February 2012

AFTER THE TURMOIL: WHAT COMES NEXT?   By Jonathan Gregson, Justin Keay and Vanessa Drucker   How the European Union will look in 2020 is unclear. Whether it will see tighter union, a tiered eurozone, or will cease to exist ...

ANNUAL SURVEY AND AWARDS: LIQUIDITY AND REGULATIONS SQUEEZE TRADE FINANCE   By Gordon Platt   The global economy is threatened by a shortage of financing for international trade, as banks reassess their business models.   The availability and cost of ...

By Gordon Platt   BEST TRADE FINANCE BANKS 2012: REGIONAL WINNERS   AMERICAS Citi Citi's trade finance business set records across the board in 2011, as all of the pieces seemed to fall in place for the bank. "We were ...

'RUSSIAN GOOGLE' BUYS SOFTWARE FIRM TO BOOST MOBILE OFFERINGS   By Gordon Platt   Yandex, the leading Internet search engine in Russia, with a 63% market share, purchased SPB Software last November to increase its mobile services.   Yandex has ...

EMERGING MARKETS INVESTOR: DR NEWS   By Gordon Platt   BNY Mellon set up unsponsored American depositary receipt (ADR) programs for two Thailand-based companies in December, Thai Airways International, the national carrier of Thailand, and BEC World, a television broadcasting ...

EMERGING MARKETS INVESTOR: NEWS   By Gordon Platt   The BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India and China—now contribute more than half of the world's economic growth, while the broader emerging markets provide more than 70% of current global growth.   Growth ...

NIGERIA BUILDS BIOFUEL CAPACITY AS ZIMBABWE BRACES FOR ENERGY SHORTAGE   By Antonio Guerrero   The Nigerian government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Global Biofuels, a Nigerian biofuels producer, for the construction of 15 integrated biofuels refineries at ...

STATE-OWNED BANKS TO BOOST ENDING   By Antonio Guerrero   Brazil's government is investing more than $500 million this year recapitalizing two state-controlled banks to boost lending.   The nation's Treasury will invest $269 million in the BNDES national development bank ...

NEW TARIFFS TO COST FOREIGN AUTOMAKERS   By Thomas Clouse   Amid charges that US companies sold automotive parts at prices below production costs, the Chinese government has said it will impose tariffs on imported US-made products.   Harnessing wind ...

INDIA TAKES STEPS TO CURB FALLING CURRENCY   By Aaron Chaze   The Indian government finally took steps to bolster inflows of US dollars after the rupee fell by 13% during the last three months of 2011.   Giving buying ...

UAE AND QATAR REMAIN FRONTIER MARKETS, MSCI SAYS   By Gordon Platt   Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will have to wait at least six more months before index provider MSCI will consider upgrading them to emerging markets from ...

PROTESTERS TAKE TO THE STREETS AFTER ELECTIONS   By Kim Iskyan   Political risk assumed center stage in Russia, as tens of thousands of demonstrators peacefully took to the streets in Moscow and throughout the country to protest widespread fraud ...

NO HAND AT THE HELM   By Paula Green   As part of its Salon series, Global Finance sat down on January 11 with Ian Bremmer, president and founder of political risk analysis firm Eurasia Group, to discuss increasing geopolitical ...

OPEN FOR BUSINESS   By Gordon Platt   Saudi Arabia is preparing to open its stock markets to foreign investment, and it has reinforced its financial management team in preparation for this and broader economic reforms.   Saudi Arabia, the ...

MILESTONES: HUNGARY   By Paula Green   As if a weakening currency, surging public debt and three downgrades to junk bond status since November weren't enough to dissuade investors from sinking money into Hungary, they now have to deal with ...

MILESTONES: UNITED STATES   By Gordon Platt   The Federal Reserve has found a new way to communicate its intentions to the markets. It will publish forecasts for the federal funds rate, the key short-term interest rate under its direct ...

MILESTONES: NIGERIA   By Michael Shari   The government of Nigeria took a calculated political risk when it removed gasoline subsidies on January 1.   Paying at the pump: Nigeria ends gasoline subsidies The sudden move more than doubled local ...

MILESTONES: RUSSIA   By Kim Iskyan   While attention in December was mostly focused on the evolving political environment in Russia, a major economic milestone was achieved on December 16, when the World Trade Organization formally accepted the country as ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: CORPORATE DEBT   By Gordon Platt   Ford Motor Credit, the finance arm of the second-largest US automaker, and General Electric, the world's biggest maker of diesel locomotives and jet engines, were first out of the gate ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: GLOBAL EQUITY/DRS   By Gordon Platt   Depositary receipt investors pushed trading to a record high last year, demonstrating the continued popularity of DRs, despite challenging market conditions.   While the amount of capital raised by corporate ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: FOREIGN EXCHANGE By Gordon Platt The Japanese yen will hold its own as a safe-haven currency in 2012, while the dollar will be less ugly than the euro, analysts forecast. Based on relative economic growth and expected ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS   By Gordon Platt   China Three Gorges, a state-owned company that operates the world's largest hydropower project, bought a 21% stake in EDP, Portugal's largest company and utility.   The Chinese company also ...

NEWSMAKERS: SWITZERLAND   By Valentina Pasquali   In the midst of Europe's sovereign debt crisis, a scandal hit the beleaguered continent's financial system in January.   Hildebrand forced out of Swiss Central Bank role The head of Switzerland's central bank, ...

NEWSMAKERS: MOROCCO   By Michael Shari   Minister until recently in the reigning government's cabinet in Morocco, Salaheddine Mezouar is now the official leader of the opposition party in the country's parliament.   Making his vote count: As opposition leader, ...

NEWSMAKERS: ITALY   By Paula Green   Ready or not, as minister of economic development, infrastructure and transport for the newly-formed government of prime minister Mario Monti, Italian banker-turned-bureaucrat Corrado Passera will be honing his political skills this year.   ...

NEWSMAKERS: BRAZIL   By Antonio Guerrero   Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, a former technocrat and Marxist activist, completed her first year in office on January 1 with a 72% approval rating.   Rousseff: A pragmatist with no tolerance for corruption ...