Argentina’s Lorenzino presents budget, dodges bullets
Hernán Lorenzino, Argentina’s new economy minister, has made his first major public appearance and a key one it was, too.
On Monday he presented the government’s delayed 2012 budget to the Senate, promising a continuation and deepening of the economic policies promoted by the governing Peronist party since it came to power in 2003. Continue reading »
Egypt: recovery must wait
Egypt has erupted into conflict once again and its chances of emerging from instability into calm any time soon are fading. The violence that has spread across Cairo over the past week has overshadowed the peaceful start to parliamentary elections that took place at the end of November – and investors are running for cover.
That is something Egypt can ill afford as it faces tightening fiscal constraints, a balance of payments crisis and a severely pressurised currency. Continue reading »
India’s food subsidies: good idea, hard to afford and implement
Another day, another ambitious bill in India’s choked parliament. With Sunday night’s multi-billion dollar proposal to heavily subsidise food for over 60 per cent of the nation’s 1.2bn population, the government is looking to finally make some legislative progress in its turbulent winter session. Continue reading »
Prokhorov: a (yacht) party man
Sceptics of Mikhail Prokhorov and his sudden decision to run for president can now take comfort in one thing: the six-foot-eight Russian oligarch makes for exceptionally good television.
Appearing on the talk show NTVshniki last night, Prokhorov did little to allay concerns that he was a Kremlin project, intended to distract middle class voters from the recent protests. But he did give a glimpse of how entertaining it will be to watch a 46-year-old billionaire bachelor on the Russian campaign trail.
Guest post: the rising soft power of the emerging world
By Peter Johansson, Seung Ho Park and William Wilson
Everyone knows that emerging nations have hard power – the military and economic might a nation state uses to get what it wants in the world. Chinese, Russian and Indian nuclear weapons are a prime example.
But emerging nations are also developing their soft power – the phrase coined by US political scientist Joseph Nye to describe a state’s capacity to influence others through persuasion and attraction, instead of coercion. Continue reading »
[video] Defiant mood in Wukan
As the stalemate between the residents of Wukan village and the Chinese government continues, Jamil Anderlini reports from the rural community that dared to challenge the rule of the Communist party.
New York headlines
* North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-il dies
* Food subsidy bill to test India’s finances
* China opens up to offshore renminbi investors
* Russia’s Micex and RTS set to complete merger Continue reading »
Micex and RTS, Moscow’s main exchanges, will complete their official merger on Monday as Russia presses on with plans to turn Moscow into an international financial centre despite turbulence on domestic markets.
The merger is part of a bid by the state to draw Russian equity issuers and foreign investors away from London, the current hub for Russian initial public offerings.
Sino-Forest begs bondholders for mercy
Step by step, Sino-Forest is moving closer towards bankruptcy or a restructuring of its $1.8bn of bonds.
On Monday, the scandal-plagued Chinese forestry company announced it had received notices of default from the holders of its bonds due 2014 and 2017 after failing to publish its third-quarter results, which were due last week. Continue reading »
India: another bull eats humble pie
One of India’s top bulls has turned bearish. Disappointed with the torrent of bad political and economic news from the sub-continent, equities strategist Chris Wood of broker CLSA cut his exposure to India.
Wood says he remains positive about India long-term. But given the miserable recent performance of Indian stocks, discretion now is the better part of valour. He is reducing his Indian position by four percentage points from overweight to neutral. Continue reading »
A tweet fit for a prince
Saudi Arabia’s billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal (pictured) has invested some $300m in Twitter, the social media network used frequently as a tool of protest.
While the move might look odd for a member of the royal family in a country which is nervous of the internet, it seemed to make sense to the shareholders of Kingdom Holding, the prince’s investment company. Its shares surged by 5 per cent after the announcement. Saudi Arabia’s benchmark Tadawul All Share index fell 0.25 per cent. Continue reading »
Further reading: hostile debate
Monday’s top picks from the beyondbrics team: Lex on the arrival of the hostile takeover in China; the life and death of Václav Havel; India’s desperate need for reform; Thaksin Shinawatra’s new passport and why his sister’s government should have more important things on its mind; and the debate in China’s Communist party sparked by the protests in Wukan. Continue reading »
S Korea: investors fret
The South Korean authorities have pledged to intervene in the markets if necessary to contain the financial impact of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. As finance minister Bahk Jae Wan said, South Korea has experienced such shocks before – and has recovered quickly.
But that doesn’t stop investors getting nervous about one of the world’s potential war zones, the two Koreas last exchanged fire only a year ago. The Seoul bourse on Monday closed down by 3.4 per cent and the won dropped 1.4 per cent against the US dollar. Continue reading »
London headlines
* North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-il dies
* Food subsidy bill to test India’s finances
* China opens up to offshore renminbi investors
* Draghi warns on eurozone break-up Continue reading »
Fund file: prepare for the EM bust
Hot on the heels of Edward Chancellor’s warning that China no longer has the money to save the world, comes more serious counsel.
Humayun Shahryar, founder and chief executive of Auvest Capital Management, argues in Monday’s FTfm that emerging markets generally are in for a nasty shock. Continue reading »
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