Monthly Archives: March 2011

Americas market wrap: Brazil leads gains

March 31, 2011 8:21 pm by Anora Mahmudova

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Gains in Latin American equities on Thursday were led by Brazilian stocks. The MSCI Latin America rose 1.4 per cent to 4,632 as investors continued to be drawn to risky assets. Brazil’s benchmark Bovespa index rose 0.87 per cent to 68,587, after the country reported a fiscal surplus, which investors believe may relieve pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates further. Continue reading »

Posted in Global, Uncategorized | Permalink

Ukrtelecom: Dial-a-restructuring

March 31, 2011 5:00 pm by beyondbrics

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By Yulianna Vilkos of Debtwire
Press ‘1’ to refinance your debt; ‘2’ to reschedule; or ‘3’ to waive covenants – if you make a mistake, press ‘#’ to start again. Ukrtelecom’s long-awaited privatisation could raise $1.3bn for the Ukrainian government and help reduce the strain on the country’s public finances.

But there remains the small matter of negotiating covenant waivers with foreign creditors and drafting a debt management plan for 2011 and beyond, Debtwire reports. Continue reading »

Belarus devalues but not by enough

March 31, 2011 3:43 pm by Jan Cienski

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Belarus’s government allowed a de facto 10 per cent devaluation of the rouble this week by letting banks trade the troubled currency in a 10 per cent band around the official exchange rate – but analysts feel it won’t be enough to rescue the economy.

“We think that the 10 per cent move is not sufficient and expect the official exchange rate to be devalued by at least 20 per cent,” says a research note issued on Thursday by Danske Banke. Continue reading »

Tags: central banks, currencies, elections, IMF, monetary policy, politics Posted in Belarus, Europe | Permalink

Egypt: retail after Mubarak

March 31, 2011 2:48 pm by Heba Saleh

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The heady excitement on Cairo’s streets which followed the ouster last month of Hosni Mubarak, the former president, has been replaced by gloom, at least if you are an Egyptian shopkeeper having to cope with a dramatic drop in business.

As tourists fled and local and foreign investors took fright at the political uncertainty which followed the fall of the Mubarak regime, the economy has taken a hit. Continue reading »

Tags: Arab spring, economy, GDP Posted in Egypt | Permalink

From Money Supply March 31, 2011

Taiwan stays on tightening track

Taiwan has raised rates 12.5 basis points, or an eighth of one per cent, sticking to its plan to normalise rates. The move was widely expected. Continue reading »

Tags: central banks, monetary policy Posted in Taiwan | Permalink

Russia: Sechin humbled – maybe

March 31, 2011 1:51 pm by Stefan Wagstyl

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President Dmitry Medvedev has grumbled more than once about ministers holding top jobs at state-controlled companies – and to little effect. But this time it seems to be for real.

After Medvedev late on Wednesday ordered the removal of ministers from state enterprise boards by mid-year, Arkady Dvorkovich, his economic aide, followed up on Thursday and named names, starting with Igor Sechin, deputy prime minister, and Alexei Kudrin, finance minister. This is serious – and Moscow is rife with speculation about what it all means. Continue reading »

Tags: oil & gas, Russian politics Posted in Russia | Permalink

After turbulent IPO, Garuda dives

March 31, 2011 12:49 pm by Anthony Deutsch

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The troubled stock listing of Indonesia’s prided national airline, Garuda, is only a few weeks behind, but the next bad news is already upon us.

Garuda said Thursday its net profit fell 49 per cent in 2010. At a news conference in Jakarta, executives blamed high oil prices, rising operating costs and loses due to flight disruptions from volcanic eruptions. Continue reading »

Tags: aviation, equities, IPOs Posted in Indonesia | Permalink

New York headlines

March 31, 2011 12:00 pm by beyondbrics

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* Vodafone pays $5bn for Essar stake

* Acer’s CEO to leave immediately

* Middle East crude oil rises a second day on Libya supply concern

* Disaster hits Japan manufacturing

* Gaddafi foreign minister flees to UK

* NYSE retakes listing lead but Asia is rising Continue reading »

Posted in Global | Permalink

Time to tighten? Turkey’s red hot GDP

March 31, 2011 11:20 am by Delphine Strauss

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How much longer can the Turkish central bank stick with its outlandish monetary policies? Not much longer, surely, if Thursday’s red hot GDP figures are followed by further evidence of economic overheating.

Turkey’s economy boomed in the last quarter of 2010, with year on year growth of 9.2 per cent, outstripping forecasts and fuelling fears that the central bank will have to take tougher measures to cool inflationary pressures. Gross domestic product grew 8.9 per cent over the year as a whole, making Turkey one of the world’s fastest growing economies in 2010.

Tags: economy, GDP, monetary policy Posted in Turkey | Permalink

CEE flows: looking up

March 31, 2011 11:16 am by Neil Buckley

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Capital is flowing back to the countries of central and eastern Europe after the deep slump of 2009. So says a report this week from Austria’s Erste Group Bank – which also suggests rating agencies and many investors were slow to realise CEE was in far better shape than the southern laggards of the eurozone. Continue reading »

Tags: bonds, FDI, investment Posted in Europe, Global | Permalink

Sarkozy jumps gun on renminbi

March 31, 2011 9:51 am by Jonathan Wheatley

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There was more pressure on China to relax currency controls at the G20′s meeting of finance ministers and central bankers in Nanjing on Thursday. French president Nicolas Sarkozy said it was time the renminbi became a reserve currency in what an Associated Press report called “an urgent call to action” – despite Beijing’s insistence the issue was not on the meeting’s agenda.

But the west hadn’t quite got its ducks in a row. Timothy Geithner, US Treasury secretary, helpfully raised the obvious proviso that the renminbi would first have to trade more freely. Continue reading »

Tags: currencies, renminbi, RMB internationalisation Posted in China | Permalink

[Snap] Vodafone buys Essar in India

March 31, 2011 9:44 am by James Fontanella-Khan

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After months of quarrelling Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile operator by revenue, agreed to to buy the remaining 33 per cent in its Indian joint venture from Essar Group.

The deal, which will give the UK multinational group 75 per cent control of VodafoneEssar, as the company is known in India, comes as surprise; the Indian partner had initially suggested that it wanted to maintain a stake in the mobile telecom group. Continue reading »

Tags: telecoms Posted in India | Permalink

[Snap] Acer’s CEO to leave immediately

March 31, 2011 9:29 am by Alexandra Stevenson

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Things haven’t been going to well for Acer. Its share price has fallen 25 per cent since December 28, it announced a pessimistic trading statement on Friday, prompting sell-side downgrades, and on Thursday the company said its chief executive officer, Gianfranco Lanci, would stand down. The market seemed to take the news in stride, and Acer’s volatile ride in the market seemed to relax, with its share price down 1.15 per cent in late trading.

In a statement Acer said chairman JT Wang would take over from Lanci, who will leave immediately, citing differences over future strategy. Continue reading »

Tags: electronics Posted in Taiwan | Permalink

China: the end of cheap, Foxconn edition

March 31, 2011 7:03 am by Josh Noble

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It may produce some of the world’s most popular electronics (like the iPhone), but Foxconn International (FIH) appears to be losing yet more friends on the markets. On Thursday the stock took another leg down, falling as much as 6 per cent. The reason? Bigger than expected losses – thanks mainly to rising wages.

Foxconn International needs to change. The good news is that the shake-up is already well underway. The bad news is that it’s taking too long. Continue reading »

Tags: manufacturing, wages Posted in China | Permalink

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beyondbrics

Monthly Archives: March 2011

Americas market wrap: Brazil leads gains

Ukrtelecom: Dial-a-restructuring

Belarus devalues but not by enough

Egypt: retail after Mubarak

Taiwan stays on tightening track

Russia: Sechin humbled – maybe

After turbulent IPO, Garuda dives

New York headlines

Time to tighten? Turkey’s red hot GDP

CEE flows: looking up

Further reading: 1.2 billion Indians

Sarkozy jumps gun on renminbi

[Snap] Vodafone buys Essar in India

[Snap] Acer’s CEO to leave immediately

China: the end of cheap, Foxconn edition

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