Global ETF News Older than One Year
MSCI to collaborate on Access to Nutrition Index
November 4, 2011--MSCI will provide research and analysis for the Access to Nutrition Index (ATNI) Project, a collaboration between the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), the Wellcome Trust, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The ATNI Project’s goal is to achieve sustainable changes in the nutrition practices of the global food and beverage industry, ranging from obesity to undernutrition. The main output of the ATNI Project will be the Access to Nutrition Index, which will publicly rate and rank major food and beverage companies on their nutrition practices.
Source: The Sustainability Report
FSB issues International Standard for Resolution Regimes
November 4, 2011--Addressing the “Too-big-to fail” issue in global finance requires effective national resolution regimes and recovery and resolution planning at the global level. Today, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a new internationally-agreed standard that sets out the responsibilities, instruments and powers that national resolution regimes should have to resolve a failing systemically important financial institution (SIFI); it also sets out requirements for resolvability assessments and recovery and resolution planning for global SIFIs (G-SIFIs), as well as for the development of institution-specific cooperation agreements between home and host authorities.
The new standard “Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions” will help address the “too-big-to-fail” problem by making it possible to resolve any financial institution in an orderly manner and without exposing the taxpayer to the risk of loss, protecting vital economic functions through mechanisms for losses to be shared (in order of seniority) between shareholders and unsecured and uninsured creditors.
The Key Attributes are a core component of the FSB policy measures, endorsed by the G20 Leaders to address the risks to the global financial system from SIFIs.
view the Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions
Source: Financial Stability Board (FSB)
FEAS Newletter for October 2011
November 3, 2011--The FEAS October 2011 newsletter in now available.
Source: FEAS
Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes October 2011 Performance Report
November 3, 2011--—The global Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 Index, which measures the performance of 100 of the leading Shari’ah compliant stocks globally, had an up month in October with a gain of 10.26%, closing at 2226.61. In comparison, the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, which measures
the 50 biggest companies worldwide, posted a gain of 9.41%, closing at 175.29.
The Dow Jones Islamic Market Asia/Pacific Titans 25 Index, which measures the performance of 25 of the leading Shari’ah compliant stocks in the Asia/Pacific region, increased 9.35% in October, closing at 2021.78. The Dow Jones Asian Titans 50 Index, in comparison, posted a gain of 9.00%, closing at 126.52.
Measuring Europe, the Dow Jones Islamic Market Europe Titans 25 Index, which measures the performance of the 25 of the leading Shari’ah compliant stocks in Europe, closed at 2094.47, a gain of 11.71% in October, while the conventional Dow Jones Europe Index gained 11.95%, closing at 248.26.
Measuring the performance of 50 of the largest Shari’ah compliant U.S. stocks, the Dow Jones Islamic Market U.S. Titans 50 Index increased in October, closing at 2307.28. It represents a gain of 9.88%. The U.S. blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 9.54%, closing at 11955.01.
Source: Dow Jones Indexes
Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Indexes - October 2011 Performance Report
November 2, 2011-- The Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index was up 6.62% for the month of October. The Dow Jones-UBS Single Commodity Indexes for crude oil, orange juice and copper had the
strongest gains with month-end returns of 17.07%, 15.42%, and 15.23%, respectively.
The three most significant downside performing single commodity indexes were live cattle, natural gas and feeder cattle, which were down 3.30%, 2.05%, and 0.98% respectively, in October.
Year to date, the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index is down 7.95% with the Dow Jones-UBS Gas Oil Sub-Index posting the highest gain of 21.45% so far in 2011. Dow Jones-UBS Wheat Sub-Index has the most significant downside YTD performance, down 33.98%.
Source: Dow Jones Indexes
Financial Stability Board: Global Adherence To Regulatory And Supervisory Standards On International Cooperation And Information Exchange
November 2, 2011--The Financial Stability Board (FSB) commenced in March 2010 an initiative to encourage the adherence by all countries and jurisdictions to regulatory and supervisory standards on
international cooperation and information exchange.1,2 The initiative responded to a call by the G20 Leaders at their April 2009 Summit in London for the FSB to develop a toolbox of
measures to promote adherence to prudential standards and cooperation with jurisdictions.
To recognise the progress that most jurisdictions evaluated by the FSB under the current initiative have made towards implementing international cooperation and information exchange standards, and to incentivise improvements by those jurisdictions not cooperating fully, the FSB is publishing the names of all jurisdictions evaluated. The list includes those identified as non-cooperative jurisdictions.
Objective of the initiative
The focus of the FSB’s current initiative is on adherence to internationally agreed information
exchange and cooperation standards in the areas of banking supervision, insurance supervision and securities regulation.3 Cooperation and information exchange amongst
financial supervisors and regulators are essential for effective oversight in an integrated financial system.
Source: Financial Stability Board
OECD annual inflation rate picks up to 3.3% in September 2011
November 2, 2011--Consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 3.3% in the year to September 2011, compared with 3.2% in the year to August - the highest rate since October 2008. Excluding food and energy, the annual inflation rate rose by 1.9% in September, compared with 1.8% in August - the highest rate since April 2009.
Energy prices rose by 14.2% in the year to September, up from 13.5% in the year to August. However, this acceleration in energy prices was partly offset by slower rise in food prices: 4.2% in the year to September, down from 4.6% in the year to August.
Source: OECD
IMF to publish analysis on imbalances, currencies
November 1, 2011--The International Monetary Fund said on Monday it will begin publishing regular analyses of global economic imbalances and exchange rates as part of a growing role, a move that could draw it deeper into difficult international disputes.
Global policymakers have called on the IMF to play a greater role in policing the global economy in the face of a global financial crisis and recession in 2009 and the rising influence of emerging economies.
The IMF unveiled its plans to increase monitoring, and report on its findings, just days before a summit of leaders from the Group of 20 major economies.
Source: Economic Times
NASDAQ OMX: New Monthly Record For Carbon Futures In October
November 1, 2011--Trading and clearing of carbon futures amounted to 9,149 contracts (9,149,000 tons) in October 2011.
This is the highest monthly volume ever traded and cleared on NASDAQ OMX Commodities Europe carbon futures market in the course of one month.
Source: NASDAQ OMX
FTSE Diversification Based Investing (DBI) Index Series. Expanded to Include Emerging Markets.
November 1, 2011--FTSE Group (“FTSE”), the award winning global index provider, and QS Investors, LLC, an independent investment firm providing asset management and advisory services to institutional clients, today jointly announce the expansion of the FTSE Diversification Based Investing (DBI) Index Series to include emerging markets.
With the addition of an Emerging Markets Index, the series now offers truly global coverage.
Like the FTSE DBI Developed indices, launched in September 2010, the FTSE DBI All Emerging Markets Index is non-market capitalization weighted. Instead, the FTSE DBI indices are weighted to promote diversification across countries and industry sectors. They seek higher absolute and risk-adjusted returns compared to market cap-weighted indices with less downside risk. The investment philosophy behind the FTSE DBI Index Series is that both geography and industry are the primary drivers of global equity risk and return; and that market sentiment can lead to momentum effects, causing concentration risk in market-cap weighted indices. A macro diversified portfolio helps to avoid this concentration risk and should lessen downside risk. Using a transparent, rules-based formula, the indices diversify exposure by re-weighting countries and industries to avoid concentration risk and momentum effects. Risk assessment occurs annually and index rebalancing occurs quarterly.
Source: FTSE
