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Oil price rise puts pressure on Opec
December 9, 2010--Opec’s oil ministers will gather in Ecuador on Saturday as prices rise above the cartel’s informal ceiling of $90 per barrel.
A faster-than-expected recovery in global demand, aided by the cold winter in Europe and inflows of speculative capital, pushed the price of a barrel of Brent crude, the most important benchmark, to $90.92 on Thursday.
Investing in Frontier Markets
December 9, 2010--As the world emerges from one of the biggest shocks to financial markets a bigger surprise is taking place as frontier economies, the economies previously written off as un-investable, are powering ahead of developed regions in delivering premium market returns.
Frontier market investing, the concept of investing in pre-emerging economies is a subject many schemes approach with caution. However in recent years governments in Africa, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America as well as the Middle East have embraced market reforms and open door policies to foreign investment creating unseen opportunities since the emergence of Chin-India onto the world stage.
‘Investing in Frontier Markets' is the first report to be written primarily by end-investors into frontier markets, commenting on the opportunities and perceived drawbacks to allocating to these regions. Presented from a macro perspective, the report will assess opportunities across the world and is set to include thought provoking ideas from some of the world's most influential personalities.
Key issues to be addressed include:
Has the previous decades 'world poor' become the 'next generation' food supply?
Who's investing in frontier markets and what are the likely impacts on your portfolio of fellow investors altering their allocations?
Understanding the demographic, governmental and economic drivers behind frontier market performance
ETFs not ideal for all allocation aspects, says S&P
December 9, 2010--Although exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been gaining significant traction ever since the global financial crisis, investors should be fully aware of their capabilities as an investment.
That is the view supported by the research house Standard & Poor’s Fund Services (S&P) in its latest report entitled ‘Exchange-Traded Funds Increasingly Popular in the Australian Market’.
The report claimed the current array of ETFs available on the Australian Securities Exchange was cost effective, transparent and efficient to transact, but warned investors should be aware that ETFs “do not necessarily provide investment solutions for all allocation aspects of portfolio construction, [such as] currency hedging or foreign equity exposures”.
Regular Review Results for Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes
Fourth Quarter 2010
December 9, 2010-Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, today announced the results of the regular quarterly review of the Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes. All changes will be effective after the close of trading on Friday, December 17, 2010-
In the Dow Jones Islamic Market World Index, 165 components will be added while 50 components will be deleted. That increases the number of components in the index to 2,479 from 2,364. The top five components by free-float market capitalization that will be added to the index are Rio Tinto PLC (United Kingdom, Basic Materials, RIO.LN), Bayer AG (Germany, Basic Materials, BAYN.XE), Norilsk Nickel Mining & Metallurgical Co. ADS (Russia, Basic Materials, MNOD.LN), Life Technologies Corp. (United States, Health Care, LIFE) and Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (United States, Consumer Goods, CCE).
The free-float market capitalization of the reconstituted Dow Jones Islamic Market World Index increased to US$13.374 trillion from US$13.141 trillion.
In the Dow Jones Islamic Market Asia/Pacific Index, with 114 additions and 24 deletions, the number of components in the index will increase to 1,168 from 1,078. The top five components by free-float market capitalization that will be added to the index are ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (Taiwan, Technology, 2357.TW), Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (Malaysia, Chemicals, 5183.KU), BYD Co. Ltd. (China, Industrials, 1211.HK), Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings Ltd. (Singapore, Industrials, BS6.SG), and Celltrion Inc. (South Korea, Health Care, 068270.KQ).
Thomson Reuters Monthly Market Share Reports For November 2010
November 9, 2010--Trading is fragmenting between exchanges and competing venues. But by how much and which venues? Find out in the Thomson Reuters summarised monthly reports.
view report
IMF Working paper-Bank Capital: Lessons from the Financial Crisis
December 9, 2010--Using a multi-country panel of banks, we study whether better capitalized banks experienced higher stock returns during the financial crisis. We differentiate among various types of capital ratios: the Basel risk-adjusted ratio; the leverage ratio; the Tier I and Tier II ratios; and the tangible equity ratio.
We find several results: (i) before the crisis, differences in capital did not have much impact on stock returns; (ii) during the crisis, a stronger capital position was associated with better stock market performance, most markedly for larger banks; (iii) the relationship between stock returns and capital is stronger when capital is measured by the leverage ratio rather than the risk-adjusted capital ratio; (iv) higher quality forms of capital, such as Tier 1 capital and tangible common equity, were more relevant.
view the Bank Capital: Lessons from the Financial Crisis-IMF Working paper
Emerging Markets Come of Age
November 9, 2010--These vibrant middle-income countries survived the global recession, but face bumps as they seek to solidify their place in the world economy.
The superlative performance of emerging market economies, a group of middle-income countries that have become rapidly integrated into global markets since the mid-1980s, has been the growth story of the past decade.
After being beset by various crises during the 1980s and 1990s, emerging markets came into their own during the 2000s, recording remarkable growth rates while keeping inflation and other potential problems largely under control.
Before the global financial crisis of 2008–09, there was a growing sense among investors and policymakers that emerging economies, with their new economic might, had become more resilient to shocks originating in advanced economies. Indeed, empirical evidence indicates that over the past two decades there has been a convergence of business cycles among emerging markets and a convergence among advanced economies, but a gradual divergence of cycles between the two groups—referred to as decoupling. Fluctuations in financial markets have become more correlated across these two sets of countries, but that has not translated into greater spillovers into the real economy, which produces goods and services.
Hedge Funds Took in $16 Billion in October, Most in a Year
December 8, 2010--Hedge funds received net deposits in October of $16 billion, the largest since November 2009, as investors were willing to take more risk, according to TrimTabs Investment Research and BarclayHedge Ltd.
Distressed securities funds took in the most cash, receiving $3.8 billion in October, the research firms said today in a report. Fixed-income funds received the least of any strategy, taking in $506 million, the smallest amount since April.
NYSE Euronext Announces Major Enhancements to NYSE BondsSM Platform
DRetail Investor-focused Platform Creates New Liquidity Program Expected to Launch in Q1 2011
- Greater Visibility on Markets and Liquidity -
Limit-Order Functionality Allows Retail Investor Interaction
December 8, 2010 ? NYSE Euronext today announced major enhancements to its fixed income trading platform, NYSE BondsSM. They include the new Bond Liquidity Provider (BLP) program that will improve liquidity and provide price transparency to retail investors.
The proposed enhancements remain subject to approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, following the usual public comment and review period.
The program, which the company expects to launch in first-quarter 2011, will include multiple bond dealers. Each dealer will cover specific NYSE listed companies, and will be responsible for posting live bids and offers of a minimum size on the outstanding corporate bonds of those companies.
Tax reforms to improve economic performance
December 8, 2010--Many governments are facing historic high levels of deficit and debt. Public spending has risen and they are taking in less money as tax revenues fall - more than 10% in some countries.
Governments are attempting to consolidate their budgets, looking for the appropriate balance between
expenditure cuts and revenue increases. OECD’s “Tax Policy Reform and Fiscal Consolidation” says that for tax regimes to support sustainable economic growth governments must decide the right way to raise additional tax revenues.
Taxes can be a disincentive to work, invest and innovate, with adverse effects on economic growth and welfare.