Global ETF News Older than One Year
GDP growth – First quarter of 2011 OECD growth steady at 0.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 but diverging trends across major economies
June 1, 2011--Gross domestic product (GDP) in the OECD area continued to grow at a rate of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2011 despite a continued contraction in Japan and slower growth in the United States as growth in most major European economies and Canada accelerated strongly.
Real GDP grew by 0.8% in the European Union compared to 0.2% in the previous quarter. This acceleration was driven by Germany (where GDP grew by 1.5%), France (1.0%) and the United Kingdom, where the economy expanded by 0.5% after a 0.5% contraction in the previous quarter. In Italy growth remained at 0.1%. Euro area GDP grew by 0.8% compared to 0.3% in the previous quarter.
Among non-European countries, GDP in Canada grew by 1.0%, up from 0.8% in the previous quarter. In the United States GDP slowed to 0.4% compared with 0.8% in the previous quarter. In Japan, GDP contracted by 0.9% following a 0.8% contraction in the previous quarter, partly reflecting the impact of the natural disaster of 11 March 2011.
Source: OECD
Emerging markets to see investment rise
June 1, 2011-Capital inflows to emerging market countries will surge yet higher this year as money flowing into China and Brazil more than offsets investors pulling money out of Egypt, according to a group of leading financial institutions.
The Institute of International Finance, a global association of banks and finance houses, on Wednesday said it had revised up its regular estimate of net private capital flows by $81bn for both last year and this, to a total of $990bn in 2010 and $1,041bn in 2011. Inflows to middle income countries had recovered sharply along with the global economy, though the IIF said the rise was likely to slow in coming years.
Source: FT.com
Swiss franc outshines rival haven currencies
June 1, 2011--From the dollar to the yen, there used to be an array of currencies vying for haven status. Now there is just one; the Swiss franc.
Amid heightened fears over eurozone sovereign debt and increasing concerns about the health of the US economy, investors have flocked to the safety of the Swiss currency with some commentators forecasting that it could surge to parity against the beleaguered euro.
Source: FT.com
Deutsche Börse and Eurex to cooperate with Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) – Shanghai Jiao Tong University
May 31, 2011--Deutsche Börse AG, Eurex and the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last Friday, 27 May, in Shanghai. The partners want to establish an extended relationship and cooperate in the areas of research and financial education. The common objective is to improve the understanding and knowledge of financial markets in China, Germany as well as other Asian and European countries.
One important element of the cooperation will be the implementation of educational programs. Deutsche Börse and SAIF aim to jointly design and offer lectures, courses and other educational programs at SAIF with focus on Chinese and European financial markets and products in order to foster the understanding of the respective markets. Other important elements will be a cooperation in the area of financial market research and the publication of joint studies.
“We are pleased about our partnership with the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance. Our agreement is another proof of our collaborative approach to cooperate with major academic institutions to support the development of the Chinese financial market”, said Michael Peters, member of the Eurex Executive Board, the derivatives arm of Deutsche Börse AG.
Source: Deutsche Börse
ETFS Precious Metals Weekly: Sovereign Debt Risk an Increasingly Important Driver of the Gold Price
May 30, 2011--Gold price rallies through the $1500/oz mark on rising sovereign risk in Europe. A weaker US dollar on disappointing growth data added to the upward momentum.
Sovereign debt risk an increasingly persistent issue and gold price driver. The gold price appears to be increasingly viewed as a hedge against sovereign risk, with the correlation between the gold price and sovereign risk measures rising sharply since Greek crisis.
This has reduced the normal inverse correlation of the gold price and the US dollar.
Platinum, palladium and silver prices rally on USD weakness. South Africa platinum and palladium mine supply issues continue to highlight long term supply difficulties in the worl’s largest platinum producing country. Gold prices rally above $1530/oz last week, nearing previous USD highs. Speculation that Greece may be forced to restructure its government debt continues even as the Greek government announced that it will ramp up asset sales to help bridge its budget shortfalls as growth disappoints. European sovereign risk and its impact on the Euro has emerged as an important driver of the gold price, with periods of rising European sovereign risk often corresponding to a higher gold price – even as the US dollar has appreciated. As was seen in 2H 2008 and early 2010, during periods of extreme stress, both the gold price and the US dollar often rally together.
visit www.etfsecurities.com for more info.
Source: ETFS Securities
Emerging Markets, Workforce Analytics, and the Cloud are Revolutionary Trends Expected to Change the Human Capital Landscape
May 29, 2011--Recognizing that companies worldwide are struggling to focus on post-recession and global growth agendas, Deloitte has prepared a new report which identifies 12 revolutionary and evolutionary trends that will transform and dominate the agenda for human capital leaders and professionals in the coming years.
In the report, Deloitte identifies critical ‘game changing’ trends along with some more familiar to human resources (HR) and business leaders. Topping the list are HR and talent in emerging markets, workforce analytics and HR technology in the cloud, particularly software as a solution (SaaS).
“One thing is for certain, we anticipate a series of HR trends will sweep through the field at an accelerated pace,” said Barbara Adachi, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and national managing director of the human capital practice. “These trends are emerging against the backdrop of profound demographic changes and globalization. Acknowledging and understanding these trends in human resources and adjusting your HR and talent priorities accordingly, are critical first steps in determining how to drive more value to businesses.”
view report-Human Capital Trends 2011 Revolution/Evolution
Source: Deloitte
ISDA Releases 2011 Operations Benchmarking Survey Results
May 27, 2011--The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) today announced the publication of its 2011 Operations Benchmarking Survey. This publication includes results from G14 respondents as of year-end 2010, and follows the release of survey highlights at ISDA's 26th Annual General meeting in April.
The survey notes the continuing decrease in confirmations outstanding, particularly among G14 members. Credit derivatives show an average of 0.4 business days’ worth of aged outstanding confirmations among G14 members, compared with 1.0 business days in last year’s survey. Equity derivative confirmations outstanding fell to 6.5 business days among G14 members, compared with 7.4 last year. Interest rate derivatives confirmations also fell to 2.0 business days among G14 members, down from 2.9 last year.
view the 2011 ISDA Operations Benchmarking Survey
Source: ISDA
May 2011 “Islamic Market’s Measure” - Preliminary Report - Monthly Report On The Performance Of The Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes
May 27, 2011--Based on the close of trading on May 24, the global Dow Jones Islamic Market Titans 100 Index, which measures the performance of 100 of the leading Shari’ah compliant stocks globally, dropped 4.48% month-to-date, closing at 2325.11. In comparison, the Dow Jones Global Titans 50 Index, which measures the 50 biggest companies worldwide, posted a loss of 5.17%, closing at 182.24.
The Dow Jones Islamic Market Asia/Pacific Titans 25 Index, which measures the performance of 25 of the leading Shari’ah compliant stocks in the Asia/Pacific region, decreased 5.55%, closing at 2121.04. The Dow Jones Asian Titans 50 Index, in comparison, posted a loss of 5.84 %, closing at 135.83.
Measuring Europe, the Dow Jones Islamic Market Europe Titans 25 Index, which measures the performance of the 25 of the leading Shari’ah compliant stocks in Europe, closed at 2282.16, a loss of 5.78%, while the conventional Dow Jones Europe Index loss 7.74%, closing at 284.10.
Measuring the performance of 50 of the largest Shari’ah compliant U.S. stocks, the Dow Jones Islamic Market U.S. Titans 50 Index decreased, closing at 2365.47. It represents a loss of 3.71%. The U.S. blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 3.55%, closing at 12356.21.
Source: Mondovisione
TMX Group Inc. Comments On Maple Announcement - Continues To Recommend Agreed Merger With London Stock Exchange Group
Continues to recommend agreed merger with London Stock Exchange Group
May 27, 2011--TMX Group Inc. acknowledges the announcement made by Maple Acquisition Group Corporation ("Maple") on May 25, 2011 regarding its intention to initiate a unilateral offer to acquire TMX Group.
On May 20, 2011, the TMX Group Board of Directors concluded that, under the terms of the merger agreement (Section 5.8) with London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), the Maple proposal did "not constitute a superior proposal, nor could it reasonably be expected to result in a superior proposal".
In communicating this decision, the TMX Group Board clearly laid out the factors taken into consideration. Given that there were no changes communicated in Maple's press release from yesterday, TMX Group continues to be prohibited by the merger agreement from any discussions with Maple or its advisors. The Board will review and respond to the formal Maple offer if and when it has been made.
Additionally, TMX Group has not, as reported by Maple, accelerated the date of its shareholder vote. As stated and required by the merger agreement with LSEG (Section 2.3), TMX Group obtained an interim order yesterday from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to call a special meeting of holders of common shares of TMX Group on June 30, 2011 to approve the plan of arrangement regarding the proposed merger with LSEG. This follows previously outlined process and timetables.
Source: TMX Group (TSX-X)
The Too-Important-to-Fail Conundrum: Possible to Ignore and Difficult to Resolve - IMF Working Paper
May 27, 2011--EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The unprecedented scope and intensity of the recent financial crisis underscored the tooimportant-
to-fail (TITF) problem associated with systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs). Ahead of the crisis, implicit government backing permitted these institutions to take on
greater risks without being adequately subject to market discipline and to enjoy a competitive advantage over systemically less important institutions.
And when the crisis broke, their scale, complexity, and interconnectedness, which had made them difficult to manage and supervise, also proved too significant to permit them to fail.
Yet, some SIFIs have already become bigger and even more complex following the crisis, and risky lending practices have begun to reappear. The restructuring following the crisis increased the level of concentration in many advanced economies’ financial systems, with implications for stability and competitiveness. Policies are therefore needed to make financial institution failures less likely and less devastating when they occur, reestablish market discipline, level the playing field, and spare governments and taxpayers the costs of future bailouts.
Source: IMF
