December 2007

ANNIVERSARY TIMELINE     OCTOBER 19, 1987: STOCK MARKET CRASH The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) falls 508 points, or 22.6%, in the steepest decline since 1929. Portfolio insurance and computerized trading takes some of the blame for what ranks ...

CENTRAL BANKERS PERSPECTIVES     Central bankers deserve much of the credit for the financial world’s ability to ride out tumultuous market conditions. Global Finance asked the central bankers who were awarded “A” grades in our recent central banker report ...

A NEW DAWN     “O wonder! How many goodly creatures are there here! How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world That has such people in’t!” —William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Act V, Scene I.       From the ...

SINGLE GLOBAL CURRENCY       The success of the euro has fueled interest in a plan for global monetary union that could end currency crises and boost world trade.       For decades there has been a groundswell ...

WORLD'S BEST INTERNET BANKS     In the second of a two-part series, Global Finance identifies the best corporate/institutional and consumer Internet banks globally and in six regions.       The best banks on the Internet have long treated ...

BRAZIL     São Paulo stock exchange Bovespa Holding, which owns the São Paulo stock exchange, raised nearly $3.7 billion in an IPO that ranks as Latin America’s largest offering this year. Bovespa sold 250 million shares on October 26, ...

  DR NEWS     Grupo Clarín, Argentina’s largest media conglomerate, listed its depositary shares on the London Stock Exchange last month, making it the first company based in Argentina to have a DR listing on the exchange. The global ...

COMPANY TO WATCH: COUNTRY GARDEN HOLDINGS/CHINA         Shares of Country Garden Holdings, a leading China-based real estate group, rose 37% in their debut in April on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. More recently, the company postponed a ...

CHINA     PetroChina’s stock soared in initial trading on the Shanghai stock exchange China’s state-owned energy giant PetroChina Co. in early November surpassed ExxonMobil to become the world’s most valuable company. Shares of PetroChina rose from 16.7 yuan to ...

NEWS     The big question for dollar-denominated debt markets in emerging market countries is whether they have decoupled from their historical dependence on the US economy and financial markets, according to analysts at Bear Stearns. While the US consumer ...

INDIA       I ndia hopes to boost hydropower capacity Third-quarter earnings releases by UK telecom giant Vodafone Group and by Switzerland-based Holcim, the world’s second-largest cement maker, reflected growing contributions from India’s increasingly assertive domestic market on the ...

RUSSIA     Strife on the borders: Georgia’s president called for early elections and accused Russia of stirring up unrest. Afew weeks after Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that he would lead the ticket for the country’s dominant political party, ...

RUSSIA Russia’s greatest strength could also turn out to be its biggest weakness.   Skyscrapers go up as some of Russia’s surplus is invested in infrastructure projects Oil has been kind to Russia. In the past few years, as world ...

UK / GLOBAL     Growing awareness: Firms see risk management benefits in going green Multinational corporations are waking up to the fact that being “green” is not just for environmentalists. That was the message that came out of a ...

DUBAI     DP World’s flagship port operation in Jebel Ali, Dubai When DP World, the Dubai government-owned port giant that bought the UK’s P&O; in March 2006, lists at the end of November (still pending as this issue of ...

GLOBAL     Firms are unprepared for risks such as terrorist attacks Major companies are still struggling to come to grips with risk management, despite recent high-profile events such as the September 11 attacks, the London bombings, the threat of ...

ECUADOR       Correa: Clamping down on the oil industry After a 15-year absence, Ecuador has rejoined OPEC in a move president Rafael Correa says will allow his country to gain greater access to technical advice and market information. ...

CORPORATE FINANCING FOCUS     Prospects have improved for clearing away a huge backlog of leveraged loans and high-yield debt to finance already completed corporate takeovers, thanks to a revival of new issuance in the US high-yield bond market. Nearly ...

GLOBAL EQUITY/DRS     PetroChina, China’s largest oil and gas producer, added fuel to the fire of Shanghai’s overheated stock market last month with its initial public offering on the mainland. The company’s A-shares surged 163% in their $8.9 billion ...

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS     The year 2007 already has set an all-time record for the value of worldwide mergers and acquisitions, thanks to the growing influence of private equity funds and attractive financing opportunities earlier this year. However, deteriorating ...

FOREIGN EXCHANGE Interest rate differentials are squeezing the last bit of life out of the dollar amid ongoing concerns about the health of the US financial system, analysts say.     The dollar fell to a record low against the ...

INDIA       Children attending lessons at the Manjushree Orphanage On November 18, a team of doctors and support workers from Amrit Davaa, Global Finance’s partner charity, embarked on their mission to deliver sustainable medical care and food aid ...

UNITED KINGDOM     Miliband: The European Union should ontinue to expand to the east The United Kingdom’s foreign secretary, David Miliband, says that the European Union should gradually expand further into Eastern Europe, including Russia, as well as into ...