Global ETF News for the Past 2 Months
you are currently viewing::WTO-Trade imbalances and the limits of trade policyJuly 31, 2025--Trade imbalances have long been a concern for policymakers, prompting calls for corrective trade measures. Recent tariff actions- framed in part as efforts to reduce bilateral deficits -fit this established pattern. Notable precedents include the United States-Japan trade tensions of the 1980s and the global imbalance debates following the 2008 financial crisis. The connection is not merely anecdotal: empirical research shows that trade imbalances, particularly at the bilateral level, are strong predictors of trade action. Interpreting trade imbalances From an economic perspective, trade imbalances are not necessarily problematic. Sectoral imbalances arise from specialization: a country with a comparative advantage in services may run a surplus in services and a deficit in goods. Aggregate imbalances, in turn, reflect differences between national saving and investment. If a country invests more than it saves, the additional investment goods must come from abroad. From this perspective, trade imbalances are not signs of dysfunction, but channels through which economies realize the gains from trade, across sectors and over time. While trade imbalances can therefore reflect healthy economic forces, they are not immune to policy distortion. Tariffs can alter sectoral trade patterns, reducing the deficit in a targeted sector at the expense of other sectors. They can also distort bilateral flows, narrowing the deficit with a targeted partner while widening it with others. Industrial policy, now central to many policy debates, can have similar effects. Long-run broad-based industrial policy intervention can significantly influence the allocation of resources across sectors, often promoting tradable manufacturing over non-tradable services. Source: World Trade Organization (WTO) |
ETFGI reports Active ETF assets Hit a Record 2.49 Trillion USD and Record Net Inflows of 412 Bn USD YTD at the end of May
June 23, 2026-During May the actively managed ETFs industry globally gathered net inflows of US$100.08 billion, bringing year-to-date net inflows to US$411.75 billion, according to ETFGI's May 2026 Active ETF industry landscape insights report, an annual paid-for research subscription service.
Middle East Conflict Sends Global Growth to Lowest Rate Since COVID-19
June 11, 2026-The conflict in the Middle East is expected to slow global growth to the lowest rate since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic amid higher energy prices, steeper inflation, and increased borrowing costs , according to the World Bank Group's latestGlobal Economic Prospects report.
Global growth is forecast to slow to 2.5% in 2026, down from 2.9% in 2025. Forecasts for two-thirds of economies have been downgraded relative to January of this year.
STARTRADER Launches 39 New US Stocks and ETFs Across the Sectors Shaping the Future of Global Markets
May 26, 2026--Effective 25 May 2026, clients gain access to high-impact opportunities spanning artificial intelligence, semiconductor infrastructure, clean energy, the space economy, institutional digital assets, and macro-thematic ETFs.
ETFGI reports New Milestone: ETF Assets Surge to Record US$21.91 Trillion Worldwide
May 20, 2026-ETFGI, reported today that assets invested in the ETFs industry reached a New Milestone: ETF Assets Surge to Record US$21.91 Trillion Worldwide globally.
Anchored Launches as the Onchain Market Layer for Real-World Assets, Connecting US Equities and Fund Products in One Programmable Infrastructure Stack
May 19, 2026-Anchored Finance today launched the onchain market layer for real-world assets, bringing 24/7 liquidity, programmable infrastructure, and cross-border access to traditional financial markets for the first time in a single unified stack. The platform connects US and Asian capital markets on the same composable layer, open around the clock and accessible across both CeFi and DeFi.
Financial Stability Risks Mount as Artificial Intelligence Fuels Cyberattacks
May 7, 2026-Resilience, supervision, and international coordination are essential to safeguarding global financial markets as new AI tools enable attackers
Artificial intelligence is transforming how the financial system copes with vulnerabilities and reacts to incidents.
OECD headline inflation rises to 4.0% in March 2026 as energy prices surge
May 6, 2026-- Year-on-year inflation in the OECD as measured by the Consumer Price Index rose to 4.0% in March 2026 from 3.4% in February, driven by an 8.6 percentage-point increase in energy inflation.
Headline inflation increased in most OECD countries (33 out of 37 with available monthly data), remained broadly stable in two, and declined in Slovenia and Turkey.
Where the World's $13T in Sovereign Wealth Is Held
May 4, 2026-Key Takeaways
Asia and the Middle East control the majority of the world's $13 trillion in sovereign wealth.
Norway alone holds over $2.1 trillion, the largest sovereign wealth fund globally.
Global Disruptions Are Testing How the World Moves Goods and People
April 29, 2026-Shipping and flight disruptions highlight new fault lines in the global economy and their costs for growth and livelihoods
The war in the Middle East has severely disrupted maritime and air traffic, damaging infrastructure and interrupting transport corridors that are critical for global energy and goods.
Middle East War to Spark Biggest Energy Price Surge in Four Years
April 28, 2026-Commodity prices forecast to rise by 16% this year, fueling inflation and slowing growth
—Energy prices are projected to surge by 24% this year to their highest level since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as the war in the Middle East sends a severe shock through global commodity markets, according to the World Bank Group's latest Commodity Markets Outlook.
