Daily Archives: December 23, 2011

Hungary: little peace at Christmas

December 23, 2011 8:48 pm by Kester Eddy
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The arguments over Hungary’s economic policies – which have divided Budapest and Brussels – spilled out into the open air on Friday, with opposition MPs staging unauthorised protests outside parliament.

It didn’t make much difference. The centre-right Fidesz government, led by prime minister Viktor Orban, rammed through controversial changes to election, tax and other laws. But the demonstration, which prompted the police to briefly detain about a dozen MPs including former prime minister Ferenc Gyurcsany, highlights how passions are rising at home as well as abroad. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Global, Hungary |

Crisis? What crisis? It’s Christmas!

December 23, 2011 4:34 pm by Samantha Pearson
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If you are ever in doubt about the resilience of Brazil’s banks during the current financial crisis, it’s worth taking a stroll down São Paulo’s Avenida Paulista in December.

After the break, some choice examples of how they like to dress up for Christmas. Continue reading »

Posted in Brazil, LatAm |

Coffee in EMs: coming full circle

December 23, 2011 4:04 pm by Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura
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Italy’s coffee roasters are turning to emerging markets as demand there is set to overtake developed markets in the next few years. This has yielded an interesting and potentially lucrative phenomenon – beans supplied by producers like Brazil are finding their way back home.

“It’s like selling ice to the Eskimos but it’s working,” Andrea Illy (pictured), CEO of illycaffè, the family-owned Italian coffee maker, told beyondbrics. Continue reading »

Tags: Posted in Asia, Brazil, China, Global, LatAm |

Kazahkstan’s oil-fired power games

December 23, 2011 2:59 pm by Isabel Gorst
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Nursultan Nazarbayev is facing the worst crisis of his rule after deadly riots last week in oil-rich west Kazakhstan claimed the lives of at least 16 people.

Initially the Kazakh president accused “hooligans” of causing the unrest but in a surprise move on Thursday he turned his guns on top state officials including Timur Kulibayev, his billionaire son-in-law, for mishandling an oil workers protest that sparked the worst violence in Kazakhstan since Soviet times. (Hat tip to reader baha8111312 for this footage.) Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Asia, Kazakhstan |

Vaclav Havel: RIP

December 23, 2011 1:02 pm by beyondbrics
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A sad day in Prague on Friday as mourners gathered for the funeral of Vaclav Havel, a great European and one of the most charismatic leaders of the velvet revolution that brought down the Iron Curtain 22 years ago.

His place in history is secure and his greatness needs no endorsement. But the number of world leaders past and present that were in Prague on Friday is further testament to his legacy. Our photo gallery is after the break. Continue reading »

Posted in Global |

Disney to Russia: happy holidays

December 23, 2011 12:25 pm by Courtney Weaver
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When Russians turned on their television sets over the 1991 holiday season, they were greeted by a blank screen and the score of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, as behind the scenes the Soviet Union unravelled.

This holiday season, 20 years later, they will be treated by something entirely different: the launch of Russia’s very own free-to-air Disney channel, a deal that seemed dead just two years ago. Continue reading »

Posted in Russia |

New York headlines

December 23, 2011 11:58 am by beyondbrics
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* US says it and Pakistan share blame for air strike

* Medvedev urges far-reaching reforms

* Climate of protest emboldens Russian TV

* Ukraine’s Tymoshenko boycotts ‘farce’ appeal trial

* Exploring for oil in Falklands threatens to open old wounds Continue reading »

Posted in Global |

Sri Lankan tourism takes to gambling

December 23, 2011 11:33 am by Kanupriya Kapoor
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You’ve done the elephant safari. You’ve been on the snorkelling trip. Now what you want is a few hours at a blackjack table. Or so believes the Sri Lankan government as it looks to boost tourism by throwing open its arms to foreign investment in its gambling sector. Continue reading »

Tags: , , Posted in Asia, Sri Lanka |

Further reading: reach for the sky

December 23, 2011 11:14 am by beyondbrics
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Friday’s feast from the beyondbrics team: who is building the tallest skyscrapers, who is the latest Indian businessman to be called to account, and who is the honoured traitor that divides Chinese opinion? Continue reading »

Posted in Global |

Russia: a touch on the tiller

December 23, 2011 10:26 am by Stefan Wagstyl
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Russia on Friday took a step towards easing monetary policy in response to concerns about slowing economic growth.

But it maintainted its inflation-fighting credentials by acting in the most cautious possible way – cutting the refinancing rate, raising the deposit rate and leaving unchanged the key repo rate. Continue reading »

Tags: Posted in Russia |

Chart of the week: growing taller

December 23, 2011 9:57 am by Rob Minto
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There are many ways for emerging economies to announce themselves on the world stage. Hosting a big sporting event is one (the Beijing Olympics leap to mind). Another is to build a very tall building – hopefully, for a while, the tallest in the world.

And when it comes to big buildings, China leads the way – in an understated fashion. Continue reading »

Tags: , Posted in China, Global |

London headlines

December 23, 2011 5:54 am by beyondbrics
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* US says it and Pakistan share blame for air strike

* Medvedev urges far-reaching reforms

* Monitors arrive in Syria to assess violence

* UK to try ‘SWF model’ in aid payments to India Continue reading »

Posted in Global |

Global equities macromap

Number of the day

240p The new offer for Cove Energy shares from PTT, trumping the bid from Shell.

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