Global ETF News Older than One Year
BetaShares-Global Market Outlook: Testing times
April 4, 2018--Month in Review-Trade tremors
The pull back in global equities continued in March, with the MSCI All-Country Net-Return Index dropping 2.2% after a 3.5% drop in February. On a month-end basis, this Index is now down 5.7% from its January peak, which is still less than the last "correction" of 11.6% between mid-2015 to early-2016.
Two factors weighed most on investor minds last month: further escalation in US President Trump's trade aggression, and fear of crippling regulation across the tech sector in the wake of the Facebook data privacy breaches.
Losses were fairly evenly spread across major regions, though Australia's S&P/ASX 200 under performed, with the gross return index down 3.6%-hurt by further concerns in the banking sector arising from the Royal Commission and weaker iron ore prices denting resource stocks.
Source: BetaShares
Gold heading to $1 400 as Sprott sees 'winnerless' trade war
April 3, 2018--Gold will surge to the highest level in five years if a global trade war breaks out, according to Rick Rule, chief executive officer of Sprott US Holdings, who's been involved in the market for four decades.
Bullion could top $1 400 an ounce in 2018 as escalating trade tensions drive investors to havens and the three-decade bull market in bonds nears an end, said Rule...
Source: FIN24
Investors nurse $10m losses on LongFin index mistake
April 3, 2018--On February 14, FTSE Russell decided it would include LongFin in its Russell 2000 and 3000 indices, groupings of small and medium-sized companies used as benchmarks for passive investment products, including exchange traded funds.
Source: FT.com
Barclays creates post-crisis milestone with 'ringfenced' bank
April 2, 2018-- When Barclays staff left work for the Easter weekend last Thursday evening they were employees at a 328-year-old institution.
But when 30,000 of them return on Tuesday, they will find themselves working for what the boss of its UK business described as "the biggest banking start-up ever..
Source: FT.com
DECPG Global Weekly
March 30, 2018--TAKING STOCK
U.S. 2017 fourth-quarter GDP growth was revised up; PCE inflation rose in February; consumer confidence fell in March
Euro Area economic sentiment declined in March
Japan's retail sales edged up in February; industrial production rebounded
The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened as short-term yields rose
Monetary policy easing continued in Sub-Saharan Africa
U.S. 2017 fourth-quarter GDP growth was revised up; PCE inflation rose in February; consumer confidence fell in March. The final reading of U.S. real GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2017 came in at 2.9 percent (q/q, saar), above the first two readings of 2.6 percent and 2.5 percent, reflecting higher-than-previously estimated consumer spending (Figure 1). For 2017 as a whole, real GDP rose 2.3 percent, compared with 1.5 percent in 2016.
Source: World Bank
Request Network launches financial applications technology on Ethereum blockchain
March 30, 2018--Request Network, a Y-Combinator backed project, has officially launched a financial applications technology allowing anyone to easily request and send cryptocurrency payments for goods, services, or simply conduct money transfers between friends, family and businesses.
Request Network acts like a management hub to handle invoices, with everything stored on an immutable blockchain ledger to allow for formal accounting and auditing. This opens cryptocurrency invoicing and payments to be used more easily in a business setting.
Source: investmentnews.com
DECPG Global Monthly-March 2018
March 28, 2018--Monthly Highlights
Recent data point to continued strong global growth in 2018. In advanced economies, a rise in inflation remains incipient despite ongoing tightening in labor markets.
After recovering from a period of turbulence in early February, equity prices suffered renewed losses and heightened volatility in late March, amid fears of rising trade protectionism.
Oil prices fell in February, ending seven months of gains, but rose in late March reflecting renewed concerns of sanctions against Iran.
Special Focus: The Investment Cycle in EMDEs
After a prolonged slowdown that began in 2011, investment in EMDEs picked up in 2017 and is expected to accelerate in 2018-19.
While the turnaround is welcome, investment growth is still modest compared to its long-term average, and large investment gaps remain.
Several factors may constrain investment growth in EMDEs in the coming years, holding back potential growth.
Source: World Bank
Passive investing won't cut it with China A shares
March 26, 2018--Passive investment strategy risks owning highly valued and leveraged companies
With a trade war looming between the US and China, now may not be the best time to consider buying domestic Chinese A-shares. Yet that is what emerging markets funds are obliged to do.
Source: FT.com
