Global ETF News Older than One Year
BlackRock punishes 53 high-emissions companies over climate inaction, puts 191 more on watch
July 14, 2020--BlackRock has revealed that it took voting action against 53 companies on climate grounds in the first half of 2020, including ExxonMobil and Air Liquide.
The asset manager provided clients with a new report on Tuesday (14 July), outlining how it is ramping up its climate-related engagements with businesses this year.
BlackRock notably changed its investment stewardship targets and processes earlier this year, after joining Climate Action 100+.According to the report, 244 of the companies in BlackRock's portfolios are making insufficient progress integrating climate risks into their business models and/or disclosures.
Of these companies, 53 were found to have repeatedly ignored the climate-related demands of investors. As such, BlackRock took voting action against them, either by calling for executive accountability or backing new shareholder proposals which would lead to stricter environmental requirements.
Source: edie.net
Why Sustainable Food Systems are Needed in a post-COVID World
July 14, 2020--Food systems are essential to economic activity because they provide the energy that we need to live and work. However, macroeconomists have long ignored them in the belief that the global agri-food industry, now highly mechanized, subsidized and concentrated, offers all we could wish for when it comes to food.
2020 will be a year of reckoning for the world's food systems. In just months, COVID-19 shut down half the globe. Images of panic buying, empty grocery shelves and miles-long queues at food banks have suddenly reminded us how important food systems are in our lives and how imbalanced they have become.
Source: IMF
Oil Gains With OPEC Compliance Overshadowing U.S. Demand Fears
July 13, 2020--Saudi oil minister commends Iraq for oil-production curbs
Market turns attention to weekly storage data due Wednesday
Crude futures rose as initial signs that OPEC members intend to comply with promises to curtail production eclipsed fears that a resurgence in coronavirus cases would send demand back to the worst days of the pandemic.
Source: bloomberg.com
CryptoCompare Updates Benchmark for Digital Asset Exchanges: US Venues Retain Top Spots
July 13, 2020--CryptoCompare, the global leader in digital asset data, today announced an update to its cryptocurrency Exchange Benchmark, revealing a new ranking of exchanges based on several criteria including counterparty, operational, trading and security risk.
The Benchmark ranks more than 165 global spot exchanges to bring transparency and accountability to the cryptoasset exchange landscape by providing a framework for assessing risk. The Benchmark assigns a AA- F grade to help identify the lowest risk venues in the industry.
The analysis reveals that US exchanges retain the top spots, with Gemini ranked first. Gemini is followed by Coinbase (2), Kraken (3), itBit (4) and Bitstamp (5).
Source: data.cryptocompare.com
OPEC Readies Next Move in Bid to Avoid Oil-Market Taper Tantrum
July 11, 2020-Saudi Oil Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman likes the idea of OPEC+ acting as the central bank of oil. And he expresses admiration for Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The challenge now confronting the oil producers’ club is one that's all too familiar to the Fed: how to avoid a "taper tantrum," the market panic that ensued when the institution proposed tightening monetary policy in 2013.
Source: bnnbloomberg.ca
FSB and Basel Committee set out supervisory recommendations for benchmark transition
July 9, 2020--Continued reliance of financial markets on LIBOR poses clear risks to global financial stability.
Transition away from LIBOR by end-2021 requires significant commitment and sustained effort from both financial and non-financial institutions.
Report includes three sets of recommendations to support LIBOR transition.
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) and Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) today published a report on Supervisory issues associated with benchmark transition. Continued reliance of financial markets on LIBOR poses clear risks to global financial stability. Transition away from LIBOR by end-2021 requires significant commitment and sustained effort from both financial and non-financial institutions across many jurisdictions. The report includes insights on remaining challenges to transition based on surveys undertaken by the FSB, the BCBS and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). It sets out recommendations for authorities to support financial institutions' and their clients' progress in transitioning away from LIBOR.
Source: BIS
S&P Global predicts global credit losses of $2.1T
July 9, 2020--Credit ratings agency S&P Global forecasted on Thursday that the COVID-19 pandemic caused credit losses for world banks of around $2.1 trillion. Compared to 2019, losses will double to $1.3 trillion in 2020.
Agency said 60% of the forecast credit losses will arise in Asia-Pacific but that the highest relative increases will occur in North America and Western Europe.
Source: teletrader.com
Gold rallies to $1 800 an ounce
July 8, 2020-- Gold's allure is only getting stronger as 2020 unfolds. Spot prices reached $1 800 an ounce and year-to-date inflows into bullion-backed exchange-traded funds have topped the record full-year total set in 2009.
Investors have favoured havens this year as the coronavirus pandemic rips through economies, spurring sustained inflows into gold-backed ETFs as central banks and governments unleash vast stimulus programs. States across the US recorded new highs in cases and deaths on Tuesday, and Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said the resurgence of the virus may be threatening the pace of America's recovery.
Source: FIN24
Why ESG investing makes fund managers more money
July 8, 2020--In recent years, some investors have felt so irritated by the pious tone of the environment, social and governance sector they have joked that the ESG acronym should stand for "eye-roll, sneer and groan".
Such laughter is looking hollow now.
Among the many long-held assumptions turned upside down by Covid-19 is the notion held by many investors that ESG investing implies lower returns. Instead, 2020 suggests that virtue pays.
Consider the first four months of this year, when Covid-19 caused global markets to swoon. Over this period, the S&P 500 ESG index, which tracks big US companies with high ESG ratings, beat the normal S&P index by 0.6 per cent.
Source: FT.com
Negative interest rates can be a doom loop for pension investors
July 8, 2020--Fixed income is turning into fixed expense for those who seek haven assets for capital conservation
"On the whole, negative interest rates, no ...not an area I would want to go to,” said Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey to members of the UK parliament in March. Two months later Britain sold a government bond with a negative yield for the first time, as Covid-19 created the dystopian reality of deserted airports and traffic-free highways.
Source: FT.com
