Daily Archives: February 7, 2011

Brazil’s China stance: buying time

February 7, 2011 10:31 pm by Joe Leahy

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If the old marketing cliché “the customer is always right” was true in all situations, then Brazil’s latest moves regarding China would look like madness.

When a country is your biggest trading partner, accounting for 12.5 per cent of your exports, is it really a good idea to complain?

That is what Brazil is doing. Even though China’s purchases of its iron ore, soy meal and other commodities helped Brazil weather the global economic crisis, Latin America’s biggest economy is now crying foul as cheap Chinese imports flood its markets, undercutting domestic producers. Continue reading »

Tags: China-Latin America, currencies, exports Posted in Brazil | Permalink

Americas markets wrap: 2012 inflation forecast lifts Brazilian retailers

February 7, 2011 9:49 pm by Shannon Bond

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Latin American markets were mixed Monday as volatile commodities prices vied with a new inflation report out of Brazil for investors’ attention.

In Brazil, the Bovespa was up a slight 0.1 per cent as gains among consumer-related stocks outpaced falls in oil producers. Lojas Renner, the clothing merchant, surged 4.2 per cent while shopping mall owner Multiplan rose 2 per cent as traders cut bets for inflation in 2012 after economists reduced their forecasts. Continue reading »

Posted in Global, LatAm, Uncategorized | Permalink

Cairn India: no pot of gold, yet

February 7, 2011 7:07 pm by James Lamont

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Cairn Energy may have the fortitude to search for oil in the Arctic but it has more than met its match in the hotter climes of India. Sub-zero temperatures and pack ice can be no more hostile than an indecisive, glacial regulator.

Seven months on from an offer by Vedanta to buy Cairn Energy’s Rajasthan oilfields for $9.6bn, the Indian government has yet to approve the deal. The last two days of crisis meeting in New Delhi may have helped move the portfolio forward. Bland statements, rather than the hoopla of breakthrough, suggest by an inch or two at most. Continue reading »

Tags: M&A, mining Posted in India | Permalink

Estée Lauder targets Brazil

February 7, 2011 6:24 pm by Jonathan Birchall

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Fabrizio Freda, chief executive of Estée Lauder, was sounding bullish about the prospects for growth in Brazil during a breakfast meeting with reporters in New York on Monday.

As head of the company since July 2009, Freda’s strategy has included a drive to strengthen sales in emerging markets, including China and Brazil, and a continued effort to promote the growth of “prestige” or luxury brands, against cheaper “mass” alternatives sold in supermarkets and drug stores. Continue reading »

Tags: consumption, luxury, retail Posted in Brazil | Permalink

CEE markets wrap: equities flat

February 7, 2011 6:23 pm by Ranjit Lall

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Central and eastern European stocks were relatively flat on Monday, as strong payrolls data from the United States last Friday were offset by continuing fears about political protests in Egypt.

“The recovery is broadening,” said Mislav Matejka, head of European equity strategy at JPMorgan Chase in London. “Risk-reward is still compelling. Earnings are still facing a tailwind.” Continue reading »

Posted in Europe | Permalink

Tencent buys Riot Games: more eyeballs

February 7, 2011 5:20 pm by Alexandra Stevenson

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Computer games are anything but child’s play.

Tencent, China’s biggest internet company by market value, is buying a majority stake in Los Angeles-based Riot Games for an estimated $400m, marking the biggest cross-border deal by a Chinese company in the games sector. It is the latest example of a a growing number of outbound Chinese deals – $38bn in 2010, according to PwC. Continue reading »

Tags: consumption, internet Posted in China | Permalink

Argentina can’t print enough pesos

February 7, 2011 5:09 pm by Jude Webber

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Argentina’s imports rocketed by 46 per cent last year. And to pay for all the aeroplanes, tractors, computers, car parts, fuel and other goods it buys, it is now also importing money.

As inflation mounts – prices are widely expected to rise by about 30 per cent this year – the central bank is pumping cash into the economy, and the national mint can’t keep up. Continue reading »

Tags: Argentina inflation, central banks, currencies, inflation Posted in Argentina, LatAm | Permalink

Serbia: airport shares for free

February 7, 2011 3:40 pm by Neil MacDonald

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Not every free offer has shoppers rushing into the store. And so it with Belgrade airport shares which the Serbian government has handed out gratis to 4.8m citizens and listed on the Belgrade stock exchange.

If the authorities hoped that Monday’s market debut of Aerodrom Nikola Tesla Beograd would meet with an enthusiastic response, they were disappointed. The stock fell, with little prospect of a dramatic recovery without big changes in the airport’s fortunes. Continue reading »

Tags: privatisation, transport Posted in Serbia | Permalink

US exports to India for jobs at home

February 7, 2011 3:15 pm by Anjli Raval

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Gary Locke, the US trade secretary, has come to India with a business delegation days before the country’s largest air show hoping to promote exports of leading US technologies and services related to civil aviation as well as defence, homeland security and ICT.

While India’s interests have been restricted to fighter jets and other military hardware in recent months, the country has also seen a slew of deals between domestic airlines and big industry names including Boeing and Airbus. Now the US wants a slice of the cake, not least because India is expected to become one of the top five civil aviation markets in the world over the next five years, according to US trade mission paper for Locke’s visit. Continue reading »

Tags: aerospace, FDI Posted in India | Permalink

Middle income: Indonesia promoted

February 7, 2011 2:37 pm by Anthony Deutsch

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Indonesia’s gross domestic product surpassed $3,000 per capita for the first time last year, the statistics agency said on Monday, lifting the young democracy of 240m people into the league of middle-income countries.

While the middle-income threshold itself (as defined by the World Bank) is arbitrary, it is worth pausing to reflect on how it happened: thanks largely to the emergence of a middle class that could be putting the country on a new growth trajectory. Continue reading »

Posted in Asia, Indonesia | Permalink

Egypt debt auction: a qualified success

February 7, 2011 1:57 pm by beyondbrics

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Egypt has just completed an auction of E£13bn ($2.2bn) in short-term sovereign debt – and in the circumstances it can be counted as a success, even though foreigners largely stayed away. It chose to sell E£2bn less than planned and yields were higher than at the previous auction. But given that the two auctions came either side of a near revolution and multiple credit rating downgrades, they weren’t that much higher. The details are here: Continue reading »

Tags: debt Posted in Egypt | Permalink

[snap] Cairo bourse closed until Sunday

February 7, 2011 1:16 pm by Stefan Wagstyl

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Investors wanting to trade Egyptian equities will have to wait even longer than was expected before the local stock markets re-opens.

Cairo bourse officials said Monday that the exchange would open on Sunday, for the first time since January 27, according to Bloomberg and Reuters. There were hopes earlier that the market might resume trading on Wednesday.

Tags: equities Posted in Egypt | Permalink

Romania: belt and braces

February 7, 2011 1:05 pm by Chris Bryant

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They may not be surprised but investors will certainly feel a degree of relief that Romania has decided to seek a new €5bn precautionary loan with the International Monetary Fund and European Union.

Perhaps wisely, Bucharest has chosen not to follow the example of neighbouring Hungary which decided last summer that it could do without the advice of this roving band of fiscal policy wonks. Continue reading »

Tags: GDP, IMF Posted in Romania | Permalink

Asia markets wrap: equities up on jobs data

February 7, 2011 12:55 pm by Ranjit Lall

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Asian stocks mostly rose on Monday, as easing tensions in Egypt and positive employment data from the United States lifted investors. Equities in the Gulf region rose modestly.

“The market has taken a close look at the latest payrolls report from the US, and it’s reacting positively,” Kevin Grice, emerging markets economist at Capital Economist, told beyondbrics. “The Egypt situation is also weighing less on investors.” Continue reading »

Posted in Asia | Permalink

[snap] Brazil’s inflation outlook worsens again

February 7, 2011 12:12 pm by Jonathan Wheatley

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A weekly survey of market inflation expectations may seem like statistical overkill. But the central bank of Brazil’s Focus report is something many EM investors look out for every Monday, especially now that it has shown the inflation outlook worsening for each of the past nine weeks. Continue reading »

Tags: central banks, inflation Posted in Brazil | Permalink

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Daily Archives: February 7, 2011

Brazil’s China stance: buying time

Americas markets wrap: 2012 inflation forecast lifts Brazilian retailers

Cairn India: no pot of gold, yet

Estée Lauder targets Brazil

CEE markets wrap: equities flat

Tencent buys Riot Games: more eyeballs

Argentina can’t print enough pesos

Serbia: airport shares for free

US exports to India for jobs at home

Middle income: Indonesia promoted

Egypt debt auction: a qualified success

[snap] Cairo bourse closed until Sunday

Romania: belt and braces

Asia markets wrap: equities up on jobs data

[snap] Brazil’s inflation outlook worsens again

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