Global ETF News Older than One Year
Research costs reform seen squeezing fund firm profits
October 28, 2013--Moves to revolutionise the way global fund managers pay banks for company research could slash the profitability of their equity funds business by up to 50 percent, research has showed.
Most fund firms pass on the cost of equity research, valued in the region of $5 billion a year, to their own clients, who pick up the bill as part of commissions paid to brokers for buying and selling stocks on behalf of the fund.
Source: Reuters
IEA-Key World Energy Statistics 2013
October 26, 2013--The Key World Energy Statistics 2013 report is now available.
Source: IEA
IEA-Highlights of the latest Oil Market Report
October 26, 2013--Highlights of the latest OMR-October 11, 2013
Benchmark Brent and WTI oil futures eased in September and early October following plans for Syria to dispose of its chemical weapons and direct talks between Iran and the US at the UN General Assembly. The US government shutdown added downward pressure on prices. Brent was last trading at $110/bbl and WTI at $101.25/bbl.
Global oil supplies declined by 625 kb/d to 91.12 mb/d in September on steeply lower OPEC output. Non-OPEC supply growth for 2013 is forecast to average 1.1 mb/d, to 54.7 mb/d, rising to a near-record 1.7 mb/d next year.
OPEC crude supplies slipped below 30 mb/d for the first time in almost two years, led by steep drops in Libya and Iraq. Output fell by 645 kb/d to 29.99 mb/d despite Saudi output topping 10 mb/d for a third month running. The ‘call on OPEC crude and stock change’ was raised by 100 kb/d to 29.6 mb/d for 4Q13.
Recent demand strength has raised the 2013 oil demand forecast by 90 kb/d, to 91.0 mb/d. Demand growth is projected at 1.0 mb/d (or 1.1%) for 2013, ramping up to 1.1 mb/d in 2014 as the macroeconomic backdrop improves.
Source: IEA
3Q13 Reporting Monitor, Week Two, Growth Ticks Up
October 25, 2013--HIGHLIGHTS:
Nearly half way through earnings season, it looks like S&P 500 profit growth was 5.1% YoY, a modest acceleration from the pace in Q2. Seven out of nine sectors show growth, led by Technology (XLK), and only Energy (XLE) is a significant drag on overall index earnings growth...
Sales are looking a little better as well, up 2.2% YoY, but +2.9% excluding the drag from Energy. Margins for Tech firms have been strong, while Utilities (XLU) are getting squeezed
Consumer Discretionary (XLY) and Health Care (XLV) have delivered the biggest surprises on the top line, while Industrials (XLI) have fallen short though they still managed to beat on the bottom line. Upside surprises from Financials (XLF) had the biggest impact on the S&P500 overall, but so far Materials (XLB) have enjoyed the largest "beats" on a percentage basis
Source: Alta Vista
EPFR Global News Release-Europe Equity and Bond Funds lead fresh money charge with Spain to the fore
October 25, 2013--With Spain joining the ranks of European markets that have emerged from recession, investors committed record-setting amounts of new money to EPFR Global-tracked Europe and Spain Equity Funds during the third week of October.
It was the same story for Europe High Yield Bond Funds, while flows into Emerging Europe Regional Equity and Europe Bond Funds hit 14 and 25 week highs and year-to-date commitments to Spain Bond Funds crossed the $4 billion mark.
Investors also warmed to Emerging Markets Equity Funds during the week ending October 23 as fears of 'tapering' by the US Federal Reserve faded deeper into the New Year. Flows into these funds jumped to a 37 week high on the back of a strong week for several emerging Asian country fund groups.
Visit www.epfr.com for more info
Source: EPFR
Gold producers accused over 'misleading' data
October 25, 2013--A furious row has broken about between a high-profile gold investor and the industry body charged with promoting the precious metal on behalf of the world's biggest gold producers.
Eric Sprott, chief executive of Sprott Asset Management, which runs several bullion funds, has accused the World Gold Council of painting a misrepresentative picture of the real demand for gold.
Source: FT.com
Infographic: Building Low-Carbon Cities
October 24, 2013--The World Bank has issued the infographic: Building Low-Carbon Cities.
Source: World Bank
World Bank-DPG-Weekly Global Economic Brief
October 24, 2013--Developing-country financial markets have improved in recent months, but remain subject to risks stemming from US fiscal policy uncertainties and the eventual tapering of quantitative easing. On aggregate, developing-country industrial performance has improved in recent months led by robust growth in China.
Supported by a strengthening global economy, tourist arrivals picked up in the first eight months of 2013.
Developing-country financial markets have improved in recent months, but remain subject to downside risks. Concerns of an imminent tapering of US quantitative easing (QE) during the summer caused long-term US Treasury yields to rise by more than 100 basis points, thereby precipitating a portfolio rebalancing.
Consequently currencies, bond, and equity prices of several large developing countries experienced sharp declines. Market sentiment started improving in late August,and was further supported by the surprise delay of the Fed's tapering in September as well as the recent temporary resolution of the US budget impasse.
Nonetheless, developing countries remain vulnerable to uncertainties related to US fiscal policy and the pace and timing of eventual QE tapering. These include several middle-income countries with either large or rising current account deficits, in particular Brazil, India, Indonesia, Turkey and South Africa.
Source: World Bank
Nasdaq CEO Says Nasdaq Is a 'Credible Buyer' for Euronext
Exchange Operator Also Reports Higher Third-Quarter Results
October 23, 2013--The chief executive of Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. said his company is a credible buyer for NYSE Euronext and possesses the expertise and capacity to take on big European exchange deals.
Nasdaq CEO Bob Greifeld said Wednesday that he "would be remiss" not to evaluate a deal for Euronext, which is slated to launch an initial public offering early next year as part of IntercontinentalExchange Inc. planned takeover of NYSE Euronext. He added that Nasdaq wouldn't try to launch a bid ahead of the IPO and it remains too early to say whether Nasdaq would pursue European exchanges being spun off from NYSE Euronext.
Source: Wall Street Journal
IMF Working paper-The Economic Performance Index (EPI): an Intuitive Indicator for Assessing a Country's Economic Performance Dynamics in an Historical Perspective
October 23, 2013-- Summary: Existing economic indicators and indexes assess economic activity but no single indicator measures the general macro-economic performance of a nation, state, or region in a methodologically simple and intuitive way.
This paper proposes a simple, yet informative metric called the Economic Performance Index (EPI). The EPI represents a step toward clarity, by combining data on inflation, unemployment, government deficit, and GDP growth into a single indicator. In contrast to other indexes, the EPI does not use complicated mathematical procedures but was designed for simplicity, making it easier for professionals and laypeople alike to understand and apply to the economy. To maximize ease of understanding, we adopt a descriptive grading system. In addition to a Raw EPI that gives equal weights to its components, we construct a Weighted EPI and show that both indexes perform similarly for U.S. data. To demonstrate the validity of the EPI, we conduct a review of U.S. history from 1790 to 2012. We show that the EPI reflects the major events in U.S. history, including wars, periods of economic prosperity and booms, along with economic depressions, recessions, and even panics. Furthermore, the EPI not only captures official recessions over the past century but also allows for measuring and comparing their relative severity. Even though the EPI is simple by its construction, we show that its dynamics are similar to those of the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI) and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index(R)(CEI).
Source: IMF
