Americas markets wrap: US housing market sinks Mexican stocks, peso
US economic woes weighed on Latin American markets today, as a plunge in US home sales raised fears that the recovery is still lagging in one of the region’s largest trading partners.
Mexican stocks sank and the peso fell against the dollar as worries over the US, which buys 80 per cent of its southern neighbor’s exports, added to weak Mexican data, including disappointing retail sales. Continue reading »
Brazil’s election: all over bar the voting?
There are 40 days to go until Brazil’s general elections on October 3 and as everybody knows, that is a very long time in politics. But at present it is hard to imagine any other outcome than a resounding victory in the presidential race for Dilma Rousseff, chosen successor to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the left-wing PT, in power for the last eight years as the most popular president in Brazilian history.
An opinion poll published today gives Dilma an 18 point lead over her nearest rival, José Serra of the centrist opposition PSDB. Continue reading »
CEE markets wrap: stocks weaken on global fears
After modest falls yesterday, stocks in central and eastern Europe tumbled on Tuesday. US home sales in June missed expectations, accentuating fears about the pace of the global economy.
In Poland, where the central bank held its benchmark rate at 3.5 per cent as expected, equities hit a one-month low. Continue reading »
Sealed with a handshake: Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s president, met his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Beijing on Tuesday as the two sides announced a raft of commercial deals that will strengthen ties between the countries.
As is usual on these occasions, there were plenty of warm words about a “strategic partnership” and enhancing “mutual understanding”. But South Africa also revealed some frustration by saying it wanted China to do more than just import its raw materials. Continue reading »
Deal of the day: a case study on tricky regulation in South Korea
By Eunice Kang of mergermarket
South Korea has long been tipped as a growth market for financial services. A PwC report once remarked that “deregulation and increasing consumer sophistication are opening up fresh opportunities for market development in what is already a stable and highly profitable sector.”
But that report, published two years ago, also cited regulatory inconsistencies. How little things have changed since then – as an acquisition this week shows. Continue reading »
Hungary’s wobbles return
The forint’s summer vacation is over.
For a month the Hungarian currency had seen only moderate risk aversion from investors, but now it is under selling pressure once more. The forint lost over 2 per cent against both the euro and the dollar between Monday morning and Tuesday afternoon – although later on it did recover slightly.
The consensus explanation is a statement by Hungary’s central bank, which analysts viewed as somewhat hawkish. Continue reading »
China’s latest fashion: toxic swimwear
Pity the long-suffering Chinese consumer: as if tainted milk were not enough, poisoned swimsuits have now been found polluting the shelves of some of Shanghai’s top-end shopping malls.
According to today’s official Shanghai Daily, some swimsuits and sportswear on display at two of the poshest malls on the city’s swanky Nanjing West shopping street have failed a government quality check, because they could cause skin infections or “damage to the neurosurgical system”. Continue reading »
[Hey Bric Spender] Low-cost treadmills for Brazilian joggers
Brazil is often seen as an image-conscious country whose residents are willing spend lots of time and money to make themselves look toned and beautiful.
Stereotypes are always exaggerated, but in this case a look at the number of fitness gyms confirms that there is definitely something to it. And gyms’ traditional status as havens for the moneyed elite may be about to change. Continue reading »
Malaysian hotel opens doors in austere Europe
With western European governments looking to ‘rebalance’ their economies, there’s one area where some emerging markets offer plenty of good examples: tourism.
It’s been three days since Malaysia’s Tune Hotel group opened its first set of doors on Westminister Bridge Road, in the heart of central London (just don’t tell anyone it’s south of the river). But can this Asian investment help attract more people to the British capital? Continue reading »
Asia markets wrap: Vietnam slumps, Hong Kong at 1-mth low
Global jitters pushed Asian markets down on Tuesday, ahead of a report on US home sales. Vietnamese stocks – like Japan’s Nikkei – entered a bear market; the Ho Chi Minh stock exchange has now lost 21 per cent since a May peak.
Hong Kong’s equities hit a one-month low, while Philippine stocks retreated from recent highs after yesterday’s hostage crisis. Continue reading »
New York headlines
* India rejects Vedanta mining plan
* TPG plans launch of renminbi fund
* Taiwanese LCD maker files second suit against Sony
* Petrofac plans African and Asian expansion
* China Construction Bank downplays default risks Continue reading »
It’s the holiday season for more than 200m Indonesian Muslims and spending is up. During the holy month of Ramadan, shoppers buy clothing, gifts and festive food to break daytime fasting.
But there’s an added surprise to the usual inflation: extreme weather conditions behind Russia’s drought and flooding in Pakistan have hit Indonesia, where rice and palm oil prices have jumped. Analysts are upping inflation projections and the central bank will be slightly nervous about strong consumer spending. Continue reading »
Further reading: scrambling for Africa, Kim Jong-il’s Twitter account and disposable chopsticks
From the FT,
From elsewhere,
London headlines
* Petrofac plans African and Asian expansion
* China Construction Bank downplays default risks
* Korea pension fund eyes US pipeline stake
* Curtain call for Vedanta in Orissa
* Gome urges investors to oppose move to oust chairman Continue reading »
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