Global ETF News Older than One Year
Growth in Europe and Central Asia Continues, but Slowly and Unevenly
April 19, 2013--Most economies in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region grew in 2012, with an average growth rate of 2.5 percent, and are expected to grow in 2013 at a slightly higher rate of about 2.9 percent, World Bank officials said at a press briefing during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings 2013.
Recovery in ECA will continue to be the slowest compared to other regions in the world, and will be multi-speed, with the western part of the region growing at a much slower pace than the eastern part. Protracted recession and slow growth recovery further aggravate the persistent unemployment in some parts of the region, which in turn has long-term implications for the region’s competitiveness and social inclusion.
Source: World Bank
World Development Indicators 2013 Released
Definitive Reference for Measuring Development Progress
April 18, 2013--The 2013 edition of World Development Indicators (WDI), released today, includes the latest available data on global development, poverty, the quality of people's lives, the environment, the economy, the functioning of states and markets, and global links of finance, trade, and migration.
As World Bank Group President Jim Young Kim highlighted yesterday, new estimates of extreme poverty show there were 1.2 billion people still living on less than $1.25 a day in 2010, a decrease of 100 million since 2008. The global rate of extreme poverty fell to 20.6 percent, less than half the 1990 rate of 43.1 percent.
view the World Development Indicators 2013
Source: World Bank
IOSCO Consults on Regulation of Retail Structured Products
April 18, 2013--The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published today a consultation report on Regulation of Retail Structured Products, which analyses trends in the retail structured product market, and proposes a regulatory Toolkit for IOSCO members.
The retail structured products work responds to concern among IOSCO members about the regulatory challenges these products pose, particularly in the area of investor protection. In February 2012, IOSCO agreed to work on retail structured products:
to understand and analyse the market, and related regulatory issues; and
to develop guidance, if appropriate, on regulatory responses.
view the IOSCO Regulation of Retail Structured Products Consultation Report
Source: IOSCO
Regulators Call to Tie Benchmarks to Data
April 17, 2013--Interbank lending rates and other benchmarks should be tied to real transactions with codes of conduct used to make these indices as free of conflicts of interest as possible, global securities watchdogs have said.
Spurred by the Libor rate fixing scandal, a task force led by top US and UK regulators on Tuesday called on their peers to make sure benchmarks in their jurisdictions conform to a set of principles aimed at preventing manipulation.
Source: FT.com
Report to the G-20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of 18-19 April 2013
April 16, 2018--Today, the principals of the authorities with responsibility for the regulation of the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives markets in Australia, Brazil, the European Union, Hong Kong, Japan, Ontario, Quebec, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States, have held four meetings to discuss reform of the OTC derivatives market.
The principals recognise that the OTC derivatives market is a global market and firmly support the adoption and enforcement of robust and consistent standards in and across jurisdictions. This will help further the G-20 regulatory reform agenda for OTC derivatives markets to mitigate risk, improve transparency and protect against market abuse, and to prevent regulatory gaps, reduce the potential for arbitrage opportunities, and foster a level playing field for market participants, intermediaries and infrastructures. They also recognise the need to reduce regulatory uncertainty and provide market participants, intermediaries and infrastructures with sufficient clarity on laws and regulations by avoiding, to the extent possible, the application of conflicting rules to the same entities and transactions. They also acknowledge the need to take into account, among other factors, minimizing the application of inconsistent and duplicative rules.
Source: CFTC.gov
IOSCO Consults on Principles for Financial Benchmarks
April 16, 2013--The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published today a consultation paper on Principles for Financial Benchmarks. which seeks public comments on a set of high-level principles for benchmarks used in global financial markets.
Because of the wide diversity of benchmarks, IOSCO also is asking for public comment on a subset of more detailed principles for benchmarks having specific risks arising from their reliance on submissions and/or their ownership structure.
The principles form part of IOSCO´s efforts to enhance the integrity, the reliability and the oversight of benchmarks by establishing guidelines for benchmark administrators and other relevant bodies on governance, benchmark quality, quality of the methodology, and accountability mechanisms.
view the IOSCO Principles for Financial Benchmarks Consultation Report
Source: IOSCO
Global Experts Poll: Economic Confidence Up Significantly in Second Quarter
Economic Confidence Index rises to 0.48 from 0.43 last quarter, closer to optimistic territory above 0.5
Indices tracking confidence in global governance and global cooperation make similar gains
Eighth quarterly Global Confidence Index polled 304 experts from business, government, international organizations and academia who are members of the Forum's Network of Global Agenda Councils
April 15, 2013--Confidence in the world economy has increased significantly over the past three months, according to experts polled by the World Economic Forum.
The Economic Confidence Index rose to 0.48 from 0.43 on a scale of 0 to 1 during the first three months of the year, amid an easing of the Eurozone crisis and belief that the world economy may had avoided a double-dip recession. The score puts the index back in neutral territory for the first time since it fell into low-confidence territory in the third quarter of 2012; it marks a return to its most recent peak during the second quarter of 2012. However, the index did not break into positive territory above 0.5.
“It looks as though the worst is over and experts are not too worried about a double-dip recession of the world economy, as a whole,” said Martina Gmür, Senior Director of the Forum’s Global Agenda Council, of the poll of 304 global experts. “But, while the economic index has seen an improvement over three consecutive quarters and is now back at its peak from one year ago, it is worth remembering that, back then, the Eurozone crisis was already in full swing; and the index has so far not crossed over into positive territory.”
Source: WEF (World Economic Forum)
IEA Cuts Oil-Demand Forecast Because of European Demand
April 11, 2013--The International Energy Agency reduced its forecasts for global oil demand in 2013 for a third consecutive month, predicting the weakest consumption in Europe in almost three decades.
The IEA cut its estimate by 45,000 barrels a day, predicting that world consumption will increase by a “subdued” 795,000 barrels a day, or 0.9 percent, to 90.58 million barrels a day this year. European demand will slump by 330,000 barrels a day. Still, an imminent recovery in refinery operations after maintenance and political threats to supply mean “it may be too early to call a bear market,” the IEA said.
Source: Bloomberg
Framework on monitoring tools for intraday liquidity management issued by the Basel Committee
April 11, 2013--The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, in consultation with the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems, today issued its final version of the document Monitoring tools for intraday liquidity management.
Today's publication introduces a new reporting framework that will enable banking supervisors to better monitor a bank's management of intraday liquidity risk and its ability to meet payment and settlement obligations on a timely basis. Over time, the tools will also provide supervisors with a better understanding of banks' payment and settlement behaviour.
The framework includes:
the detailed design of the monitoring tools for a bank's intraday liquidity risk;
stress scenarios;
view the Monitoring tools for intraday liquidity management document
Source: BIS
Trade to remain subdued in 2013 after sluggish growth in 2012 as European economies continue to struggle
April 10, 2013--World trade growth fell to 2.0% in 2012-down from 5.2% in 2011- and is expected to remain sluggish in 2013 at around 3.3% as the economic slowdown in Europe continues to suppress global import demand, WTO economists reported on 10 April 2013.
“The events of 2012 should serve as a reminder that the structural flaws in economies that were revealed by the economic crisis have not been fully addressed, despite important progress in some areas. Repairing these fissures needs to be the priority for 2013,” Director-General Pascal Lamy said.
Source: WTO
