Global ETF News Older than One Year
Annual inflation in OECD area edges up to 1.6% in July 2010
August 31, 2010--Consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 1.6% in the year to July 2010, up from 1.5 % in June. This small increase mainly reflected developments in energy and food prices, which increased by 6.2% and 1.1% respectively in the year to July, compared with rises of 4.7% and 0.6% in June.
Excluding food and energy, consumer prices rose by 1.2% in the year to July 2010, down from 1.3% in June.
Deflation continued in Japan where consumer prices fell by 0.9% in the year to July, compared with a decline of 0.7% in June. Inflation rose in all other G7 countries except the United Kingdom, where annual inflation was 3.1% in July down from 3.2% in June. In Canada, inflation was 1.8% in the year to July, up from 1.0% in June. In France, inflation was 1.7% in July, up from 1.5% in June. Prices rose 1.7% in Italy in July, up from 1.3% in June. In Germany, prices rose 1.2% in July, up from 0.9% in June. Inflation was 1.2% in the United States in July, up from 1.1% in June. Euro area annual inflation (HICP) was 1.7% in July up from 1.4% in June.
Source: OECD
Investors Pull $7.1 Billion From Stock Funds Globally
August 27, 2010--Investors withdrew a net $7.1 billion from equity funds tracked worldwide in the week to Aug. 25 and put some $5.2 billion into bonds amid concern economies in the U.S. and Europe are losing momentum, EPFR Global said.
A net $5.4 billion was redeemed from U.S. stock funds, while inflows into emerging markets were the lowest in 13 weeks, EPFR said in an e-mailed statement. Developing-nation bond funds took in $1 billion, on course for a record-setting year, while U.S. bond funds drew $2.5 billion, according to the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based research firm.
Source: Bloomberg Business Week
* New Report * ETF Landscape Industry Review July 2010
August 26, 2010--Current ETF and ETP landscape, as at end July 2010
Global
At the end of July 2010 the global ETF industry had 2,282 ETFs
with 4,872 listings, assets of US$1,095.2 Bn, from 124 providers
on 42 exchanges around the world.
YTD assets increased by 5.7%, compared to the the 3.7%
decrease in the MSCI World Index in US dollar terms.
The top 100 ETFs, out of 2,282, account for 63.9% of global ETF AUM, while 1,187 ETFs have less than US$50.0 Mn in assets and 457 ETFs have less than US$10.0 Mn in assets.
YTD the number of ETFs increased by 17.3% with 368 new ETFs launched, while 33 ETFs were delisted.
The number of ETFs listed in Europe surpassed the US in April 2009, now with 969 ETFs listed in Europe, compared to 866 in the US at end July 2010.
There are currently plans to launch 970 new ETFs.
YTD the number of exchanges with official listings increased from 40 to 42.
YTD the average daily trading volume in US dollars increased by 30.9% to US$66.4 Bn.
MSCI ranks first in terms of ETF AUM tied to its benchmarks with assets of US$263.9 Bn and 323 ETFs, while Standard & Poor’s (S&P) ranks second with US$244.3 Bn and 277 ETFs, followed by Barclays Capital with US$110.3 and 78 ETFs.
Globally, iShares is the largest ETF provider in terms of both number of products, 453 ETFs, and assets of US$506.8 Bn, reflecting 46.3% market share; State Street Global Advisors is second with 110 products and US$153.3 Bn, 14.0% market share; followed by Vanguard with 47 products and assets of US$113.1 Bn and 10.3% market share at the end of July 2010.
The top three ETF providers, out of 124, have 70.6% market share.
Globally, net sales of mutual funds (excluding ETFs) were minus US$283.3 Bn, while net sales of ETFs were positive US$71.3 Bn during the first six months of 2010 according to Strategic Insight.
Additionally, there were 849 other Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) with 1,415 listings and assets of US$128.6 Bn from 47 providers on 20 exchanges.
Combined, there were 3,131 products with 6,287 listings, assets of US$1,223.7 Bn from 150 providers on 45 exchanges around the world at the end of July 2010.
Source: Global ETF Research & Implementation Strategy Team, BlackRock
August 2010 “Islamic Market’s Measure” - Preliminary Report - Monthly Report On The Performance Of The Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes
August 25, 2010--Based on the close of trading on August 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 -3.45% month-to-date, closing at 1888.71. In comparison, the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, which measures the 50 biggest companies worldwide, posted a loss of -3.65%, closing at 152.75.
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 -1.79%, closing at 1799.33. The Dow Jones Asian Titans 50 Index, in comparison, posted a loss of -2.07%, closing at 125.68.
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 1827.21, a loss of -3.15%, while the conventional Dow Jones Europe Index loss -4.91%, closing at 230.04.
Source: Mondovisione
IMF economists criticise CDS model
August 24, 2010--One of the main tools used by investors and policymakers to predict whether a company may default on its debt is riddled with problems, making it a potentially ineffective gauge for measuring the risks of large banks, according to International Monetary Fund economists.
Bank credit default swaps – which offer investors protection in the event of a default – were closely watched during the financial crisis with some critics arguing that they tipped some groups closer to collapse. But a recent working paper by Manmohan Singh and Karim Youssef, economists at the IMF, argues that they offer a flawed model for policymakers looking at potential losses and contagion among large banks in times of financial stress.
view the working paper-Price of Risk—Recent Evidence from Large Financials
Source: FT.com
S&P launches world’s first index for preferred stock on European and Asian markets
August 24, 2010--The first index dedicated to providing investors with exposure to preferred stock in developed European and Asian markets, has been announced.
Standard & Poor’s International Preferred Stock Index has been launched in response to demand for an investable benchmark of non US developer market preferred stocks and the high yields and diversifications that they can provide.
S&P, the world’s leading index provider, said the move creates first benchmark for international preference shares and follows last week’s launch of the S&P/TSX North American Preferred Stock Index, dedicated to North American preferred stocks.
Preferred stocks, or preference share, are a class of securities that combine the characteristics of debt and common stocks. While their expected volatility and returns fall between those of common stocks and bonds, their yields are typically higher than those of common stocks, bonds and money market instruments. With relatively low correlations to common stocks and bonds, they can serve as a good diversification instrument for investors.
‘Market conditions make this index, the first of its type, ideal for investors who are searching for higher yields at a time of historically low interest rates worldwide. The S&P International Preferred Stock Index will open up new avenues to access this increasingly sought after area of the market in Europe and Asia,’ said Steve Goldin, vice president of Strategy Indices at S&P Indices.
Source: Investment International
August 2010 “Market’s Measure” Preliminary Report - A Monthly Report From Dow Jones Indexes On The Performance Of U.S., European, Asia And Other Global Stock Market Indexes
August 24, 2010--•Dow Jones Industrial Average Posts 2.79% Loss in August, European Stocks Lose 3.46%, Asia Falls 1.43% and World Equities Fall by 2.41%
Health Care Sector Posts Biggest Gain for August in Europe
Financials Sector Takes the Hardest Hit for August in U.S.
As of August 23 the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.79% in August, closing at 10174.41. Stock market indexes in Europe, Asia and globally was down in August, according to preliminary monthly figures from global index providers, Dow Jones Indexes
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.79% in August, closing at 10174.41. Year-to-date, the index is down 2.43%.
The Dow Jones Europe Index fell 3.46% in August to 233.53. So far this year, the index is down 11.62%.
The Dow Jones Asian Titans 50 Index fell 1.43% in August to 126.51. So far this year, the index is down 5.78%.
The Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index fell 2.41% in August, closing at 154.72. Year-to-date, the index is down 10.90%.
Source: Mondovisione
NASDAQ Announces Mid-month Open Short Interest Positions in NASDAQ Stocks as of Settlement Date August 13, 2010
August 24, 2010--At the end of the settlement date of August 13, 2010, short interest in 2,398 NASDAQ Global Market(SM) securities totaled 6,904,086,531 shares compared with 7,015,652,490 shares in 2,399 Global Market issues reported for the prior settlement date of July 30, 2010. The mid-August short interest represents 3.48 days average daily NASDAQ Global Market share volume for the reporting period, compared with 3.35 days for the prior reporting period.
Short interest in 484 securities on The NASDAQ Capital Market(SM) totaled 316,908,196 shares at the end of the settlement date of August 13, 2010 compared with 322,988,091 shares in 489 securities for the previous reporting period. This represents 5.34 days average daily volume, compared with the previous reporting period's figure of 4.08.
In summary, short interest in all 2,882 NASDAQ(R) securities totaled 7,220,994,727 shares at the August 13, 2010 settlement date, compared with 2,888 issues and 7,338,640,581 shares at the end of the previous reporting period. This is 3.54 days average daily volume, compared with an average of 3.37 days for the previous reporting period.
The open short interest positions reported for each NASDAQ security reflect the total number of shares sold short by all broker/dealers regardless of their exchange affiliations. A short sale is generally understood to mean the sale of a security that the seller does not own or any sale that is consummated by the delivery of a security borrowed by or for the account of the seller.
For more information on NASDAQ Short interest positions, including publication dates, visit http://quotes.nasdaq.com/asp/MasterDataEntry.asp?page=ShortInterest or http://www.nasdaqtrader.com/asp/short_interest.asp.
Source: NASDAQ OMX
Roll-out of Eurex’s Training & Education Initiative in Asia
August 20, 2010-- The international derivatives exchange Eurex today announced its plans to cooperate with The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) to set up the world’s first real-time finance trading laboratory on campus as a major part of its new Training & Education Initiative in Asia. Through this initiative, Eurex will become a founding member of CUHK’s trading laboratory and support the lab with historical and real-time market data for research and analysis. Additionally, Eurex will make a donation to the university and offer internships to CUHK students.
"We appreciate very much the kind support of all the founding sponsors including Eurex. With this finance trading laboratory in place, our students will be able to gain real life experiences as a trader. They can try their hands on volatility spreads, adapting hedging strategies and conducting quantitative research using real data,” says Professor van Put, Adjunct Professor, CUHK Business Faculty. “To begin with, the laboratory will first be tried out by our final year undergraduate students taking courses on options and derivatives in the coming academic year. The new facility is subsequently expected to play a more important role in the finance training of our MBA, MSc and other executive education programs”, added Professor Fan, Associate Dean, CUHK Business Faculty.
“This cooperation is an important element of Eurex’s Training & Education Initiative in Asia. With our new program, we aim to improve the knowledge and expertise of Asia-based investors about the European markets and products as well as to introduce popular and widely used products, trading strategies and trends”, said Michael Peters, member of the Eurex Executive Board. A major part of the trainings will be the area of program and algorithmic trading, he added.
In July 2010, Eurex introduced the “Trader Training Program” for professional traders in Taiwan, as part of the overall Initiative. The program is the first of its kind in Taiwan and is targeted towards new professional traders.
Source: Eurex
Emerging economies alter dynamics of oil demand
August 19, 2010--Emerging economies have upended the long-standing pattern of global oil consumption, according to the west’s energy watchdog, in a further sign of how countries such as China and India are transforming commodities markets
The International Energy Agency estimates that oil demand was higher this year during the second quarter for the first time, at about 86.6m barrels a day, ahead of the traditional peak winter season of January-March, at 86.0m b/d.
Source: FT.com
