Global ETF News Older than One Year
BlackRock-New standards in pension plan investment policy and implementation
July 1, 2013--Volatile markets, increased longevity and low rates present significant obstacles on the road to full funding that are hard to overcome with traditional asset allocation.
In this issue we examine whether a dynamic and adaptive approach, which the authors term journey management, might offer a more effective path towards full funding. The associated analysis also yields some valuable insights for those pension funds that have already started to implement a journey plan.
Source: BlackRock
SINA is First Chinese Web Property to Launch Real-Time NASDAQ Last Sale Market Data Service for All U.S.-Listed Securities
SINA's Media Network Enhanced With NASDAQ's Real-Time Market Data
June 30, 2013--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced that NASDAQ Last Sale real-time data is now available to millions of individual investors on the digital media network of SINA Corporation (Nasdaq:SINA), an online media company serving China and the global Chinese community.
SINA will become the first ever Chinese website to launch free real time trade data for all U.S. listed securities. NASDAQ Last Sale provides a real-time and comprehensive view into trading activity in all U.S.-listed equity securities.
Source: Global Newswire
IMF Working paper-The Finance and Growth Nexus Re-Examined: Do All Countries Benefit Equally?
Summary: A large theoretical and empirical literature has focused on the impact of financial deepening on economic growth throughout the world. This paper contributes to the literature by investigating whether this impact differs across regions, income levels, and types of economy.
Using a rich dataset for 150 countries for the period 1975-2005, dynamic panel estimation results suggest that the beneficial effect of financial deepening on economic growth in fact displays measurable heterogeneity; it is generally smaller in oil exporting countries; in certain regions, such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA); and in lower-income countries. Further analysis suggests that these differences might be driven by regulatory/supervisory characteristics and related to differences in the ability to provide widespread access to financial services.
Source: IMF
NYSE Euronext is the Leader in Global Capital Raising during the First Half of 2013
The global leader in IPOs with 72 transactions raising $28.5 billion in total global proceeds.
The global leader in follow-on financings with 262 transactions raising $106 billion in total global proceeds.
14 new technology listings accounted for a record 64% of all new technology offerings and 58% capital raised in the sector.
NYSE leads the market in completed or announced transfers from other U.S. exchanges with two top NASDAQ-100 Index companies Perrigo and Oracle.
In Europe, Euronext saw 23 new listings with €926 million ($1.2 billion) raised in proceeds from seven IPOs, and launched EnterNext(R), the Marketplace for SMEs.
June 28, 2013--During the first half of 2013, NYSE Euronext markets in the U.S. and Europe raised $28.5 billion in total global proceeds in 72 initial public offerings (IPOs) and exceeded the combined proceeds raised on the next four world markets.
In the U.S., capital raised from IPOs listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was four-times more than any other U.S. marketplace, and the NYSE achieved a record 64% of all new technology offerings from 14 listings that accounted for 58% of capital raised in the sector. Also in the first half of 2013, NYSE Euronext raised $106 billion in follow-on transactions, more than the next six world markets combined. There were a total of $168 billion in announced or completed transfers to our market, including Oracle and Perrigo, two top 100 NASDAQ companies. In Europe, NYSE Euronext added 23 new listings with approximately €926 million ($1.2 billion) in proceeds from seven IPOs and launched EnterNext(R), its innovative marketplace for SMEs.
Source: NYSE Euronext
Vanguard's EM ETF Goes Sans South Korea
June 28, 2013-- The Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF VWO officially begins life without any exposure to South Korea today when the ETF transitions to the FTSE Emerging Index.
Last October, Vanguard stunned the ETF community when it said it would move 22 of its ETFs that tracked MSCI indexes to other indexes, including some built by FTSE.
Until the end of 2012, VWO tracked the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, the same index followed by the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund EEM, VWO's primary rival. At the start of this year, VWO began following the FTSE Emerging Transition Index, gradually reducing the ETF's exposure to South Korea in the process.
Source: Market Watch
NASDAQ Closing Cross Calculates U.S. Russell Indexes for the Tenth Consecutive Year for Russell's Annual Reconstitution
June 28, 2013--The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced the NASDAQ Closing Cross was used for the tenth consecutive year to rebalance NASDAQ-listed securities in the entire family of U.S. Russell indexes during their annual reconstitution.
Approximately 696.5 million shares representing $14.1 billion were executed in the NASDAQ Closing Cross in 1.7 seconds across some 2,271 NASDAQ-listed stocks.
NASDAQ official closing prices (NOCPs) determined by the NASDAQ Closing Cross are widely used throughout the industry, by Russell Investments, Standard & Poor's, Dow Jones, and mutual funds across the country. The NASDAQ Closing Cross mechanism provides market participants with transparency and consistent prices with the dissemination of imbalances, indicative and likely clearing prices every five seconds via the Net Order Imbalance Indicator. NASDAQ OMX's INET technology platform processes accurate closing prices for the industry in microseconds.
Source: NASDAQ OMX
EPFR Global News Release-Off ramps get crowded after Fed unveils clearer road map for end of QE3
June 28, 2013--Any reservations US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke might have had about his credibility were dispelled during the fourth week of June.
Investors and financial markets responded to his reaffirmation of the US central bank’s desire to start winding down its current quantitative easing program, and possibly end it next year, by stampeding towards the exits. Outflows from EPFR Global-tracked Bond Funds smashed the previous record set only two weeks previously while investors pulled over $10 billion from Emerging Markets Equity and Bond Funds.
Visit www.epfr.com for more info
Source: EPFR
IMF Releases Data on the Currency Composition of Foreign Exchange Reserves with Additional Data on Australian and Canadian Dollar Reserves
June 28, 2013--The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today released on its website the quarterly data on the currency composition of official foreign exchange reserves (COFER) with an expanded currency range, separately identifying two additional currencies-the Australian dollar and the Canadian dollar.
COFER is an IMF database managed by the IMF’s Statistics Department, containing end-of-period quarterly data of reporting countries and jurisdictions. With the separate identification of Australian dollar and Canadian dollar reserves, seven currencies are now distinguished in COFER data: (1) U.S. dollar; (2) Euro; (3) Pound sterling; (4) Japanese yen; (5) Swiss franc; (6) Australian dollar; and (7) Canadian dollar. All other currencies are included indistinguishably in the category of "other currencies".
Source: IMF
The World Gold Council appoints Kevin Feldman as Managing Director-Investment Worldwide
June 26, 2013--The World Gold Council, the market development organisation for the gold industry, has appointed Kevin Feldman as Managing Director-Investment Worldwide.
He will be responsible for growing the organisation's portfolio of commercial partnerships, and enhancing its market leadership in gold ETFs and other physical gold products across the world. Based in New York, his responsibilities will also include overseeing US operations.
Source: World Gold Council
Despite global investment contraction, inflows to least developed countries hit record, UNCTAD report shows
June 26, 2013--Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows to least developed countries (LDCs) rose by 20 per cent in 2012 to a record US$26 billion, UNCTAD's World Investment Report 20131 reveals.
The majority of greenfield investment in LDCs in 2012 originated from other developing economies, led by India, the annual survey notes. Greenfield investment is new investment or the expansion of existing investment in recipient nations, as opposed to investment through mergers and acquisitions.
Source: UNCTAD
