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Implementation of New ISE Options Trading System Scheduled for April 2011
Deutsche Börse Introduces Optimise™, its new global trading architecture
December 8, 2010-The International Securities Exchange today announced an updated schedule for the launch of its new options trading system, based on Deutsche Börse Group’s Optimise™ trading architecture. The roll-out of Optimise at ISE will begin in April 2011 and continue into July as both ISE’s primary and second markets migrate to the new platform. Based on input from ISE member firms,
ISE completely revised the Optimise implementation timetable and will now provide greater system
functionality from day one of the Optimise launch.
Daniel Friel, ISE’s Chief Information Officer, said, “In developing our new trading system built on the
Optimise platform, we have drawn upon the vast experience and expertise in electronic trading that span
our cross-Atlantic technology teams. The result is an innovative new trading system that will be an industry leader with regard to latency and performance, and will position ISE for another decade at the forefront of the highly competitive U.S. options industry.”
With Optimise, Deutsche Börse Group also today introduced its new global trading architecture. Developed using the expertise of Deutsche Börse Systems and ISE, Optimise will serve as the common technology backbone that is going to be used across all Deutsche Börse Group exchanges. Optimise is a cornerstone of Deutsche Börse Group’s IT strategy and will enable faster technology upgrades, lower maintenance costs, and enhanced expansion opportunities.
FTSE Launches New Emerging Markets Flows Index with EPFR Global
December 7, 2010-– FTSE Group (“FTSE”), the award winning global index provider, and Emerging Portfolio Funds Research (“EPFR Global “), the industry standard for global fund flows data, have today launched a new emerging market focused index - the FTSE EPFR EM Fund Flows Index.
The FTSE-EPFR index, a factor-adjusted version of the FTSE Emerging Index, is the first to overlay 'country flows' data on top of a market cap weighted index. Country flows data tracks investment allocation and flows in funds covering stock markets in developed and emerging countries. The new index gives investors a clearer picture of how these factors are driving emerging markets and can help improve portfolio performance by influencing an investor’s country weight adjustments.
Emerging markets constitute a growing fraction of investor portfolios and the new FTSE-EPFR index is aimed at improving country allocations within emerging market equity portfolios. Asset owners and institutional investors globally can use the FTSE EPFR Index to enhance their emerging markets portfolio, based on recommended country weights linked to countries’ investment flows Country investment flows combine fund flow and country weight data to track the flow of money into world stock markets. The fund flow data tracks the amount of cash flowing in and out of thousands of ETFs and mutual funds monitored by EPFR world-wide, while the country weights data tracks fund managers’ portfolio allocations at month-end across various emerging markets. Combining these two data sets gives a timely measure of portfolio flows in and out of individual emerging markets. The index country weightings will be revised quarterly based on the country flows data.
EPFR tracks global flows into and out of emerging markets from the US, Europe, and other regions, providing a more complete view of foreign investor demand.
“The new index will enable investors to further develop their interest in emerging markets”, said Mark Makepeace, CEO, FTSE Group. “FTSE is pleased to work with EPFR Global in creating this timely and valuable addition to our range of investment strategy indices.”
EPFR’s Managing Director, Simon Ringrose commented, “Fund flows are an important element in the investment process. Partnering with FTSE, EPFR Global is delighted to offer emerging market equity investors a tool to help improve country selection.”
The index was developed using FTSE’s internationally recognised robust index rules and methodology.
Emerging Markets: Leveling The ESG Playing Field
--Companies operating in emerging markets are progressively catching up with their developed market peers in terms of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) transparency and performance, despite significant country variations.
November 7, 2010--The integration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues into business practices by emerging market companies has improved over the past few years, according to the new Eurosif Emerging Markets Report. Although lower than in developed markets and with different country implementation levels, ESG integration by companies operating in emerging market economies is on the rise, with investors playing a role in shaping and developing the market.
The research of the report was provided by sustainability rating organisation and researcher Inrate. A steering committee comprised of representatives from Bank Sarasin, Robeco, ECPI and Pictet Asset Management provided their expertise and input to help shape this report.
The report discusses ESG integration and reporting by companies operating in emerging markets, and the increasingly significant role that these economies play, due to their rapid economic growth and their large populations. As the emerging market asset class is increasingly forming a part of global investment portfolios, a strong momentum towards sustainable emerging market investments is developing.
view the Emerging Markets Theme Report
Determinants of Emerging Market Sovereign Bond Spreads: Fundamentals vs Financial Stress- IMF Working paper
December 7, 2010--Summary: This paper analyses the determimants of emerging market sovereign bond spreads by examining the short and long-run effects of fundamental (macroeconomic) and temporary (financial market) factors on these spreads. During the current global financial and economic crisis, sovereign bond spreads widened dramatically for both developed and emerging market economies.
This deterioration has widely been attributed to rapidly growing public debts and balance sheet risks. Our results indicate that in the long run, fundamentals are significant determinants of emerging market sovereign bond spreads, while in the short run, financial volatility is a more important determinant of sperads than fundamentals indicators.
Into the Great Unknown: Stress Testing with Weak Data IMF Working paper
December 7, 2010--Stress testing has become the risk management tool du jour in the wake of the global financial crisis. In countries where the information reported by financial institutions is considered to be of sufficiently good quality, and supervisory and regulatory standards are high, stress tests can be of significant value.
In contrast, the proliferation of stress testing in underdeveloped financial systems with weak oversight regimes is fraught with uncertainties, as it is unclear what the results actually represent and how they could be usefully applied. In this paper, problems associated with stress tests using weak data are examined. We offer a potentially more useful alternative, the "breaking point" method, which also requires close coordination with on-site supervision and complemented by other supervisory tools and qualitative information. Excel spreadsheet templates of the stress tests presented in this paper are provided.
view the Into the Great Unknown: Stress Testing with Weak Data
Crude oil tipped to bubble over $100 a barrel
November 7, 2010--For the first time in two years, oil bulls are starting to outnumber bears.
The bulls’ push comes as the oil market is experiencing a “demand shock”, with consumption growth this year accelerating to almost its highest rate in 30 years
This unexpected boom in demand has lifted benchmark oil prices sharply higher, to a 26-month high of more than $90 a barrel on Tuesday. Some traders believe the market could jump to $100 within weeks.
Gold hits new high
December 7, 2010--Spot gold reached a new high in afternoon trade on Tuesday, reaching a best level of $1 431.30 troy ounce, before tapering off to its most recent trade at $1 419.05/oz.
Rallies in gold was spurred by momentum buying, so may be vulnerable if markets see a swift change in sentiment, Commerzbank analyst Eugen Weinberg told Dow Jones Newswires.
Oil hovers near $88 in Asia amid economic optimism
December 6, 2010--– Oil prices hovered near $88 a barrel Friday in Asia, with losses tempered by hopes of strong growth in demand for crude and Europe's progress in containing its debt crisis.
Benchmark oil for January delivery was down 35 cents to $87.60 a barrel at late afternoon Kuala Lumpur time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.25 to settle at $88 a barrel on Thursday, just shy of the 2010 high of $88.29.
Signs the U.S. economy is gaining strength have spurred a rally on Wall Street this week, and that in turn drove oil prices up. U.S. manufacturing activity, retail sales and the housing market all improved. And while more Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, the average over the past month fell to a two-year low.
IMF Working paper-U.S. Monetary Shocks and Global Stock Prices
December 6, 2010--This paper studies how U.S. monetary policy affects global stock prices. We find that global stock prices respond strongly to changes in U.S. interest rate policy, with stock prices increasing (decreasing) following unexpected monetary loosening (tightening).
This impact is more pronounced for sectors that depend on external financing, and for countries that are more integrated with the global financial market. These findings suggest that financial frictions play an important role in the transmission of monetary policy, and that U.S. monetary policy influences global capital allocation.
view the U.S. Monetary Shocks and Global Stock Prices IMF Working paper
Managing Public Debt and Its Financial Stability Implications- IMF Working paper
December 6, 2010-Summary: This paper explores the relationship between the level and management of public debt and financial stability, and explains the channels through which the two are interlinked.
It suggests that the broader implications of a debt management strategy and its implementation should be carefully analyzed by debt managers and policy makers in terms of their impact on the government’s balance sheet, macroeconomic developments, and the financial system.
view the Managing Public Debt and Its Financial Stability Implications working paper