Daily Archives: March 28, 2011

Americas market wrap

March 28, 2011 8:15 pm by Anora Mahmudova

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Latin American stocks fell on Monday after a volatile trading session as investors hesitated to push the markets further up after a rally last week. Traders were also concerned by the conflict in Libya and continuing nuclear crisis in Japan. The MSCI Latin American equities index was 0.9 per cent lower at 4,471.

Brazil’s benchmark Bovespa index fell 0.8 per cent to 67,193. Kathryn Rooney Vera, macro economic strategist at Bulltick Capital Markets said that the “Bovespa experienced volatility today as hopes for a stronger US consumer was set against fears of higher inflation.” Continue reading »

Posted in Global | Permalink

Mexico’s surprise surge

March 28, 2011 8:00 pm by Adam Thomson

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Here’s some welcome news for Ernesto Cordero, Mexico’s finance minister (pictured), as he talks up his country during the Inter-American Development Bank meeting in Calgary, which concludes Monday: Mexico’s economic activity in January outstripped expectations.

The growth of 5.9 per cent compared with the same period last year not only proves that Latin America’s second-largest economy is storming back after the blow of 2009; it is also doing so faster than anyone had imagined. Continue reading »

Posted in LatAm, Mexico | Permalink

The danger lurking in Brazil’s shadows

March 28, 2011 7:27 pm by John Paul Rathbone

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As investors, finance ministers and lenders prepare to decamp from the snowy streets of Calgary after the Inter-American Development Bank’s annual general meeting, there is one topic everyone agrees on, and one that they do not.

The first is the cold. As the head of Canada’s central bank put it: “You have to be either very brave or very committed to come to Canada in the winter.” The second is Latin America’s so-called “macro-prudential policies”, the new hot topic of global finance. Continue reading »

Tags: central banks, interest rates, monetary policy Posted in Brazil, LatAm | Permalink

Moscow metro: underground grumbles

March 28, 2011 4:50 pm by Isabel Gorst

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The launch of a criminal case against the former head of the Moscow Metro has set passengers in the Russian capital grumbling about corruption in the sprawling underground railway.

Law enforcers accused Dmitry Gayev of embezzling Rbs 112m ($4m) by allegedly taking personal credit for the invention of an automated Metro ticket payment system. But at the other end of the spectrum, officials seem powerless to stop a wave of short-changing, fare-dodging and ticket touting. Continue reading »

Tags: corruption, transport Posted in Russia | Permalink

Egypt’s rally: can it last?

March 28, 2011 4:47 pm by Robin Wigglesworth

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The massacre that was widely expected when Egypt’s bourse finally reopened its doors after a revolution and several weeks of clumsily-handled closure has turned out to be nothing more than some slight bloodletting – followed by a dramatic rally.

After collapsing the maximum allowed by automatic circuit-breakers within seconds of opening on Wednesday – and closing down 8.3 per cent – the benchmark EGX30 index fell only 4.2 per cent on Thursday, and has jumped this week. Continue reading »

Tags: Arab spring, equities, stock exchanges Posted in Africa, Egypt | Permalink

Toeing the line in Hungary

March 28, 2011 3:03 pm by Chris Bryant

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Hungary’s freshmen rate-setters served up few surprises on Monday as the Magyar Nemzeti bank kept rates on hold at 6 per cent per cent.

Analysts had given the chance of a rate cut short shrift after all four new members of the seven-member monetary policy committee made market-friendly noises about guarding against inflation during their recent nomination hearings. In any case one of the new members did not attend Monday’s meeting. Continue reading »

Tags: central banks, inflation, interest rates, politics Posted in Europe, Hungary | Permalink

InterContinental: more Chinese than the Chinese

March 28, 2011 2:00 pm by Patti Waldmeir

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China loves a brand – but now some Western companies are betting that China will love a Chinese brand even more than a foreign one.

InterContinental Hotels Group, the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms (and China’s largest international hotel group), says some Chinese guests want a different hotel from what the West has traditionally offered. Continue reading »

Tags: FDI, tourism Posted in Asia, China | Permalink

Unilever’s dim sum: cheap credit

March 28, 2011 1:22 pm by Alexandra Stevenson

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Unilever has pulled off quite a financing coup. On Monday it issued 300m yuan ($46m)worth of three-year renminbi “dim sum” bonds in Hong Kong with a yield of just 1.15 per cent. That’s a pretty small price for credit.

Unilever, the first European group to tap the market, is profiting from the demand from mainly Chinese retail investors for dim sum bonds – Rmb-denominated foreign corporate bonds. They see the paper as a currency play. And that suits Chinese officials using Hong Kong as a testing ground for internationalising the renminbi. Continue reading »

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

New York headlines

March 28, 2011 11:57 am by beyondbrics

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* India PM adviser says monetary policy to stay tight

* Cities in Asia play key roles in hedge fund club

* Santander, CCB to target smaller China towns

* Unilever in ‘dim sum’ bond move

* Ambani moves into financial services Continue reading »

Posted in Global | Permalink

Albania’s poll no help for EU hopes

March 28, 2011 11:45 am by Kerin Hope

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Albania’s local government elections on May 8 are shaping up as a grudge match between the governing Democrats and opposition Socialists – so much so that a European Union envoy has flown in to urge politicians to stay cool and behave responsibly.

Albania’s poor electoral track record is the main reason why the country is stuck on the bottom rung of the ladder that leads to EU accession. Continue reading »

Tags: elections, politics Posted in Albania, Europe | Permalink

Supply fears hit Asian computer stocks

March 28, 2011 11:15 am by Stefan Wagstyl

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Investors are taking another look at the impact of the Japan earthquake on electronics supply chains – and they don’t like what they see.

Shares in leading east Asian computer makers, including China’s Lenevo and Taiwan’s Acer plunged immediately after the tsunami only to recover much of their losses a few days later amid reassuring noises from industry executives. But now they are falling again, with Lenovo down 5.2 per cent on Monday and Acer 6.9 per cent. Continue reading »

Tags: electronics Posted in Taiwan | Permalink

China: the end of cheap?

March 28, 2011 10:45 am by Josh Noble

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$11 for a pair of jeans. $9.50 for a pair of running shoes. $6 for an electric toaster. For years now, consumers in the west have been able to go shopping for next to nothing, thanks mainly to the China price – ultra-low manufacturing costs for products made in high volume and in quick time.

But rising costs, especially wages, have put that model in jeopardy. For one of the biggest players in the China supply chain, alarm bells are ringing. Continue reading »

Tags: China inflation, inflation, wages Posted in China | Permalink

Nestlé: getting closer to farmers

March 28, 2011 7:00 am by beyondbrics

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By Alan Rappeport and Barney Jopson

As the world’s biggest food producer, Nestlé is grappling with giant-sized versions of two challenges faced by every one of its peers: high commodity prices and the management of complex supply chains, which are extending ever deeper into emerging markets.

Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, the company’s chairman, told beyondbrics that part of its solution is to build direct relationships with individual farmers across Africa, Asia and Latin America. It already has ties with 600,000 small farmers and it wants to double the proportion of coffee and cocoa they supply over the next five years from its current 7-10 per cent range. Continue reading »

Posted in Global | Permalink

London headlines

March 28, 2011 6:00 am by beyondbrics

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* India PM adviser says monetary policy to stay tight

* Cities in Asia play key roles in hedge fund club

* Santander, CCB to target smaller China towns

* Unilever in ‘dim sum’ bond move

* Ambani moves into financial services Continue reading »

Posted in Global | Permalink

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beyondbrics

Daily Archives: March 28, 2011

Americas market wrap

Mexico’s surprise surge

The danger lurking in Brazil’s shadows

Moscow metro: underground grumbles

Egypt’s rally: can it last?

Toeing the line in Hungary

InterContinental: more Chinese than the Chinese

Unilever’s dim sum: cheap credit

New York headlines

Albania’s poll no help for EU hopes

Supply fears hit Asian computer stocks

China: the end of cheap?

Further reading: Buffett’s “folksy” advice

Nestlé: getting closer to farmers

London headlines

Global equities macromap

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