market With Derivatives
August 20, 2013--Eurex will enter the foreign-exchange market for the first time as Europe's largest derivatives exchange seeks to expand into an asset class dominated by its American rival CME Group Inc.
From Oct. 7, Eurex will offer exchange-listed derivatives on the six currency pairs where the bulk of over-the-counter trading takes place. The futures and options will include contracts based on euro-dollar, euro-pound, euro-Swiss franc and pound-dollar, according to a notice sent to members today. The exchange will also make available contracts based on the pound-Swiss franc and dollar-Swiss franc pairs.
Source: Bloomberg
Which Coastal Cities Are at Highest Risk of Damaging Floods? New Study Crunches the Numbers
August 19, 2013--Climate change, rapid urbanization, and subsiding land are putting the world's coastal cities at increasing risk of dangerous and costly flooding, a new study calculating future urban losses from flooding shows.
The study, led by World Bank economist Stephane Hallegatte and the OECD, forecasts that average global flood losses will multiply from $6 billion per city in 2005 to $52 billion a year by 2050 with just social-economic factors, such as increasing population and property value, taken into account. Add in the risks from sea-level rise and sinking land, and global flood damage could cost $1 trillion a year if cities don’t take steps to adapt.
Source: World Bank
ETF Securities Precious Metals Weekly-Silver Surges 12% as US Stocks Stumble
August 19, 2013--Positive precious metal sentiment shifts up a gear. Silver led precious
metals higher last week, as global growth data continued to improve.
Precious metals also benefited on safe haven buying due to unrest in Egypt and as investors looked for laggard value assets as they rotated out of perceived overstretched equities. The more industrially-oriented precious metals (palladium, platinum and silver) we believe will continue to benefit from improving global growth sentiment. With COMEX gold speculative short positions still at extremely elevated levels, physical demand surging, and the gold price trading below its estimated average marginal cost of production, gold reminded us last week of its good value tail risk insurance and diversification benefits. Gold better priced than equities for Fed tapering? It is interesting to note that the gold price is now back down to around where it was just before the second round of US quantitative easing (QE II) was announced in November of 2010.
Source: ETF Securities Research
Myners calls for action over ETP 'stability risk'
August 19, 2013--Former City minister Lord Paul Myners has urged the Financial Conduct Authority to do more to protect financial stability, which he believes could be at risk from the way exchange-traded products track illiquid assets.
In an interview with Financial News, Myners warned that increased trading in ETPs could amplify market volatility in situations such as when redemptions are triggered, leading to sales of the underlying asset. This, in turn, could destabilise markets, particularly where they lack liquidity.
Source: Financial News
Vanguard takes top spots in global sales
August 18, 2013--Vanguard is on track for a bumper year after the world's fourth-largest asset manager took the top three spots in the global fund sales leader board in the first half of 2013, according to Strategic Insight, an asset management research company.
Three of Vanguard’s largest index funds attracted larger inflows than the best selling actively managed fund, the Templeton Global Total Return fund, run by Michael Hasenstab.
Source: FT.com
EPFR Global News Release-Post-recession bounce for Europe fund flows
August 16, 2013--Flows into EPFR Global tracked Europe Bond and Equity Funds hit six and 66 week highs during the second week of August as initial estimates from Eurostat confirmed the end of a recession that has gripped the European Union and Eurozone since 4Q11.
The robust flows into Europe Equity Funds stood out during a week when many investors were on vacation, literally and figuratively, with most major fund groups recording lackluster flows either way.
Visit www.epfr.com for more info.
Source: EPFR
World Gold Council- Gold Demand Trends Q2 2013
August 15, 2013--Executive summary:
Key findings for second quarter 2013 examined by sector and region.
Global Gold Market: Second quarter 2013 review
Jewellery: Multi-year high in the jewellery sector as lower prices generated a surge in demand from consumers.
Investment: Record demand for gold bars and coins was countered by sizeable net outflows from ETFs, resulting in a year-on-year decline in overall investment demand relative to Q2 2012.
Technology: Technology sector saw marginal growth, the 1% year-on-year increase the first in two years.
view the Gold Council- Gold Demand Trends Q2 2013 report
Source: World Gold Council
Silver ETF holdings rise to four-month highs
The amount of silver held by the iShares Silver Trust ETF rose to a four-month high on the back of strong retail interest
August 15, 2013--The amount of silver held by the world's largest silver-backed exchange-traded fund, iShares Silver Trust, rose to a four-month high as a sharp price rally in the metal and economic optimism triggered strong retail interest.
According to the latest update on the ETF's website on Tuesday, the tonnage of silver bullion bars held by the U.S. silver ETF increased nearly 60 tonnes, or 0.6 percent, to 10,454 tonnes, the highest since April 11.
Source: MineWeb
Consultative documents on longevity risk transfer markets and point of sale disclosure issued by the Joint Forum
August 15, 2013--The Joint Forum released today two consultative documents.
The first is Longevity risk transfer markets: market structure, growth drivers and impediments, and potential risks.
The ageing population phenomenon being observed in many countries poses serious social policy challenges. Longevity risk - the risk of paying out on pensions and annuities longer than anticipated - is significant when measured from a financial perspective. For example, certain estimates of the total global amount of annuity- and pension-related longevity risk exposure range from USD 15 trillion to USD 25 trillion. At the same time, pension funds are increasingly looking for ways to hedge or transfer this exposure. The Joint Forum is therefore publishing this forward-looking consultative report to draw attention to this issue of increasing importance, to assist in setting appropriate policies and to help ensure effective supervision of related activities and risk.
Source: BIS
ETF Securities Research Update-
August 13, 2013--Key Points:
Record demand for US Mint silver coins, as commercial demand appears to be turning around;
Worst annual plunge since the aftermath of the Hunt Brothers in 1981;
Technical indicators signal potential upside for silver.
For opportunistic investors, the 29% decline of the silver price over the past 12-months represents a potentially attractive entry level. While silver is the worst performing precious metal this year, a closer analysis reveals that silver may have corrected too far and it is poised for future growth. Unlike gold, about 50% of silver consumption is driven by industrial use. Known for being the best conductor of electricity and integral to the electronics industry, demand is likely to remain steady, while new interest from the solar industry also indicates the potential for upward price pressure.
Source: ETF Securities Research
