March 2010

GLOBAL MARKET BRACE FOR THE AFTERSHOCK   Many countries still have a long way to go to convince investors that they are not likely to suffer a sovereign default.   By Laurence Neville   Just as the mood was lifting ...

WORLD’S BEST TREASURY PROVIDERS 2010   By Anita Hawser   Twelve months ago when we published the 2009 Treasury & Cash Management awards, treasurers were mostly concerned with preserving capital and reducing counterparty risk. While these concerns have not subsided, ...

Roundup   By Antonio Guerrero   Foreign ownership of mines in Zimbabwe challenged by law Zimbabwe's government is continuing its campaign against foreign ownership, insisting that businesses with assets of more than $500,000 must be 51%-owned by black Zimbabweans within ...

Roundup   By Antonio Guerrero   Brazil’s leading ethanol processor seals deal with Shell Brazil's Cosan, the world's largest ethanol and sugar processor, and Royal Dutch Shell are merging their Brazilian operations in a deal valued at $12 billion. Under ...

Roundup   By Thomas Clouse   Old properties gain new protection from land appropriation China's central bank in February raised the required proportion of deposits banks must hold in reserve for the second time this year. China is taking steps ...

Investor: DR News   By Gordon Platt   Shandong Luoxin Pharmacy Stock Company has become the first China-based firm to trade American depositary receipts (ADRs) on the over-the-counter market’s premier platform, OTCQX International. Based in Linyi City in the eastern ...

Roundup   By Aaron Chaze   On the move: Car sales jumped significantly in India Auto sales in India increased sharply over the past year, with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers claiming sales have jumped by 50% since January ...

Investor: Company to watch   By Gordon Platt   LLX Logística was created in 2007 by Eike Batista-controlled EBX Group to build three large private ports serving southeastern Brazil, a region that accounts for more than 75% of the country’s ...

Investor: News   By Gordon Platt   Hedging currency exposure in illiquid and volatile frontier markets is about to get easier for investment funds focused on microfinance. Cygma Fund, based in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, is being set up as a ...

Roundup   By Gordon Platt   Dubai Mall: Mixed fortunes for Dubai’s property sector Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund, has purchased an approximately 15% stake in London's Gatwick Airport, although it would not confirm the ...

Roundup   By Kim Iskyan   Friendly neighbor: Russia’s influence in Ukraine will grow after Viktor Yanukovych won the recent presidential election Russia's finance ministry hired a team of investment banks to help it prepare for the country's first eurobond ...

SPREADING THE WEALTH   Saudi Arabia's industrial base is already the largest in the Middle East, and its service sector is growing rapidly.   By Gordon Platt   With more than 20% of the world's oil reserves, Saudi Arabia stands ...

Global   By Anita Hawser   Moloney: Regulators’ lenient attitude toward banks is over As banks enter the convalescence phase after what some describe as the financial equivalent of a major medical trauma, there may be a need for further ...

South Korea   By Thomas Clouse   Lee Seongtae: Kept a steady hand on tiller during crisis Few economies have proven as resilient over the past 18 months as that of South Korea. In the wake of Lehman Brothers' collapse, ...

United States   By Gordon Platt   All change: Climate risk moves up the corporate agenda The US Securities and Exchange Commission opened a can of worms with its decision to require companies to consider the effects of climate change ...

Canada   By Erik Heinrich   Toronto’s Bay Street: Future home of many US banks? In the 1960s US draft dodgers headed north to Canada to avoid the war in Vietnam. Today, some 40 years later, Wall Street may be ...

CORPORATE DEBT ISSUANCE STAYS STRONG, BUT RISK PREMIUMS RISE SHARPLY   By Gordon Platt   While the Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise interest rates significantly this year in light of high US unemployment and subdued inflation, the long-running rally ...

EUROPE'S DEBT PANIC BRINGS DOWN EURO, SPURS DOLLAR RALLY By Gordon Platt Weakness in the euro is contributing to the dollar's recovery, as the search for a safe haven favors the United States, analysts say. The euro fell to a ...

EMERGING MARKETS LEAD DR ISSUANCE   By Gordon Platt   Companies from emerging markets established 57 new depositary receipt programs in 2009, more than half of the year's total worldwide, according to an analysis by BNY Mellon. China-based issuers led ...

LATIN AMERICA TAKES MERGER SPOTLIGHT   By Gordon Platt   Mergers in Mexico and Brazil that will create strong regional and global competitors in a number of industries overshadowed a dormant M&A; market in the United States in January.   ...

Venezuela   By Antonio Guerrero   Chávez: Economic troubles are turning his dreams into a nightmare Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez's dream of spreading his "21st century socialism" throughout Latin America could be halted by a troubled economy. After he spent ...

United Kingdom   By Anita Hawser   Jenkins: London faces threat from multiple emerging market centers As economic power increasingly shifts toward the East and regulators in the West look to rein in the growth of their financial sectors, senior ...

Global   By Gordon Platt   Blanchard: Policymakers should use all the tools available Economists who thought they had figured out how to keep national economies growing and inflation under control by simply focusing on short-term interest rates have learned ...

Costa Rica   By Dan Keeler   All smiles: Chinchilla celebrates with supporters Laura Chinchilla, a former vice president and justice minister, is set to become Costa Rica's first female president after winning the country's early February election with a ...