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October 2010 FIF Automated Trading Analysis Report – Executive Summary
November 15, 2010--U.S. Equities Market Share
In Sep 2010, off-exchange trading
accounted for 32% of the shares
traded in NMS Equity Securities
with an average of 33.9% in 2010.
Share volumes traded across Tape
A, B, and C increased 8% monthly
since September 2010 to 165
billion shares (see chart).
Share volumes in NYSE-listed securities increased 14% compared to September 2010 to 96 billion shares.
NASDAQ-listed securities traded over exchange decreased 0.2% since September 2010 to 42 billion shares
On October 15, 2010, BATS started operating its Y exchange platform.
NASDAQ launched its PSX trading platform on October 8, 2010
On July 19, 2010, Direct Edge started operating its EDGA and EDGX exchange platforms.
Twenty Developing Countries To Use Sun, Wind and Geothermal To Radically Reshape Citizens’ Energy Access
November 15, 2010--In a significant trend to rebalance energy services toward clean technology, twenty developing countries are investing in large-scale renewables, particularly solar, wind and geothermal services, as a robust source of energy access for their citizens. Just weeks before the global climate negotiating session in Cancun, this trend away from high-emissions sources and toward clean energy sounds a positive note for real climate-smart development.
With support from the Clean Technology Fund, fourteen middle income countries -- Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and Vietnam -- plan to radically rebalance their national energy portfolios by investing in renewables at a large scale, the CTF governing body was told in its meetings which concluded here on Friday. The CTF Committee welcomed the trend shown in the project pipeline laid out in the CTF operational report, which detailed a first round of renewables projects for a total of $2.4 billion to implement these plans, expected to finance around 4,255 megawatts with a potential to scale-up around 39,200 megawatts.
view the CTF SEMI-ANNUAL OPERATIONAL REPORT
G20 Leaders endorse Financial Stability Board policy framework for addressing systemically important financial institutions
November 12, 2010--The G20 Leaders at the Seoul Summit on 11-12 November endorsed the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) policy framework for Reducing the moral hazard of systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs), including the work processes and timelines set out in the report submitted to the Summit.
SIFIs are financial institutions whose disorderly failure, because of their size, complexity and systemic interconnectedness, would cause significant disruption to the wider financial system and economic activity.
FSB jurisdictions have agreed to put in place the policy framework to reduce the risks and externalities associated with domestic and global systemically important financial institutions in their jurisdictions. As the report states:
The policy framework for SIFIs should combine:
a resolution framework and other measures to ensure that all financial institutions can be resolved safely, quickly and without destabilising the financial system and exposing the taxpayer to the risk of loss;
a requirement that SIFIs and initially in particular global SIFIs (G-SIFIs) have higher loss absorbency capacity to reflect the greater risks that these institutions pose to the global financial system;
more intensive supervisory oversight for financial institutions which may pose systemic risk;
view the report-Reducing the moral hazard posed by systemically important financial institutions
Wolin to do Europe
November 12, 2010--The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced additional details for Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin’s trip to Europe. The Deputy Secretary will meet with officials in Warsaw, Poland; Riga, Latvia; London, United Kingdom; and Brussels, Belgium next week.
In Riga and Warsaw, Deputy Secretary Wolin will discuss the impact of the global financial crisis on economic reform in Eastern Europe. In London and Brussels, he will update key officials and investors on U.S. progress in the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, including a major policy address hosted by the London Stock Exchange.
Carbon Disclosure Project 2010 Water Disclosure Global Report
New Carbon Disclosure Project reveals water constraints now a boardroom issue for global corporations
CDP launches first water disclosure report on world’s largest companies
November 12, 2010-- CDP Water Disclosure, a new program from the Carbon Disclosure Project, today launches its first report on the impact of water constraints on the world’s largest corporations, clearly illustrating the significance and immediacy of water as a corporate issue.
CDP Water Disclosure sent its first annual questionnaire to 302 of the world’s largest companies asking for information on their water use and other water-related business issues. It received a 50% response rate with 122 of these responding publicly and a further 25 companies responding on a purely voluntary basis.
The information was requested on behalf of 137 institutional investors representing US$16 trillion in assets to increase transparency and accountability on water scarcity and other water related issues, and to inform the global market place on investment risks and commercial opportunities. The data will provide valuable insight into the strategies deployed by many of the largest companies in the world in relation to water use and will be used to help drive sustainability.
The report, prepared by Environmental Resource Management (ERM), analyses the public responses to the questionnaire and will be officially launched at Bloomberg’s offices in London, 09:00am, Friday 12th November 2010. The report findings show that water is already impacting business operations with 96% of responding companies able to identify whether or not they are exposed to water risk and more than half of those reporting risks classifying them as current or near-term (1-5 years). 39% of companies are already experiencing detrimental impacts relating to water including disruption to operations from drought or flooding, declining water quality necessitating costly on-site pre-treatment, and increases in water prices, as well as fines and litigation relating to pollution incidents.
view CDP Water Disclosure 2010 Global Report
The Human Cost of Recessions: Assessing It, Reducing It-IMF position paper
November 11, 2010--Introduction
Recessions leave scars on the labor market; the Great Recession of 2007–09 has left gaping wounds. Over 200 million people across the globe are estimated to be unemployed at present.
Among countries with unemployment data in the IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) database, there has been an increase of over 20 million unemployed people since 2007. The ILO estimates
that globally the increase is over 30 million.
As shown in the left panel of Figure 1, three-fourths of this increase in the number of unemployed people occurred in the “advanced” economies (the term
used in the WEO to denote high per capita income countries) and the remainder among emerging market economies. The unemployment rate increased by 3 percentage points in advanced countries since 2007 and by 0.25 percentage points in emerging markets (Figure 1, right panel). In contrast, in low-income countries (LIC) on the whole, unemployment fell during the Great Recession.
Private equity sees "buckets of money" in water buys
November 10, 2010--Water scarcity will generate big returns for the irrigation sector once climate change and population growth take their toll on farming, private equity managers said on Tuesday.
Asked at an agriculture investing conference whether it is possible to make money from water, typically a public good rather than a bankable commodity, Judson Hill of NGP Global Adaptation Partners was unequivocal.
"Buckets, buckets of money," he told the meeting of bankers and investors in Geneva, a leading European hub for commodity trading. "There are many ways to make a very attractive return in the water sector if you know where to go."
The Role of Independent Research and Brokerage
November 10, 2010--The online report where institutional investors examine the role of unbiased independent research and brokerage services in a risk controlled investment strategy as well as the state of the marketplace today.
As a result of both the ‘Dotcom Boom' of 2002 and the more recent ‘Financial Crisis', the sourcing of research for investment purposes has been scrutinised in depth with institutional investors questioning if the advice they receive and brokerage services they use are truly serving their needs instead of that of a third party.
As institutional investments demand higher quality research and brokerage services under strict investment governance guidelines, the independent research and brokerage sector is stepping into the limelight. Priding itself on offering an unbiased approach to trading and investment whilst providing a high quality and rapid service the sector is going through it's own boom period.
'The Role of Independent Research and Brokerage' is the first report of its type where institutional investors will discuss the key issues in working with the independent sector and overcoming challenges they face.
download The Role of Independent Research and Brokerage report
Emerging from the Global Crisis—Macroeconomic Challenges Facing Low-Income Countries
November 10, 2010--On November 1, 2010, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund met to discuss macroeconomic challenges facing low-income countries as they exit from the global crisis.
Background
Low-income countries (LICs) were more resilient during the global crisis than in past downturns. The impact of the crisis was severe, but economic growth stayed positive in two-thirds of LICs, in contrast to richer countries. Growth was supported by a robust countercyclical domestic policy response—a first for LICs and in contrast to past crises when the fiscal stance was typically tightened. Pre-crisis macroeconomic policy buffers, built mainly over the past decade, had created space in many countries for this countercyclical response. To help low-income countries navigate the crisis, the IMF sharply scaled up its liquidity support, reformed its concessional instruments, and endorsed adaptations in program design to accommodate the countercyclical responses, including continued real growth in expenditures.
World Bank-UN Report Charts Path to Prevent Death and Destruction from Natural Hazards
November 11, 2010 – A new joint report from the World Bank and the United Nations says that annual global losses from natural disasters could triple to $185 billion by the end of this century, even without calculating the impact of climate change. Climate change could then add $28-$68 billion more in damages each year from tropical cyclones alone. The report also says that the number of people exposed to storms and earthquakes in large cities could double to 1.5 billion by 2050.
The 250-page report, Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters: The Economics of Effective Prevention, was released in Washington. Targeted directly at the world's finance ministers, it stresses that “prevention pays but you do not always have to pay more for prevention”.
The report outlines a number of measures to prevent death and destruction from natural hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and flooding. These measures are almost stunning in their simplicity and common-sense approach. For example, governments can make information about hazards and risks easily accessible. Providing land titles reduces the possibility of eviction or demolition, and encourages individuals to invest in safer structures. Removing rent controls restores incentives for landlords to maintain buildings. And, reorienting existing public spending to prioritize day-to-day operations and maintenance – mending pot-holes, painting steel bridges, keeping drains clear –would increase prevention. Undertaking these measures does not necessarily require governments to spend more, says the report, but to spend better.
view Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters: The Economics of Effective Prevention report