Interrogé par le quotidien, le président de la BCE estime que l'économie réelle a surpris positivement ces derniers mois, non seulement en l’Allemagne mais dans l’ensemble de la zone euro. «A la BCE, nous n’avons pas partagé les craintes de voir ‘une double récession’, même si nous avons tenu un discours prudent», relève-t-il. Il ajoute qu’il appartient à toute banque centrale d'éviter des effets de « second tour » lors d’un choc de prix sur les matières premières. «Il faut que les différents agents économiques et les partenaires sociaux ne s’imaginent pas que la bonne inflation à prendre en compte est celle qui vient de cette hausse abrupte des prix de l'énergie», ajoute-t-il.
Selon le quotidien qui se réfère à l’association des producteurs d’aciers du pays, la demande d’acier au Vietnam augmentera d’environ 10% en 2011 pour atteindre 6,9 millions de tonnes. Les coupures d’électricité et la dévaluation de la devise locale ont eu un effet négatif sur la production et pourrait conduire à une augmentation des tarifs, souligne également le journal.
Le fonds d’investissement va acquérir le spécialiste américain des services de santé Emergency Medical Services pour environ 3 milliards de dollars. A 64 dollars par action, le prix de l’offre est inférieur de 9% au cours de clôture vendredi. Le fonds canadien Onex, qui détient 31% du capital, a indiqué qu’il soutenait l’opération.
D’après plusieurs sources proches du gouvernement français citées par Reuters, les chiffres de la croissance française pour le quatrième trimestre de 2010, attendus aujourd’hui, devraient être «solides» et refléter une forte hausse de l’activité.
La ministre française de l’Economie, Christine Lagarde, a dit espérer lundi que les chiffres de la croissance du quatrième trimestre 2010, attendus aujourd’hui, soient «dans les clous». Selon 28 économistes interrogés par Reuters, la croissance française du PIB au quatrième trimestre de 2010 est attendue en moyenne à 0,6%.
La production industrielle de la zone euro a reculé de 0,1% en décembre sur un mois, a annoncé lundi le bureau des statistiques de l’Union européenne, Eurostat. Sur un an, la production industrielle a augmenté de 8%.
Le produit intérieur brut portugais a reculé de 0,3% au quatrième trimestre par rapport aux trois mois précédents, conformément aux attentes, mais sa croissance sur l’ensemble de l’année est ressortie légèrement au-dessus des prévisions du gouvernement, montrent lundi des données officielles. L’Institut national de la statistique (INE) portugais a annoncé lundi lors de son estimation flash que le PIB du pays avait augmenté de 1,4% en 2010 après une contraction révisée à 2,5% en 2009. Lisbonne tablait sur une croissance de 1,3%. Malgré le ralentissement de la demande intérieure et le recul des investissements en raison des mesures d’austérité qui ont provoqué cette contraction au quatrième trimestre, le PIB a augmenté de 1,2% par rapport à la même période l’an dernier, a souligné l’INE.
La reprise devrait se poursuivre dans la plupart des grandes économies développées, selon les indicateurs composites avancés pour le mois de décembre 2010, publiés par l’OCDE. L’indicateur composite avancé pour la zone OCDE a progressé de 0,3 point en décembre à 102,8 et s’inscrit en hausse de 2,2 points par rapport à décembre 2009. Pour les Etats-Unis, l’indicateur, à 102,5 a avancé de 0,4 point en un mois et de 3,2 points en un an. L’indicateur pour la zone euro est légèrement remonté à 103,3 après 103,2 en novembre. Il est en hausse de 1,6 point sur un an.
La ministre française de l’Economie, Christine Lagarde, a dit espérer un accord cette semaine entre membres du G20 sur les instruments de mesure des déséquilibres macro-économiques mondiaux. La mesure de ces déséquilibres est un préalable à des actions permettant de les réduire afin de parvenir à une croissance «forte, équilibrée et durable», objectif prioritaire du Groupe des Vingt.
Mercredi, on apprenait dans l’Agefi que Federal Finance venait de nommer Sébastien Barbe, l’ancien responsable du pôle obligataire, convertible et structurés de Rothschild & Cie Gestion, en tant que directeur général délégué au sein de Schelcher Prince Gestion. Cette société de gestion spécialisée dans le crédit et les convertibles est détenue à 34 % par Federal Finance depuis juin 2010 - une participation qui devrait monter à 51 % en juillet prochain. Dans un entretien à Newsmanagers, Christian Prince, le président directeur général de Schelcher Prince Gestion, explique la logique de cette ar
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }a:link { } In 2008, a survey by Preqin found that 45% of assets in hedge funds came from institutional investors. An edition of the study in February 2011 (http://www.preqin.com/docs/newsletters/HF/Preqin_Hedge_Fund_Spotlight_F…), which surveyed 60 hedge fund management firms with assets totalling USD95bn, has found that this percentage has increased to 65%. It also finds that institutional investors tend to prefer larger hedge fund managers (particularly those with assets of over USD10bn).This development has led 46% of managers to set up more rigorous procedures in risk management, and 42% have lowered their commissions.Nearly half of all hedge fund managers surveyed are planning to launch products aimed specifically at institutional investors in the next 12 months. To do this, they are planning to introduce segregated mandates, or to offer UCITS-compliant versions of their funds.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The US market remains the largest one for State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), which has a much more limited presence in Europe. “We are a little bit behind in Europe, where we offer only 13 products, representing USD1.1bn in assets under management,” admits Scott Ebner, global head of ETF development at State Street Global Advisors. To change this situation, “we need to enlarge our product range, and offer equities and bond products which replicate broader indices,” he tells La Tribune. 20 to 30 Irish-registered products will be launched in 2011.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Fortress Investment is planning to raise about USD1bn for a Chinese fund that will invest in housing for elderly people, a fast-growing population in China, the Financial Times reports. The firm, which has already developed activities of this kind in the United States, is in negotiations with potential local partners.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Expansión reports that several high net worth family groups, such as the Entrecanales, Villar Mir, and Del Pino families, and individuals such as Amancio Ortega and the Koplowitz sisters, own more than EUR217bn in shares in companies of the Ibex index, which has a total market capitalisation of EUR500bn.However, several custodians, and asset management firms such as BlackRock, Fidelity and Capital Research also rank among the largest shareholders in Spanish businesses.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The Vienna office of M&G Investments on 1 February recruited Christian Lörincz as senior sales manager in charge of distribution to banks in Austria. He will report to Karola Gröger, director of distribution. He previously spent three years in sales at ökoworld, after eight years spent at the Deutsche Bank group.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Asian Investor reports that Haitong Investment AMC, the international affiliate of the Chinese management firm Haitong International Securities Group, is planning to launch two hedge funds this year, and is also seeking to raise funds with private equity actors. 10 Chinese management firms currently have international development plans in the alternative management sector.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } The two management specialists Glenn Henderson and Tim Calveley have announced that they have teamed up with the private equity firm BV Investment Partners to acquire the fund administration firm Butterfield Fulcrum from the 3i group and a bank, the Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited. The details of the deal have not been disclosed. Butterfield Fulcrum and FORS, a provider of administration and reporting services for wealth management and family offices, which Butterfield acquired last year, will be merged into a parent company, whose headquarters will be in Bermuda. The transaction will be completed in first quarter 2011.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Assets under management at the New York-based management firm Och-Ziff as of the end of December 2010 totalled USD27.6bn, up 5% compared with 1 October 2010, and 17% compared with 1 January 2010. As of 1 February, assets under management totalled about USD28.4bn, an increase of USD800m, due to a positive market effect of USD500m, and a net inflow of USD300m.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of 31 January, assets at Invesco Ltd totalled USD624.3bn, compared with USD616.5bn one month earlier. The manager has increased its assets under management since the end of October 2010, when they totalled USD621.2bn. Of total assets under management at Invesco, assets in funds excluding ETF, UIT and passive management products totalled USD537.8bn, compared with USD535.7bn, of which USD79.9bn, compared with USD78.7bn, were in alternative assets. ETFs, UITs and passive products totalled USD86.5bn as of the end of January, compared with USD80.8bn as of the end of December. Legg Mason Inc, for its part, has announced assets of USD671.8bn as of the end of January, a level which remains unchanged from the end of December. This is the result of an increase of USD1.3bn, to USD185.6bn, for equities products, a decline of USD2.9bn, to USD352.9bn, for bonds, and an increase of USD1.5bn, to USD133.3bn, for money markets.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Janus Capital is now planning to open a representative office in Paris in the next three years, Agefi reports. The firm is planning to develop a more institutional client base in the French-speaking countries of Europe, a class of clients who prefer more proximity to the management firm. In French-speaking Europe, Janus Capital manages USD1.15bn in assets (EUR843m), a slight increase in one year. “In 2010, we posted a net inflow of about USD300m, but also a decline in valuations for fixed income,” Sylvain Agar, head of development for France and French-speaking Europe (France, Belgium, Switzerland (Geneva), Luxembourg and Monaco), tells the newspaper.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In an interview with Les Echos, the CEO of Axa Investment Managers, Dominique Carrel-Billiard, discusses the Rosenberg affair, and says that assets at Axa Rosenberg have fallen by USD70bn, to USD32bn today. “Aside from this fall in inflows, which alone has overshadowed the performance of the rest of Axa IM, there has been no noticeable movement of outflows at the other activities of Axa Investment Managers, as a result of this unique industrial accident,” Carel-Billiard says, adding that the firm has no plans to dispense with the Rosenberg name. “It would be a shame to put the quality of the management firm, which retains a certain aura on the market, in doubt, merely due to an accident caused by a few individuals.”
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } As of the end of January, according to BlackRock, the 2,501 ETF funds listed 5,701 times throughout the world had assets of USD1.3346trn, compared with USD1.3113trn as of the end of December, and USD9.784trn twelve months earlier. The number of products was 2,459 as of the end of December, and 2,055 as of the end of January 2010, from 138 providers, compared with 136 one month earlier, and 114 one year earlier.As of the end of January, there were plans underway to launch 1,033 ETFs.The top three providers remain unchanged: iShares has USD579.7bn in 474 products, giving it a market share of 43.4%, compared with 44.1% in December. State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) is in second place, with 116 ETF funds, and USD199.3bn in assets, for a market share of 14.9% (compared with 14.5%), while Vanguard is in third place, with 66 ETF funds and USD152.9bn in assets, for a market share of 11.5%, compared with 11.3%.
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } Asian Investor reports that the Thai government pension fund GPF (about USD13bn in assets under management) is seeking to invest more of its capital in foreign assets, and has selected Towers Watson as advisor for selection of managers and portfolio allocation. Russell Investments previously served in this role, with its multi-management structure.