Global ETF News Older than One Year
BlackRock Weighs Merits of Standardized Corporate Bond Issues
June 17, 2013-- BlackRock Inc. (BLK) is proposing a solution to low trading volumes in many corporate bonds: having borrowers issue more-uniform deals.
Standardization in the $5.5 trillion U.S. investment-grade corporate bond market "looks unavoidable in the long run," the asset manager said in a paper released Monday by the BlackRock Investment Institute.
Source: Euro Investor
EU Said to Raise No Objections to ICE Takeover of NYSE Euronext
June 17, 2013--European antitrust regulators have lodged no objections to IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) Inc.'s takeover of NYSE Euronext (NYX) as a decision on the transaction approaches, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
While formal approval of the deal, which would give ICE control of NYSE’s Liffe derivatives exchange in London, hasn’t been issued, antitrust officials have communicated no opposition to the companies, according to a person, who asked not to be identified because the review is private. A decision from the European Commission is expected by June 24, the person said. Shareholders of both companies approved the transaction, which values NYSE at $10.2 billion, on June 3.
Source: Bloomberg
EPFR Global News Release-Bond Funds break own outflow record
June 17, 2013--Going into mid-June EPFR Global-tracked Bond Funds set a new outflow record for the second week running as fears that US monetary policy will tighten in the second half of the year prompted more investors to head for the exits.
Overall, they pulled $14.45 billion out of Bond Funds and another $8.5 billion out of Equity Funds during the week ending June 12 as interest rates for 30-year US mortgages climbed to a 14 month high and key equities indexes continued to slide.
Visit www.epfr.com for more info
Source: EPFR
ETF Securities-Precious Metals Weekly: Platinum and Palladium Supply Risks Rise as Eskom Power Shortfalls add to Labour Concerns
June 17, 2013--Precious metals prices declined across the board last week, as expectations of reduced Fed stimulus gathered pace.
While consensus appears to expect the Fed to reduce its bond buying program as early as September, this week’s Fed meeting has the potential to shake this faith as rising bond yields and subdued inflation give the Fed scope to follow the IMF’s advice to maintain the program until growth has a firmer footing. With futures positioning in gold and silver highly negative, any gold or silver price positive news has the potential to drive a strong short-covering rally. It may be too early for such news to sustainability improve the fundamental outlook for these metals, but it is something investors’ should monitor. In the meantime, power problems at South Africa’s power provider, Eskom, and labour issues at the mines will likely continue to exert downward pressure on new supplies of platinum and palladium and upward pressure on their prices.
Source: ETF Securities
Market Vectors' Fran Rodilosso on the Recent Volatility in Emerging Market Debt
June 14, 2013--Though emerging markets sovereign hard and local currency debt have been among the most volatile fixed income asset classes for the past several weeks, the longer term trend of portfolio allocations to emerging market debt asset classes is a major theme that will continue for the next several years, according to Fran Rodilosso, Fixed Income Portfolio Manager at Market Vectors ETFs.
"U.S. interest rate volatility was the spark that eventually led to a broader sell-off in fixed income markets globally. Higher interest rates and signs of growth in the U.S. have also fueled a move sharply higher in the U.S. dollar versus virtually every major emerging market currency, save the Chinese Yuan," said Rodilosso. "No doubt some of the fundamental developments in Brazil, Turkey and South Africa have compounded negative currency and fixed income moves in those countries."
Source: Daily Finance
Passives becoming active choice for many
June 14, 2013--
Growing awareness of the impact of charges on long-term returns for investors means that low-cost index trackers and exchange traded funds (ETFs) are playing an increasingly important role in portfolios run by wealth managers.
“There is no question that wealth managers are increasingly looking at ETFs and passive funds to keep costs down as they move to fee-based models,” says Neil Jamieson, head of UK & Ireland, ETF Securities.
Source: FT.com
iShares Predicts "Incredibly Bright Future" for ETFs in the U.S.
U.S. ETF Assets Could More Than Double in Next Five Years To Exceed $3.5 Trillion by 2017
Growth Fueled by Existing and New Investors Segments, Greater Usage of ETFs as Core Exposures and Fixed Income ETFs
June 14, 2013--The U.S. market for Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) will likely grow to more than $3.5 trillion in assets over the next five years, compared with $1.5 trillion1 today, according to a new industry projection announced today by iShares, the ETF business of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK).
Growth in the U.S. is expected to be primarily driven by increased ETF usage by existing and new investor segments, ETFs as core exposures and a widening investor base for fixed income ETFs.
Mark Wiedman, the Global Head of iShares, commented: "In the last decade, ETFs have evolved from obscurity to a $2+ trillion industry2, embraced by retail and institutional investors alike. But these are still early days in ETF adoption. Even in the most mature market, the U.S., there is an incredibly bright future."
Source: BlackRock
Eurex Exchange completes migration to new, state-of-the-art trading architecture
New global trading system fully rolled out since 10 June/Fixed-income derivatives segment was last product group to migrate
June 12, 2013--
Eurex Exchange has been operating since Monday, 10 June, entirely on Deutsche Börse Group's global trading architecture.
The fixed-income derivatives segment, including highly liquid Euro-Bund, Euro-Bobl and Euro-Schatz futures, was the last to migrate from the previously used system. The new platform meets the needs of Eurex Exchange participants in terms of enhanced performance, efficiency and capacity, more connection options and improved functionality, while maintaining the high stability and availability that traders are used to. This technology has already been successfully used since April 2011 by the International Securities Exchange (ISE), the leading U.S. options venue and Eurex Exchange’s partner exchange.
Source: Eurex
Europe and Central Asia: Less Volatile, but Slower Growth
June 12, 2013--STORY HIGHLIGHTS
GDP growth in Europe and Central Asia is projected to rise only slightly in 2013 to 2.8 percent.
Following a sharp decline in 2012, Foreign Direct Investment is expected to rebound in 2013.
Developments in global financial markets remain important for the region, particularly for countries with high external financing needs.
Overview
The Europe and Central Asia region (1) suffered a significant economic slowdown in 2012, as the region faced significant headwinds, including weak external demand, deleveraging by European banks, poor harvest and inflationary pressures. As a result, growth fell to 2.7 percent in 2012, compared with 5.6 percent in 2011 with a sharp slowdown in developing Europe and less severe adjustments among the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Source: World Bank
Developing world faces domestic challenges, as global economy stabilizes
June 12, 2013--STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Risks from advanced economies have receded, says Global Economic Prospects
Structural reforms needed in developing countries to regain fast growth
Expanding South-South trade is boosting global commerce
The world economy appears to be getting back on its feet as risks from advanced economies ease.
Growth in the developing world will remain solid, albeit slower than the frenetic growth rates seen during the pre-crisis boom period, as developing countries grapple with home-grown challenges brought on by capacity constraints in many middle income countries, says the World Bank’s latest Global Economic Prospects, issued today.
Global GDP is expected to expand about 2.2 percent in this year and strengthen to 3.0 percent and 3.3 percent in 2014 and 2015.
view the Global Economic Prospects Report-Less volatile, but slower growth-June 2013
Source: World Bank
