Global ETF News Older than One Year
Internet economy: Wireless broadband subscriptions top half a billion, says OECD
June 22, 2011--The fast-growing popularity of smartphones and tablet PCs is driving growth in mobile broadband services.
Wireless broadband subscriptions in OECD countries had exceeded half a billion by the end of 2010, an increase of more than 10 percent on June 2010, according to new OECD statistics.
Fixed broadband subscriptions reached 300 million for the first time, but growth slowed to 6% year-on-year, the lowest growth rate since the OECD started collecting broadband statistics just over a decade ago. This reflects higher broadband penetration and market saturation in some countries.
The Netherlands and Switzerland lead the table, with 38.1 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, followed by Denmark (37.7) and Norway (34.6). Fibre subscriptions continue to grow and account for 12.3% of all fixed broadband connections.
Source: OECD
Trades reveal China shift from dollar
June 21, 2011--China began diversifying away from the US dollar in earnest in the first four months of this year, most likely by buying far more European government debt than US dollar assets, according to estimates from Standard Chartered Bank.
China's foreign exchange reserves expanded by around $200bn in the first four months of the year, with three-quarters of the new inflow invested abroad in non-US dollar assets, the bank estimated.
Source: CNN
Trading Halt For Certain Trading Groups On The NYSE Euronext Regulated Cash Markets On Tuesday 21 June 2011
June 21, 2011--Executive Summary
This morning, Tuesday 21 June 2011, due to a technical issue, NYSE Euronext halted trading in the regulated markets on one trading unit hosting a number of trading groups including the AEX and BEL20 index stocks. This resulted in the inability to trade the specified securities between 09:03:36 CET and 11:00 CET.
This morning NYSE Euronext observed increasing latencies to the point of material degradation in service on certain trading groups, including AEX and BEL20 stocks, hosted by its trading unit number two. NYSE Euronext took the decision to halt trading for these trading groups at 09:03:36 CET. During the trading halt, members were not able to enter, amend or cancel their orders. See the appendix for the full list of trading groups impacted by this halt.
Source: NYSE Euronext
MSCI Announces the Results of the 2011 Annual Market Classification Review
June 21, 2011--MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of investment decision support tools worldwide, including indices, portfolio risk and performance analytics and corporate governance services, announced today that the MSCI Korea Index and the MSCI Taiwan Index will be maintained in
Emerging Market status and will remain under review for potential reclassification to Developed
Markets as part of the 2012 Annual Market Classification Review
In addition, MSCI also announced that the 2011 review period for the potential reclassification of the MSCI Qatar Index and the MSCI UAE Index from Frontier Market to Emerging Market status has been extended to December 2011 in order to give additional time for market participants to assess the impact of the recent positive changes implemented in these two markets. This review period extension will also provide more time to regulators and stock exchanges to address the remaining concerns raised by international institutional investors. MSCI also released today the 2011 Global Market Accessibility Review for each of the markets under its coverage.
As a reminder, every June MSCI communicates its conclusions following discussions with the investment community on the list of countries under review and announces the new list of countries, if any, under review for potential market reclassification in the upcoming cycle. As part of the 2012 Annual Market Classification Review there will be no new candidates added to the list of country indices under review for potential market reclassification. MSCI will communicate its decisions resulting from this Annual Market Classification Review in June 2012.
Source: MSCI
Survey points to failures for private equity
June 20, 2011--Institutional investors are forecasting that one in five private equity groups will disappear during this decade, according to a global survey that predicts a shake-out in the sector in the wake of the financial crisis.
The research underlined how large investors, including pension funds, fund of funds and insurers, have started to become more picky in the wake of the financial crisis and that underperformers have become more visible.
Source: FT.com
ETFS Precious Metals Weekly: Gold consolidates gains as Greece edges towards default
June 20, 2011--Gold price pushes up towards $1540/oz as Greek political instability and European jousting over a new financial package for Greece continued through the weekend. The Greek prime-minister re-shuffled his cabinet and called for a vote of confidence as political opponents and street protests challenged further austerity measures. Meanwhile, Europe continues to play hard-ball, delaying
a decision on a new financial package until it is clear Greece will honor its reform obligations.
Platinum group metals (PGMs) drop as markets mull the potential global growth fallout of any Greek debt default. Manufacturing-oriented precious metals sold off this week as rising risk aversion weighed on cyclically-driven asset markets.
Non-commercial futures net long positions in palladium, platinum and gold rebound from May lows. Silver net longs, however, continue to fall. Palladium futures notched up their sharpest rise on record last week.
The gold price pushed up towards a new record high as market concern grows that the sovereign debt crisis could broaden into a wider financial crisis. Moody’s placed France’s largest bank BNP Paribas and local competitors Societe Generale and Credit Agricole on review last week, citing their exposure to Greek debt in the event of a Greek default or debt restructuring. With S&P downgrading Greek government debt to the lowest in the world last week, concerns about the possibility of default are running high.
visit www.etfsecurities.com for more info
Source: ETFS Securities
IMF-Global Financial Stability Report
June 17, 2011--Since the publication of the April 2011 Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), financial risks
have risen for three reasons. First, while a multi-speed global recovery remains the base case, downside risks to this baseline have increased. Second, concern about debt sustainability and support for adjustment efforts in Europe’s periphery is leading to market pressures and worries about potential contagion. Political risks are also raising questions about medium term fiscal adjustment in a few advanced countries, notably, the United States and Japan.
Third, notwithstanding some recent pullback in risk appetite, the prolonged period of low interest rates may push investors into riskier assets in a “search for yield.” This trend has the potential to build financial imbalances for the future, particularly in some emerging markets. Against these tensions, deep-seated challenges remain. Although there has been progress, improvements in financial system robustness have been insufficient so far. Markets may lose patience and become disorderly if political developments derail momentum on fiscal consolidation and financial repair and reform. Given these risks, policymakers need to accelerate actions to address long-standing financial vulnerabilities as outlined in the GFSR, before the window of opportunity to do so closes.
Source: IMF
IMF World Economic Outlook Update Mild Slowdown of the Global Expansion, and Increasing Risks
June 17, 2011--Activity is slowing down temporarily, and downside risks have increased again. The global
expansion remains unbalanced. Growth in many advanced economies is still weak, considering the depth of the recession. In addition, the mild slowdown observed in the second quarter of 2011 is not
reassuring. Growth in most emerging and developing economies continues to be strong. Overall, the global economy expanded at an annualized rate of 4.3 percent in the first quarter, and forecasts for 2011–12 are broadly unchanged, with offsetting changes across various economies. However,
greater-than-anticipated weakness in U.S. activity and renewed financial volatility from concerns about the depth of fiscal challenges in the euro area periphery pose greater downside risks.
Risks also draw from persistent fiscal and financial sector imbalances in many advanced economies, while signs of overheating are becoming increasingly apparent in many emerging and developing economies. Strong adjustments—credible and balanced fiscal consolidation and financial sector repair and reform in many advanced economies, and prompter macroeconomic policy tightening and demand rebalancing in many emerging and developing economies—are critical for securing growth and job creation over the medium term.
Source: IMF
IMF Fiscal Monitor Update-Staying the Course on Fiscal Adjustment
June 17, 2011--Consolidation is proceeding at a broadly appropriate pace in many advanced economies —
notably in most of Europe and in Canada—helped by recovering activity and revenues. In the United States, the 2011 deficit will be lower than previously forecast and similar to 2010 in
cyclically adjusted terms, thereby making the planned fiscal adjustment in 2012 less abrupt. Consensus on a credible medium-term fiscal adjustment plan is urgently needed. Similarly,
defining a more detailed medium-term adjustment plan is essential in Japan.
Rising risk perceptions in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal underscore the need to implement their adjustment programs and to develop a comprehensive and consistent approach to crisis management in the euro area. In many emerging economies, fiscal consolidation is proceeding at an appropriate pace. In others, fiscal policy needs to be tightened faster than currently envisaged, to reduce overheating risks.
view the IMF Fiscal Monitor Update-Staying the Course on Fiscal Adjustment
Source: IMF
Resource Windfalls, Macroeconomic Stability and Growth: The Role of Political Institutions
June 17, 2011--Summary: We use a new dataset on non-resource GDP to examine the performance of commodity-exporting countries in terms of macroeconomic stability and economic growth in a panel of up to 129 countries during the period 1970-2007. Our main findings are threefold.
First, we find that overall government spending in commodity-exporting countries has been procyclical. Second, we find that resource windfalls initially crowd out non-resource GDP which then increases as a result of the fiscal expansion. Third, we find that in the long run resource windfalls have negative effects on non-resource sector GDP growth. Yet, the effects turn out to be statistically insignificant when controlling for government spending. Both the effects of resource windfalls on macroeconomic stability and economic growth are moderated by the quality of political institutions.
Source: IMF
