Argentina: Cristina meets the press
For a president who regularly lashes out at a press she distrusts, it was an unusual move. But Cristina Fernández, fresh from victory in Argentina’s primary election that shows her on course for triumph in October presidential polls, chose to mark the occasion with a news conference.
Relaxed, smiling, making jokes and seeking to cultivate a tone of amiable complicity, the president took just five questions. Continue reading »
[Emerging difficulties]: Multinationals, no longer a dirty word in LatAm
Mention the word multinationals in Latin America, and it is hardly surprising that some people still imagine rapacious capitalist monsters kicking aside ethics, laws and even human rights in their insatiable thirst for profit.
In June, Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia’s president, said he had evidence that a foreign contractor for an oil company had paid money to illegal armed groups. Continue reading »
Guest post: A world without Chávez?
By Ramiro Blazquez, Hernán Yellati and Gordian Kemen
The political situation in Venezuela has suddenly become intriguing. According to recent polls, the unified opposition (Mesa de la Unidad Democrática or MUD) would beat President Chávez in next year’s Presidential elections. In addition, Chávez’s health issues – he is battling cancer - have raised questions about his ability to run for, or serve out, another term.
But what would happen if Chávez disappears from the scene? Continue reading »
Gulf states get the forecast axe
Nomura’s Ann Wyman is probably the first economist to clip her economic growth forecasts for the Gulf states since Standard & Poor’s downgrade of the US lowered expectations for global growth and impacted future oil prices.
It doesn’t look great – growth forecasts have been cut across the Middle East board. Should this be a cause for concern for investors? Continue reading »
Croatia’s spat with the Vatican
Guy Norton of business new europe
A monastic estate in the northern coastal Croatian region of Istria has become the focus of an unparalleled falling out between the Vatican and the authorities in Zagreb. It’s a case which highlights the continued uncertainty over property rights in the former Yugoslav republic and has prompted fears of a wave of restitution claims by Italian religious orders, among others.
Burma: a surprising currency crisis
Burma’s got a currency crisis, but it isn’t what you would expect.
The kyat has appreciated by almost 25 per cent on the grey market over the past year, and the country’s export industries, never in good health at the best of times due to a combination of sanctions and the government’s economic illiteracy, are struggling even more than usual. Continue reading »
EM equities: time to get bullish?
Big falls in stock markets always prompt the question – is now the time to jump back in? This month’s major drops in global equities – not least of all in emerging markets – offer a welcome chance to revisit.
If emerging economies are going to keep growing, surely the sell-off is overdone? Continue reading »
New York headlines
We apologize for the disruption in our London headlines service. This was due to technical difficulties.
* Emerging market Stocks Rise on U.S. Data
* China’s Dalian Fujia plant runs normally despite shutdown order
* AirAsia owner nears deal for QPR
* Economic vulnerability mars Singh’s record
* China mulls return to Benghazi projects Continue reading »
Indian hotels: the Wall St effect
The connection between Wall Street and the Taj Mahal may be not be obvious but it is real enough for India’s hoteliers.
The country’s lively tourist trade – used to coping with crises ranging from floods to terrorism – is now bracing itself for a slow down following the recent global markets shock. Continue reading »
As investors across Asia assess the implications of the US debt downgrade, they are suffering from an unwelcome sense of déjà vu, says Mark Konyn, chief executive of RCM Asia Pacific in a report in this week’s issue of FTfm.
Sentiment in Asia was severely affected by the 2008 financial crisis even though its origins lay elsewhere and the current turmoil threatens to undermine investor confidence again. Continue reading »
Abramovich Jnr: a chip off the old block
Hunting for takeover targets is not usually an activity associated with teenage boys. But the 17-year-old son of Roman Abramovich, the billionaire oligarch and owner of Chelsea FC, is no ordinary teenager.
Arkadiy Abramovich is following in his father’s footsteps, announcing that he wants to invest in oil and gas in the former Soviet Union, with the first deals coming as soon as early next year. Continue reading »
Further reading: Putin, the archaeologist
Monday’s top picks from the beyondbrics team: the world’s policymakers on the crisis in financial confidence; China’s expectations from the new US ambassador and why Putin fails to impress as an archaeologist. Continue reading »
London headlines
* Emerging market Stocks Rise on U.S. Data
* Protests force Chinese factory to close
* AirAsia owner nears deal for QPR
* Economic vulnerability mars Singh’s record Continue reading »
[Emerging difficulties]: Pepsi meets Putin
When Donald Kendall, Pepsico’s former chief executive, flew to Moscow to meet with Vladimir Putin last year and seal the company’s takeover of Russian dairy group Wimm-Bill-Dann, there was a bit of déjà vu in the air.
Fifty years earlier, Kendall had come to Moscow as a young Pepsico executive and met another Russian leader, Nikita Kruschev – an encounter that paved the way for Pepsico’s entrance into Russia just a couple years later and everything that has come since. Continue reading »
Bahk Jae-wan, South Korea’s finance minister, played to the cameras as he flitted between the colourful stalls of Sooyu market in Seoul last month. Having bought some rashers of pork belly, he logged onto his Facebook page and appealed to his fellow Koreans: “Why not visit a traditional market?”
“Reviving markets for 360,000 merchants at small and medium-sized enterprises is a top policy priority,” said the shirt-sleeved minister, who posed among the pumpkins and cabbages. Continue reading »
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