Daily Archives: May 4, 2010

Americas market wrap: Greek fears drive sell-off [UPDATED]

May 4, 2010 9:47 pm by Shannon Bond

Latin American markets followed world stocks in a sharp sell-off on Tuesday as fears escalated that the Greek bail-out would not prevent its debt crisis from spreading to other eurozone countries.

Stocks and currencies across the region suffered as investors shied away from risk, and as commodities prices fell on the strengthening dollar and worries over a slowdown in Chinese manufacturing growth.

“Once again risk aversion is taking prisoner of any financial asset that is not the dollar”, Gabriel Casillas, a JPMorgan analyst, told Reuters.

Continue reading: “Americas market wrap: Greek fears drive sell-off [UPDATED]“

Posted in Global, LatAm |

Brazilian real estate: buoyant market or bubble?

May 4, 2010 8:01 pm by Jonathan Wheatley

São Paulo skyline from the Jardins neighborhoodHere’s a nice colour piece from the website of Globo, the Rio-based news organisation. It’s about an air stewardess who bought a flat in São Paulo’s fashionable Jardins neighbourhood “on the drawings” in 2008 for R$205,000 and sold it when she got the keys this month for R$355,000.

The piece also gives us some snapshots of how property prices are rising across the country: 100 per cent over the past five years in São Paulo; 100 per cent in two years in Rio; 50 per cent in two years in Brasília; 60 per cent over the past year in Recife, and so on.

A property bubble in Brazil? It’s about time there was one. Wages and prices have been rising by rather more than is comfortable. Consumer confidence is strongly on the up – while business confidence has slipped.

Continue reading: “Brazilian real estate: buoyant market or bubble?”

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Posted in Brazil, LatAm |

Greece: crisis hits global confidence, punishing emerging markets

May 4, 2010 5:59 pm by Stefan Wagstyl

Emerging countries have been hit hard today by the impact of the Greek crisis on global financial markets. With the euro down to its lowest against the US dollar for a year, and leading European equities closing nearly 3 per cent down, there was nowhere for emerging markets to hide, especially not in central and eastern Europe.

Fears over the implementation of the €110bn Greek rescue plan and concerns spooked investors, hitting sentiment in other vulnerable euro countries, headed by Spain and Portugal, and undermining sentiment as far afield as New York, São Paulo and Johannesburg.

Continue reading: “Greece: crisis hits global confidence, punishing emerging markets”

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Posted in Europe, Global |

$25bn in Gulf M&A activity for 2010

May 4, 2010 5:42 pm by Simeon Kerr

Mergers and acquisitions have always proved an elusive quarry for the Gulf’s bankers, but this may be changing. In the first quarter of this year, mergers and acquisitions in six Gulf Cooperation Council countries has amounted to $3.6bn, a figure close to the total amount of M&A activity for 2009, according to research released today.

And this first quarter figure, compiled by Mergermarket statistics, doesn’t even include the Bharti Airtel mega acquisition of Kuwaiti Zain’s African telecoms operations, valued at $10.7bn, to be completed later this year.

Are Gulf countries bucking the trend, and is this evidence of more merger activity a sign of things to come?

Continue reading: “$25bn in Gulf M&A activity for 2010″

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Posted in Global |

India’s Orissa mine approval could be a litmus test

May 4, 2010 4:57 pm by James Lamont

Within a month New Delhi will make a judgement over whether Vedanta, the UK-listed mining company, should go ahead with a big bauxite mine in Orissa, in the east of India.

The mine’s future is a test case of what approach the Indian government will take to defuse rising tensions between mining companies and rural communities in the world’s fastest growing large economy, after China.

Continue reading: “India’s Orissa mine approval could be a litmus test”

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Posted in Asia, India |

Latin America: too much of a good thing, says IMF

May 4, 2010 4:52 pm by Stefan Wagstyl

It is probably just storm in a teacup. Latin American markets took a knock on Tuesday due to fears about sovereign debt problems spreading from distant Greece. Yet this should not be a Latin American concern.

Rather, the continent’s biggest financial problem is the exact opposite of Greece’s, according to Nicolas Eyzaguirre, head of the International Monetary Fund’s western department: how to best manage a surfeit of capital and then cope with the subsequent boom.

Continue reading: “Latin America: too much of a good thing, says IMF”

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Posted in Global, LatAm |

Holcim: solid growth in emerging markets

May 4, 2010 3:50 pm by Haig Simonian

What better proof of the resilience of emerging markets – albeit non-European ones – than today’s comments from Holcim, the world’s second-biggest cement producer.

Continue reading: “Holcim: solid growth in emerging markets”

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Posted in Asia, Global, LatAm |

Malaysia’s trade booms as it rides Asian economic recovery

May 4, 2010 3:23 pm by Kevin Brown

Malaysia is roaring out of recession even faster than expected, with March trade figures published today beating forecasts by a wide margin. The numbers suggest east Asia’s post-crisis recovery is moving ahead even faster than expected. According to the government’s announcement, exports rose 36.4 per cent year-on-year(compared with forecasts of around 20 per cent), and imports by 45.3 per cent (forecasts of around 30 per cent).

Continue reading: “Malaysia’s trade booms as it rides Asian economic recovery”

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Posted in Asia, Malaysia |

CEE market snapshot: currencies and equities down

May 4, 2010 1:31 pm by Neil Dennis

Central and eastern European equity markets and currencies weakened on Tuesday as investors remained cool towards Greece’s bailout package.

Continue reading: “CEE market snapshot: currencies and equities down”

Posted in Europe, Global |

Romania cuts rates as it struggles to pull out of recession

May 4, 2010 1:03 pm by Stefan Wagstyl

Pity Romania’s policymakers as they struggle to steer their economy out of recession while they negotiate the fallout from the Greek crisis.  The central bank today cut its benchmarket rate by 0.25 percentage points to a record low of 6.25 per cent. But officials might have gone further had it not been for the risks of inflation and of contagion from Greece.

Continue reading: “Romania cuts rates as it struggles to pull out of recession”

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Posted in Europe, Romania |

New York headlines

May 4, 2010 11:47 am by Alexandra Stevenson
  • Taiwan’s central bank urges capital controls for Asia economies
  • HSBC China’s April PMI falls to 55.4 from 57.0 in March
  • China shipbuilder Rongsheng floats $1.5bn IPO
  • Agricultural Bank of China set to apply for $30b IPO
  • China bank parent Huijin backs fundraising plans
  • Romania’s central bank has cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points
  • Algeria says ready to buy Orascom Algerian unit
  • Temasek buys NYSE’s stake in Mumbai bourse
  • Pan-India 3G licence bids continue to soar

Markets: up

Continue reading: “New York headlines”

Posted in Global |

Credit Agricole seals Citic deal – and steal a march on US rivals

May 4, 2010 11:30 am by Sundeep Tucker
So the worst kept secret in Chinese stockbroking is finally out. Citic Securities, the country’s largest broker by revenue and assets, has confirmed that it has inked a landmark deal with France’s Credit Agricole.

This is one ‘memorandum of understanding’ that should blossom immediately. Official confirmation of the tie-up awaited the rubber-stamp from China’s State Council, which has now been delivered, effectively giving it the highest seal of approval.

Continue reading: “Credit Agricole seals Citic deal – and steal a march on US rivals”

Posted in Asia, China |

Asia markets wrap: Shanghai composite at seven-month low

May 4, 2010 11:11 am by Michael Hunter

Concerns about moves to curb China’s runaway property market stood out in Asian equities trade, sending the Shanghai Composite to its lowest closing level since October, with property and bank stocks under the most pressure. Lingering worry about the implications of the ongoing Greek financial crisis also helping curtail risk appetite across global markets. The MSCI Asi Pac down 0.2 per cent at 765.49.

Continue reading: “Asia markets wrap: Shanghai composite at seven-month low”

Posted in Asia, Global |

Vietnam: foreigners welcome, but perhaps not in resources

May 4, 2010 10:15 am by Tim Johnston

The Vietnamese authorities are moving mountains to open up the country to foreign invesment. But their enthusiasm does not seem to extend to the mining industry. There, if a significant recent deal is any guide, domestic companies will get priority.

Continue reading: “Vietnam: foreigners welcome, but perhaps not in resources”

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Posted in Asia, Vietnam |

further reading

May 4, 2010 9:29 am by Alexandra Stevenson
  • Marc Faber says Chinese economy could crash within one year
  • Renault and Nissan’s Bajaj car to rival Tata Nano
  • Indians should worry about the IMF loan to Greece
  • Gerhard Schröder says “EU can only remain successful, if it is willing to associate with Russia”
  • Opposition likens Putin to Stalin in a May day rally
  • The relationship between Taiwan and China has never been better
  • Meanwhile, Ma’s use of ‘never’ triggers anxiety in Taiwan
  • FT’s Lex on China’s latest tightening
  • The CEO of Brazil’s Petrobras expects to tap into global demand with $25bn share sale
  • Fifa likely to net $1bn from World Cup
  • A green Brazil
Posted in Global |
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