Grain market greets Ukraine war with volatility
Global commodity markets are watching the unfolding war in Ukraine with trepidation amid broad expectations the violent conflict will result in shortages for anything from aluminium to zinc. One global market, grain, is particularly vulnerable, as Russia and Ukraine together account for a very significant part of global production of wheat and barley. Wheat prices already reached a ten-year high this week.
Bettel urges caution on banning Russia from Swift
Luxembourg fully supports the European Union’s additional sanctions against Russia over its aggressive move towards Ukraine but supports a cautious approach with the EU’s plans to eject Vladimir Putin’s country from the international payments system Swift. If that happens Russia will in essence be cut off from the world economy.
Strategists analyse market shock triggered by Putin's aggression
Global financial markets were in turmoil on Thursday in a clear sign that investors had not expected Russian President Vladimir Putin to make an aggressive move into Ukraine by launching a full-scale invasion.
“Even just yesterday people were dismissing this as unlikely,” well-known economist and Fed watcher Mohamed El-Erian, advisor at the Allianz & Gramercy said. “This is way beyond anything. This is a very unsatisfactory situation.”
Luxembourg Raifs attract a global audience
Luxembourg Raifs appeal to clients worldwide, January data from its business register shows. QIC, the Queensland Investment Corporation in Australia, issued an infrastructure investment Raif together with Carne Global. Ocorian supported Singapore-based SilkRoad with a new real estate fund.
Podcast: FundRock's Parain sees future in global distribution
Luxembourg has a promising potential to further build on its global hub status for investment funds by encouraging management companies to expand their businesses into international fund distribution, according to Xavier Parain, CEO of FundRock, Luxembourg’s largest third-party manager of investment funds.
Esma: consumers face risk of significant market corrections
The European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma), the EU’s securities markets regulator based in Paris, said on Tuesday that it continues to see high risks to institutional and retail investors of further, possibly significant, market corrections.
Esma, Eiopa ‘closely monitoring’ cyber risk amid Russia threat
Supervisors ESMA and EIOPA are “closely monitoring” cyber risks in Europe’s asset management industry amid concerns that rising tensions over Ukraine may spark Russian-backed cyber attacks on Europe’s economic infrastructure.
‘Russia risk needs to be seen in perspective’
A leading German economist on Monday urged investors not to exaggerate financial risks around a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying an invasion would merely lead to a “temporary setback” while underlining the need to put the Russia risk into perspective.
“All in all, we would expect the European economy and markets to rebound shortly afterwards from a temporary setback which a Russian attack on the Ukraine would probably cause,” said Holger Schmieding, Chief economist at German private bank Berenberg. “Let’s hope it does not come to that.”
Financial sector disregards human rights, NGO claims
The financial sector needs to pay more attention to human rights in its activities, especially in its supply chains, a Luxembourg NGO said in a report it presented this week. Industry representatives said the criticism does not yet fully consider new legal requirements that recently entered into force.
Luxembourg opens up for active management of debt pools
The Chambre des Députés, Luxembourg’s parliament, on Wednesday approved a long-awaited modernisation of the Grand Duchy’s securitisation law that will enable fund managers to actively manage pooled debts such as corporate loans and mortgages.