Global ETF News Older than One Year
How green are electric vehicles?
October 26, 2021--A policy paper dissecting existing life cycle assessments of electric vehicles and identifying potential future trends in the different stages of the vehicle life cycle, especially for batteries.
Globally, transport is responsible for 24 percent of CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. Hence, decarbonisation scenarios (e.g., IEA, IRENA, WEF) regularly stress the importance of electrifying the transport sector to achieve global climate targets.
Although the vast majority of life cycle assessments attribute electric vehicles (EVs) with less life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than conventional combustion engine vehicles, some studies, for example, by the German General Automobile Club or the ifo Institute for Economic Research, disagree. A common second criticism of EVs focuses on the resource-intense and environmentally damaging mineral mining and battery manufacturing processes.
Source: bruegel.org
Longer Delivery Times Reflect Supply Chain Disruptions
October 25, 2021--Supply chain disruptions have become a major challenge for the global economy since the start of the pandemic. Shutdowns of factories in China in early 2020, lockdowns in several countries across the world, labor shortages, robust demand for tradable goods, disruptions to logistics networks, and capacity constraints have resulted in big increases in freight costs and delivery times.
Our chart of the week shows suppliers' delivery times in the United States and the European Union have hit record highs since late 2020 (the data goes back to 2007). IHS Markit’s suppliers' delivery times index is constructed from Purchasing Managers Index business surveys and reflects the extent of supply chain delays.
Source: IMF.org
IMF Departmental Paper-Powering the Digital Economy: Opportunities and Risks of Artificial Intelligence in Finance
October 22, 2021--Summary:
This paper discusses the impact of the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in the financial sector. It highlights the benefits these technologies bring in terms of financial deepening and efficiency, while raising concerns about its potential in widening the digital divide between advanced and developing economies.
The paper advances the discussion on the impact of this technology by distilling and categorizing the unique risks that it could pose to the integrity and stability of the financial system, policy challenges, and potential regulatory approaches. The evolving nature of this technology and its application in finance means that the full extent of its strengths and weaknesses is yet to be fully understood. Given the risk of unexpected pitfalls, countries will need to strengthen prudential oversight.
Source: IMF
The Commodity Markets Outlook in eight charts
October 21, 2021--October 21, 2021--Energy prices surge, non-energy prices stabilize at high levels
Energy prices have surged over the past three months, especially natural gas and coal prices, while most non-energy prices have plateaued following steep increases earlier in the year.
Adverse weather has buffeted many commodity markets: unusually high summer temperatures increased demand for electricity; droughts reduced hydroelectricity supply and affected some agricultural commodities, while floods impacted the supply of some metals and coal. Most prices are expected to ease in 2022 as supply constraints ease.
Crude oil prices continue to recover
Crude oil prices continued their recovery from their COVID-19 lows, with Brent crude oil averaging $82/bbl in the first half of October, well above its pre-pandemic level. Oil prices have been boosted by the continued recovery in oil demand, which is now just 3 percent below its pre-pandemic peak.
view the World Bank October 2021 Commodity Markets Outlook Urbanization and commodity demand
Source: worldbank.org
ETFGI reports record assets and net inflows in Active ETFs world-wide of US$418 billion and US$110 billion respectively at end of September 2021
October 19, 2021--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm covering trends in the global ETFs and ETPs ecosystem, reported today record assets and net inflows in Active ETFs world-wide of US$418 billion and US$110 billion respectively at end of September. Actively managed ETFs and ETPs saw net inflows of US$14.68 billion during September, bringing year-to-date net inflows to US$109.93 billion.
Assets invested in actively managed ETFs/ETPs finished the month up to 1.1%, from US$413 billion at the end of August to US$418 billion, according to ETFGI's September 2021 Active ETF and ETP industry landscape insights report, the monthly report which is part of an annual paid-for research subscription service. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)
Highlights
Record $418 Bn invested in actively managed ETFs and ETPs industry at end of September 2021.
Assets increased 46.1% YTD in 2021 going from $285.83 Bn at end of 2020 to $417.73 Bn.
Record YTD 2021 net inflows of $109.93 Bn beating prior record of $51.29 Bn gathered in YTD 2020.
$109.93 Bn YTD net inflows are $18.83 Bn greater than the full year 2020 record net inflows $91.10 Bn.
$149.73 Bn in net inflows gathered in the past 12 months.
18th month of consecutive net inflows
Actively managed Equity ETFs and ETPs gathered a record $52.73 Bn in YTD net inflows 2021.
Source: ETFGI
Housing Prices Continue to Soar in Many Countries Around the World
October 18, 2021--While most economic indicators deteriorated last year, house prices largely shrugged off the effects of the pandemic. Of the over 60 countries that enter into the IMF's Global House Price Index, three-quarters saw increases in house prices during 2020, and this trend has largely continued in countries with more recent data.
IMF research indicates that low interest rates contributed to the boom in house prices, as did policy support provided by governments and workers' greater need to be able to work from home. In many countries, including the United States, online searches for homes reached record levels. Along with these demand factors, house prices also increased as supply chain disruptions raised the costs of several inputs into the construction process.
Source: IMF.org
Critical Decarbonization Technologies Need at Least "10x" Investment to Hit Zero Emission Targets
October 14, 2021--Innovative, early-stage technologies like hydrogen-based fuels, carbon capture and bioenergy are in urgent need of funding to scale globally and help organizations hit zero emission targets
Experts from over 50 financial institutions, including banks, insurers, and asset managers, and the public sector, have come together to develop financing blueprints and policies to mobilize investment in these technologies
New report outlines three ways to close this supply-and-demand-side green investment gap
Breakthrough technologies such as hydrogen-based fuels, bioenergy and carbon-capture storage solutions are needed to hit the global goal of zero emissions by 2050.
To scale these technologies and take them to market, at least a tenfold increase in investment is needed, according to the How to Finance Industry Net-Zero report.
Released by the World Economic Forum and Oliver Wyman, the report outlines how to address the supply-and-demand-side gap and take these technologies to the next level.
view the How to Finance Industry Net-Zero report
Source: weforum.org
IMF-Fiscal Policy for an Uncertain World
October 13, 2021--As public debt rises to record levels, countries need to calibrate fiscal policies to their own unique circumstances.
Vaccination has saved lives and helped economic recovery in many countries, but uncertainty remains high amid new virus variants.
The pandemic will leave a lasting mark on inequality, poverty, and government finances, our latest Fiscal Monitor finds.
With the pandemic, global debt in 2020 jumped by 14 percent to a record high $226 trillion. This figure includes both public and nonfinancial private sector debt. The latter will need to be monitored carefully, as excess private debt can eventually turn into higher public debt.
Source: IMF
World must triple clean energy investment by 2030 to curb climate change-IEA
October 13, 2021--Investment in renewable energy needs to triple by the end of the decade if the world hopes to effectively fight climate change and keep volatile energy markets under control, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.
"The world is not investing enough to meet its future energy needs... transition-related spending is gradually picking up, but remains far short of what is required to meet rising demand for energy services in a sustainable way," the IEA said.
Source: financialpost.com
The United States has taken the leading position in Bitcoin mining following China's crackdown on mining operations, shows data update from the Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance
October 13, 2021--The latest update to the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index (CBECI) has confirmed the impact of the Bitcoin mining crackdown in China, showing that the leading share of global Bitcoin network hashrate now sits in the US, followed by Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.
This new data (to the end of August 2021) shows the US with a global hashrate share of 35.4% (up from 16.8% at the end of April), Kazakhstan with 18.1% (up from 8.2%) and the Russian Federation with 11% (up from 6.8%).
This confirms the hashrate trajectory identified in the last update (to end April 2021) which showed those three countries were already gaining market share prior to the crackdown in China.
The immediate effect of the government-mandated ban on crypto mining in China was a 38% drop in global network hashrate in June 2021- which corresponds roughly to China's share of hashrate before the clampdown, suggesting that Chinese miners ceased operations simultaneously.
Source: jbs.cam.ac.uk
