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MSCI to Continue to Review the Classification of the MSCI UAE and MSCI Qatar Indices in 2012
December 14, 2011 – MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of investment decision support tools worldwide, including indices, portfolio risk and performance analytics and corporate
governance services, announced today that the MSCI UAE Index and the MSCI Qatar Index will maintain
their Frontier Market status and will remain under review for potential reclassification to Emerging
Markets as part of the 2012 Annual Market Classification Review.
As a reminder, MSCI extended the review period for the potential reclassification of the MSCI Qatar
Index and the MSCI UAE Index from Frontier Market to Emerging Market status to December 2011,
following the implementation of new delivery versus payment (“DVP”) models on the Qatar Exchange,
Dubai Financial Market and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in May 2011, in order to give additional time
for market participants to assess the effectiveness of these models and for the regulators and the stock
exchanges to address the remaining concerns raised by international institutional investors.
Regarding the UAE, the feedback received since June 2011 from international institutional investors was very positive on the introduction and seamless functioning of the new DVP model; however, investors continue to stress significant concerns over the effectiveness of this new framework to fully ensure the safeguarding of their assets under certain circumstances. This is in particular the case for failed trades where a forced sale of assets, without the owner’s consent, remains a possibility. As a result many international institutional investors and their custodians continue to view the use of a dual account structure as a requirement. The potential introduction of new regulations allowing for securities borrowing and lending (“SBL”) agreements and security short selling have been raised by market participants as a possible way of resolving these issues. The Emirati regulator (Securities and Commodities Authority ‐ SCA) has already published regulation drafts on these topics.
Emerging hedge fund managers optimistic on 2012 prospects, survey says
December 14, 2011--Emerging managers expect their hedge funds to achieve gains of 10 percent or more in 2012, according to the Global Alternative Investment Management (Gaim) USA survey of emerging hedge fund managers.
The survey of 90 emerging managers (defined as having USD250 million or less in assets under management or AUM) found that 61 percent of the managers expect their portfolios to earn more than 10 percent, net of fees, while 31 percent of them expect to earn 15 percent or more.
State Street Corp shuns UK as bond auctions lose lustre
December 14, 2011--U.S.-based State Street Corp (STT.N) pulled out of British government bond auctions on Wednesday, a sign banks are shying away from markets they once queued up to support and a potential new stress for countries struggling to raise money.
Although the number of banks taking part in bond auctions has risen sharply in the past few years, many are now reassessing the risks they previously absorbed as the price of good relations with governments.
Banks face €350bn Basel III shortfall
December 14, 2011--European banks will have to raise nearly €200bn ($260bn) in new capital or cut their balance sheets by nearly 20 per cent, to
achieve the tougher new Basel III banking reform rules that start taking effect in 2013..
ETF Securities bidding 'gone quiet'
December 14, 2011--Industry experts say ETF Securities will struggle to find a buyer, with private-equity firms and asset managers unlikely to fall over themselves to snap up the provider.
The firm’s founder, Graham Tuckwell, who is also chairman and majority shareholder of ETF Securities, has reportedly mandated Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for the London-based provider, asking for unconditional offers to be submitted before Christmas.
EDHEC-Target-volatility strategies -a response to current investment dilemma
December 14, 2011--Insurance companies and pension funds have traditionally played an important role as providers of long-term risk capital and, in a world of deleveraging credit institutions, are crucially needed to finance economic development.
However, recent and forthcoming changes in accounting and prudential standards encourage long-term institutional investors to invest in low risk assets that are highly correlated with liabilities. Meanwhile, in the current low interest rate environment, institutional investors cannot meet their future obligations out of the yields on these instruments. At the same time, risk-based capital charges and financial reporting standards penalise assets that offer high risk premia and make it expensive for long-term investors to directly hold volatile assets.
Visit www.edhec-risk.com for more info
view the Structured Equity Investment Strategies for Long-Term Asian Investors study
Gold reels near three-month lows as euro crisis rages
December 14, 2011--Gold tumbled to its lowest level since early October on Wednesday, set for its weakest monthly performance since September, as a weak euro and a shortage of dollar funding over the year-end prompted investors to sell aggressively.
Gold has lost about 8.0 percent in value so far this month, on course for its weakest December performance since 2008 and its third-largest monthly sell-off in three years, the point at which the global credit crunch was at its worst.
Deutsche Börse AG and NYSE Euronext statement on revised remedy submission
December 13, 2011--NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) and Deutsche Börse AG (XETRA: DB1) today confirm that they have submitted revised remedies to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition (DG Competition).
The revisions are designed to reflect the European Commission’s feedback on the initial proposal, and thereby fully address the Commission’s remaining concerns while preserving the industrial and economic logic of the merger.
In summary, the parties have strengthened their original proposal with respect to European single equity derivatives by increasing the assets to be included in the divesture, and to provide the purchaser of that business with an option to access Eurex Clearing for single equity derivatives products. The parties have also improved the coverage of their clearing access remedy for innovative equity index and interest rate derivatives. In addition, the parties committed to license the Eurex trading system to a third party interested in launching interest rate derivatives.
WEF -The Financial Development Report 2011
December 13, 2011--Hong Kong SAR overtakes the United States and the United Kingdom to top the World Economic Forum’s fourth annual Financial Development Report. As the first Asian financial centre to achieve this rank, Hong Kong’s position was bolstered by strong scores in non-banking financial services such as IPO activity and insurance.
Although it fell one spot to 2nd place, the United States’ overall score remains almost unchanged compared to last year. While financial stability continues to be a concern, the US was able to offset this weakness with strong financial intermediation results. Particular strengths in this area include highly developed foreign exchange and derivatives markets, as well as comparatively robust M&A and securitization activity. The United Kingdom declined in both score and rank, placing 3rd overall. The greatest contributing factors to the United Kingdom’s decline are lower scores on securitization and IPO activity.
The Financial Development Report 2011
November 2011 FIF Market Share and Market Dynamics Reports – Executive Summary
December 12, 2011--U.S. Equities Market Share
Share volumes traded across Tape A, B, and C decreased 15% monthly and 0.5% annually to 154 billion shares.
In November 2011, off-exchange trading
accounted for 30% of the shares traded in NMS Equity Securities.
Share volumes in NYSE-listed securities decreased 16% monthly and 3% annually to 85 billion shares.
NASDAQ-listed securities traded over
exchange decreased 12% monthly and 2%
annually to 39 billion shares.
U.S. Equity Options Market Share
The top 3 market centers (PHLX, CBOE, ISE) make up 60% of the total cleared contracts.
BATS saw an annual increase of 95% to 6.1 million contracts (29% decrease monthly). At an annual rate, the total number of cleared contracts decreased 18% to 179 million contracts.
Total premiums in November 2011 decreased 9% annually to $51.5 billion.
view the November 2011 FIF Market Share and Market Dynamics Reports – Executive Summary