Global ETF News Older than One Year
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
IMF-Global Financial Stability Report, October 2021-COVID-19, Crypto, and Climate Navigating Challenging Transitions
October 12, 2021--Overview
Financial stability risks contained so far, but despite improvements vulnerabilities remain elevated in some sectors
Financial stability risks have been contained so far, reflecting ongoing policy support and a rebound in the global economy earlier this year. Chapter 1 explains that financial conditions have eased further in net in advanced economies but changed little in emerging markets.
However, the optimism that propelled markets earlier in the year has faded on growing concerns about the strength of the global recovery, and ongoing supply chain disruptions intensified inflation concerns. Signs of stretched asset valuations in some market segments persist, and pockets of vulnerabilities remain in the nonbank financial sector; recovery is uneven in the corporate sector.
Source: IMF
Study, illustrations, and maps show the stakes for COP26 climate negotiations
October 12, 2021--New research from Climate Central illustrates the fleeting opportunity to limit coastal cities' future losses to rising seas. Detailed in the paper "Unprecedented Threats to Cities from Multi-century Sea Level Rise," published today in Environmental Research Letters, the research identifies which places may be saved or lost in the long run as a result of present-day climate actions, potentially tied to the outcomes of the upcoming COP26 UN climate negotiations (October 31-November 12 in Glasgow, Scotland).
Hundreds of coastal cities and land where up to one billion people live today are at stake. And the difference between increases of 1.5C and 2.0C degrees of warming is especially acute: Compared to the jump from 2.0C to 3.0C, this smaller increase adds nearly twice as much at-risk populated area, highlighting the consequences of missing the most ambitious targets inthe Paris Agreement.Paired with data and imagery from Google Earth, the research enables precise illustration ofprojected water levels.
view the research paper- Unprecedented threats to cities from multi-century sea level rise
Source: climatecentral.org
ETFGI reports record year to date net inflows of US$924 billion into ETFs and ETPs listed globally at end of September
October 12, 2021--ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm covering trends in the global ETFs and ETPs ecosystem, reported today that ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered net inflows of US$89.97 billion during September, bringing year-to-date net inflows to a record US$924.18 billion which is higher than the US$486.67 billion gathered at this point last year and higher than the US$762.77 billion.
Assets invested in the global ETFs/ETPs industry have decreased by 2.3% from US$9.73 trillion at the end of August 2021, to US$9.50 trillion at the end of September, according to ETFGI's September 2021 Global ETFs and ETPs industry landscape insights report, an annual paid-for research subscription service. (All dollar values in USD unless otherwise noted.)
Highlights
Assets of $9.50 trillion invested in ETFs and ETPs listed globally at the end of September 2021 are the second highest on record.
Record YTD 2021 net inflows of $924.18 Bn beating the prior record of $486.67 Bn gathered in YTD 2020.
$924.18 Bn YTD net inflows are $161.41 Bn higher than the full year 2020 record net inflows $762.77 Bn.
$1.20 trillion in net inflows gathered in the past 12 months.
Assets increased 18.9% YTD in 2021, going from US$7.99 trillion at end of 2020, to US$9.50 trillion.
28th month of consecutive net inflows
Equity ETFs and ETPs listed globally gathered a record $632.81 Bn in YTD net inflows 2021.
Source: ETFGI
IMF-World Economic Outlook October 2021-
Recovery During a Pandemic Health Concerns, Supply Disruptions, and Price Pressures
October 12, 2021--Global recovery continues, but the momentum has weakened and uncertainty has increased
The global economic recovery is continuing, even as the pandemic resurges. The fault lines opened up by COVID-19 are looking more persistent-near-term divergences are expected to leave lasting imprints on medium-term performance. Vaccine access and early policy support are the principal drivers of the gaps.
The global economy is projected to grow 5.9 percent in 2021 and 4.9 percent in 2022, 0.1 percentage point lower for 2021 than in the July forecast. The downward revision for 2021 reflects a downgrade for advanced economies-in part due to supply disruptions-and for low-income developing countries, largely due to worsening pandemic dynamics. This is partially offset by stronger near-term prospects among some commodity-exporting emerging market and developing economies. Rapid spread of Delta and the threat of new variants have increased uncertainty about how quickly the pandemic can be overcome. Policy choices have become more difficult, with limited room to maneuver.
Source: IMF.org
A Hobbled Recovery Along Entrenched Fault Lines
October 12, 2021---The global recovery continues amid increasing uncertainty, more complex policy trade-offs.
The global recovery continues but momentum has weakened, hobbled by the pandemic. Fueled by the highly transmissible Delta variant, the recorded global COVID-19 death toll has risen close to 5 million and health risks abound, holding back a full return to normalcy. Pandemic outbreaks in critical links of global supply chains have resulted in longer than expected supply disruptions, feeding inflation in many countries.
Overall, risks to economic prospects have increased and policy trade-offs have become more complex.
Compared to our July forecast, the global growth projection for 2021 has been revised down marginally to 5.9 percent and is unchanged for 2022 at 4.9 percent. However, this modest headline revision masks large downgrades for some countries. The outlook for the low-income developing country group has darkened considerably due to worsening pandemic dynamics. The downgrade also reflects more difficult near-term prospects for the advanced economy group, in part due to supply disruptions. Partially offsetting these changes, projections for some commodity exporters have been upgraded on the back of rising commodity prices. Pandemic-related disruptions to contact-intensive sectors have caused the labor market recovery to significantly lag the output recovery in most countries.
Source: IMF.org
IMF-Asset Purchases and Direct Financing: Guiding Principles for Emerging Markets and Developing Economies during COVID-19 and Beyond
October 11, 2021--Summary:
Many central banks in emerging market and developing economies have used asset purchases to reduce financial stresses during the COVID crisis, and some are doing so to provide macroeconomic stimulus.
Source: IMF
BIS Paper-A taxonomy of sustainable finance taxonomies
October 8, 2021--A taxonomy of sustainable finance taxonomies1
Principles for effective taxonomies and proposed policy actions
Abstract
Sustainable finance taxonomies can play an important role in scaling up sustainable finance and, in turn, in supporting the achievement of high-level goals such as the Paris Accord and the UN sustainable development goals. This paper develops a framework to classify and compare existing taxonomies.
Several weaknesses emerge from this classification and comparison, including the lack of usage of relevant and measurable sustainability performance indicators, a lack of granularity and lack of verification of achieved sustainability benefits. On this basis, the paper proposes key principles for the design of effective taxonomies.
The principles are then employed to develop a simple framework for transition taxonomies. The key policy messages of the analysis are:
(i) Endeavor that taxonomies correspond to specific sustainability objectives;
Source: bis.org
Inflation Scares in an Uncharted Recovery
October 6, 2021-- A key question is what combination of events could cause persistently faster price gains.
The economic recovery has fueled a rapid acceleration in inflation this year for advanced and emerging market economies, driven by firming demand, supply shortages, and rapidly rising commodity prices.
We forecast in our latest World Economic Outlook that higher inflation will likely continue in coming months before returning to pre-pandemic levels by mid-2022, though risks of an acceleration do remain.
The good news for policymakers is that long-term inflation expectations are well anchored, but economists still disagree about how enduring the upward pressure for prices will ultimately be.
Source: IMF
BetaShares Market Trends: October 2021 Key global market trends-higher rates take their toll
October 6, 2021--Global equities suffered a setback in September as a rebound in bond yields dragged down still lofty price-to-earnings valuations. The key market development in the month was a more hawkish than expected Federal Reserve policy meeting, which suggested a tapering in bond purchases would be announced next month and U.S. official rates could rise as early as late next year.
Also unnerving sentiment were financial difficulties with leading Chinese property developer Evergrande, and persistent signs of upward inflation pressures due to lingering supply-chain disruptions.
As evident in the chart set below, despite the pullback in equities, the trend in stocks remains upward. The trend in bond yields, the U.S. dollar and overall commodities also appears upward.
Source: betashares.com.au
