Mexico economy: still chugging along
More solid news for Mexico – industrial output outstripped expectations in December thanks to the robust performance of manufacturing.
The figures, published Monday by Mexico’s national statistics institute, showed a 0.9 per cent jump in industrial output compared with November, more than doubling the 0.4 per cent on average that analysts had predicted. Continue reading »
TAM: soaring prices, diving profits
Anyone who sometimes has to fly at short notice between São Paulo and other destinations in Brazil, particularly Rio de Janeiro, will find the 2011 financial results from Tam, the country’s biggest airline, particularly perplexing.
In spite of charging the sort of prices that make your eyes pop and force you to brave the six to eight-hour road trip on Dutra – the highway between São Paulo and Rio known for its accidents, Tam somehow made a loss for the year. Continue reading »
Mr Chávez, meet the opposition
So Hugo Chávez’s challenger in October’s presidential elections has finally been decided, with Henrique Capriles Radonski (pictured) convincingly seeing off his opponents in primary elections on Sunday.
That may not have come as much of a surprise – even if markets reacted positively to the higher-than-expected turnout – but does Capriles have any chance against the formidable Chávez himself? Continue reading »
Romanian banks: turning a corner?
By Andrew MacDowall of Business New Europe
Romania’s new government has a substantial in-tray to deal with, not least breathing more life into the sluggish economy. And the politicians know much will depend on whether the banking sector, where business has stabilised recently, agrees to play ball. Continue reading »
Hungary: crunch time with the EU/IMF
Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s prime minister, held out what looked like an olive branch to the European Union and International Monetary Fund on Monday, saying his government should give ground to secure a funding agreement. But the path of peace and light may not be so well mapped out. Continue reading »
Warsaw talks tough on IPOs
The Warsaw Stock Exchange has long been one of the most aggressive IPO hunters among European bourses. But the rush of companies eager to list is creating quality problems that has the exchange’s chief executive vowing a clampdown this year.
In 2011, the WSE was the European leader for IPOs, pulling in 47 per cent of Europe’s new listings in the year, according to the IPO Watch Europe report prepared by PwC, the consultancy. Continue reading »
India: basmati for Iraq
India needn’t be all that anxious about Iran’s default on payments for rice imports, as neighbouring Iraq is set to boost its own imports of premium quality aromatic rice from the world’s third-largest exporter of the grain.
With the value of rice exports to the once war-torn country tripling to $28m in the past three years, Indian industry members told beyondbrics they were very optimistic about Iraq’s potential as an export destination, in spite of the often precarious security situation there. Continue reading »
India’s great newspaper battle
When Rupert Murdoch bought the Wall Street Journal in 2008, he famously wrote a letter to New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr that ended: “Let the battle begin”. In Britain, battles between tabloids and broadsheets are well known.
But in India, perhaps because it is one of the few countries in the world where newspapers are thriving, dailies tend to keep their opinions of the competition to themselves. Not any more. Continue reading »
Vietnam’s inconvenient land dispute
Vietnam’s Communist rulers, who pay official homage to the legacy of Lenin while merrily consuming the fruits of a much-liberalised economy, have delivered peace and bread to their people.
But the third element of Lenin’s famous promise – land – remains a deeply contentious issue in a country where social inequality is increasing alongside prosperity. Continue reading »
Nigeria: investment vs inequality
While Nigeria’s government powers ahead on its path to reform, large swathes of the population are getting left behind.
On Sunday, the FT reported that electricity tariffs in Nigeria were set to increase by up to 88 per cent, with most customers seeing a 50 per cent hike in their bills. A survey released on Monday, meanwhile, finds that the proportion of Nigerians living in absolute poverty rose to 60.9 per cent in 2010 – in spite of strong growth in Africa’s most populous country. Continue reading »
New York headlines
* Syria attack resumes after Arab meeting
* Pakistan court charges Gilani with contempt
* Brazil “very likely” to choose French fighter
* China’s CIC brushes aside Merkel investment plea Continue reading »
Andy Xie: Flying blind?
For equity markets, 2012 has got off to a flying start. It is almost as if the past year has been just a bad dream. But for Andy Xie, a Shanghai-based consultant and writer, investors are flying blind.
Xie is not afraid to stick his neck out and his assessments do not always stand up to close examination. A note he distributed on Monday contains some sweeping statements. But a lot of it rings alarmingly true. Continue reading »
Further reading: growing rivalries
Monday’s picks from the beyondbrics team: China’s growing rivalry with the US in the Pacific; economists challenge Zimbabwean growth figures; China taking the battle for hearts and minds seriously; how will ideology shape the Muslim Brotherhood’s economic policy in Egypt?; and is one despotic authority simply being replaced by another? Continue reading »
China’s GDP: no easy leading indicator
Economists the world over have been parsing over China’s economic data for years to see if the government has been “adding water” – to use the Chinese phrase – to boost growth numbers. The consensus is that although the numbers of provincial governments don’t always add up, China’s economic data have been getting better. Continue reading »
London headlines
* Athens passes demanded austerity bill
* Wen says China should fine-tune policy early as Q1
* Arabs call for UN peacekeepers in Syria
* Chile’s finance ministry urges central bank to consider halting peso rally Continue reading »
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