Daily Archives: February 1, 2012

Brazil’s Vale: no more “no comment”?

February 1, 2012 11:16 pm by Samantha Pearson

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Anyone who is familiar with the Brazilian mining giant, Vale, will also be familiar with their favourite two words: “no comment”.

This week looked like it would be no different. On Tuesday, China’s trade ministry banned Vale’s huge ‘Valemax’ iron ore carriers and other giant ships from its ports.

It is the most drastic step yet in the fight between China’s shipbuilders and Vale, and comes as a huge blow to the Brazilian company’s plan to control freight costs.

And Vale’s reaction on Tuesday? You guessed it… Continue reading »

Tags: mining, Vale Posted in Brazil, LatAm | Permalink

Argentina: the heat turns to YPF

February 1, 2012 7:11 pm by Jude Webber

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YPF, Argentina’s former oil monopoly, seems rather to have fallen out of favour lately with the government.

First it was accused last month of colluding to keep diesel prices to transport firms artificially high – charges it hotly denies. Then a pro-government newspaper revived an idea, believed to be dearly held by some in the government, of renationalising the company. The fallout from that sent its shares crashing. Continue reading »

Tags: oil & gas, Shell, YPF Posted in Argentina, LatAm | Permalink

Malev to buyers: anybody there?

February 1, 2012 6:24 pm by Kester Eddy

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There is precious little good news out of Budapest these days and the latest traumas of Malev Hungarian Airlines do nothing to change that.

Malev, the Hungarian flag carrier with a fleet of 22 aircraft, is in bankruptcy protection and desperately drawing up a restructuring plan in the hope of attracting an investor, Janos Berenyi, the airline’s chairman, told the press on Tuesday. Continue reading »

Tags: aviation, privatisation Posted in Europe, Hungary | Permalink

Scania: stuttering in EMs

February 1, 2012 4:44 pm by Keyur Patel

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The heavy trucks sector is often seen as a barometer of global demand for capital goods – and after Sweden-based Scania became the first truckmaker to publish fourth-quarter results, the omens are not looking good. Continue reading »

Tags: vehicles Posted in Global, Middle East | Permalink

Polish gas: buy high, sell low

February 1, 2012 2:54 pm by Jan Cienski

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Siberian temperatures that have gripped Poland over the last week has sent natural gas usage soaring as consumers and businesses crank up heating system to keep warm – but the spike in consumption is not causing much joy at the country’s main gas provider.

That’s because PGNiG, the government controlled gas delivery monopoly, is paying higher prices for the gas it imports from Russia than it is able to charge its customers – pending a request with regulators to increase gas rates. Continue reading »

Tags: oil & gas Posted in Europe, Poland | Permalink

Russia: Wagon Wheels’ British flavour

February 1, 2012 2:24 pm by Courtney Weaver

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Wagon Wheels, the Great (big) British biscuits, are to roll back into Russia after an earlier attempt crashed during the country’s 1998 sovereign default.

Burton’s Foods, which makes them, will be selling Wagon Wheels the way it did in the 1990s, marketing them on the “British-ness” of their taste, look and packaging. But would the company actually do better to make the flavour a bit more Russian? Continue reading »

Tags: food & drink, retail Posted in Russia | Permalink

SBI: rights issue round the corner?

February 1, 2012 1:34 pm by Neil Munshi

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Photo: Bloomberg

Last month, beyondbrics wondered when $1bn wasn’t quite enough. The answer was simple: when you’re the State Bank of India.

Way back then, India’s biggest lender – with a balance sheet of $250bn – was under the impression that it would receive a capital infusion of around $1bn from the state. This week, the bank said the figure had been raised to $1.6bn, in an operation by which the government would buy shares through a preferential allotment. Continue reading »

Tags: banking, debt, State Bank of India Posted in Asia, India | Permalink

CEE: market cheers PMI

February 1, 2012 12:20 pm by Stefan Wagstyl

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Emerging market investors have welcomed Wednesday’s round of PMI numbers, not least in central and eastern Europe, where fears of contagion from the eurozone crisis have been undermining confidence.

At noon London time, the MSCI eastern Europe index was up 1.5 per cent, compared with a rise in the global MSCI EM index of just 0.4 per cent. CEE equities were buoyed by strong PMI numbers for Poland and relief that the figures for other economies, including trouble-hit Hungary, came out better than expected. Continue reading »

Tags: CEE, equities, eurozone, PMI Posted in Europe | Permalink

New York headlines

February 1, 2012 11:58 am by beyondbrics

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* China and India see strong factory data

* Brazil TAM cuts fleet as air traffic growth slows

* UN urged to endorse Syria transition plan

* Gazprom Q3 net profit down on FX loss Continue reading »

Posted in Global | Permalink

Ukraine: on the brink again?

February 1, 2012 11:31 am by Roman Olearchyk

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A eurozone recession this year appears pretty certain, but its possible impact on the volatile economy of Ukraine remains very unclear. A smallish swing in the west tends to trigger much larger shifts on the Dniepr river.

Still fresh in memory is the whopping 15 per cent GDP contraction experienced during the 2009 global recession. The country remains deeply vulnerable to global shocks – not least those triggered by the eurozone – due to its dependence of on commodity exports, starting with steel. Continue reading »

Tags: economy, eurozone, IMF Posted in Europe, Ukraine | Permalink

Asian inflation: an awkward fall

February 1, 2012 9:58 am by Rob Minto

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While emerging market central banks are now mostly cutting interest rates to boost growth, they are still keeping an eye out for inflation, which is much more of a danger in EMs than the developed world.

So the drop in CPI for Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand on Wednesday was good news for any potential rate-cutters.

The question is: are the falls enough to prompt further easing? Continue reading »

Tags: inflation, interest rates Posted in Asia, Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand | Permalink

Bringing clean tech to oil-rich Tatarstan

February 1, 2012 9:00 am by Jonathan Wheatley

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A couple of years ago, Daniel Colbert was advising Wermuth Asset Management on a tender for the Russian administrative district of Perm to set up a €50m nanotechnology fund. WAM was shortlisted but didn’t win. But it did spot another opening, for a clean technology fund, which it took to the Russian republic of Tatarstan. Things progressed and the fund was launched this week with an initial €110m and a target of €200m.

It’s an example of how complementing interests and circumstances can come together to get a project off the ground. Now it just has to prove it can deliver. Continue reading »

Tags: asset management, FDI, private equity, technology Posted in Europe, Global, Russia | Permalink

Asian manufacturing: good news and bad

February 1, 2012 8:39 am by Stefan Wagstyl

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China and India presented investors with a pleasant surprise on Wednesday – with purchasing managers’ indices showing strongish growth in orders.

But South Korea spoilt the mood with a shock – a 6.6 per cent year-on-year plunge in exports, compared to a decline of under 1 per cent forecast by most economists. The markets took it in their stride, with the MSCI Asia-ex-Japan index trading just 0.5 per cent lower. The impact of the eurozone crisis on Asia is becoming starker by the day: but what is less clear is Asia’s capacity to withstand the pressure and boost domestic demand. Continue reading »

Tags: economic growth, eurozone, exports Posted in Asia | Permalink

India PMI: a promising sign

February 1, 2012 8:11 am by Neil Munshi

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For the second month in a row, Indian manufacturing picked up strongly on the back of new orders and output growth.

According to PMI figures released by HSBC and Markit on Wednesday, India rose in January to 57.5, up from 54.2 in December and 51.0 in November, well above the 50 benchmark that separates growth from contraction. It’s the biggest monthly rise since April 2009 – but don’t start celebrating quite yet. Continue reading »

Tags: manufacturing output, monetary policy, PMI Posted in Asia, India | Permalink

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beyondbrics

Daily Archives: February 1, 2012

Brazil’s Vale: no more “no comment”?

Argentina: the heat turns to YPF

Malev to buyers: anybody there?

Scania: stuttering in EMs

Polish gas: buy high, sell low

Russia: Wagon Wheels’ British flavour

SBI: rights issue round the corner?

CEE: market cheers PMI

New York headlines

Ukraine: on the brink again?

Asian inflation: an awkward fall

Further reading: former glories

Bringing clean tech to oil-rich Tatarstan

Asian manufacturing: good news and bad

India PMI: a promising sign

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