Brain drain reversed? Brazilians lured home by better prospects
It may not feel like it if you’re walking around London or Miami, but the Brazilians are coming home.
From top football stars to chief executives, Brazilians who emigrated years ago in search of better work opportunities are now discovering that their future may be brighter back in Brazil than in crisis-ridden Europe or the US.
The trainee scheme run by Vale, Brazil’s giant iron ore miner, is a case in point. Continue reading »
Venezuelan bankers would be wise to heed Hugo Chávez’s warning on Thursday that they lend more to the housing sector. As they will be keenly aware, their combative president has not exactly shied away from disciplining unruly banks in the past.
But there is another, perhaps more fundamental barrier to Chávez’s rather ambitious target set earlier this year to build some 350,000 homes by presidential elections due in December 2012: a shortage of building materials. Continue reading »
Peru: an airline at all losses
What is it about airlines? Like football teams, they can be trophy investments, holding a value beyond their balance sheet.
Despite all the woes in the global airline sector, Ollanta Humala, Peru’s new president, wants to create a national carrier with the participation of private investors.
The airline would cater for the domestic markets, including farflung corners of the Andes and the Amazon that are not profitable, he says. Continue reading »
Serbia’s €2bn answer to a thorny issue
Serbia is planning to issue €2bn worth of special long-term bonds in order to finally put to rest the question of properties seized by the communist regime after the second world war.
The “significant but manageable” bond issue – worth around 6 per cent of GDP – will allow compensation for victims of nationalisation over 60 years ago without bankrupting the modern state, said Bozidar Djelic, deputy prime minister for EU integration. Continue reading »
New era for renminbi? Don’t bet on it
Despite its track record as one of the world’s most boring currencies, the renminbi has a unique ability to generate endless rumours.
The latest talk is that Beijing is on the cusp of a new exchange rate policy, involving noticeably faster appreciation and more market-driven volatility for its tightly managed currency. Those would certainly be welcome changes, but, if history is any guide, the reality is likely to disappoint. Continue reading »
Russia’s satellite: lost in space
For the past week, Russian aerospace and defence companies, and the prime minister himself, have been trying to bring attention to the Russian space industry at a week-long Moscow air show. Russian groups were quick to assert they would soon be building orbiting space hotels - with room for seven – and sending tourists to Mars in the foreseeable future.
So it’s unfortunate that amidst it all, Russia had to announce it had lost a $265m satellite, less than 24 hours after it had launched it into space.
Slumdog Millionaire prize inflation
Many Indians have seen their incomes soar in the past decade but few have seen their pay keep pace with the ever-increasing value of the prizes in the local version of ‘Who wants to be a millionaire’.
The organisers of the game show – made famous in the film Slumdog Millionaire - have this week launched a fifth season with a top prize of 50m rupees ($1.1m), which is five times more than when the programme began. Continue reading »
Vietnam: downgraded again
While Europe’s capitalist leaders have taken to bashing the ratings agencies when their sovereign debt gets downgraded, Vietnam’s Communist rulers do not usually deign to debate such issues.
Downgrades from the three main credit rating agencies – Fitch, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s – last year did not elicit a significant response from the government, which was too busy inflating the economy in the run up to the Communist party’s five-yearly leadership transition. Continue reading »
Biden in Beijing: of noodles and knuckles…and the Chinese media
US vice president Joe Biden isn’t having an easy time of it in China – at least not with the public diplomacy involved in this week’s visit to Beijing.
First, his opening remarks at a key meeting with Xi Jinping, his Chinese counterpart, were interrupted by a kerfuffle involving Chinese officials and journalists covering the trip.
Next, a meal at a small restaurant in one of Beijing’s alleyways was criticised by Chinese bloggers who detected a note of PR phoney in what was made to look like a casual event. Finally, a goodwill China-US basketball match ended in a brawl. Continue reading »
New York headlines
Gold at new high as traders shun stocks
Standard Chartered faces South Korea strike
India’s RBI Panel Differed Over July Interest Rate Policy
Bunge to invest $2.5bn in Brazilian cane
JPMorgan plans to start offering South African corporate banking services Continue reading »
EM fund flows: equity redemptions slow, local currency still draw new money
Another big outflow of money from EM equity funds comes as little surprise in the light of the mayhem in the markets.
But at $2.8bn it’s less than a third of last week’s $7.8bn outflow, according to data from the EPFR research company. That’s a crumb of comfort for investors hoping for a return of stability on emerging market bourses. So is evidence that EM local currency funds are still seeing inflows, albeit small. Continue reading »
Further reading: medieval ideas
Friday’s top pics from the beyondbrics team: several views on the last two decades of Russian capitalism, what debt trouble in the West means for Asia, and why Hugo Chávez’s anti-inflation law is reminiscent of the medieval ideas of St Thomas Aquinas.
Continue reading »
A sign of resilience in Asia on Friday, with equities in the region falling sharply in line with Thursday’s plunges in Europe and the Americas - but not by nearly as much.
After declines of 4.5 per cent in London and New York, Japanese shares closed ‘only’ 2.51 per cent lower and the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index was trading 3.87 per cent down. It may perhaps be only a lull in the storm, but it is nonetheless welcome. Continue reading »
London headlines
* Coca-Cola in $4bn China push
* Markets suffer global turmoil
* Bunge to invest $2.5bn in Brazilian cane
* JPMorgan plans to start offering South African corporate banking services
* Apple overtakes Lenovo in China sales Continue reading »
Guest post: Corruption may undo China’s economic miracle
By Victor Shih of Northwestern University
The recent trial of a group of Shanghai government officials and businessmen revealed a disturbing pattern of corruption, which is endangering the lives of millions around China.
Should this pattern continue unchecked, Chinese exports and domestic consumption will grow anaemically, while genuine entrepreneurship will be stifled. Continue reading »
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