Daily Archives: April 29, 2011

Americas market wrap

April 29, 2011 8:49 pm by Anora Mahmudova

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Latin American stocks rallied on Friday, but gains in regional indices was somewhat subdued, as investors worries about inflation in Brazil and a threat to recovery in the US. The MSCI index rose 1.4 per cent to 4,634. Brazil’s Bovespa index was up 0.7 per cent to 66, 133, however, lost 3.6 per cent during this month. Equities sold off during the previous two sessions on concerns of rising inflation and a threat of further monetary tightening. Brazil’s central bank monetary policy committee released its minutes on Thursday, in which the committee raised its inflation forecast, unsettling markets. Continue reading »

Posted in Global | Permalink

Fund flows: Weak dollar, EM gain

April 29, 2011 6:10 pm by Pan Kwan Yuk

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EM equity funds chalked up another good run this week as wariness over the steady decline of the US dollar and the stuttering economy that underpins it continue to override any concerns that investors might have over rising inflation and interest rates in emerging markets. Continue reading »

Tags: EPFR, equities, fund flows Posted in Global | Permalink

Willy Wonka blows a raspberry

April 29, 2011 3:23 pm by beyondbrics

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By Ilya Garger of Debtwire

In November 2009, ING Bank launched a deal code-named “Golden Ticket”, a wry reference to Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The proposition was an exchange offer to restructure Indonesian cocoa processor Davomas Abadi’s $238m 11 per cent bond with a 50 per cent principal haircut.

While creditors got the joke, most didn’t laugh. To many, the deal – closely followed by Debtwire – felt more Sweeney Todd than Willy Wonka. Continue reading »

Tags: bonds, commodities Posted in Asia, Indonesia | Permalink

Philippines anti-graft czar quits, boosting anti-graft efforts

April 29, 2011 2:07 pm by Roel Landingin

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When Benigno Aquino III (pictured) became Philippine president nine months ago, his anti-corruption drive, a key campaign promise, looked like a case of “failure to launch”. The supreme court overturned his first attempt to create a truth commission into alleged wrongdoing by his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and her officials. His instructions to replace top officials with his own appointees were blocked at every turn.

Yet with the sudden resignation on Friday of the anti-graft czar, Aquino’s efforts to investigate the past president and her associates may still take off after all. Continue reading »

Tags: corruption, politics Posted in Asia, Philippines | Permalink

HTC’s winning ways

April 29, 2011 1:33 pm by Robin Kwong

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The growing competition in smartphones has lately become more of a hindrance than an opportunity for phonemakers from BlackBerry-maker RIM to Nokia and Samsung.

Not so for Taiwan’s HTC, which on Friday reported better-than-expected results as it sold nearly three times as many phones in the first quarter of this year than a year ago. Both revenue and before-tax profit came in higher than expected, at T$104.2bn and T$17bn respectively, compared to T$38bn and T$5.8bn a year go. Continue reading »

Tags: technology, telecoms Posted in Asia, Taiwan | Permalink

Georgia to veto Russia’s WTO bid?

April 29, 2011 12:30 pm by Isabel Gorst

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Russia and Georgia have hardly been on speaking terms since they fought a short war in August 2008 that cost Georgia a fifth of its territory.

But the two sides are meeting on neutral ground in Switzerland this week to try to reach an agreement on Russia’s entrance to the World Trade Organization which Georgia, as a member, has the right to block. Continue reading »

Tags: politics, trade Posted in Europe, Georgia | Permalink

New York headlines

April 29, 2011 12:22 pm by beyondbrics

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* China faces pressure to alter one-child policy

* Growth data cast doubt over US recovery

* International ad spending outstrips US growth

* US eyes India arms deals beyond fighter setback

* US rebukes China, cites ‘backsliding’ on human rights Continue reading »

Posted in Global | Permalink

Guest post: The Royal Wedding – EM brands, pay attention

April 29, 2011 11:09 am by beyondbrics

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By Plamen Monovski, CIO of Renaissance Asset Managers

The big day is upon us and few places are more abuzz in London than Fortnum & Mason, one of the longest standing purveyors “By Appointment” to Britain’s royalty. Continue reading »

Tags: guest post Posted in Global | Permalink

[snap] Russia surprises and raises rates

April 29, 2011 10:13 am by beyondbrics

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Russia’s central bank surprised markets by raising its policy interest rate a quarter of a percentage point to 8.25 per cent a year on Friday morning.

As beyondbrics reported, prime minister Vladimir Putin made it clear on Monday that fighting inflation was the government’s overriding priority. Inflation reached an annual rate of 9.5 per cent last month, well above Putin’s 7.5 per cent target for 2011. Continue reading »

Tags: currencies, inflation, interest rates Posted in Europe, Russia | Permalink

Russian TV ads on a roll, says head of Russian TV station

April 29, 2011 9:41 am by beyondbrics

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By Ben Aris of Business New Europe

Russia’s advertising market – currently the fifth largest in Europe - could be the region’s largest market by 2013 according to Anton Kudryashov, chief executive of CTC Media. Kudryashov claims to know because he is the head of a company which he unabashedly proclaims is Russia’s most successful commercial television station – and the most profitable in the world. Continue reading »

Tags: consumption, marketing, media, telecoms Posted in Europe, Russia | Permalink

[snap] Taiwan’s GDP surprises on upside

April 29, 2011 9:32 am by beyondbrics

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Preliminary figures from Taiwan’s statistics agency suggest gross domestic product increased by 6.2 per cent in the first quarter compared with a year earlier. That compares with a forecast of 5 per cent.

The directorate-general of budget, accounting and statistics said in a statement: “The external sector extended powerful performance with the real exports of goods and services advanced by 10.48% in the first quarter of 2011.” Continue reading »

Tags: GDP Posted in Asia, Taiwan | Permalink

Taiwan’s trade, currency defy gravity

April 29, 2011 9:24 am by Robin Kwong

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A strong currency hurts exporters – this is the stuff of economics 101. So how come Taiwan’s exports and its currency are both surging in tandem?

Taiwan has not discovered any new fundamental laws. But it does export the right products for today’s global trade; and it also demonstrates how measuring a currency’s strength or weakness against the US dollar makes decreasingly little sense. Continue reading »

Tags: currencies, monetary policy, trade Posted in Asia, Taiwan | Permalink

London headlines

April 29, 2011 4:24 am by beyondbrics

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* US eyes India arms deals beyond fighter setback

* US rebukes China, cites ‘backsliding’ on human rights

* RMB fund planned to aid Latin America

* Profits rise at China banks despite tightening

* Indian government to auction $1.4bn mega transmission lines

Posted in Global | Permalink

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Daily Archives: April 29, 2011

Americas market wrap

Fund flows: Weak dollar, EM gain

Willy Wonka blows a raspberry

Philippines anti-graft czar quits, boosting anti-graft efforts

HTC’s winning ways

Georgia to veto Russia’s WTO bid?

New York headlines

Guest post: The Royal Wedding – EM brands, pay attention

[snap] Russia surprises and raises rates

Russian TV ads on a roll, says head of Russian TV station

[snap] Taiwan’s GDP surprises on upside

Taiwan’s trade, currency defy gravity

London headlines

Global equities macromap

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