Global ETF News Older than One Year
Coming to America-Safe expands its horizons
May 23, 2013--Hong Kong, Singapore, London, and now New York. The world's biggest currency reserves manager has reportedly opened its first US office:
Wall Street executives will be rubbing their hands in anticipation.But China ... view more
Source: Asian Investor
UN Report-Global economic growth still sluggish, with prospect of gradual improvement
May 23, 2013--Global economic growth will continue to be "below potential" this year, according to a report released today by the United Nations that adds that job creation will be vital to spur recovery.
The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2013 mid-year update notes that, since late 2012, new policy initiatives in major developed economies have reduced systemic risks and helped stabilize consumer, business and investor confidence, but with very limited improvement in economic growth. view the UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2013 report-Update as of mid-2013*
Source: UN
Em Monthly-EM Sentiment Gradually Improve
DM equities continue to outperform EM while EM equities valuation remain at compelling level.
May 23, 2013--Weak economic trend continued.
Chinese stock market dropped as it continued to reflect a weaker economic trend while Fitch downgraded the country's credit rating due to high indebtedness and the incidence of bird flu in eastern China continued.
Weaker-than-expected economic growth was seen across a number of measures. First-quarter GDP growth came in at 7.7% and HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for April was 50.4. Industrial production for March was 8.9%.
India-Improving economic data helps markets.
India’s trade deficit, which has been a major source of concern in recent months, surprised positively on the back of strong export growth and falling commodity prices. In fact, exports grew 7.0% year-over-year in March, while imports fell 2.9%. Meanwhile, WPI inflation also continued on a downward trajectory, rising 6% year-over-year, lower than the consensus estimate. The Reserve Bank of India still voiced caution about inflation.
There is a possibility that the RBI will cut rates further in the second half to boost the sagging economy. Foreign direct investment (FDI) also continues to reflect a positive trend and given increased visibility of FDI and slowing gold imports, it is likely that the rupee will remain stable in the near term.
ASEAN markets-The ASEAN markets are attractive despite each economy’s own challenges.
The ASEAN markets continued to represent a compelling investment case in the region, each economy faces its own set of challenges.
After rising to nearly a two-year high in March, Indonesia’s inflation fell slightly in April to 5.57% year-over-year. Bank Indonesia lowered its growth forecast range for 2013 to 6.2%-6.6% in light of the slow recovery in the global economy. The World Bank also cut Indonesia’s growth estimate by 10 basis points to 6.2%.
Brazil-Expecting gradual improvement.
While Brazil outperformed the region, Brazilian equities continue to lag global markets, though large caps are beginning to show indications of improving earnings momentum, suggesting a more favorable outlook.
Across Latin America, Peru continues to be the weakest regional performer due to high exposure to precious metals and copper mining as these industries have shown extreme price weakness year-to-date.
Commodity price drops led to the region underperforming.
EMEA-The Russian market underperformed the EMEA region, emerging markets and developed markets in April. Russian equities declined due to both macro and company specific factors.
At the macro level, falling oil prices and overall weak commodity prices were detrimental to the Russian market, while at the company level, increased speculation that the government would delay planned natural gas tariffs caused major providers to sell off. In the Middle East and Africa region, South Africa underperformed the global index as the local market was led down by declining gold and other commodity prices.
Source: Mirae Asset Management
BlackRock-Credit Suisse ETF deal delayed after OFT asks for more time
May 23, 2013--The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has said it needs more time to look into BlackRock's acquisition of Credit Suisse's exchange traded funds business.
The watchdog had been due to report on the takeover on Wednesday, but according to the Times has asked for another 10 days to look into the deal.
Source: CityWire
FTSE licenses four indices to Vanguard for new ETFs
May 22, 2013--FTSE Group ("FTSE"), the global index provider, today announces that it has licensed four more indices to Vanguard as the basis for a new range of international Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). This brings the number of ETFs based on FTSE indices globally to over 200, including 11 provided by Vanguard.
Vanguard, one of the three largest US asset management firms, will adopt the following indices from FTSE’s All-World and All-World High Dividend Yield Index Series, for the creation of UCITS ETFs: FTSE Developed Europe Index, FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan Index, FTSE Japan Index, FTSE All-World High Dividend Yield Index.
Source: FTSE
BNY Mellon Wealth Management Plans 50% Sales Force Increase
May 22, 2013--BNY Mellon Wealth Management is planning to increase its sales force by 50 percent over the next two years, the firm announced.
The firm also intends to add private bankers and mortgage bankers, portfolio managers, wealth strategists and additional sales support staff.
The firm says it plans to strengthen the sales teams in its current locations and establish offices in other wealth markets.
Source: Private Wealth
T. Rowe Price Says Dubai, Qatar Deserve MSCI Upgrade to Emerging
May 22, 2013--Dubai and Qatar deserve to be upgraded to emerging-market status at MSCI Inc. (MSCI) next month, T. Rowe Price (TROW) Group Inc. said, after the emirates failed to satisfy the index provider's requirements for four years.
“I see no reason why they shouldn’t be upgraded and don’t understand why they haven’t been previously,” Oliver Bell, London-based money manager at T. Rowe Price’s Africa & Middle East Fund, (TRAMX) said by e-mail yesterday. “Both Dubai and Qatar are in a better position and meet more of the criteria than other countries that have been upgraded before.”
Source: Bloomberg
Short & Leverage ETP assets up 10% year to date to $48.5bn
Global S&L AUM up more than 70% since Dec 2008 as Global ETF assets reach record highs
S&L monthly volumes increase by 40% since Dec 12, to $160 bn per month
Investors mixed on equities, commodities and bearish on fixed income
S&L usage up as investors increase demand for transparent Exchange Traded Products (ETPs)
May 21, 2013--Global Short and Leveraged ETP assets rose by $4.4bn (10%) in the first four months of 2013 to $48.5bn and 70% since Dec 2008, as investors continue to increase their usage of Short and Leveraged (S&L) ETPs.
The increase in S&L ETPs is due to a number of factors including:
an increase in the number of providers offering S&L ETPs
an increase in the asset classes and indices available in S&L
improved education and client understanding of how S&L ETPs
Source: Boost ETP
SPDR University Latest Commentary -Weekly Market Report- 5/17/2013
May 21, 2013--ECONOMIES: Retail sales rise but industrial production and housing starts fall in the US. Manufacturing sales fall in Canada. Unemployment claims drift lower in the UK. GDP falls in the eurozone but rises robustly in Japan. Wage inflation slows in Australia.
MARKETS: Equities are mostly higher. Yields on JGBs rise sharply. USD remains well bid. JPY continues to weaken and AUD falls below parity. Gold falls. Oil is mixed.
NEXT WEEK PREVIEWED SPOTLIGHT:
The Bank of Japan will likely leave its monetary policy stance unchanged. Expenditure details will become available for Q1 GDP
in the UK and Germany.
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
US
Consumer spending remains resilient. When RETAIL SALES fell0.5% in March, analysts jumped on the idea that January’s payroll tax hike was beginning to affect spending, and that the impact would last for a while. Given a 0.1% increase in April that analysis appeared prescient. But the print was much stronger than the headline suggested, because the weakness at least partially reflected a 4.7% price-related decline at gasoline stations. Moreover, the other source of weakness was in food and beverage stores, which may also have been price related.
All but two of the other major categories rose. Electronics and eating out jumped 0.8%, motor vehicles 1.0%, clothing 1.2%,and building materials 1.5%.
to request report-http://spdru.com
Source: SPDR University
ETF Securities-Precious Metals Weekly: Palladium Price Boosted by Continued Deficit Fears
May 20, 2013--Precious metals remained under pressure last week as a narrowing US deficit helped the US dollar appreciate and sent most precious metals (in dollar terms) lower.
Many investors in gold and silver ETPs continued to rotate into equities despite mixed cyclical signals. Meanwhile the Reserve Bank of India added a further obstacle to gold-hungry Indian consumers by restricting the ability of banks to import gold on consignment (meaning that they will only be able to import gold to fulfil a specific customer order from now on). The only bright spot in precious metals came from palladium which continued to rally on growing supply deficit expectations. As market participants from around the globe gathered in London for Platinum and Palladium Week, there is a growing consensus that the palladium deficit in 2013 will be meaningful.
Johnson Matthey confirms the platinum and palladium deficit of 2012 and points to a further deficit in palladium in 2013. Palladium is set to see supplies tighten this year as gasoline autocatalyst demand from the US and China continues to grow and Russian state stocks diminish further. JM's outlook for platinum is strained by still poor diesel autocatalyst sales in Europe and weaker jewellery demand, while recycling activity could pick up. European auto sales may have reached a bottom however, with April sales showing the first increase in 18 months. Sales are currently hovering near a 17 year low and austerity-fatigued consumers of Europe will probably need to see more balance-sheet restructuring before they quicken their pace of car purchases.
Source: ETF Securities
