December 2011

  COVER STORY: THE 10% + CLUB   By Laurence Neville   Predicting what countries will be the next growth outperformers is tricky at best. Those firms that back the winners will undoubtedly profit, and the countries that make the ...

ANNUAL SURVEY AND AWARDS   By Michael Shari   Counterparty risk trumps pricing as criteria for picking derivative providers. Wall Street is retaking market share from European rivals   Never underestimate the sleight of hand with which the fast-paced derivatives ...

      CHINA’S BIG FOOTPRINT By Andrew Cunningham Global Finance presents its annual listing of the biggest banks in the emerging markets. When it comes to asset size, the dominance of Chinese banks in emerging markets is hard to ...

      ASIAN DOMINANCE By Andrew Cunningham Global Finance ’s first annual ranking of the Top 50 Safest Banks in the Emerging Markets.   The ranks of the safest banks in the emerging markets are dominated by Asia and ...

      SAFEST EMERGING MARKETS BANKS BY REGION   By Andrew Cunningham   Global Finance ’s first annual listing of the safest emerging markets banksby region. Single countries dominate in most regions.       SAFEST EMERGING MARKETS BANKS ...

EVOLUTION AND INNOVATION By Adam Rombel The awards go to both large international and local banks—showing that technology creates new opportunities and a global playing field.   In this, the second of a two-part series, Global Finance recognizes the best ...

AWARDS CEREMONY: LOCATION NEW YORK CITY   Representatives of most of the first-round winners of The World’s Best Internet Banks awards joined Global Finance on November 3 at the Harvard Club in New York City for the ninth annual Best ...

EMERGING MARKETS INVESTOR: NEWS   By Gordon Platt   Stock exchanges in the BRIC countries, plus South Africa, plan to cross-list equity index derivatives as the first phase of a joint initiative announced at the annual meeting of the World ...

EMERGING MARKETS INVESTOR: DR NEWS   By Gordon Platt   The market for new sponsored depositary receipt programs for companies in emerging markets has dried up since the equity market turmoil in August, but there has continued to be a steady ...

SOUTH AFRICA EASES RULES ON FOREIGN OWNERSHIP   By Antonio Guerrero   South Africa’s National Treasury is studying a plan to allow offshore companies traded on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), known as inward-listed companies, to be regarded as domestic ...

PETROBRAS TO SELL OFF ASSETS WORLDWIDE   By Antonio Guerrero   Brazil’s state-controlled Petrobras oil company is selling its worldwide noncore assets to support a $224 billion capital expenditure plan for 2012–15—which will fund development of the country’s pre-salt offshore ...

TRADE FRICTION WITH THE US GROWS   By Thomas Clouse   China and the United States are facing further trade friction after the US Senate passed a bill imposing tariffs on Chinese imports.   P epsiCo challenges Coca-Cola’s dominance Photo ...

SLACKENING M&A; MAY PICK UP AS MONETARY POLICY EASES   By Aaron Chaze   Corporate dealmaking in India has declined in the period of the year through October 2011.   Indian Internet penetration grows According to global consulting firm Grant ...

SUCCESSOR NAMED IN SAUDI ARABIA   By Gordon Platt   The death of crown prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia was followed with the naming of conservative prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, the interior minister, as king Abdullah’s ...

THRESHOLD RISES FOR FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN THE NATURAL RESOURCE SECTOR   By Kim Iskyan   Russia’s parliament is set to approve long-awaited amendments to legislation on foreign investment in certain strategic sectors.   Easing requirements for natural resources investment The ...

INDIAN DRUG MAKER SEEKS TO CASH IN ON GENERIC LIPITOR   By Gordon Platt   Ranbaxy Laboratories, India’s largest pharmaceuticals company, has secured a six-month exclusive right to sell a low-cost version of Lipitor, Pfizer’s popular anti-cholesterol drug, in the ...

PARADIGM SHIFT By Vanessa Drucker As part of its Salon series, Global Finance sat down on November 1 with Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman and author of Making Sense of the Dollar .   ...

BALANCING ACT By Vanessa Drucker Greece’s politicians must balance growth and austerity, but it will mean walking a tightrope with no safety net in sight.   Greece needs a fresh blueprint for economic and social survival. Eurozone debt restructuring packages ...

EVADING A HARD LANDING By Gordon Platt Turkey’s widening trade and current account deficits are making some investors nervous, but government officials are confident they can keep the fast-growing economy from overheating if they apply the proper mix of fiscal ...

MILESTONES: SINGAPORE / INDONESIA   By Gordon Platt   After portfolio managers removed tens of billions of dollars from Asian equity markets during the sell-off in early autumn, corporate valuations are now highly attractive in some industries and sectors.   Photo ...

MILESTONES: KYRGYZSTAN   By Kim Iskyan   Late October’s landslide victory of incumbent prime minister Almazbek Atambayev as the new president of Kyrgyzstan may bring a modicum of stability to the country’s tumultuous domestic political environment.   Atambayev may favor ...

MILESTONES: GLOBAL   By Anita Hawser   While the focus at the moment may be on bailing out indebted countries in the eurozone, one of the legacies of Lehman’s collapse is the need for systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs) to ...

MILESTONES: CYPRUS   By Justin Keay   These are roller coaster times for Cyprus.   Resource wealth to benefit Cypriots But there may be very good news on the horizon. US company Noble Energy is drilling offshore close to where ...

MILESTONES: CHINA   By Matt Greco   With an audience as full of Chinese citizens as of Americans, officials from the City of Shenzhen touted its appeal as a center for high-tech investment at a conference in New York City in ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: CORPORATE DEBT   By Gordon Platt   With market yields nearing 10%, investors rushed back into the high-yield corporate bond market in mid-October to take advantage of low prices and spreads to Treasury bonds of 900 basis ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: GLOBAL EQUITY/DRS   By Gordon Platt   The US market for initial public offerings sprang to life in November, following a two-month drought.   The successful $700 million offering by Groupon, which was the largest IPO by ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: FOREIGN EXCHANGE   By Gordon Platt   Risk aversion appeared to be creeping back into the markets in early November, as the initial euphoria about the eurozone’s master plan to solve the debt crisis began to fade. ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS   By Gordon Platt   Foreign buyers accounted for 76% of the total value of US oil and gas mergers and acquisitions in the third quarter of this year, with 22 deals valued at ...

NEWSMAKERS: EUROPE   By Valentina Pasquali   Greece’s interim prime minister Lucas Papademos was appointed in November, after much squabbling between the country’s two main political parties.   Papademos most qualified candidate for the job Papademos faces the daunting tasks ...

NEWSMAKERS: UNITED STATES   By Gordon Platt   Jon Corzine, the former governor of New Jersey and once a US senator, believes that a man’s word is his bond.   Fallout from MF Global raises concerns over CFTC watchfulness When ...

NEWSMAKERS: ITALY   By Anita Hawser   As yields on Italian debt crept above 7% in mid-November, all eyes were on Italy as the next house of cards that could come tumbling down in the eurozone.   Bini Smaghi out ...

NEWSMAKERS: JAPAN   By Luca Ventura   When Michael Woodford was promoted to president and then CEO of camera and medical equipment maker Olympus Corporation earlier this year, analysts and investors had high hopes for the future of the 92-year-old ...