Tiziana Barghini

Neil Shearing, chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics, visited Global Finance on September 10, just as Standard & Poor’s cut Brazil’s public debt to junk level. We asked him about the outlook for that country and other emerging markets.

Commodities | Oil prices have only slightly recovered from a new record low set at the end of August. But they are still 60% below their peak of 2014, which is putting pressure on US oil companies, with many pundits predicting a rapid overhaul of the industry.

Regional Report | As relations between Cuba and the United States get friendlier, the economic outlook of the island is also improving.

Global Salon
At this point, it’s pretty much assumed that hackers are going to break into corporate computer networks. Global Finance talked with Michael Morris, chief Technology Officer of root9B, which offers cybersecurity services to corporate and government entities, about the war on digital attackers—and how businesses can retake some ground.

Major rating agencies are chasing each other in downgrading Brazil, as the country struggles with recession, a spiraling devaluation of the real and a damaging political crisis.

BBVA’s President and COO Carlo Torres Villa on the explosive growth of online banking and mobile banking.  

As analytics aimed at helping companies make use of all their data proliferate, companies worldwide are embracing these new technologies and finding ever-more-innovative ways to use them. Those that fail to do so risk being left on the sidelines.

Global Finance talked with Peter Blair Henry, dean of New York University’s Stern School of Business, about the urgency of bold reform and global trade to help developing nations.

Newsmakers | Mexico
In June, Jaime Rodríguez Calderón became the first independent candidate to be elected a state governor in Mexico, winning office in Nuevo León.

Cover Story | Supplement
As data sharing becomes more common, individual privacy seems to be more luxury than norm. But corporations working with big-data analytics must pay attention to how many personal details they gather about their customers, lest they cross the invisible line of what is acceptable and what is not—and anger their client base.

Trends | FX Commodities Q&A
Petr Grishin, head of macro research and chief economist for Eastern Europe at VTB Capital, discussed the ruble, oil prices and Russian trade with Global Finance.

Big Data | Chief financial officers have been modeling profit and loss statements for years, but in an era of big data they face a different and increasingly complex task.

Global Finance had a chance to interview Sim Tshabalala in April. The joint chief executive of Standard Bank Group answered questions about Africa’s growth and the substantial demand for banking services on the continent.

Global Finance sat down with Luiz Carlos Angelotti, MD and head of investor relations at Brazil’s Banco Bradesco, to discuss the bank’s bullish approach to investing despite the country’s economic downturn.

Management | Hedging
The dramatic slide in oil prices over the past year or so has once again underscored the value—and perils—of hedging. Some companies and governments bet on a fall in the cost of crude and thereby obviated large losses. Others did not make out so well.

Special Report | The Caribbean
The Caribbean’s economies are expected to improve this year on the back of growth in tourism, but the economic climate remains frail with the drop in oil prices proving a mixed bag for countries in the region.

The annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Lima, Peru, in October, will provide world leaders with the right stage to discuss poverty and inequality and suggest ways for Latin American economies to foster growth less dependent on commodities, according to former president of Peru, Alejandro Toledo.

Global Finance talked money laundering, Cuba and banking regulation with David Schwartz, president and CEO of the Florida International Bankers Association, a nonprofit representing financial institutions in the US, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.

Global Finance sat down with José Francisco de Lima Gonçalves, a professor of economics at São Paulo University and chief economist at Banco Fator, to discuss his views on Brazil in 2015.

Banking | Europe
In its first round of QE, the ECB said that the bonds of only seven European financial institutions were eligible—until further revision, which won’t happen until at least April 15.

Management | Corporate Reporting
For Petróleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras, as the giant Brazilian oil company is called, the time to present audited 2014 results, including the write-downs associated with the highly publicized historical corruption scandal, is running out.

Cover Story
As banks find their margins squeezed on traditional lending and payments activities, nonbank credit and financing—supported by technological innovation—is growing exponentially.
 

Regional Report | Latin America
Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru are handling the drop in commodities prices better than the rest of Latin America.

Newsmakers | Brazil
Aldemir Bendine became one of Brazil’s poster boys for success while at the helm of Banco do Brasil, but his new role as chief executive of the country’s oil giant, Petrobras, is causing him headaches.

Trends | Global Banking
On the surface at least, Spain’s Banco Santander and Cloud storage providers do not appear to have much in common.

Milestones | Venezuela
Venezuela’s introduction of a marginal free-floating currency system that will freely trade the US dollar and the bolivar seems unlikely to enlarge the country’s foreign exchange reserves or stem its growing external debt.

In a presentation in New York on February 18—his first official visit to the US since his appointment—Brazil’s Finance minister Joaquim Levy said that Brazilians are learning by doing.

Management | Shareholder Activism
A battle is heating up ahead of the DuPont’s annual shareholders meeting, planned for April.

Trends | Bank Capitalization
As Spaniards returned from the Los Reyes Magos (Epiphany) holiday, Spain’s Santander, Europe’s biggest bank, sold the equivalent of nearly 10% of its capital in one day, raising €7.5 billion ($8.7 billion) in cash and bringing required ratios in line with those of the banking industry.
 

Sukuk Outlook 2015
Hit by the double curse of falling oil p­­rices and rising interest rates, global issuance of sukuk— shariah-compliant Islamic bonds—slowed sharply in the final quarter of 2014.

Cover Story
The drastic drop in oil prices will clearly have an impact on both individual companies and on overall growth in some countries. But is the shift net positive or negative, cyclical or systemic? The ultimate outcome is yet to be seen.

Brazil | Newsmakers
Joaquim Levy, Brazil’s newly appointed minister of Finance, will need to muster all his skills to navigate the rough waters of Brazilian domestic politics and restore the public budget surplus that made the country a darling of Wall Street investors.

A big question mark is pending on how long the US shale production will remain profitable with declining oil prices.

Global Finance sat down with Tom Speechley, a partner in emerging markets private equity investment firm Abraaj Group and CEO of Abraaj North America, to discuss key markets for investment, future EM stars and the lure of cities as investment destinations.

Vatican | Newsmakers
René Brülhart, known as the “James Bond of the financial world” for his high-profile role in cases such as the return of assets from Saddam Hussein to post-war Iraq and the uncovering of the Siemens bribery scandal, has become chairman of the Vatican’s anti-money-laundering unit.

 

View From The Top
Global Finance speaks to leading executives at the World’s Safest Banks.

Milestones | Colombia
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a relatively small club of 34 countries. It seeks long-term social and economic development through data collection, analysis and discussions.

A Sovereign Wealth Fund is a state-owned investment fund comprising financial assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate or other instruments and funded by foreign exchange assets.

EXCLUSIVE
As China’s top political leaders gathered this week in Beijing for their annual conclave amid expectations for a new reform push, a joint study by two U.S. think tanks said that the world’s second-largest economy is undergoing a massive overhaul of its obsolete growth model.

This month the European Central Bank will start to buy euro-denominated asset-backed securities (ABS) and covered bonds in an effort to revive a market that has been sharply impaired since the financial crisis.

Global Finance sat down with Russell Golden, chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, to discuss the current activities of the FASB—including its recently issued standard on revenue recognition, a joint effort with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).

MILESTONES | LATIN AMERICA
In Latin America, the outlook for private equity and venture capital remains bright. Despite a 10% fall in investments during the first half of 2014, local and global players increased the amount of funds raised.

Global Finance sat down with Brian Loughman, Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services (FIDS) Leader, EY Americas (formerly Ernst & Young), to discuss how greater regulation and increased efforts by countries to fight fraud are leading to greater demand for services by corporations around the world.

THE BRICS
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa now have something more in common than rapidly developing economies that have recently stalled. In July they gave life to the New Development Bank (NDB), the first multilateral institution controlled by developing countries.

Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) said in July that, Inshallah, it will open its $560 billion stock market to foreign financial institutions in the first half of next year.

GCC REGIONAL SUPERSECTION 2014 | INNOVATION
Attempts to drive innovation in the Gulf are still at an early stage. But as countries increase R&D spending, the results could have a huge impact on non-oil growth.

COLOMBIA
Juan Manuel Santos’ second term as president of Colombia might prove a bit harder than his first—and not only because he won this election with a lower majority.

We sat down with Fergus McCormick, head of sovereign ratings at DBRS, to discuss the rating agency’s outlook for global markets, sovereign ratings and how the firm differs from its competitors.
 

SPECIAL REPORT: LATIN AMERICAN INVESTMENT BANKING
Small, but quite competitive, Latin America’s investment banking markets are upbeat this year, driven mainly by infrastructure growth.

NEWSMAKERS: PANAMA
Conservative Varela surprises with progressive social agenda.