Latin America market wrap
Latin American markets have reacted positively to news about action on Eurozone debt worries, a trend that has left analysts cautious.
Although Slovakia has voted against the expanded EFSF, there is a general consensus that political wrangling will subside and allow the measure to pass, which will help bolster the European rescue fund.
Codelco: a quick buck on Anglo?
Anglo American has known for nearly a decade that this day might come. When it bought its southern Chilean assets in 2002, the company inherited an agreement with the Chilean government dating back to 1978 under which Codelco, the state-run copper company, has an option to buy 49 per cent of those assets.
The option runs until 2027 but Codelco only has a bite at it every three years. In 2009, the world financial crisis and plunging markets convinced Codelco that taking out debt to exercise the option was a very bad idea. But now things are looking much rosier as the window to exercise the option – January 2012 – comes round again. Continue reading »
Turkcell: Çukurova gets a lifeline
Turkey has just announced a change that corporate governance activists are likely to applaud – but which also appears to throw a lifeline to the Turkish group that controls Turkcell, the country’s biggest mobile phone group.
In a decree issued on Tuesday with immediate effect, Turkey’s Capital Markets Board said the country’s top listed companies must have no fewer than two independent members on their boards, and that independents must account for at least a third of the board total. Continue reading »
The great rate divide: hikes in frontier markets match emerging markets cuts
While Indonesia this week made headlines by becoming the latest emerging market to cut interest rates, Nigeria added its name to a growing list of frontier markets that have this month raised their rates – and followed Uganda, Kenya, and Vietnam.
These moves reflect an uncomfortable reality. The big EMs can afford to cut rates because they’re confident their reserves are large enough to weather hard currency outflows. The frontier economies are in too fragile a condition to take the risk.
But if the global crisis gets much worse, could some EMs also be forced to hike? The numbers suggest this is a serious danger. Continue reading »
Mumbai’s $2bn mixed-use development: one of a kind?
Despite the announcement of a $2bn mixed-use development in central Mumbai, most Indians looking for oases from the crowded city will likely have to look further afield.
Over the next five-to-seven years, the Lodha Group, one of India’s biggest developers, will build New Cuffe Parade in Wadala, in the east-central part of the city. The development will include two 63-story towers, 15 acres of green space and a mix of commercial, residential and retail space, according to the company. Continue reading »
Russia’s buy-back feud: time for Kremlin intervention?
For months, two of Russia’s biggest corporate giants – Interros and Rusal – have been feuding about a planned buy-back at Norilsk Nickel where the two are shareholders.
While the buy-back was set to close at the end of the month, a new letter from Russia’s anti-trust regulators throws a spanner in Norilsk’s plans, and raises further questions about a resolution of the never-ending conflict, which has affected everything from Russia’s corporate image to Krasnoyarsk regional politics. Continue reading »
Investors who find run-of-the-mill frontier markets a bit tame will soon have a chance to put their money into Libya.
As the FT reports, the new rulers are planning to restart the Tripoli bourse after a six-month wartime closure. With government troops still fighting supporters of Colonel Muammer Gaddafi, the risks are probably as big as the potential rewards. But in an oil-rich state, the peace dividend could be worth the wait. Continue reading »
India slows, bit by bit
India’s economy is on the verge of slowdown, according to the latest industrial production data published on Wednesday.
The industrial production index in Asia’s third largest economy increased by just 4.1 per cent in August – that’s more than the 3.8 per cent recorded in July but less than the 4.7 per cent year-on-year that economists expected. It was enough to make private sector economists gloomy though government officials, as usual, tried to put a brave face on the numbers. Continue reading »
Six of the world’s largest emerging markets exchanges will on Wednesday unveil an alliance in an unprecedented arrangement that aims to capture increasing investor interest in key emerging – and especially so-called “Bric” – markets at a time when exchanges globally have been consolidating.
Under the alliance Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx), BM&FBovespa of Brazil, the National Stock Exchange of India, Bombay Stock Exchange, Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the two Russian exchanges that are in the process of merging – Micex and RTS – will cross-list each others’ stock index futures contracts. Continue reading »
Inflation fears may limit EM easing
Indonesia has this week joined Brazil and Turkey in cutting interest rates in response to the latest gusts of the global economic storm. And other emerging markets could soon follow suit – Malaysia, Thailand, and Peru head a list of possibles.
But Stephen King, HSBC’s chief economist, argues that nobody should expect the big emerging nations to come to the rescue with barrel-loads of economic stimulants as China did in 2008-9. They’re too scared of inflation to try. Continue reading »
Philippines: a stimulus of sorts
Philippine president Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday unveiled a 72bn peso ($1.7bn) economic stimulus package, aimed at shielding the country’s economy (which is dependent on remittances and electronics exports) from the global fallout from Europe’s sovereign debt and banking troubles.
However, economists don’t find Aquino’s fiscal package stimulating enough. In fact, they don’t consider it a real fiscal stimulus package at all. Continue reading »
New York headlines
* US currency bill passes Senate vote
* Slovakia votes against expanded EFSF
* Venezuela to sell $3bn of bonds
* Beijing and Moscow to put $1bn each in fund Continue reading »
Brazil: go forth and consume
One data point does not make a trend. So it is too early to say that the humble consumer, one of the engines of Brazil’s remarkable economic growth over the past decade, is starting to tighten his or her purse strings.
Yet one thing is for sure: consumers bought less in August. Retail sales for the month showed a 0.4 per cent contraction compared with July, four times worse than market consensus forecasts and the biggest slide since early last year. Continue reading »
Korean/US trade: no big deal
Lee Myung-bak, South Korea’s president, can be expected to be all smiles on his visit to Washington. After a very long haul, his country’s landmark trade agreement with the US looks set to pass through the US Congress on Wednesday.
When he gets back, he needs to get the deal to work on the Korean side. As with so much in Korea, that will boil down to emotion. Continue reading »
Further reading: one vote of confidence
Wednesday’s top picks from the beyondbrics team: Lex on Beijing’s bank intervention and Slovakia’s bailout vote; Tymoshenko’s imprisonment and what it means for Ukraine in Europe; and Burma’s new, and welcomed, direction. Continue reading »
| About this blog | Headlines email | Blog guide |
| Regulars | Series | Archive |
Older entries
Stefan Wagstyl
Josh Noble
Rob Minto
Pan Kwan Yuk
Jonathan Wheatley
Heba Saleh