China takes Broadway
By Alan Rappeport in New York and Leslie Hook in Beijing
At the same time Chinese president Hu Jintao faced the cameras at a press conference in Washington on Wednesday, other Chinese figures were on prominent display in a new billboard-sized China commercial in New York’s Times Square.
Americas markets wrap: Brazil rate hike fears and US data weigh on stocks
Latin American stocks fell Wednesday ahead of a widely expected interest rate hike in Brazil and commodities prices slipped off their recent highs. Disappointing US housing starts in December also weighed on sentiment as investors worried over the health of one of the region’s biggest trading partners.
Brazil’s Bovespa fell 1.2 per cent and homebuilders retreated on prosects of higher borrowing costs, while iron ore miners and steelmakers were dragged by lower metals prices. Continue reading »
There were few Chinese among the delegates at this week’s packed central and eastern Europe investor conference in Vienna but Sino investment was much in mind a panellists debated the future of the region’s capital flows.
Emerging Europe is likely to remain reliant on capital inflows to support economic growth for some time to come as domestic savings –though increasing — are comparatively weak. Some see China as a potential source but investors in Vienna also recalled some troubling lessons from the region’s recent past. Continue reading »
Hungary: Audi boosts economy
by Kester Eddy in Budapest
Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, may be annoyed by foreign criticism of his media law and foreign companies’ complaints about his special taxes.
But he must be secretly grateful to foreign investors for the uplift they bring to the economy, as the recent jump in industrial production has highlighted. Continue reading »
Nakheel’s World alive but not kicking
The World isn’t dead; it’s “in a coma.”
This misleadingly apocalyptic statement came from a lawyer representing troubled Nakheel, developer of Dubai’s “The World”, an archipelago of artificial islands reclaimed a few kilometres off the emirate’s coastline. Continue reading »
China shapes the world: what Germany’s Mittelstand can do about it
By Daniel Schäfer in Frankfurt
Germany’s Mittelstand companies could be forgiven for wondering what they can possibly do to compete with China’s growing might in sectors central to the German economy, ranging from cars to power stations.
But, even if they lack the international resources of German industrial giants such as Siemens, they shouldn’t throw in the proverbial towel. There are ways of competing with China, notably in piggy-backing on the bigger companies’ efforts. Continue reading »
CEE markets wrap: stocks flat ahead of US earnings
Central and eastern European stocks were largely flat on Wednesday, as uncertainty about eurozone sovereign debt problems and US earnings figures released next week weighed on investors. Most CEE currencies rose against the dollar.
“The fiscal woes of the periphery remain unresolved and the search for a solution continues,” said JP Morgan Asset Management strategist David Shairp said.
Alibaba: the people’s enterprise?
China’s e-commerce sector may be booming but companies are still suffering from patchy logistics that often result in goods bought online being delivered broken, if at all. Alibaba Group, China’s biggest e-commerce company, Wednesday announced it plans to help get the sector on its feet by investing Rmb10bn to build a logistics network.
Jack Ma, founder and chairman of Alibaba Group, struck a political tone at Wednesday’s press conference where he announced the investment, by taking a subtle swipe at China’s state-owned behemoths. Continue reading »
US recovery: a mixed blessing?
By Barney Jopson and Josh Noble
It’s easy to think that emerging markets are in a bubble. No, no – not that kind of bubble, but the kind that insulates you from goings-on in the rest of the world.
After all, China et al have continued their go-go growth regardless of the economic funk in the west. This year, however, a growing number of analysts say EMs are going to get a sharp reminder of their links to the US. This could be for good or ill. Continue reading »
[update] Poland: more rate rises coming – official
Thanks to lots of pre-announcement semaphore from the central bank governor, the markets were prepared for Poland’s decision on Wednesday to raise interest rates 25 basis points to 3.75 per cent.
The news helped the zloty recover earlier losses and join a modest rally of central European currencies against the euro to trade little changed at 3.880. Continue reading »
London: new home for India’s rich
Indians, with their love of London, have given the city’s high-end property market a new lease of life.
While Europeans (including rich Russians) are the number one set of foreign buyers of prime London property, Indians have emerged as the second largest group – nosing ahead of purchasers from the Asia-Pacific , including China. Continue reading »
BP-Rosneft: invite AAR to the Arctic
The Russian partners in TNK-BP have been grumbling about BP’s landmark deal with Rosneft. They seem to feel they have been cheated out of the opportunity to explore the Arctic, potentially one of the biggest oil provinces in the world.
BP should call their bluff. It should see if they are really up for risky polar exploration that may not yield a decent return for 20 years. The Russian partners have made plenty of money in Russia’s roller-coaster post-Communist economy. But they have yet to show they are ready for investments that may not mature before they retire. Continue reading »
Asia markets wrap: US earnings boost stocks
Asian stocks continued to rise on Wednesday, led by China and Hong Kong, on better than expected corporate earnings in the US and receding fears about the economic impact of anti-inflation measures in China.
“The earnings recovery in the US has been exceptional post-crisis,” said Prasad Patkar of Platypus Asset Management in Sydney. “It seems the recovery in the U.S. economy is starting to broaden, which will support revenue and earnings growth. China’s economy is robust, but it’ll take at least six months of strong data to silence those calling a policy-induced hard landing.” Continue reading »
New York headlines
* Brazil may ask WTO about possible action on weak currencies
* Emerging economies toughen tax stance
* Brazil seen raising interest rates to curb prices
* Vietnam Communists support Dung re-election amid inflation risks
* Probe into EBRD bribes claims Continue reading »
BSE and SGX: best of friends
By James Fontanella-Khan in Mumbai and Kevin Brown in Singapore
Here’s a surprise announcement, particularly for the Indian media: the Bombay Stock Exchange and the Singapore exchange are not about to start shouting at each other in court – in fact they’re the best of friends.
The two bourses issued a joint statement to this effect on Wednesday after being rattled by Indian media reports that the BSE was considering taking SGX to court. The charge? An alleged breach of the terms of an agreement signed in 2007 when the Singaporean exchange acquired a 5 per cent stake in Asia’s oldest bourse. Continue reading »
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