Global ETF News Older than One Year
NYSE Euronext Joins The UN Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative
Commitment further demonstrates NYSE Euronext's leadership in Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability
July 24, 2013--NYSE Euronext today announced that it has joined the United Nations' Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative,
which aims to explore how exchanges can work together with investors, regulators, and companies to enhance corporate transparency on Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) issues and encourage responsible long-term approaches to investment.
Source: NYSE Euronext
NASDAQ OMX Reports Second Quarter 2013 Results
Second quarter 2013 non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.62, second quarter 2013 GAAP diluted EPS of $0.52.
Second quarter 2013 net revenues1 were a record $451 million, up 8% from the prior year quarter's non-GAAP net revenue. On an organic basis, assuming constant currency and excluding acquisitions, net revenues increased 1% year-over-year.
All four business segments experienced organic revenue growth year-over-year.
Non-transaction based revenues were 72% of our total second quarter 2013 net revenues, and increased 10% from the prior year quarter.
During the second quarter, NASDAQ OMX closed two strategically significant acquisitions, the Thomson Reuters' IR, PR and Multimedia businesses, and the eSpeed benchmark Treasury trading platform.
July 24, 2013--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today reported results for the second quarter of 2013. Second quarter net revenues were $451 million, up from $416 million in the prior year period on a non-GAAP basis, driven by acquisitions and organic growth in all four business segments. On an organic basis second quarter net revenues increased 1% year-over-year.
Source: NASDAQ OMX
PowerShares ETFs extend lead in smart beta solutions
July 24, 2013--PowerShares Canada, an affiliate of Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC (Invesco PowerShares), a leading global provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), announced the PowerShares suite of fundamental index ETFs recently surpassed US$5 billion in assets under management (AUM) globally.
PowerShares fundamental-weighted index ETFs trade in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.
"Since launching in 2009, PowerShares Canada has been focused on providing investors with a diverse family of 'smart beta' strategies," said Michael Cooke, Head of Distribution, PowerShares Canada. "Investors looking for higher risk-adjusted returns than those of a cap-weighted benchmark are readily adopting ETFs that employ smart beta strategies, such as fundamental, low-volatility and high-beta indexing."
Source: Canadian ETF Watch
Index Association seeks ‘best practice’ standards
July 23, 2013--The Index Industry Association on Monday launched the first unified set of "best practice" guidelines for index providers amid continuing debate over the need for improvements in standards in the index funds market.
Global financial regulators have stepped up their scrutiny of the indexing industry in the aftermath of the Libor scandal.
Source: FT.com
Market highlights for first half-year 2013
July 23, 2013--The global market capitalization continued to increase (+3%) in the first half of 2013. The relatively good performance of stock markets in the recent period was largely driven by
the Americas.
The important growth rates of market capitalization observed in the last three semesters in Americas (chronologically +10.3%, +7.4% and +7.4%) enabled this region to significantly surpass the market capitalization level observed in June 2011, before the sharp decline in the summer 2011. By comparison, the Asia Pacific market capitalization slightly decreased in the first half of 2013 (-1.2%). This decrease was mainly due to exchange rates effect. In constant USD, the market capitalization increased by 4.6%. It increased by 0.6% in Europe, Africa, Middle East (+3.6% in constant USD). In both regions market capitalizations have not recovered fully from two years ago.
Source: WFE (World Federation of Exchanges)
G20 Ministers Focus on Tax Evasion, Stimulus Measures
July 22, 2013--The fight against tax evasion by multinational corporations and measures to ensure recovery amid the global economic turbulence came into the limelight at the two-day meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers that finished in Moscow on Saturday.
Finance ministers and central bank governors of the world's 20 biggest economies agreed to focus on boosting employment and economic growth and continue the policy of monetary support where needed, according to the closing communique from the meeting.
Source: The Moscow Times
ETFS Precious Metals Weekly-Gold Price Rallies Most Since 2011 as Investors Reassess US Interest Rate Outlook
July 22, 2013--The gold price posted a second consecutive weekly gain on the back of sustained monetary accommodation comments from FOMC chairman Ben Bernanke and a weaker US dollar.
The nearly 7% gain over the past two weeks is the largest gold price rise since November 2011. Gold ended the week just under US$1,300oz and appears to be building a firm base above US$1,200oz. Substantial physical demand, notably from China, increased central bank buying, unprecedented global monetary accommodation, a weaker than usual economic recovery and the recent price correction back to attractive value should be medium-term bullish for most precious metals prices.
Backwardation in gold market indicates continued shortages. Due to the quasi-currency status of gold, gold futures very rarely close in backwardation.
However, on July 19, the August 2013 futures contract settled at US$1,292.9/oz. on the COMEX, US$0.40/oz. lower than the thinly traded July 2013 contract. The prior week, the cost of borrowing gold rose to its highest level since 2008, as the recent gold sell-off has substantially tightened the leasing market.
Source: ETF Securities
Q2 Performance Results for Dow Jones Islamic Market Indices and S&P Shariah Indices
July 22, 2013--S&P Dow Jones Indices, a market leader in global index innovation, announces the release of S&P Dow Jones Indices Shariah Quantitative Analysis: Q2 2013.
Published quarterly, this report analyzes components of the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indices and S&P Shariah Indices with comparative performance and fundamentals.
Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices
Global Short & Leverage ETF/ETP assets hit $51bn, as equity investors become bullish again
June 22, 2013--Global S&L inflows of over $2 billion in June as AUM reached $50.9 bn, up nearly $7bn this year as monthly trading volumes rise 70%
Equities saw bullish flows in May after being bearish over the previous five months
Japanese equities remain popular, increasing their net notional long positions by $934 million as Boost launched Europe's first Short and Leverage ETPs tracking the TOPIX index
Fixed Income investors became bearish, consistent with an expected rise in interest rates
Investors became slightly bullish on gold during June, reducing short positions, while investors were also bullish on silver and natural gas
Global Short and Leveraged ETP assets rose by $6.8bn (15%) in the first six months of 2013 to $50.9bn, as investors continue to increase their usage of Short and Leveraged (S&L) ETPs. As a result of this increased usage and interest in S&L ETPs, Boost recently launched 16 new equity S&L ETPs, taking its platform to 36 ETPs. The new launch included the world’s first FTSE 250 S&L ETPs, Europe’s first S&L Japanese equity ETPs tracking the TOPIX index, plus additional leverage factors (-1x, -2x and +2x) for Boost’s most popular products which include FTSE 100 and gold.
Source: BOOST
State Street Reports Second-Quarter 2013 GAAP and Operating-Basis EPS of $1.24 on Revenue of $2.6 Billion
July 19, 2013-- In announcing today's financial results, Joseph L. Hooley, State Street's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said, "We reported a strong second quarter with revenue growth driven by new business and improved equity markets. Seasonal factors and increased market volatility benefited our securities finance and foreign exchange businesses.
The second-quarter results also reflected our continued success in realizing the expected benefits from our Business Operations and Information Technology Transformation program and ongoing expense management. Importantly, we achieved positive operating leverage compared to both the first quarter of 2013 and the second quarter of 2012.
We remain focused on returning capital to our shareholders. During the second quarter of 2013, we purchased approximately $560 million of our common stock and have approximately $1.5 billion remaining on our March 2013 common stock purchase program authorizing the purchase of up to $2.1 billion of our common stock through March 31, 2014."
Source: Wall Street Journal
