World Markets- Latest news on the world stock markets

Four new exchange-listed bond index funds issued by SPDR (State Street Global Advisors) have been tradable on Xetra^® since Friday.

ETF name: SPDR Barclays Capital 1-5 Year Gilt ETF
Asset class: bond index ETF
ISIN: IE00B6YX5K17
Total expense ratio: 0.15 percent
Distribution policy: distributing
Benchmark: The Barclays Capital UK Gilt 1-5 Year Index

ETF name: SPDR Barclays Capital 15+ Year Gilt ETF
Asset class: bond index ETF
ISIN: IE00B6YX5L24
Total expense ratio: 0.15 percent
Distribution policy: distributing
Benchmark: The Barclays Capital UK Gilt 15+ Year Index

ETF name: SPDR Barclays Capital UK Gilt ETF
Asset class: bond index ETF
ISIN: IE00B3W74078
Total expense ratio: 0.15 percent
Distribution policy: distributing
Benchmark: The Barclays Capital UK Gilt Index

ETF name: SPDR Barclays Capital Sterling Corporate Bond ETF
Asset class: bond index ETF
ISIN: IE00B4694Z11
Total expense ratio: 0.15 percent
Distribution policy: distributing
Benchmark: The Barclays Capital Sterling Corporate Bond Index

The three SPDR ETFs on Barclays Capital UK Gilt indices provide investors with first-time access to the UK gilt market with the option of reacting to interest rate expectations within the different maturity ranges.

The SPDR Barclays Capital Sterling Corporate Bond ETF enables investors for the first time to participate in the performance of Sterling-denominated corporate bonds with investment grade ratings. 
The product offering in Deutsche Börse’s XTF segment currently comprises a total of 974 exchange-listed index funds, making it the largest offering of all European stock exchanges. This selection, together with an average monthly trading volume of around €12 billion, makes Xetra Europe’s leading trading venue for ETFs.

Bursa Malaysia Berhad today announced two new appointments as part of its future strategic direction to propel the Exchange to be a leading marketplace in Asia. 

It has appointed Datin Azalina binti Adham as Head of Strategy and Transformation, a newly created position to oversee the Exchange’s overall business strategy and transformation initiatives with effect from 1 January 2012. Datin Azalina is a member of Bursa Malaysia’s Management Committee, which evaluates key management and operational matters. 

It has also appointed Encik Jamaluddin bin Nor Mohamad as Head of Islamic and Alternative Markets with effect from 14 May 2012. Encik Jamaluddin will be spearheading the expansion and development of the products and services of the Islamic and bond markets and the Labuan Financial Exchange. 

Dato’ Tajuddin Atan, Chief Executive Officer of Bursa Malaysia said, “As the nation’s primary economic driver, we are focused on building a world-class organisation that will deliver high-performance business results. I am confident that the appointments of Datin Azalina and Encik Jamaluddin will provide us with the talent, experience and ability necessary to achieve this objective.” 

Datin Azalina began her career in Bursa Malaysia in 2001 and has held senior positions in the areas of business and investor development. She has more than 16 years of experience in the financial industry, including a senior position at Amanah Merchant Bank Berhad. She graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accountancy. 

Prior to joining Bursa Malaysia, Encik Jamaluddin was the Chief Operating Officer of Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad, a role he has held since 2008. Encik Jamaluddin brings with him over 25 years of experience in the banking industry in various capacities in Malaysia and abroad, including senior positions in Bumiputra Commerce Bank and Bank Simpanan Nasional. He holds a Masters in Business Administration from University Putra Malaysia and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Ohio University.

A Euro-MP predictions that the Euro will collapse look ever more certain to become a reality as Greece looks set to default on its debt repayments.

Conservative MEP David Campbell Bannerman, has been predicting the collapse of the Euro since 2010.

In a television interview nearly two years ago he said: “With its massive bailout package, the EU is trying to buck that market, and it’s not working.

“The Euro is in serious trouble.

“The Euro has always been a political project, you cannot throw billions at a political project, the markets see through it, they will bring it down, that’s what’s going to happen.

“The Euro, in its current form will collapse.

 “You’re trying to force very divergent countries together, Germany is very powerful doing very well with its exports. Greece, Italy and Spain are very weak as is Ireland, you cannot force all of these countries economies together into the Euro, it doesn’t work.

 “There will be a big economic cost for all of us, our banks will be hit in the UK and I don’t welcome that, however I think that by liberating these countries from this straight jacket, so they can have their own currencies, they will be able to float and get their economies moving again.”

Mr Campbell Bannerman who is in favour of a referendum over whether the UK should remain in the EU, added that the smaller economies should be relieved by approaching collapse. He explained: “For a few years now the Euro has been like a prison cell for the smaller member countries.

“There economies have been stifled, and soon they will be free to return to their own currencies and, with a devaluation, get started on a journey to recovery they could never have embarked on while being in the Euro.

“Politically, they will also be able to claw back some of the sovereignty and political power they had to give up in order to bailed out earlier in the year.

“That is why other than some short term additional economic difficulty, news of a Euro collapse could be better for growth and recovery in long run.

“It would also be confirmation that the whole EU concept is flawed, and Britain should renegotiate its membership as soon as possible.

“Just as the doomed Euro project shows the countries are too different to be forced into economic union, growing public dissatisfaction over the dearth of regulations and laws that are eroding our sovereignty shows that political union should also be stopped in its tracks.

“The Euro was the flagship project of the EU, it has failed, and with it so has the EU project itself.”

What:

Facebook will ring The NASDAQ Stock Market Opening Bell remotely from their headquarters in Menlo Park, California in celebration of their initial public offering (IPO) which will take place today, Friday, May 18, 2012 on The NASDAQ Global Select Market. Facebook will begin trading under the ticker symbol "FB".
In honor of the occasion, Facebook Founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg will ring the Opening Bell.

Where:

Facebook Headquarters in Menlo Park. The event will be closed to the press.

When:

Opening Bell - Friday, May 18, 2012 – 9:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. ET

Please click here to download the MSE Weekly Trading Report.

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