China: pop goes the Lafite
It’s not exactly the sound of a bubble bursting. But China bears looking for further indications of a weakening Chinese economy could do worse than look at the results of Sotheby’s latest fine wine auction in Hong Kong.
According to Bloomberg, Sotheby’s has failed to sell all of the wine on auction for the first time in 17 sales. The biggest loser was Château Lafite-Rothschild – the Bordeaux wine that is most coveted by China’s super-rich. Continue reading »
Carlos Slim: $16.5bn poorer
Carlos Slim, the Mexican telecoms tycoon, is not used to seeing his net worth shrink. So when Sentidocomun, the Mexican business website, reported that it had tumbled US$16.5bn between July and September, it was another clear sign that we are living in extraordinary times. Continue reading »
Zambia: New government. New rules?
Michael Sata, Zambia’s president, has made a dramatic start in his new job. On Monday, two weeks after taking office, he reversed the sale of Finance Bank Zambia to South Africa’s FirstRand and fired his central bank’s board – and, for good measure, the boards of three other government agencies.
Sata, who was elected president of Africa’s biggest copper producing country on September 20, had already fired Caleb Fundanga, the central bank governor, on September 29. Fast work. Continue reading »
A year-end rally for Russian equities? Don’t bet on it
Russian equities and the rouble have lived through a painful third quarter topped by a disastrous September, during which the RTS index lost more than a fifth of its value and the rouble depreciated 11.5 per cent against the dollar.
Does this mean Russia is poised for a big recovery in the fourth quarter? According to analysts, probably not. Continue reading »
CEE: getting sucked in
Central Europe is showing increasing signs of being dragged down by the slowdown in western Europe, as purchasing managers’ indices - a commonly-used leading indicator – showed sharp drops in Poland and the Czech Republic. Continue reading »
Majid Al Futtaim Holding, a Dubai-based operator of shops and malls across the Middle East, has had a rougher ride from the Arab awakening than most.
Having suffered looting at two shopping centres in Egypt, the temporary closure of a mall next to the heart of Bahrain’s protests and its Syrian expansion plans called into question by the uprising there, it is perhaps unsurprising the company reported a Dh164.9m ($44.9m) loss for the first six months of the year. Continue reading »
Ukraine: time to call the IMF?
With another global slowdown unraveling and memory still fresh of the nasty economic beating Ukraine felt during the 2009 recession, urgency is building up for Kiev’s government to unlock billions of dollars in fresh, low-interest rate loans by reviving talks with the International Monetary Fund.
“A rather serious crisis is on our doorstep… We don’t have options and we should find understanding [with the IMF], as it is difficult to stay eyeball to eyeball with the crisis and without support of international financial organizations,” Sergiy Tigipko, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister said in a recent television appearance. Continue reading »
Nicholas Brady: infrastructure matters
Bloomberg
Veteran financier Nicholas Brady has recently made headlines addressing the developed world’s financial crisis. But much of his working time is devoted to emerging markets – and making money for Darby, his private equity EM investment company.
Darby, which has invested nearly $3bn since its foundation, is currently raising cash for a $150m peso-denominated Mexican infrastructure fund – following the launch of similar local-currency vehicles for South Korea, Brazil and Colombia. These are difficult times for collecting funds for almost anything – but Darby insists it’s making headway. Continue reading »
Guest post: In Nigeria’s oil sector, uncertainty rules
By Gordon Bottomley and Marina Grushin of Ergo
Africa’s top oil producer is squandering the chance to become a global energy heavyweight. For nearly three years, Nigeria’s oil and gas sector has been held hostage by debate over the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) – a huge piece of legislation intended to bring the country’s oil and gas production closer to reaching its tremendous potential.
But what was intended as a panacea for Nigeria’s chronically under-performing oil and gas sector has had the opposite effect. Three years of uncertainty over the bill’s future have all but dried out foreign investment – unwelcome news for a country dependent on oil revenues to cover the cost of running the federal government. Continue reading »
Shares in JSW Steel hit by scandal
Bloomberg
It seems a day can’t pass without an Indian company or government official getting embroiled in some scandal or other – and investors are taking notice.
On Monday morning, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation visited the headquarters of the country’s third-largest steel maker by tonnage, JSW Steel (JSWSTEEL:NSI), in the southern state of Karnataka, as part of a probe into illegal iron ore procurement. Continue reading »
New York headlines
* AgBank shrugs off early rights issue fears
* Koch brothers flout law with secret Iran sales
* China group’s eye on Yahoo fuels privacy fears
* Burma dam disruption concerns China Continue reading »
Dilma-Fifa: set for some hard talking
As Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff kicks off her first visit to Europe as leader of Latin America’s largest country this week, one of the toughest meetings on her agenda promises to be with Fifa, the governing body of soccer.
The president is set to meet officials of the body amid differences between Brazil and soccer officials over issues ranging from the country’s preparations for the World Cup to even, reportedly, the cost of tickets. Continue reading »
Further reading: mining fortunes
Monday’s top picks from the beyondbrics team. Lex discusses Polymetal’s imminent listing and TCL’s expansion problems, Alec Russell looks at South Africa’s troubling political youth and, elsewhere, questions are asked about India’s new mining bill. Continue reading »
Caspian oil rivals jockey for position
After nine years of planning, the Nabucco oil pipeline consortium submitted a bid to export Azerbaijani gas exports at the weekend, saying its pipeline was the best of three rival projects vying to carry Caspian resources to Europe.
But BP, the principal western company in the Caspian, is not convinced.
Only last week, the UK oil major revealed it had a fourth pipeline option up its sleeve to link the vast Shak Deniz field offshore Azerbaijan with European markets. Continue reading »
China’s Reaganomic mayor: cut taxes
With the US budget deficit at 9 per cent of GDP, it would take an iconoclastic foreign leader to make the case for a return to supply side Reagonomics. But Huang Qifan (left), Chongqing’s mayor, is a free thinker in a city that likes to lead the way in China on everything from liberalising residency permits (or hukou), to building subsidised housing. Over the weekend, Huang was quoted as saying that “if European and American economies want to improve and be revived, that really must be based on supply side theories.” Continue reading »
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