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ETFS Precious Metals Weekly: Sovereign Debt Risk an Increasingly Important Driver of the Gold Price
May 30, 2011--Gold price rallies through the $1500/oz mark on rising sovereign risk in Europe. A weaker US dollar on disappointing growth data added to the upward momentum.
Sovereign debt risk an increasingly persistent issue and gold price
driver. The gold price appears to be increasingly viewed as a hedge against
sovereign risk, with the correlation between the gold price and sovereign risk measures rising sharply since Greek crisis.
This has reduced the normal
inverse correlation of the gold price and the US dollar.
Platinum, palladium and silver prices rally on USD weakness. South Africa platinum and palladium mine supply issues continue to highlight long term supply difficulties in the worl’s largest platinum producing country. Gold prices rally above $1530/oz last week, nearing previous USD highs. Speculation that Greece may be forced to restructure its government debt continues even as the Greek government announced that it will ramp up asset sales to help bridge its budget shortfalls as growth disappoints. European sovereign risk and its impact on the Euro has emerged as an important driver of the gold price, with periods of rising European sovereign risk often corresponding to a higher gold price – even as the US dollar has appreciated. As was seen in 2H 2008 and early 2010, during periods of extreme stress, both the gold price and the US dollar often rally together.
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Emerging Markets, Workforce Analytics, and the Cloud are Revolutionary Trends Expected to Change the Human Capital Landscape
May 29, 2011--Recognizing that companies worldwide are struggling to focus on post-recession and global growth agendas, Deloitte has prepared a new report which identifies 12 revolutionary and evolutionary trends that will transform and dominate the agenda for human capital leaders and professionals in the coming years.
In the report, Deloitte identifies critical ‘game changing’ trends along with some more familiar to human resources (HR) and business leaders. Topping the list are HR and talent in emerging markets, workforce analytics and HR technology in the cloud, particularly software as a solution (SaaS).
“One thing is for certain, we anticipate a series of HR trends will sweep through the field at an accelerated pace,” said Barbara Adachi, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and national managing director of the human capital practice. “These trends are emerging against the backdrop of profound demographic changes and globalization. Acknowledging and understanding these trends in human resources and adjusting your HR and talent priorities accordingly, are critical first steps in determining how to drive more value to businesses.”
view report-Human Capital Trends 2011
Revolution/Evolution
ISDA Releases 2011 Operations Benchmarking Survey Results
May 27, 2011--The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) today announced the publication of its 2011 Operations Benchmarking Survey. This publication includes results from G14 respondents as of year-end 2010, and follows the release of survey highlights at ISDA's 26th Annual General meeting in April.
The survey notes the continuing decrease in confirmations outstanding, particularly among G14 members. Credit derivatives show an average of 0.4 business days’ worth of aged outstanding confirmations among G14 members, compared with 1.0 business days in last year’s survey. Equity derivative confirmations outstanding fell to 6.5 business days among G14 members, compared with 7.4 last year. Interest rate derivatives confirmations also fell to 2.0 business days among G14 members, down from 2.9 last year.
view the 2011 ISDA Operations Benchmarking Survey
May 2011 “Islamic Market’s Measure” - Preliminary Report - Monthly Report On The Performance Of The Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes
May 27, 2011--Based on the close of trading on May 24, the global Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 Index, which measures the performance of 100 of the leading Shari’ah compliant stocks globally, dropped 4.48% month-to-date, closing at 2325.11. In comparison, the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, which measures the 50 biggest companies worldwide, posted a loss of 5.17%, closing at 182.24.
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, decreased 5.55%, closing at 2121.04. The Dow Jones Asian Titans 50 Index, in comparison, posted a loss of 5.84 %, closing at 135.83.
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 2282.16, a loss of 5.78%, while the conventional Dow Jones Europe Index loss 7.74%, closing at 284.10.
Measuring the performance of 50 of the largest Shari’ah compliant U.S. stocks, the Dow Jones Islamic Market U.S. Titans 50 Index decreased, closing at 2365.47. It represents a loss of 3.71%. The U.S. blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 3.55%, closing at 12356.21.
TMX Group Inc. Comments On Maple Announcement - Continues To Recommend Agreed Merger With London Stock Exchange Group
Continues to recommend agreed merger with London Stock Exchange Group
May 27, 2011--TMX Group Inc. acknowledges the announcement made by Maple Acquisition Group Corporation ("Maple") on May 25, 2011 regarding its intention to initiate a unilateral offer to acquire TMX Group.
On May 20, 2011, the TMX Group Board of Directors concluded that, under the terms of the merger agreement (Section 5.8) with London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), the Maple proposal did "not constitute a superior proposal, nor could it reasonably be expected to result in a superior proposal".
In communicating this decision, the TMX Group Board clearly laid out the factors taken into consideration. Given that there were no changes communicated in Maple's press release from yesterday, TMX Group continues to be prohibited by the merger agreement from any discussions with Maple or its advisors. The Board will review and respond to the formal Maple offer if and when it has been made.
Additionally, TMX Group has not, as reported by Maple, accelerated the date of its shareholder vote. As stated and required by the merger agreement with LSEG (Section 2.3), TMX Group obtained an interim order yesterday from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to call a special meeting of holders of common shares of TMX Group on June 30, 2011 to approve the plan of arrangement regarding the proposed merger with LSEG. This follows previously outlined process and timetables.
The Too-Important-to-Fail Conundrum: Possible to Ignore and Difficult to Resolve - IMF Working Paper
May 27, 2011--EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The unprecedented scope and intensity of the recent financial crisis underscored the tooimportant-
to-fail (TITF) problem associated with systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs). Ahead of the crisis, implicit government backing permitted these institutions to take on
greater risks without being adequately subject to market discipline and to enjoy a competitive advantage over systemically less important institutions.
And when the crisis broke, their scale,
complexity, and interconnectedness, which had made them difficult to manage and supervise, also proved too significant to permit them to fail.
Yet, some SIFIs have already become bigger and even more complex following the crisis, and risky lending practices have begun to reappear. The restructuring following the crisis increased the level of concentration in many advanced economies’ financial systems, with implications for stability and competitiveness. Policies are therefore needed to make financial institution failures less likely and less devastating when they occur, reestablish market discipline, level the playing field, and spare governments and taxpayers the costs of future bailouts.
Exchanges fight for control of LCH.Clearnet
May 27, 2011--Three of the world’s largest exchanges have entered a battle for control of LCH.Clearnet as a wave of exchange consolidation sweeps up Europe’s largest independent clearing house, three people familiar with the matter said.
The move for the London-based clearer, between NYSE Euronext, Nasdaq OMX and the London Stock Exchange, is a sign that the world’s bourses are desperate to snap up businesses that allow them to profit from sweeping post-crisis reform of the financial system.
IEA Climate and Electricity Annual 2011--Data and Analyses
May 27, 2011--Electricity use is growing worldwide, providing a range of energy services: lighting, heating and cooling, specific industrial uses, entertainment, information technologies, and mobility.
Because its generation remains largely based on fossil fuels, electricity is also the largest and the fastest-growing source of energy-related CO2 emissions, the primary cause of human-induced climate change.
Because its generation remains largely based on fossil fuels, electricity is also the largest and the fastest-growing source of energy-related CO2 emissions, the primary cause of human-induced climate change.
Euro gains on fears over US growth
May 27, 2011--The euro had a volatile five sessions but still managed to fashion gains against the dollar as risk appetite began to pick up towards the end of the week and drove the US currency lower.
Thursday’s disappointing update on first-quarter US growth and evidence of weaker consumer spending underlined the notion that the world’s biggest economy was still a long way from tightening its monetary policy.
ISDA Publishes OTC Derivatives Market Analysis
May 26, 2011--The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) published today a new analysis of the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market based on year-end statistics published by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and LCH.Clearnet’s SwapClear.
According to the analysis, the level of cleared interest rate swaps exceeded 50 percent of interest rate swap notional outstanding at the end of 2010, up from 21 percent at year-end 2007. Over the same time frame, the volume of uncleared interest rate swaps outstanding declined from $201 trillion to $116 trillion, a decrease of $85 trillion or 42 percent.
“The strong commitment of ISDA and market participants to make the OTC derivatives markets safe and efficient is evidenced by the increased use of central counterparty clearing and the continuing reduction in uncleared volumes,” said Conrad Voldstad, ISDA CEO. “Further progress in this area lies ahead as we look to expand central clearing while ensuring that the financial strength, risk standards and governance of clearinghouses remain extremely strong.”