Tag: foreign exchange

Argentina’s money-spinning investment: luxury motors

May 8, 2013 6:30pm by Ian Mount

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Argentina’s President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner may have promised that she wouldn’t devalue the peso, and announced a series of measures to bring dollars back into the system.

But the black market isn’t listening. A day after breaking the 10 pesos barrier, the so-called “blue” dollar continued its upward march, hitting a new record high of 10.50 pesos on Wednesday.

While this may agitate the Fernández de Kirchner government, it doesn’t make everyone unhappy. Imported luxury car dealers, for example. Continue reading »

Tags: Argentina auto, foreign exchange, luxury cars Posted in Argentina, LatAm | Permalink

[video] Matolcsy’s mortgage problem

Apr 25, 2013 8:37am by beyondbrics

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Foreign currency debt – that’s the problem facing György Matolcsy, Hungary’s central banker, known for his unorthodox policies. More than half the household and company debt in Hungary is not in forints. Peter Attard Montalto, emerging markets economist at Nomura, discusses with deputy emerging markets editor Jonathan Wheatley how Hungary is tackling this and the resilience of foreign investors despite such risks.

Tags: debt, foreign exchange, household debt, monetary policy, video Posted in Europe, Hungary | Permalink

Venezuela cracks down on FX brokerages

Apr 5, 2013 11:56pm by Benedict Mander

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Hugo Chavez always had a rather schizophrenic relationship with bankers. During his “Bolivarian revolution” he allowed many to make outrageous fortunes, while others ended up behind bars.

Under his successor Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela’s acting president, not much has changed yet, with the latest fright taking place on Thursday when a broker that housed the local operations of US-based Oppenheimer & Co was raided by intelligence agents. Continue reading »

Tags: foreign exchange Posted in LatAm, Venezuela | Permalink

Venezuela FX: more transparency please

Mar 27, 2013 8:30pm by Benedict Mander

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Those unfamiliar with Venezuela normally do a double take when they learn about the country’s rather unusual multi-tiered exchange rate system.

But the growing mystery surrounding it is making everything even more confusing than usual. Continue reading »

Tags: bolivar/dollar, foreign exchange, sicad, Venezuela foreign exchange Posted in LatAm, Venezuela | Permalink

Argentina’s trade and forex: Uruguay tells it like it is

Mar 25, 2013 5:22pm by Jude Webber

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Don’t export to Argentina; trade relations are at their worst ever.

That, anyway, appears to be the stark view of Uruguay’s vice president and economy minister. Continue reading »

Tags: foreign exchange, trade Posted in Argentina, LatAm, Uruguay | Permalink

Argentina: “blue dollar” hits new high

Mar 20, 2013 10:05pm by Jude Webber

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Watching Argentina’s unofficial exchange rate is suddenly like being at an auction: on Wednesday it has risen breathlessly, hitting 8.75 pesos per dollar. Yesterday it was 8.27 pesos, Monday it was 8.08. And breaching the 8-peso barrier was a milestone in itself. What’s going on? Continue reading »

Tags: Argentina peso, Argentina-dollar, blue dollar, capital controls, foreign exchange Posted in Argentina, LatAm | Permalink

Venezuela’s new FX: good for bonds

Mar 20, 2013 9:58pm by Benedict Mander

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Once again, the unusual economic management of Venezuela’s socialist government seems to end up benefiting the “evil capitalists” on Wall Street more than ordinary Venezuelans themselves.

Although the introduction of a new foreign exchange mechanism next week doesn’t look like its going to go very far in solving the various problems facing Venezuela’s economy – not least shortages of foreign currency, and therefore of imported goods – it is good news for bondholders. Continue reading »

Tags: bolivar/dollar, foreign exchange, Venezuela bonds, Venezuela foreign exchange Posted in LatAm, Venezuela | Permalink

Venezuela: new FX system, same old problems

Mar 19, 2013 11:52pm by Benedict Mander

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Somewhat distracted lately with the death of Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s government is finally getting around to replacing a system it scrapped well over a month ago that allowed importers to access foreign currency.

With shortages of basic goods worsening by the day as a result and fresh elections just around the corner on April 14, it was clearly prudent to devote some attention to the issue. Continue reading »

Tags: bolivar/dollar, capital controls, foreign exchange, Venezuela currency, Venezuela foreign exchange Posted in LatAm, Venezuela | Permalink

Chart of the Week: the Hungarian forint’s long fall from grace

Mar 13, 2013 5:19pm by Stefan Wagstyl

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It’s easy to see the Hungarian forint’s recent bout of weakness as a reaction to the latest round of controversial policy moves by the maverick prime minister Viktor Orbán.

And so it is. But, as chart of the week shows, the HUF has been a laggard among east European currencies since before Hungary and other east European states joined the European Union in 2004. This is long-term underperformance, with long-term causes. Continue reading »

Tags: Chart of the week, FBfeed, foreign exchange, Hungary economy Posted in Czech Republic, Europe, Hungary, Poland | Permalink

Hungary: the faltering forint

Mar 12, 2013 12:48pm by Stefan Wagstyl

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The Hungarian forint plunged on Tuesday to its lowest level against the euro since last June, losing over 1 per cent to 305 forint as investors took fright at the latest round of controversial policy moves from prime minister Viktor Orbán.

They don’t like the row between Budapest and the European Union over the constitution; nor György Matolcsy, the new central bank governor; nor plans to convert small companies’ fx loans into forint, using the central bank’s reserves. Expect further pressure on the currency. Continue reading »

Tags: banks, foreign exchange, Hungary economy Posted in Europe, Hungary | Permalink

Micex IPO is an FX plan

Feb 5, 2013 6:30pm by beyondbrics

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By Ben Aris of bne

The management of Russia’s MICEX exchange arrived in London on Tuesday on a roadshow ahead of its IPO on Feburary 15. What they are selling is not just a stock exchange but a diversified business that is in many ways unique.

Widely seen as Russia’s leading stock exchange, MICEX is actually a unusually diversified business for an exchange, which means it has managed to earn steadily increasing profits that have been largely unaffected by the 2008 crisis, let alone the notorious volatility that plagues portfolio investors into Russian stocks. Continue reading »

Tags: foreign exchange, Micex, stock market Posted in Europe, Russia | Permalink

Argentina’s “blue” dollar blues

Jan 17, 2013 9:30pm by Ian Mount

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Argentines continue sprinting away from their peso as if it were slathered with avian flu virus. After hitting a record high yesterday, the black market (or “blue”) dollar in Argentina hit another high on Thursday, of 7.54 pesos to the dollar, the local daily La Nación reported. Continue reading »

Tags: Argentina peso, Argentina-dollar, blue dollar, capital controls, foreign exchange, parallel exchange rates Posted in Argentina, LatAm | Permalink

Argentina: black market dollar hits new high

Jan 17, 2013 12:04am by Pan Kwan Yuk

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Here’s a timely reminder that Argentina’s problems go far beyond its legal wrangling with its “holdout” creditors.

Wednesday saw another day of intense trading in the unofficial dollar market as Argentines fled from the peso to the US dollar. The black market, or “blue” rate, hit a record high of 7.52 pesos per dollar. That is 52 per cent more than the government’s official rate of around 4.96 pesos per dollar. Continue reading »

Tags: Argentina peso, Argentina-dollar, blue dollar, foreign exchange, parallel exchange rates Posted in Argentina, LatAm | Permalink

S Africa FX: proceeding with caution

Dec 21, 2012 1:41pm by Irene Madongo

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Men point at exchange rates posted on a board at the Regional Bourse (stock exchange) for French West Africa (BVRM) where members of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) are represented, 2008 in Abidjan. Although South Africa boasts some of the more sophisticated financial systems in Africa, there is still some scepticism around foreign exchange trading.

So can events like the SA Forex Expo 2012, held in Cape Town, change investors’ minds? Although market experts see the potential, the expo’s organiser admit that it needs to work on wooing cautious local traders to participate. Continue reading »

Tags: foreign exchange, South Africa markets Posted in Africa, South Africa | Permalink

Kiev to citizens: cough up your cash

Nov 20, 2012 9:54am by Roman Olearchyk

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Any dollars under there?

With Ukraine’s currency plunging to a three-year low of 8.27 hryvnia to the dollar, and central bank reserves dwindling, the administration of President Viktor Yanukovich has turned to hardball tactics to preserve stability.

A series of new currency market rules adopted early this week aim to force impoverished citizens and oligarch-owned exporters into coughing up their hard currency cash. Continue reading »

Tags: currency controls, foreign exchange, Ukraine economy, Yanukovich Posted in Europe, Ukraine | Permalink

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Tag: foreign exchange

Argentina’s money-spinning investment: luxury motors

[video] Matolcsy’s mortgage problem

Venezuela cracks down on FX brokerages

Venezuela FX: more transparency please

Argentina’s trade and forex: Uruguay tells it like it is

Argentina: “blue dollar” hits new high

Venezuela’s new FX: good for bonds

Venezuela: new FX system, same old problems

Chart of the Week: the Hungarian forint’s long fall from grace

Hungary: the faltering forint

Micex IPO is an FX plan

Argentina’s “blue” dollar blues

Argentina: black market dollar hits new high

S Africa FX: proceeding with caution

Kiev to citizens: cough up your cash

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