Daily Archives: January 21, 2011

Hu and the American worker

January 21, 2011 11:35 pm by Shannon Bond
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Hu JintaoAs China’s Hu Jintao wrapped up his American trip in Chicago, US media attention had already begun to shift back to that old favorite, jobs, thanks to Barack Obama’s appointment of GE chief Jeff Immelt as head of a new job creation advisory board.

But the Chinese president’s visit shouldn’t be left out of the ongoing US conversation about employment and economic recovery. “The Chinese intent of this trip was clearly about job creation in the US,” Nicholas Consonery, an associate at the Eurasia Group, told beyondbrics. Continue reading »

Tags: Posted in China |

Americas markets wrap: Sharp weekly loss for Bovespa on credit woes

January 21, 2011 9:40 pm by Shannon Bond
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Brazil's BovespaBrazilian and Mexican stocks extended losses on Friday on continued worries over potential Chinese overheating, though sentiment over the eurozone debt crisis seemed to ease and the prices of some commodities, including oil and copper, moved higher after recent heavy selling.

In Brazil, investors continued to worry about credit curbs following Wednesday night’s 50bp rate hike, with banks, homebuilders and retailers bearing the brunt of bearish sentiment. The Bovespa fell 0.62 per cent to close the week 2.5 per cent lower, the steepest fall since November. The real shed 0.3 per cent against the dollar after a central bank reverse swap auction. Continue reading »

Posted in Global, LatAm |

Li Ning: China globaliser faces hurdles

January 21, 2011 6:36 pm by Stefan Wagstyl
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Li Ning storeIf sports kit maker Li Ning is anything to go by, China’s would-be global companies should not take world markets for granted.

As Lex pointed out on Friday, if Li Ning continues on its current trajectory, the similarities with Nike will start and end with the swoosh-alike logo”. Continue reading »

Tags: Posted in China |

Mexico: plotting a steady course

January 21, 2011 5:57 pm by Adam Thomson
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There were no surprises when Mexico’s central bank on Friday kept the benchmark interest rate at 4.5 per cent. The decision was the 16th consecutive time that the five-member board has opted to keep rates on hold, heralding the longest period on record without a change.

And it is almost certain that the bank will maintain the 4.5 per cent rate for the rest of this year – in stark contrast to other economies in the region such as Brazil and Chile, which have already increased rates. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Mexico |

CEE markets wrap: stocks rise on Germany boost

January 21, 2011 5:30 pm by Ranjit Lall
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Central and eastern European stocks rose on Friday as German business confidence soared to a record high in January. The Polish zloty and Hungarian forint rose sharply against the dollar.

“We stick to our view that 2011 should be a good year for European equities,” a team of strategists at Exane BNP Paribas wrote in a report.“Equity valuations remain significantly below historical averages on most measures. Nevertheless, in the short term, we note that the degree of bullishness in the market has risen significantly, which makes a temporary correction increasingly likely.” Continue reading »

Posted in Europe, Global |

[snap] Nigeria: bond away

January 21, 2011 5:25 pm by Stefan Wagstyl
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Despite a last-minute wobble, Nigeria has got its first international bond away.

Reuters reported on Friday that the $500 million debut eurobond was 2.5 times oversubscribed, according to a source. The 10-year paper was priced with a yield of 7.0 percent and a coupon rate of 6.75 percent.

Tags: Posted in Africa, Nigeria |

Hungary: a ‘political’ rate hike due

January 21, 2011 4:50 pm by beyondbrics
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by Kester Eddy in Budapest

Hungary’s central bank is set to lift the base rate by 25 basis points to 6 per cent next Monday – the third such rise in as many months. Economics is the main driver, but, as so often in Hungary right now, politics is also involved. Continue reading »

Tags: Posted in Hungary |

Nigeria: credit where credit’s due

January 21, 2011 4:15 pm by Tom Burgis
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Nigeria’s debut  $500m international bond – along with attendant worries about the pre-election emptying of its oil savings account – is dominating investors’ thinking about sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest crude producer at present.

Yet there is a strong argument that the keys to unlocking the long-thwarted potential of the continent’s most populous nation lie elsewhere: in the non-oil economy and the local bond market. Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in Nigeria |

Romania: a €3.6bn power pack

January 21, 2011 3:30 pm by Stefan Wagstyl
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Romanian gas pipelineThe listing of Fondul Proprietatea, a €3.6bn investment fund, on the Bucharest stock exchange on January 25 could transform the Romanian equity market – as long as the country’s politicians and bureaucrats don’t get in the way.

The fund, a trust for compensating Romanians dispossessed under Communism, will boost the €22bn market value of the Romanian stock market by around 15 per cent and the value of domestic equities by around a third. With large chunks of BSE-listed stock held by the state or foreign multinationals, the domestic equity free float will soar 80 per cent. For fund managers, there will suddenly be a lot more to go for. But, needless to say, there are caveats. Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in Romania |

EM bonds: a rush of borrowers

January 21, 2011 2:37 pm by Stefan Wagstyl
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This week’s $6bn bond issue from Petrobras, the biggest in Brazilian corporate history, is a sign of the demand for credit from the emerging world – and of the willingness of investors to put up the money.

However, with central banks in emerging markets generally raising rates, and signs that their developed world counterparts are starting to worry about inflation (in the UK, for example) perhaps issuers have decided to lock in low rates while they can. The key lies in how fast the US economy recovers and brings Fed policy changes. Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in Brazil, Nigeria |

Goodbye Shanghai, hello Ordos

January 21, 2011 12:45 pm by Leslie Hook
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This year it’s not factories that have driven some of the highest GDP growth numbers in the country—it’s mines. China is rich in minerals like coal and gold, even iron ore, much of which comes from Inner Mongolia.

So as commodities prices boomed in 2010, so have miners’ wallets. Preliminary statistics this week reveal Inner Mongolia’s per capita GDP is on par with the wealthy southern province of Guangdong, China’s entrepreneurial manufacturing hub. Continue reading »

Tags: Posted in China |

Wipro: changing places

January 21, 2011 12:25 pm by Anjli Raval
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Azim Premji, chairman of Indian IT company WiproWhen Wipro Technologies, one of India’s largest IT firms put the ‘Power of two’ joint CEO management structure to the test nearly three years ago industry observers wondered how this unusual experiment would work out.

Clearly, not as well as they had hoped. Azim Premji, Wipro’s chairman on Friday announced the company, which has a growing footprint in the US, Europe, Middle East and Africa, needed a “simpler structure.” Girish Paranjpe and Suresh Vaswani have stepped down in favour of T K Kurien, currently in charge of the company’s eco-energy division, who will start in his new position as chief executive officer from February 1. Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in India |

Happy Guangdong? Try again

January 21, 2011 12:00 pm by Rahul Jacob
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For a career Communist, Wang Yang (pictured here), the party secretary of Guangdong, has a nice folksy style. A few months ago he invited more than 100 migrants to watch a film about migrants and praised them for their contributions to the state that he governs.

But his charm offensive went awry when he coined the mission statement: “Accelerate the transformation and upgrade, Build Happy Guangdong.” Reaction from China’s online masses has been far from positive. Continue reading »

Posted in China |

Asia markets wrap: stocks continue slide

January 21, 2011 11:59 am by Ranjit Lall
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Asian stocks mostly fell on Friday on renewed concerns that further measures will be taken to rein in Chinese inflation following Thursday’s economic data. Chinese stocks, however, largely recovered from Thursday’s losses.

“The market is worried that growth in China has been too strong and that officials may need to tighten policy further to prevent the economy overheating,” said James Holt of BlackRock Investment Management Australia. “Since China is one of the few growth engines in the world right now, markets have sold off.” Continue reading »

Posted in Asia |

New York headlines

January 21, 2011 11:53 am by beyondbrics
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* GE expects double-digit growth in China

* Petrobras no match for GE as record bond sale sparks slump: Brazil credit

* Bright Food walks away from GNC talks

* Occidental wins Shah gas fields contract

* Hu defends Beijing’s currency policy Continue reading »

Posted in Global |
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