Central Banks and Govts Are Pro-Blockchain, 80% Consider Centralized Cryptocurrency
September 23, 2017--According to a recent study by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, central banks around the world are strongly in favor of Blockchain technology.
This, in spite of the recent report by the ECB that Blockchain technology is too immature for widespread use.
According to the study, central banks surveyed indicated that 20 percent of central banks will be using Blockchain technology by 2019, and 40 percent will have active Blockchain applications within a decade.
Source: cointelegraph.com
Global Economic Forecasts: Q3 2017
September 22, 2017--Introduction
The global economy started 2017 strong with real gdp growth gaining momentum and rising to 3.6% in q1 2017. We have maintained our global real
gdp growth forecast at 3.5% for 2017-2018.
Despite standing above the annual 3.2% growth in 2016, the forecast is still considerably below the pre-crisis growth levels.
For advanced and emerging economies, economic activity is forecast to accelerate, reaching 2.0% and 4.7% growth, respectively, in 2017. Emerging markets, however, will remain a principal driver of the global economic growth, accounting for as much as 74% of the world's real gdp expansion, and this share is predicted to surge further up to 79% by 2020.
Source: Euromonitor
DECPG Global Weekly
September 22, 2017--TAKING STOCK
U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, and announced it would start its balance sheet reduction in October
Euro Area headline inflation rebounded in August; consumer confidence improved in September
Bank of Japan kept policy unchanged; Japan's export growth hit an almost 4-year high in August
EMDEs bond sales reaching record pace in 2017
South Africa inflation rebounded; South African Reserve Bank unexpectedly left policy on hold
Source: World Bank
ULTUMUS-Guggenheim, PowerShares & Mirae
September 21, 2017--USA
More bullets in Guggenheim's round
New York-based issuer Guggenheim has updated its fixed-term junk bond ETF for 2025.
As with every year's product, the Guggenheim BulletShares 2025 High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (BSCR) will track high yielding debts that mature by 2025...
PowerShares late entrance into plain vanilla
PowerShares has listed five new ETFs on Bats under its "PureBeta" sub-brand. They are:
PowerShares PureBeta MSCI USA Portfolio (PBUS)
PowerShares PureBeta MSCI USA Small Cap Portfolio (PBSM)
PowerShares PureBeta FTSE Developed ex-North America Portfolio (PBDM)....
Korea
Covered call ETFs from Mirae
Korean asset manager Mirae Asset Daewoo has listed two new covered call ETFs in Seoul (520022, 520023). Covered call ETFs sell and buy options on securities they hold as a way of making more money for the fund...
Source: ULTUMUS-Financial Data Management
Trouble in the Making? The Future of Manufacturing-Led Development
September 21, 2017--STORY HIGHLIGHTS
New technology, including advanced robotics, industrial automation, and 3-D printing, are changing the landscape of global manufacturing.
Developing countries' traditional path to development, often driven by manufacturing, may be at risk because the criteria for becoming an attractive production location are changing.
Although there are challenges, opportunities remain for developing countries, as long as governments take appropriate policy actions on the 3Cs: competitiveness, capabilities, and connectedness.
view the Trouble in the Making? The Future of Manufacturing-Led Development report
Source: World Bank
Millennials Prefer Human Financial Advisers
September 21, 2017--A majority of young investors believe human advisers can generate a better ROI than robo-advisers, a recent survey finds.
A poll commissioned by the loan refinancing firm LendEDU found that 46.41% of Millennials who are currently saving for retirement use a human financial adviser as opposed to only 24.30% who use a robo-adviser.
In fact, 61.68% of respondents who don't use an automated adviser say they’ve never heard of one, possibly giving light to an underserved market in the financial services industry.
Source: planadviser.com
World Gold Council-Gold Investor, September 2017
September 20, 2017--Gold's fear trade intensifies on debt and equity risk
Global debt levels have reached unprecedented levels, pension deficits are rising and the US interest rate cycle is on the turn.
Frank Holmes, chief executive of highly regarded investment management group US Global Investors, believes that investing in gold is a logical response to current, unnerving conditions.
Source: World Gold Council (WGC)
FAQs on Basel III definition of capital published by the Basel Committee
September 19, 2017--The European Banking Authority (EBA) launched today a public consultation on its discussion paper on significant risk transfer in securitisation.
This work builds on the EBA's monitoring activity of supervisory practices in the area of significant risk transfer, which the Authority started in 2014 with the publication of the EBA Guidelines on this topic. The discussion paper aims at seeking stakeholders' views on how to further harmonise the regulation and supervision of the risk transfer through securitisation. The EBA's proposals are based on the newly agreed European securitisation legislation.
Source: European Banking Authority (EBA)
IMF Working paper-Indexing Structural Distortion: Sectoral Productivity, Structural Change and Growth
September 19, 2017--Summary:
This paper proposes a new index of sectoral labor distortion using employment and value added shares. We show that this index is highly correlated with growth both crosssectionally and over time.
We also use it to compare the degree of distortion among countries and identify sectors where the potential payoffs in terms of growth from reforms could be large. The regression analysis in the paper shows that education and various structural reforms have potential to improve the efficiency of sectoral labor allocation.
Source: IMF
ULTUMUS-Feminist Canadian ETF-Ahoy Me Hearties
September 19, 2017--Canada gets feminist and anti-hacker ETFs
It's a big day of listings in Canada, the biggest we've seen at the Daily ETF Monitor in some months.
Canadian issuer Evolve is bringing gender diversity (HERS) and cyber security ETFs (CYBR) to the land of moose and maple syrup.
CYBR will track a Solactive index of cyber security. HERS will track companies that have "demonstrated a commitment to gender diversity as part of their corporate responsibility strategy," says the index factsheet. Both ETFs charge 0.55%...
Cyber security and gender diversity ETFs already exist in the US and Japan. In a result that may disappoint but not surprise feminists, cyber security ETFs have proved the more popular of the two. HACK, the American cyber security tracker by ETF Managers Group, has collected more than $1.1bn since its launch in 2015...
Toronto-based First Asset is listing a new actively managed ETF, the First Asset Cambridge Global Dividend ETF (FCW)...
USA
A truly global ETF
Virtus ETF solutions has listed a new actively managed ETF on NYSE that will try to beat global equity markets while managing risk. The Global Factor Opportunities ETF (VGFO) will invest in companies from at least three different countries at once...
Korea
Another new leveraged oil ETN
Korea has many leveraged oil ETNs, but Samsung is set to list another. The Samsung Inverse 2X WTI Crude Oil Futures ETN (530036) will give double the inverse performance of the spot price of WTI crude oil and further enable speculators to gamble on oil prices....
Source: ULTUMUS-Financial Data Management