Daily Archives: May 26, 2011

Americas market wrap

May 26, 2011 6:52 pm by Anora Mahmudova

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Latin American markets rallied on Thursday, with the MSCI Latin American index rising 1.3 per cent to 4,387, hitting a two-week high. Major regional indices also rose, led by Brazilian and Chilean stocks. Brazil’s benchmark Bovespa index rose 1.1 per cent to 64,099, rising for the third straight day, also reaching a two-week high. Continue reading »

Posted in Global | Permalink

BAT lights up in Colombia

May 26, 2011 5:32 pm by Pan Kwan Yuk

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With all the focus on Asia and Eastern Europe as the prime emerging market battlegrounds for Big Tobacco, it is easy to forget that Latin America is a continent that hasn’t quite kicked its own cigarette habit.

British American Tobacco on Monday offered a reminder of the continent’s money spinning potential, following a deal to acquire Colombia’s second-biggest cigarette maker, Productora Tabacalera de Colombia (Protabaco), for $452m (£277m). Continue reading »

Tags: consumption, tobacco Posted in Colombia, LatAm | Permalink

What Mladic means for Serbia

May 26, 2011 4:20 pm by Jonathan Wheatley

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While Ratko Mladic was at large, Serbia had almost no chance of being considered for membership of the European Union. So his arrest had a big impact on Serbian assets: the currency gained 1 per cent against the euro and Serbian stocks gained 1.2 per cent immediately after the news broke at midday on Thursday.

But would gaining EU candidate status make a big difference to Serbia’s longer term prospects? Lessons from the region are not all that positive. Continue reading »

Tags: FDI, infrastructure, investment Posted in Europe, Serbia | Permalink

Delhi: getting richer

May 26, 2011 3:34 pm by Akanksha Awal

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In India, cities are bastions of relative wealth. Latest statistics reveal that Delhi’s per capita is now nearly three times as much as the national average.

The city’s per capita income, now at $3,154, rose 7.7 per cent over last year, according to the preliminary estimates made by the Delhi government. While the figure is still very low when compared with other emerging economies – Beijing, for example, has a per capita income of more than $10,000 – the figure indicates real wage growth in the city. Continue reading »

Tags: economic growth Posted in India | Permalink

The case for diversifying EM

May 26, 2011 1:30 pm by Alexandra Stevenson

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The search for the next Bric thing has been unending – beyondbrics readers will be familiar with the onslaught of new marketing ploys by investment banks offering new EM strategies: Civets (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa), Eagles (emerging and growth-leading economies), the 7 per cent club, growth markets and so on.

Even beyondbrics is guilty of a bit of razzle dazzle. There is a reason for the new acronym bandwagon: the Brics offer size, but not necessarily growth. A chart below the break emphasises this reality. Continue reading »

Tags: equities Posted in Global | Permalink

[snap] Ratko Mladic arrested

May 26, 2011 12:53 pm by beyondbrics

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Serbia has confirmed the arrest of Ratko Mladic, the long-sought former Serbian general charged by international authorities with committing war crimes during the Balkan civil wars in the 1990s, FT.com reports.

Boris Tadic, president, said: “On behalf of the Republic of Serbia I can announce the arrest of Ratko Mladic. Extradition process is underway.”

Posted in Europe, Serbia | Permalink

Chinese tourists: London’s big spenders

May 26, 2011 12:44 pm by Patti Waldmeir

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From Americans in tartan sportscoats to sheiks in full headgear, London long ago learned how to pry open the wallets of rich foreigners. Now along come the Chinese, who spend an average of £600 every time they swipe a bit of plastic in the UK, and London is looking for new forms of retail tourism to entice them. Continue reading »

Tags: consumption, luxury Posted in Asia, China | Permalink

Thai equities: a bearish view

May 26, 2011 12:20 pm by Jonathan Wheatley

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Morgan Stanley began covering Thai equity strategy on May 25 with what it called “a big counter consensus call” of “fully valued, risks to downside”.

It says international investors are “hugely overweight” in Thailand and have failed to take account of political risk associated with the general elections to be held on July 3 and have underestimated the impact of tighter monetary and fiscal policies. But as Lex reports on Thursday, foreign investors are already heading for the door. Continue reading »

Tags: equities, fund flows, investment Posted in Asia, Thailand | Permalink

New York headlines

May 26, 2011 12:03 pm by beyondbrics

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*Vancl looks to raise $1bn in US listing

* Libya sovereign fund suffers big losses

* US default ‘more likely than in Indonesia’

* Singh questions IMF practice of selecting European head Continue reading »

Posted in Global | Permalink

A social network for socialist China’s lonely super-wealthy

May 26, 2011 9:11 am by Kathrin Hille

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Listening to what is coming from China’s official media these days, you could believe this was a socialist country. Every other day, web pages at Xinhua, the official news agency, are bathed in red promoting a special on the ruling Communist party’s upcoming 90th anniversary.

But one recent success among the booming social media, which are all privately owned, speaks a completely different language: P1.CN, an invitation-only social network for urban affluent Chinese, has attracted 1.2m members. And its success seems to lie in a concept that reflects a class society. Continue reading »

Tags: consumption, internet, luxury Posted in Asia, China | Permalink

London headlines

May 26, 2011 5:55 am by beyondbrics

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* Libya sovereign fund suffers big losses

* US default ‘more likely than in Indonesia’

* Singh questions IMF practice of selecting European head

* Iran says Opec will try to fill crude gap Continue reading »

Posted in Global | Permalink

Norway’s lessons for Brazil

May 26, 2011 2:57 am by Joe Leahy

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A drilling rig out on the South Atlantic Ocean not far from Rio de Janeiro might seem a strange place to run into the Norwegian energy minister, Ola Borten Moe.

But the rig, part of the new Peregrino field being operated by Norway’s government-controlled oil company Statoil with investment from China’s Sinochem, is an oddly appropriate place to discuss the thorny topic of what Brazil should do to avoid the so-called oil curse. Continue reading »

Posted in Brazil | Permalink

Chávez silent over PDVSA sanctions

May 26, 2011 2:40 am by Benedict Mander

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Hugo Chávez must be distraught. There’s nothing he loves more than to launch into spirited tirades against the “empire” (a.k.a. the USA), and now he has the perfect excuse: it slapped sanctions on Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA for selling fuel to Iran.

But with the firebrand currently convalescing from problems with his knee, more than a day has gone by and he has still held his tongue (barring a few comments on Twitter), leaving that pleasure to his flunkies. And indeed, they haven’t held back, using the kind of nationalist rhetoric others would reserve for a full-blown land invasion. Continue reading »

Tags: Hugo Chávez, PDVSA Posted in LatAm, Venezuela | Permalink

Brazil’s forestry bill threat to Amazon

May 26, 2011 2:18 am by Samantha Pearson

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It looks like a traditional punch-up between capitalism and the environment.

After a particularly tense session of Brazil’s congress, which dragged into the early hours of Wednesday, the country’s lower house finally approved a controversial new environmental bill.

The main point of the legislation, which has yet to be approved by Brazil’s Senate and president Dilma Rousseff, is to give amnesty to farmers who have illegally cleared land before July 2008. Continue reading »

Posted in Brazil | Permalink

beyondbrics

Daily Archives: May 26, 2011

Americas market wrap

BAT lights up in Colombia

What Mladic means for Serbia

Delhi: getting richer

The case for diversifying EM

[snap] Ratko Mladic arrested

Chinese tourists: London’s big spenders

Thai equities: a bearish view

New York headlines

Further reading: in China we rust

A social network for socialist China’s lonely super-wealthy

London headlines

Norway’s lessons for Brazil

Chávez silent over PDVSA sanctions

Brazil’s forestry bill threat to Amazon

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