Global ETF News Older than One Year
IMF Working Paper-What Do Monetary Contractions Do? Evidence From An Algorithmic Identification Procedure
September 28, 2018--Summary:
As the "Volcker shock" is believed to have generated useful information on the effects of monetary policy, this paper develops a simple procedure to identify other unanticipated monetary contractions. The approach is applied to a panel data set spanning 162 countries (over the period 1970-2017), in which it identifies 147 large monetary contractions.
The procedure selects episodes where a protracted period of loose monetary policy was suddenly followed by sizeable nominal interest rate increases. Focusing on contractions of significant size increases the signal-to-noise ratio, while they are unlikely to be accompanied by confounding "information effects" (markets interpreting a rate hike as the Central Bank being optimistic about the real side of the economy). A subsequent panel VAR analysis suggests that a 100-basis point rate hike reduces real GDP by 0.5 percent. This reduction in output seems to be persistent, pointing to a certain degree of hysteresis. The price level falls by 1.5 percent, indicating that the medium-/long-run impact of contractionary monetary shocks is not characterized by a neo-Fisherian response. Advanced economies appear to display more price stickiness than emerging/developing countries, as the former combine a more muted price response with a larger effect on output.
Source: IMF
FTSE Russell includes China stocks in boon to battered market
September 27, 2018--FTSE's China inclusion expected to trigger $10 bln passive inflows
FTSE Russell points to improved access for global investors
FTSE says will review inclusion of Chinese bonds in global indexes in March
MSCI considering boosting A-share weighting in its benchmarks (Adds March review of Chinese bonds inclusion; paragraphs 20, 21)
Global index provider FTSE Russell said it will start including mainland Chinese shares in its major benchmarks from June next year, in a move that it expects will draw initial net inflows of $10 billion from passive investors.
Source: Reuters
MSCI weighs boosting China exposure in key EM index
September 26, 2018--Index provider proposes 20% A-shares inclusion and addition of smaller tech stocks.
Source: FT.com
Economic Freedom of the World: 2018 Annual Report
September 25, 2018--Hong Kong and Singapore retain the top two positions with a score of 8.97 and 8.84 out of 10, respectively. The rest of this year's top scores are New Zealand, Switzerland, Ireland, United States, Georgia, Mauritius, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.
It is worth noting that the United States returned to the top 10 in 2016 after an absence of several years. The rankings of other large economies in this year’s index are Germany (20th), Japan (41st), Italy (54th), France (57th), Mexico (82nd), Russia (87th), India (96th), China (108th), and Brazil (144th). The 10 lowest-rated countries are: Sudan, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Syria, Algeria, Argentina, Libya, and lastly Venezuela.
Source: Cato Institute
OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report September 2018
September 24, 2018--Oil Market Highlights
Crude Oil Price Movements
In August, the OPEC Reference Basket declined by $1.01 m-o-m, settling at $72.26/b. Crude oil futures were
also down for the month. Price declines were mainly due to worries that the ongoing global trade disputes
would lower oil demand, strengthening US dollar, US stock builds and reported supply increases.
ICE Brent was $1.11 lower at $73.84/b compared to the previous month, while NYMEX WTI was down $2.74 at $67.85/b and DME Oman dropped 24¢ to $72.67/b. However, year-to-date (y-t-d) ICE Brent was still $19.86 higher at $72.00/b, while NYMEX WTI increased by $17.12 to $66.42/b and DME Oman was up $18.70 at $69.55/b. The Brent-WTI spread widened to average $6.00/b. Speculative net long positions ended mixed, with those of NYMEX WTI lower.
Source: OPEC
BIS Quarterly Review, September 2018
September 23, 2018--Emerging market economies (EMEs) came under pressure in recent months, pushing bond yields higher and domestic currencies lower. Asset prices in EMEs were shaken by the strong dollar, trade tensions, and signs of a slowdown in China. The impact differed across countries; some faced crises. But contagion was limited.
Advanced economy markets also diverged, reflecting differences in the pace of monetary policy normalisation as well as in the macroeconomic fortunes of Europe and the United States. US fiscal stimulus bolstered expectations of higher near-term economic growth but no doubt also of higher bond yields.
view the BIS Quarterly Review, September 2018
Source: BIS
Investors ignore human rights at their peril
September 22, 2018--Investors ignore human rights at their peril. From land grabs to illegal labour, civil liberties issues should matter to investors.
Source: FT.com
World Gold Council Market Update: Central bank buying activity
September 20, 2018--Gold is an important part of central banks, foreign exchange (FX) reserves. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), at the end of H1 2018 central banks collectively owned US$1.36tn of gold, around 10% of global FX reserves.
And central banks are an important part of the gold market: in H1 2018 they accounted for 10% of demand. Looking ahead, we expect central bank demand to remain buoyant. Diversification will continue to be an important driver of demand, as will the transition to a multipolar currency reserves system over the coming years.
A solid start to 2018
Central banks added a net total of 193.3 tonnes (t) of gold to their reserves in the first six months of 2018, an 8% increase from the 178.6t bought in the same period last year. This marks the strongest H1 for central bank gold buying since 2015.
Source: World Gold Council
Global Waste to Grow by 70 Percent by 2050 Unless Urgent Action is Taken: World Bank Report
September 20, 2018--Without urgent action, global waste will increase by 70 percent on current levels by 2050, according to the World Bank's new What a Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050 report.
Driven by rapid urbanization and growing populations, global annual waste generation is expected to jump to 3.4 billion tonnes over the next 30 years, up from 2.01 billion tonnes in 2016, the report finds.
Although they only account for 16 percent of the world's population, high-income countries combined are generating more than one-third (34 percent) of the world's waste. The East Asia and Pacific region is responsible for generating close to a quarter (23 percent) of all waste. And by 2050, waste generation in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to more than triple from current levels, while South Asia will more than double its waste stream.
view the World Bank report-What A Waste 2.0: A Global Snapshot on Solid Waste Management to 2050
Source: World Bank
Most IoT Solutions Fail -But Six Are Primed for Worldwide Adoption and Impact
September 20, 2018--New roadmap to accelerate global impact of internet of things (IoT) technologies, in six clusters
IoT solutions will not necessarily replace humans
China and wider Asia region will be among greatest beneficiaries
More than $1.2 trillion will be spent on internet of things (IoT) solutions over the next four years, notwithstanding that three-quarters of IoT projects currently fail.
New analysis released today by the World Economic Forum,the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation,aims to help governments and companies think more strategically about which IoT solutions can generate the greatest impact and return on investment.
Source: World Economic Forum (WEF)
