Global ETF News Older than One Year
US Conflict minerals law could cut investments, harm livelihoods in DRC-study
A new study by the Chatham House think tank says that section 1502 of the Dodd Frank Act aimed at curbing trade in conflict minerals could harm the livelihoods of millions in the DRC.
September 24, 2012--A U.S. law aimed at tackling the trade in "conflict minerals" in Democratic Republic of Congo could cut U.S. investments in the country and harm the livelihood of millions of people, a research paper from think tank Chatham House said.
Eastern Congo has suffered nearly two decades of unrest as rebels, rogue Congolese soldiers and criminal gangs have prolonged violence to profit from its rich mineral resources, including the rare metal tantulum that is widely used in making cell phones, laptops and other electronics.
Source: MineWeb
Search for yield leads to derivatives funds
September 24, 2012--Investors are piling into specialised stock market funds that use derivatives to boost returns, highlighting how many money managers are searching for new strategies that can generate steady income amid the low interest rate environment.
These funds typically focus on high-dividend companies, but also sell “call options” on equity indices or stock they hold. They sacrifice a portion of potential share price gains in return for generating extra income from selling the derivatives.
Source: FT.com
ETFS Precious Metals Weekly: Gold Price Hits 10-Month High as Synchronized Central Bank Easing Increases Reserve Currency Debasement Concerns
September 24, 2012--The gold price hits 10-mth high near $1785/oz as synchronized central bank easing increases reserve currency debasement concerns
Lonmin agrees wage deal with workers, but at what cost?
Key events to watch this week: conditionality of Spain's rescue plan and German IFO and PMI
What Will Drive the Next Leg of the Gold Bull Market?
Since mid-July the gold price has rallied strongly, but remains 11% below the peak of USD$1900/oz. achieved in September 2011. European financial and economic turmoil continues to plague financial markets, yet officials have so far failed to find a comprehensive plan to solve the root causes of the crisis. Europe remains mired in deep recession, the US economy appears to have stalled, while Asian emerging market growth has slowed. In this environment most "safe haven" assets have performed well, with G-3 bond yields falling to all-time lows earlier this year. Prior to August, the stand-out exception was gold, which had performed relatively poorly in 2012. Gold's modest performance in an environment of high sovereign risk caused some investors to question its historic "store of value" credentials. In this note we look at some of the key factors that traditionally drive gold price performance, explain what has been behind the performance of the gold price so far this year, and assess the outlook and likely key catalysts for gold price performance for the rest of 2012 and into 2013.
visit www.etfsecurities.com for more info
Source: ETF Securities
Thematic Peer Review of Resolution Regimes-Questionnaire
September 21, 2012--Introduction
The global financial crisis demonstrated the urgent need to improve resolution regimes so as to enable authorities to resolve failing financial institutions quickly without destabilising the financial system or exposing taxpayers to the risk of loss from solvency support.
Following the crisis, a number of jurisdictions have adopted, or are currently preparing, legislation to strengthen their resolution regimes, while some progress has also been made in establishing crisis management groups and enhancing cross-border cooperation.1
In November 2011, the FSB issued the Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions2 as part of the package of policy measures to address the moral hazard risks posed by systemically important financial institutions. The Key Attributes (KAs) set out the core elements of effective resolution regimes that apply to any financial institution that could be systemically significant or critical if it fails.3 A drafting team set up under the FSB’s Resolution Steering Group (ReSG) is currently developing an assessment methodology that provides greater technical detail on the various elements of the KAs.
Source: Financial Stability Board (FSB)
Silver ETF holdings nearing record levels-Silver Institute
Precious metals analysts say investor demand is driving today's price of silver,which is up more than 20%.
September 20, 2012--Investors have so far purchased more than 32 million ounces of silver through silver ETFs this year, said the Washington, D.C.-based Silver Institute.
Silver ETF holdings now total more than 608 million ounces with a value of $20.5 billion through September 15, the Institute said in a news release Wednesday.
So far this year, the silver price has risen more than 20%, according to the Institute.
Source: MoneyWeb
Four New Record Peaks:BATS CHI-X Europe CXE PITCH, Direct Edge EDGX, NYSE AMEX Options And Deutsche Börse CEF Core Eurex
September 20, 2012--This month's bulletin from the Financial Information Forum (FIF) finds that BATS CHI-X Europe CXE PITCH was up a record 37% to 90,937 mps over the 1 second interval
Direct Edge EDGX was up a record 20% to 219,495 mps over the 1 second interval
NYSE AMEX Options was up 13% to 1,678,324 mps over the 1 second interval
For the second consecutive month, Deutsche Börse CEF Core Eurex was up by a record 0.3%, to 91,330 mps over the 1 second interval
Source: Money Science
STOXX expands Global Index Family with the launch of over 1,200 indices
September 19, 2012--STOXX Limited, the market-moving provider of innovative, substantial and global index concepts, today announced the expansion of the STOXX Global Index family with the launch of more than 1,200 supersector, size, regional and total market indices covering global equity markets.
Furthermore, the STOXX China A-shares Total Market, STOXX China B-shares Total Market, STOXX China H-shares Total Market, STOXX China Red Chips Total Market indices were launched today.
“The expansion of the STOXX Global Index family by over 1,200 indices marks another significant step for STOXX as we are growing our global presence,” said Hartmut Graf, chief executive officer, STOXX Limited.
“Asia is one of the key regions on which STOXX is currently focussing . With the launch of the STOXX China Total Market Indices for different share classes, we offer international as well as domestic Chinese market participants a first set of transparent and rules-based indices to participate from the performance of the world’s second largest economy.”
The STOXX Global Index family consists of total market, broad and blue-chip indices for the regions Americas, Europe, Asia, and Pacific, and sub-regions Latin America and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China), as well as global markets. All broad regional indices, as well as a number of country indices, can also be broken down into a comprehensive set of supersector indices that follow the Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB).
Furthermore, a large number of regional indices that exclude certain supersectors, regions or countries is available.
Source: STOXX
STOXX expands Global Index Family with the launch of over 1,200 indices
September 19, 2012--STOXX Limited, the market-moving provider of innovative, substantial and global index concepts, today announced the expansion of the STOXX Global Index family with the launch of more than 1,200 supersector, size, regional and total market indices covering global equity markets.
Furthermore, the STOXX China A-shares Total Market, STOXX China B-shares Total Market, STOXX China H-shares Total Market, STOXX China Red Chips Total Market indices were launched today.
“The expansion of the STOXX Global Index family by over 1,200 indices marks another significant step for STOXX as we are growing our global presence,” said Hartmut Graf, chief executive officer, STOXX Limited.
“Asia is one of the key regions on which STOXX is currently focussing . With the launch of the STOXX China Total Market Indices for different share classes, we offer international as well as domestic Chinese market participants a first set of transparent and rules-based indices to participate from the performance of the world’s second largest economy.”
The STOXX Global Index family consists of total market, broad and blue-chip indices for the regions Americas, Europe, Asia, and Pacific, and sub-regions Latin America and BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China), as well as global markets. All broad regional indices, as well as a number of country indices, can also be broken down into a comprehensive set of supersector indices that follow the Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB).
Furthermore, a large number of regional indices that exclude certain supersectors, regions or countries is available.
Source: STOXX
One big order, thousands of small ones, seen behind oil tumble
September 18, 2012--A single large sell order in the benchmark European Brent oil market, followed by an abrupt U-turn among high-frequency traders, may have caused one of the most abrupt price routs ever, brokers and analysts said on Tuesday.
As the dust settled on Monday's four-minute, nearly $4 plunge, other possible causes such as an erroneous "fat finger" trade, a computer program run amok or a broad, rumor-driven sell-off were set aside in favor of a combination of one big trade - potentially as much as 12 million barrels worth some $1.4 billion - and tens of thousands of computerized orders.
Source: Reuters
Increasing need to enhance and harmonise disclosure requirements in the Islamic Capital Market
September 18, 2012--The growing recognition of the increasing significance of the Islamic capital market, especially in view of rising cross-border transactions, has triggered the need for stronger oversight, greater transparency and more robust disclosure requirements, global standard-setters and senior regulators acknowledged today.
The Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), two leading global standard-setters in their respective fields, collaborated with the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) to organise a high-level Roundtable in Kuala Lumpur, themed “Disclosure Requirements for Islamic Capital Market Products”.read more
Source: IOSCO
