January 2013

THE HUNT FOR INTERNAL GROWTH   By Laurence Neville   China is in the midst of an economic makeover to increase domestic consumption and reduce reliance on external markets for growth. But how far are policymakers willing to go, and ...

By Gordon Platt BEST ONLINE FOREIGN EXCHANGE TRADING SYSTEMS BANK SYSTEM Deutsche Bank’s Autobahn Deutsche Bank introduced a new version of its Autobahn trading system in July 2012 that allows customers to keep track of all of their trades in ...

By Gordon Platt BEST FOREIGN EXCHANGE PROVIDERS: GLOBAL WINNER Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank increased its market-leading FX volume in 2012, at the same time that it reduced value-at-risk and headcount. Crucial to this development has been its investment in technology, ...

By Gordon Platt BEST FOREIGN EXCHANGE PROVIDERS: REGIONAL WINNER NORTH AMERICA Citi Citi’s foreign exchange operations, CitiFX, had a very good year in 2012, which marked the bank’s 200th anniversary. Its FX volume continued to expand rapidly, and it gained ...

By Gordon Platt Best Foreign Exchange Research & Analysis RESEARCH BNY Mellon BNY Mellon, one of the largest foreign exchange dealers in the US, trades more than $42 billion in the FX market on an average day. The bank’s 10 ...

THE BIG GET BIGGER   By Gordon Platt   The biggest FX banks are increasing their share of a shrinking market, amid low volatility and despite a speed bump for high-frequency traders.   As global interest rates converge at a ...

LOCATION: BEIJING, CHINA   Global Finance held its annual Stars of China awards ceremony in Beijing in November. Corporate and financial leaders from across the country were present to accept their awards and honor other recipients.   1 Joseph Giarraputo, ...

G HANA INVESTS IN RENEWABLES   By Antonio Guerrero   UK-based Blue Energy will invest $400 million to build Africa’s largest solar photovoltaic power plant in Ghana.   The Nzema project will produce 155 megawatts, increasing the country’s generating capacity ...

BP TO EXPAND ETHANOL PRODUCTION   By Antonio Guerrero   Aiming to accelerate industrial growth, the Brazilian government extended its PSI investment program through 2013, providing $48 billion in financing to support subsidized loans for industrial producers to invest in ...

SEC PROBE CASTS SHADOW ON CHINESE FIRMS’ US LISTINGS   By Thomas Clouse   The US Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against the Chinese branches of five international accounting firms in December for failing to provide information related to ...

FDI Reforms Get Parliamentary Approval   By Aaron Chaze   Both the lower and upper houses of India’s parliament voted during the first week of December to allow foreign direct investment in India’s domestic retail sector—a major win for prime ...

NEW SAUDI MORTGAGE LAW COULD SPUR HOUSING BOOM   By Gordon Platt   The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, the kingdom’s central bank, issued new regulations governing the enforcement of foreclosures as part of a new mortgage law that has been ...

BATTLE RAGES ON FOR NORILSK NICKEL   By Kim Iskyan   Russia’s economy continued to show signs of slowing, as preliminary GDP for October 2012 clocked in at a very weak 2.3%, marking the fifth consecutive month of deceleration.   ...

DIVERGING ECONOMIES   By Vanessa Drucker   For this month’s Salon, Global Finance sat down with Sergio Luna, assistant director of economic research at Banamex and liaison to the research group of economic analysis and markets, Citigroup, in New York. ...

SURMOUNTING THE STATUS QUO   By Justin Keay   Despite its wealth and strong banking sector, Kuwait is being held back by its failure to invest internally and diversify away from oil.   The demonstrations that preceded—and followed—Kuwait’s parliamentary elections ...

MILESTONES: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES   By Anita Hawser   Dubai Mercantile Exchange is on a mission: It wants to take up more space on the screens of futures traders, according to new CEO Christopher Fix, who once sat on the ...

MILESTONES: UK/EU   By Justin Keay   UK and EU relations have always been tense, but their relationship has deteriorated dramatically in recent months.     While headlines have focused on noisy arguments over support for struggling eurozone members or ...

MILESTONES: US/GLOBAL   By Gordon Platt   The US Federal Reserve wants foreign banks with large operations in the US to be subject to the same rules on capital and liquidity that apply to big US banks.   Tarullo wants ...

MILESTONES: IMF   By Luca Ventura “Temporary capital controls might prove useful,” Christine Lagarde said to the audience gathered at the Malaysian Economic Association in Kuala Lumpur in November.   Lagarde at the IMF takes a marked departure on cross-border ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: FOREIGN EXCHANGE   By Gordon Platt   The yen took a nasty tumble last month, shaking the sleepy foreign exchange market out of a long slumber.   While the attention of market participants was focused on the ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: CORPORATE DEBT   By Gordon Platt   Analysts expect another year of positive returns for the fixed-income markets in 2013, although gains will be harder to com e by than in 2012, owing to narrower spreads.   ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: GLOBAL EQUITY / DRS   By Gordon Platt   After declining sharply in 2012, initial public offerings could stage a turnround in the new year, say analysts, with China and Latin America leading the issuance.   The ...

CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS: MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS   By Gordon Platt   Mergers and acquisitions could gain traction in 2013, following a disappointing year for dealmaking activity in 2012.   Although the global economic outlook remains clouded, there are plenty of ...

NEWSMAKERS: NIGERIA   By Valentina Pasquali   A 61-year-old Nigerian oil tycoon is now the richest black woman in the world, having recently overtaken American entertainment mogul Oprah Winfrey for the title.   Her name is Folorunsho Alakija and she ...

NEWSMAKERS: UK   By Erik Heinrich   Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of Canada, will have a new job next year.   Post-Libor scandal, UK appoints outsider Carney Photo Credits: CARNEY: REUTERS/MARK BLINCH Starting in July, Carney will cross ...

NEWSMAKERS: SLOVAKIA   By Justin Keay   Emerging Europe doesn’t generate much in the way of good news these days, owing to the region’s proximity to and dependence on the eurozone.   Fico has learned from past mistakes Photo Credits: ...

NEWSMAKERS: MEXICO   By Valentina Pasquali   Still struggling with drug-related violence that has killed more than 60,000 people in the past six years, Mexico is a country on the mend.   Finance minister, Videgaray, will target energy and fiscal ...

In 2012, the world’s top 36 sovereign wealth funds totaled nearly $5 trillion. Oil- and gas-related SWFs comprised the majority of the overall dollar amount, at 57.3%. With 40.5% of the total pie, Asia was the region with the largest ...