Daily Archives: Jan 14, 2013

Venezuela: got food?

Jan 14, 2013 8:58pm by Benedict Mander

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“No hay” (Spanish for “there isn’t any”) is a refrain that has become tiresomely predictable when asking shopkeepers in Venezuela if they have basic things in store – say, sugar for example – something that the Caribbean country ought to be able to produce in vast quantities. Continue reading »

Tags: food shortages, Hugo Chávez, Venezuela economy Posted in LatAm, Venezuela | Permalink

Showdown looms over Novorossyisk stake sale

Jan 14, 2013 7:14pm by Courtney Weaver

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A new year, a new group of Russian companies that are slated for privatisation.

One of the first up looks to be Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port, the country’s biggest port operator. Yet so far things haven’t exactly gone as advertised. And the plot is only getting murkier. Continue reading »

Tags: Invest AD, Neftegazindustria, Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port, Rosneft, Russia privatisation, Summa, Vladimir Kogan Posted in Europe, Russia | Permalink

Ecuador: time to hit the international bond markets?

Jan 14, 2013 6:34pm by Andres Schipani

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Ecuador is on the brink of its biggest budget deficit on record. So there is talk of the Andean country biting the bullet and tapping the international debt markets for the first time since defaulting over four years ago.

Rafael Correa, the leftwing president seeking his second re-election next month, has been driving growth thanks to tax collection and public spending as the price of oil, which is Ecuador’s main source of revenue, has been losing steam. Could it happen? Continue reading »

Tags: bonds, commodities, Ecuador debt, Ecuador economy Posted in Ecuador, LatAm | Permalink

Amplats: the bad news begins

Jan 14, 2013 4:58pm by Andrew Bowman

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The strikes which have hobbled the South African mining industry over the past year are starting to show up in company results. Here with some New Year bad news is Anglo American Platinum.

The Johannesburg-listed miner, which is the world’s largest platinum producer with 40 per cent of global supply, released a profit warning on Monday ahead of its year-end results, stating that headline earnings per share are expected to decrease to a 491-628 cents loss. Continue reading »

Tags: Anglo American Platinum, platinum, South Africa mining Posted in Africa, South Africa | Permalink

Zuma: cheerful, but lacking clarity

Jan 14, 2013 4:02pm by Andrew England

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Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s president, is known for his jovial demeanour. At African National Congress events, you can count on him to open and close his appearances by leading a boisterous round of singing, accompanied by hip-swinging dancing that belies his 70 years. When he’s delivering a speech, he’ll often break into a chuckle – even at his own expense as he can sometimes labour his way through prepared statements. Continue reading »

Tags: politics, South Africa economy, South Africa politics Posted in Africa, South Africa | Permalink

Shoprite sales figures disappoint, but Africa expansion continues

Jan 14, 2013 3:34pm by Andrew Bowman

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The South African retail group Shoprite released half year sales figures on Monday showing growth of 13.8 per cent to R46.7bn ($5.3bn) during the six months to the end of December.

For supermarket groups in places like the UK, these are figures to die for – but for Shoprite, in its fast growing African markets, they come as something of a disappointment. Shares in the retailer had dropped by almost 6 per cent per cent on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange as of 15.00 GMT. Continue reading »

Tags: consumers, Shoprite, South Africa retail Posted in Africa, South Africa | Permalink

Warsaw plans state property IPO

Jan 14, 2013 3:20pm by Jan Cienski

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Polish property prices are sagging and investor interest in the Warsaw Stock Exchange is fairly low. But that isn’t stopping the Polish Treasury Ministry from pushing ahead with its plans to sell off a majority stake in PHN, a state-owned real estate holding company.

In an intention to float statement sent to Reuters and Bloomberg on Monday, PHN said the government intends to offer as much as a quarter of its 100-per-cent stake in an initial public offering on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in the first quarter. Later this year another chunk is to be sold to a strategic investor. Continue reading »

Tags: Poland economy, Poland IPO, property Posted in Poland | Permalink

Brazilian misery

Jan 14, 2013 3:02pm by Jonathan Wheatley

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How gloomy can you get? The Brazilian central bank’s latest weekly survey of market economists suggests the sky, or rather the ground, is the limit. The survey’s consensus on GDP growth this year is now 3.2 per cent, down from 3.26 per cent a week earlier, 3.3 per cent the week before that, 3.4 before that, 3.5 before that, and so on back in time to late November, when it began falling from the 4 per cent that had been expected for several months.

But while growth is creeping down, inflation is creeping up. The two make a miserable combination. Continue reading »

Tags: Brazil credit, Brazil GDP, consumer credit, credit, fiscal policy, GDP Posted in Brazil, LatAm | Permalink

Tata follows Infosys lead

Jan 14, 2013 2:48pm by Avantika Chilkoti

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Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s leading IT services group, reported unexpectedly good profits for the quarter ended in December, confirming hopes that the good news from rival Infosys, which kicked off the earnings season on Friday, wasn’t just a one-off surprise. Even after rising 3.8 per cent on Friday on Infosys’s announcement, TCS was up a further 2.1 per cent on Monday. Continue reading »

Tags: India tech, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services Posted in Asia, India | Permalink

Forint falling? Blame Roubini!

Jan 14, 2013 2:16pm by Kester Eddy

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The Hungarian forint is under increasing pressure on Monday – shedding around 0.25 per cent against the euro to Ft 296.50 after depreciating last week. As website Index playfully put it, “[Economy Minister] Matolcsy has nailed why the forint’s been weakening” – it’s all down to foreign speculators. Or rather, one speculator in particular: Nouriel Roubini (pictured on the chart). Continue reading »

Tags: Hungary economy, Hungary politics, Hungary-IMF, Roubini Posted in Europe, Hungary | Permalink

L’Oréal, India & Aishwarya Rai

Jan 14, 2013 1:57pm by Avantika Chilkoti

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L’Oréal is bullish about the Indian economy – because it’s worth it.

India has become the sixth country in which the French cosmetics group has complete operations – including marketing manufacturing, and research facilities – joining France, the US, Japan, China and Brazil. Continue reading »

Tags: beauty, India consumer, India economy, L'Oreal, personal care products Posted in Asia, India | Permalink

Indonesia: Nike in low wages row

Jan 14, 2013 1:28pm by Ben Bland

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A 2012 protest over wages

The battle over factory pay in Indonesia is intensifying, with vocal local trade unions joining hands with a US non-governmental organisation to pressure Nike suppliers into paying minimum wages.

A yawning gap is opening up between employers, who argue that hefty minimum wage increases are destroying their profitability, and trade unions, who argue that wages must rise further and employment conditions be improved. Continue reading »

Tags: manufacturing, minimum wage, Nike, wages Posted in Asia, Indonesia | Permalink

New York headlines

Jan 14, 2013 12:06pm by beyondbrics

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* S Korea central banker urges immigration reform

* Emerging stocks rise as China equities rally most in four weeks

* Hungary blames Roubini for forint plunge to 7-month low Continue reading »

Posted in Global | Permalink

Russia: the ins and out of capital flight

Jan 14, 2013 11:39am by Stefan Wagstyl

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Worried about capital flight from Russia? Don’t be, says Renaissance Capital. Net outflows, the bane of the Russian economy for years, are dropping, and could turn into a (small) net surplus for 2013, given improving prospects for the global and Russian economy.

Fair enough. But that will still leave Russia far adrift of other emerging markets in terms of attracting foreign money. Investors will want to see radical shifts in the economic plans of the new Putin presidency before they even consider a rethink. Continue reading »

Tags: capital flows, investment, Russia economy Posted in Europe, Russia | Permalink

Further reading: keep the faith

Jan 14, 2013 10:20am by beyondbrics

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Monday’s picks from the beyondbrics team: why Gramercy, a hedge fund embroiled in the Argentinian debt restructuring litigation battle, is keeping the faith with EMs; David Cameron must seize the opportunity to strengthen Britain’s ties with India; the implications of the Southern Weekend protests for China’s rulers; Baidu teams up with France Telecom in Africa; plus, getting around the murky official air quality data in China. Continue reading »

Posted in Global | Permalink

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Daily Archives: Jan 14, 2013

Venezuela: got food?

Showdown looms over Novorossyisk stake sale

Ecuador: time to hit the international bond markets?

Amplats: the bad news begins

Zuma: cheerful, but lacking clarity

Shoprite sales figures disappoint, but Africa expansion continues

Warsaw plans state property IPO

Brazilian misery

Tata follows Infosys lead

Forint falling? Blame Roubini!

L’Oréal, India & Aishwarya Rai

Indonesia: Nike in low wages row

New York headlines

Russia: the ins and out of capital flight

Further reading: keep the faith

BB: time to register

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