Daily Archives: July 7, 2011

Some agricultural good news for Brazil

July 7, 2011 10:30 pm by Vincent Bevins

Share this on

Behind the headline noise of an ongoing currency war, a possible credit bubble, and a slide in sugar production, one crucial part of Brazil’s economy, grain output, is plodding quietly and steadily ahead.

On Thursday, the country raised output projections for the 2010/2011 harvest to 162m tonnes, an 8.6 per cent rise on last year and an all-time record for the batch of commodities, which has been boosted by expansion of farmland in Brazil’s fertile interior and the persistence of hungry people worldwide. Continue reading »

Tags: agriculture Posted in Brazil, LatAm, Uncategorized | Permalink

Guido Mantega – currency vigilante?

July 7, 2011 10:00 pm by Joe Leahy

Share this on

Brazil’s finance minister kept investors guessing this week by warning that more capital controls could be on the way to curb the recent sharp appreciation in the country’s currency, the real, against the dollar.

But Guido Mantega had hardly finished declaring that he was standing by the “currency war” he declared last year than his boss, President Dilma Rousseff, appeared to quell the idea of more measures to control the exchange rate. Continue reading »

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

Grupo Mexico eyes $1bn investment in Peru copper mine project

July 7, 2011 9:15 pm by Ron Buchanan

Share this on

Grupo Mexico, one of the world’s leading copper producers, with operations in the United States and Peru as well as its home country, has proved to be an expert in relations with governments of almost all ideologies.

Born during the 70-year rule of a one-party system in Mexico, it has prospered in Mexico under democracy despite years of bitter strikes at its mines. Meanwhile, it won a major victory in the US courts by recovering its US unit, Asarco. Continue reading »

Tags: cross border investment, mining Posted in LatAm, Mexico | Permalink

Argentina: China wants beefsteak

July 7, 2011 7:00 pm by Jude Webber

Share this on

China has given the green light to imports of Argentine beef – the latest in a string of Argentine agricultural products (corn, wine, biofuels and barley have also been approved) to be granted entry to giant Asian market. Continue reading »

Tags: agriculture, food & drink Posted in Argentina, China | Permalink

India: $681m fertiliser plant…in Jordan

July 7, 2011 6:00 pm by Ivana Kottasová

Share this on

India’s urban population keeps growing and so does its appetite for food. So, there’s no surprise that the country’s 120 million farms are demanding more and more fertiliser.

Investors are looking further afield to secure new supplies – and have found a source in Jordan, where Indian and Jordan companies are jointly building a $681 million fertiliser plant in the southern city of Eshidyia. Continue reading »

Tags: food prices Posted in India | Permalink

Russia: pick your partners carefully

July 7, 2011 5:54 pm by Courtney Weaver

Share this on

Here we go again: yet another conflict has broken out between Mikhail Fridman’s Alfa Group and a foreign partner. This time it’s Alfa subsidiary A1 versus US venture capital firm Indigo Partners – and the battle is over Russian airline Avianova.

On the surface, the story seems to have all the trappings of every Alfa conflict of yore. (Think BP vs Alfa-Access-Renova, or Telenor versus Alfa-subsidiary Altimo.) But what do these stories actually say about the Russian investment climate?

Posted in Russia | Permalink

Argentine debt: vulture funds gather

July 7, 2011 3:48 pm by Jude Webber

Share this on

It’s been an up and down week for Argentina and its attempts to close the door on its decade-long holdouts drama.

The number of holders of bonds on which Argentina defaulted in 2001 is much reduced – a debt swap in 2005 and another last year were backed by more than 92 per cent of holdouts and much of the outstanding debt is in the hands of so-called vulture funds, with which the Argentine government says it has no intention of settling. But the legal wrangling goes on. Continue reading »

Tags: bonds, debt Posted in Argentina, LatAm | Permalink

When India’s money men take flight

July 7, 2011 2:15 pm by James Fontanella-Khan

Share this on

India’s business community is sick and tired. It is sick and tired of the corruption scandals that have rocked the country and of the government paralysis that has since followed. Such is the level of frustration that businesses are turning their back on India to focus on investment opportunities overseas.

That at least is what Deepak Parekh, one of India’s most respected business leaders, told the Times of India, in an interview that highlighted how the nation’s largest groups have lost their patience with the country’s ineffective government. Continue reading »

Tags: capital flight, FDI, Indian politics Posted in Asia, India | Permalink

Boeing in India: ready for takeoff?

July 7, 2011 1:47 pm by Akanksha Awal

Share this on

Boeing, the US aircraft manufacturer, reckons India’s airlines will need to buy 1,320 aircraft over the next two decades as the country cements its place as one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets.

But despite its optimism about India’s potential, Boeing has been slow to bag multi-billion dollar orders from India’s low-cost airlines, the main driver for air traffic growth in the country. Continue reading »

Tags: aviation, transport Posted in Asia, India | Permalink

Guest post: Oil traders should watch for instability in Syria

July 7, 2011 1:00 pm by beyondbrics

Share this on

By Ayham Kamel of Eurasia Group

Syria’s president Bashar al Assad once flaunted his immunity from the wave of protest-driven unrest in the Middle East. Today, while the regime is unlikely to fall in the near term, there’s no doubt that instability is on the rise.

That has broad geopolitical implications for the Middle East. And while Lebanon and Israel are often mentioned, Iraq stands to lose the most. Syria could, for example, become a base for groups seeking to undermine stability in Iraq, increasing risks for the growth of oil production. Oil traders should watch closely how Bashar handles Syria’s political turmoil. Continue reading »

Tags: Eurasia Group, guest post, oil & gas Posted in Syria | Permalink

Taiwan: export growth slows sharply

July 7, 2011 12:14 pm by Robin Kwong

Share this on

Solid evidence in Taiwan’s latest export numbers of a worrying slow down in world trade.

Economists warned earlier that Taiwan’s strong export growth couldn’t continue forever, and that the second half of the year was likely to present a much tougher environment than the first.

And on Thursday they were proved right, with Taiwan’s June export numbers showing exports falling 10 per cent compared to May, and up just 10 per cent compared to June 2010. Continue reading »

Tags: exports Posted in Taiwan | Permalink

New York headlines

July 7, 2011 12:02 pm by beyondbrics

Share this on

* HSBC’s EMI: slower growth

* SEC in China audit deal push

* Iron ore to stay above $150, says Vale

* Tesco opens Asia training academy

* Vodafone tax criticism is attempt at intimidation, India prosecutor says Continue reading »

Posted in Global | Permalink

Afghan iron ore: the Indian connection

July 7, 2011 11:32 am by Alexandra Stevenson

Share this on

India is well-versed in resource diplomacy. Just a day after the Pentagon published projections for Afghanistan’s mineral fortune last year, New Delhi called itself Kabul’s ‘natural ally’ and set up ministerial meetings. Now, less than a year later, the short-list of contenders for what Afghanistan says is the world’s biggest iron ore deposit in Hajigak are all (15) Indian.

Wahidullah Shahrani , Afghanistan’s mining minister (pictured), told beyondbrics that India and China are making the best offers for resources tenders in a war-torn country that most western companies still won’t touch with a stick. Continue reading »

Tags: iron & steel Posted in India | Permalink

Sweden eyes Chinese lessons in schools

July 7, 2011 10:29 am by Financial Times

Share this on

Sweden could become the first country in Europe to offer Chinese lessons to all schoolchildren under plans floated by the Swedish education minister.

Jan Björklund said giving future generations access to Chinese language tuition was crucial to national competitiveness.

Continue reading: “Sweden eyes Chinese lessons in schools”

Posted in China | Permalink

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31

beyondbrics

Daily Archives: July 7, 2011

Some agricultural good news for Brazil

Guido Mantega – currency vigilante?

Grupo Mexico eyes $1bn investment in Peru copper mine project

Argentina: China wants beefsteak

India: $681m fertiliser plant…in Jordan

Russia: pick your partners carefully

Argentine debt: vulture funds gather

When India’s money men take flight

Boeing in India: ready for takeoff?

Guest post: Oil traders should watch for instability in Syria

Taiwan: export growth slows sharply

New York headlines

Afghan iron ore: the Indian connection

Sweden eyes Chinese lessons in schools

Further reading: who eats South Africa’s lunch

Global equities macromap

Most popular posts

Recently commented

Number of the day

beyondbrics

The emerging markets hub

BB shortcuts

beyondbrics team

Regional teams:

Emerging markets data

Archive

What we are writing about

What we’re reading