Global ETF News Older than One Year
IMF Working paper-The Impact of Debt Sustainability and the Level of Debt on Emerging Markets Spreads
May 1, 2013--Summary: How do financial markets respond to concerns over debt sustainability and the level of public debt in emerging markets? We introduce a measure of debt sustainability-the difference between the debt stabilizing primary balance and the primary balance-in an otherwise standard spread regression model applied to a panel of 26 emerging market economies.
We find that debt sustainability is an important determinant of spreads. In addition, using a panel smooth transition regression model, we find that the sensitivity of spreads to debt sustainability doubles as public debt increases above 45 percent of GDP. These results suggest that market interest rates react more to debt sustainability concerns in a country with a high level of debt compared to a country with a low level of debt.
Source: IMF
MSCI to Decide on Proposing Israel for Europe Basket by June
April 30, 2013--MSCI Inc. (MSCI) will decide no later than June whether to propose including Israel in its European index after receiving "mixed feedback" from investors.
“We have received mixed feedback from investors” if they see Israel as part of their European investment basket, Sebastien Lieblich, global head of index management at MSCI, said today in a phone interview with Bloomberg from Geneva.
Source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek
S&P BSE 500 Shariah First Index Launched by
BSE and S&P Dow Jones Indices Strategic Partnership
April 30, 2013--BSE and S&P Dow Jones Indices announced today the launch of the S&P BSE 500 Shariah index, the first new index resulting from the strategic partnership formed between the two companies in February of this year.
The S&P BSE 500 Shariah index was designed to represent all Shariah compliant stocks of the broad based S&P BSE 500 index. The S&P BSE 500 consists of 500 of the largest, most liquid Indian stocks trading at the BSE. The S&P BSE 500 represents nearly 93% of the total market capitalization on the BSE and covers all 20 major industries of the economy.
Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices
Pan Asia Dividend Aristocrats licenced to State Street for new ETF
April 29, 2013--S&P Dow Jones Indices has licensed its S&P Pan Asia Dividend Aristocrats index to State Street Global Advisors for the launch of an ETF.
The index measures the performance of companies in the S&P Pan Asia Broad Market Index that have consistently increased dividends every year for at least seven years.
Source: Investment Europe
ETF Reaserch Center-Reporting Monitor-Q1 2013 Earnings Reports -Week One
April 29, 2013--HIGHLIGHTS:
With about half of S&P500 firms reporting, index earnings probably grew about 3.8% YoY in 1Q13 despite a drop in revenue. Financials (XLF), Consumer Discretionary (XLY) and Staples (XLP) were the biggest contributors to profit growth...
Sales were off about 1.2%, due to a sharp drop in revenue from the Energy (XLE) sector. Excluding Energy, sales would have posted a 2.6% increase. Most sectors managed to boost margins, but Tech (XLK) continues to struggle...
Tech fell short of profit expectations once again this quarter, while multiple sectors disappointed on the revenue front, including Health Care (XLV) and Materials (XLB)...
Source: AltaVista
EPFR Global Summary-Flows rotate back to Bond Funds as Equity Funds see 21 week inflow streak snapped
April 26, 2013--EPFR Global-tracked Bond Funds outgained their Equity Fund counterparts by the widest margin since late October during the third week of April as a mixed earnings season, weak macroeconomic data and concerns about the impact of Japan's current monetary policy on emerging markets export stories curbed investor appetite for equities.
The latest bout of uncertainty did not, however, curb their hunger for yield with Dividend Equity Funds posting their second biggest inflow year-to-date and flows into High Yield Bond Funds hitting a seven week high.
Visit www.epfr.com for more info.
Source: EPFR
State Street Global Advisers-May Market Commentary and the latest ETF Industry Guide
Weekly Market Report
April 26, 2013--ECONOMIES: GDP disappoints in the US. Retail sales rebound in Canada. GDP rises modestly in the UK. Manufacturing struggles in the eurozone. The Bank of Japan restates its commitment to double the monetary base. Inflation remains moderate in Australia.
MARKETS: Risk appetites return on expectations of a more supportive policy environment. Equities rise. Government bonds are mixed but Italian yields fall sharply. GBP and JPY are bid. Oil and gold rise.
NEXT WEEK PREVIEWED
SPOTLIGHT: The Fed should leave policy unchanged and very easy. The ECB seems poised to cut its key policy rate. Employment should rise moderately in the US. Unemployment remains on a severe uptrend in the eurozone. Industrial production will likely rise in Japan
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
US
The first-quarter GDP report was disappointing. The consensus
expected a "three-handle" on growth, and the supply-side
estimate, based on labor input, suggested it could be a “high
three.” But, the first estimate was just 2.5% (annualized rate).
Inventories bounced back as expected, contributing a full 1.0
percentage point to growth, but it appears they were all imported,
not produced domestically, as imports jumped 5.4% to subtract
0.9 percentage point. Another disappointment was business fixed
investment, which after rising 13.2% in the fourth quarter grew
just 2.1% in the first quarter. But the big surprise was the second
consecutive large decline in defense spending, which subtracted
0.6 percentage point from growth. Most analysts had expected
a rebound following the fourth quarter’s 22.1% plunge. The rest
of the report was solid, with residential investment rising 12.6%,
exports 2.9% and consumer spending 3.2% (despite a 5.3% taxrelated
drop in disposable income). The report does not change our view of “more of the same” (lackluster growth) in 2013...
visit statestreetspdrs.com to request report
Source: Source: State Street Global Advisers
Northern Trust White Paper-The New Active Decision in Beta Management - An analysis of the role of alternative indexing
April 25, 2013--Northern Trust has just released the Line in Sight-The New Active Decision in Beta Management-An analysis of the role of alternative indexing white paper.
Source: Northern Trust
Northern Trust Study: Alternative Indexes the New Active Decision in Beta Management
Global survey of 51 institutional investors representing US$800bn in assets
April 25, 2013--Institutional investors, increasingly considering the full range of active and passive strategies available, may view the allocation to alternative indexes as the new active decision in beta management. This is according to new research from the asset management business of Northern Trust which surveyed the views of 51 institutional investors across the globe, representing a collective US$800bn in assets under management.
The survey forms the basis of the white paper entitled, The New Active Decision in Beta Management, which profiles how early adopters of the allocation to alternative indexes are using the approach. It follows a similar study by Northern Trust last year which examined the blurring lines between passive and active management and the rise of customized beta strategies.
view the Northern Trust Study: Alternative Indexes the New Active Decision in Beta Management
Source: Northern Trust
World stocks higher, British economy grows in 1Q
World stock markets mostly higher on hopes central banks to support growth
April 25, 2013--World stocks were mostly higher Thursday as a slump in orders for U.S. durable goods and other data convinced investors that central banks would continue efforts to help the global economic recovery.
Confidence also got a boost after Britain said its economy grew in the first quarter of the year. The Office for National Statistics said Thursday that the economy grew by a better-than-expected 0.3 percent from the previous quarter.
Source: FIN24
