Can quirkiness sell in China?
By Elizabeth Paton
The Chinese economy might be heading for a slowdown and Chinese consumers might be reining in spending. Yet the steady stream of foreign brands still willing to try their luck has continued unabated into 2012.
The latest in the long line is Marimekko, a quirky, off-the-wall Finnish design company which on Monday announced plans to open 15 stores across China and Hong Kong by the end of 2016. Continue reading »
Colombia makes surprise rate hike
Colombia’s central bank has once again bucked Latin America’s trend to holding or loosening monetary policy with a surprise quarter point hike.
Increasing the benchmark lending rate to 5 per cent caught most economists and analysts off guard, as both Chile and Brazil recently cut rates on concerns about the potential fallout from Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis. Continue reading »
Chile’s gas problem
Chile, Latin America’s most open economy, is confident of continued robust economic growth this year, despite the international crisis.
Alas, not all shocks come from abroad. Chile’s energy vulnerability is now forcing a large investor in the country not only to downsize, but to put in doubt the viability of its future operations in Chile. Continue reading »
Brazil: no need to send money home
Not so long ago, anyone in Brazil who wanted to make enough money to support their family was better off getting on the first flight out of there and going to work abroad.
But how things have changed. Now it seems it’s foreigners who are queuing up in Brazil to support their impoverished families back in the US and Europe. Continue reading »
That trade is a route to prosperity is not a new idea. But trade with whom? For African countries, the answer is close to home: each other.
Leaders at the African Union summit at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, have argued the case for intra-African trade as a key driver of economic growth. Fair enough. But how can Africa make it happen? Continue reading »
Sberbank Warsaw Stock Exchange
Russia’s Sberbank has expressed interest in buying a Polish bank, but has so far made little progress; now it may be considering another way to gain entry into Poland – a possible listing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
According to Poland’s Dziennik newspaper, quoting Russia’s Ria Novosti agency, German Gref, Sberbank’s CEO, says that he may be interested in listing on the WSE saying: “The Warsaw exchange is showing strong signs of progress. If we see a potential demand for our shares, it is possible that such a decision could be taken.” Continue reading »
Rio police to FT: we’re “living in crisis”
People visiting Rio de Janeiro for its fabulous Carnaval have always had to step carefully to avoid getting their pockets picked, or worse.
This year avoiding trouble will be a lot harder if police officers and fire fighters deliver on a threat to go on strike during the celebrations. In a letter to the FT – prompted by a beyondbrics report last week on the collapse of three buildings – the police union says public security in Rio de Janeiro is “living in crisis”. Continue reading »
Starbucks: a challenge for chai
Trying to find a Starbucks near Oxford Circus in London throws up half a dozen options. All Occupied Out at Zucotti Park in New York? Three choices within a block.
Starbucks is omnipresent in the west, and growing in the east (there are now more than 500 shops in China alone).
But one place where it’s been missing is tea-drinking India. That changed on Monday, when the Seattle-based company, which has been looking at the country since 2006, announced it would enter the market this year with a $80m joint venture with Tata Group – a name that’s as well known in the the subcontinent as Starbucks is in the west. Continue reading »
Putzmeister workers angry at Sany deal
Unless you have recently constructed a skyscraper or tried to cool a fizzling Japanese nuclear plant it’s fair to assume that Putzmeister, a German maker of concrete pumps, is not a familiar name.
Yet news that Putzmeister, whose pumps were used at Fukushima, is set to be acquired by China’s Sany Heavy Industry has put the Mittelstand company, based near Stuttgart, firmly on the map. Continue reading »
Mexico: ‘press for G20/G7 reform’
Mexico, led by president Felipe Calderon (pictured), should use its G20 presidency to push for a streamlined membership and a radical overhaul of the G7 at its core, an influential voice in global economics has said.
In an interview with the FT, Jim O’Neill, chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said that a new-look G7 could consist of the US, Japan, a single seat to represent eurozone countries, and the four so-called Bric nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China. Continue reading »
Guest post by Vladimir Putin: Russia needs more technology and less corruption
By Vladimir Putin
We are living through a period of serious changes in the world economy. Never before has technology advanced so quickly. What we see today would have seemed like science fiction only fifteen years ago. Continue reading »
Lithuania: not as bright as it seems
The mood turned sour again on European markets on Monday, as fresh worries about Greece rattled investors’ nerves. But that didn’t stop Lithuania getting a one-year bond auction away at a pretty impressive yield, on the day the country said its economy grew by a healthy 4.3 per cent last year.
Nevertheless, a glance behind the headline figures suggests that even where things look cheerful, investors should be cautious. Continue reading »
India: FDI up despite all odds
From legendary red tape to corruption and shoddy infrastructure, India can make it quite difficult for companies – both foreign and domestic – to do business.
But despite the government’s inability to pass the kind of meaningful reforms the battered Indian economy needs, foreign companies continue to flock to one of the world’s fastest growing large markets, eager to tap its vast, and growing, consumer class. In fact, total FDI projects in India grew 25 per cent in the first 11 months of 2011, according to a report released on Monday. Continue reading »
New York headlines
* Philippine economy grows by 3.7%
* China outlines plans to turn Shanghai into global money hub
* Russia seeks to slow UN pace on Syria action
* Western industrials feel a Chinese burn Continue reading »
Shanghai: moving up a league?
It’s an ambitious to-do list. Monday’s announcement by China’s economic planning agency of its plans to turn Shanghai into the global centre for renminbi trading, clearing and pricing by 2015 is part of a broader aim to make the city a full international financial centre by 2020.
But where does Shanghai rank now? And does it really matter which financial centre is top? Continue reading »
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