The Covid-19 pandemic created some waves in the foreign exchange markets over the last couple of years, but the re-emergence of global inflation and inflation-fighting central banks has truly rocked the currency world this year.
The largest company in the world can fluctuate day to day, even minute by minute, depending what measurement is used. Tesla began 2022 as the world's fifth largest company by market cap and ended the year in 11th place after their CEO Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter.
Global Finance editor Andrea Fiano interviews Ásgeir Jónsson, Central Bank Governor of Iceland during Global Finance's World's Best Bank Awards at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on October 15th.
August, usually a sleepy month for corporate Russia, was anything but quiet this year. Recurrent fears of an economic slowdown were eased by continued strength in the price of oil, which, coupled with positive investor sentiment toward the global emerging markets, lifted the Russian stock market index to new all-time highs—and to a 43% return in the year to date.
Government-controlled gas giant Gazprom appeared to be close to finalizing its purchase of Sibneft, one of Russia’s largest oil firms. The transaction was pending the finalization of a $10 billion loan to the gas company. On another front, state oil company Rosneft received a $7.5 billion credit line—which was more than three times the size of any other borrowing by a Russian company—to purchase a stake in Gazprom. Both deals are part of what appears to be the process of consolidation of the Russian oil and gas sector into government hands.
At the same time, the government’s plans to unify a range of aviation and aerospace companies under a single holding company began to take off, with industry and energy minister Viktor Khristenko suggesting that a presidential decree creating the organization will shortly be announced. The far-reaching restructuring effort is an attempt to resuscitate Russia’s once-proud aviation sector, which is in desperate need of rationalization and investment.
The banking sector continued to take steps toward reform, with the September 1 deadline for banks to sign on with a credit bureau, which should boost the development of the country’s consumer lending market. Meanwhile, Hansabank, the largest financial institution in the Baltic states, and China’s Industrial and Commercial Bank of China were the latest banks to announce that they are initiating operations in Russia.