Emerging Markets

Colombia/ecuador/venezuela     Uribe: Used the standoff to push US-Colombia trade deal After Venezuela and Ecuador sent troops to their borders with Colombia, in response to Colombia’s attack on FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) rebels within Ecuadorian territory on ...

Brazil             President Lula: Basking in Brazil's new net creditor status.   After holding its ranking as the world’s largest emerging markets debtor for several decades, Brazil in January became a net foreign creditor for ...

COUNTRY REPORT: SOUTH AFRICA   Flagging global growth, an ongoing energy shortage and increasing wage and inflation pressures are weighing heavily on South Africa’s economy.   In a hole: South Africa's mining industry has been badly affected by recent power ...

News         The Rwanda Stock Exchange opened for business in the capital city of Kigali at the end of January, but so far the exchange has not traded any stocks. It has listed two government bonds and ...

Russia     Russia's president-elect Dmitry Medvedev with his mentor, Vladimir Putin. As expected, Dmitry Medvedev won the Russian presidential elections on March 2, with 70% of the vote. Medvedev was a shoo-in by dint of enjoying the explicit support ...

INDIA     Piling in: Investors gave an enthusiastic response to Reliance Power's $3 billion IPO. In its bid to keep up the growth momentum in the Indian economy, the Indian coalition government lifted investment restrictions on foreign investors in ...

SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUNDS Sovereign wealth funds snap up bargains in one of the biggest financial industry land grabs in history.   Bader Al Sa'ad, head of Kuwait's SWF, helped arrange a huge cash infusion for Citi. To say Citi and ...

RUSSIA     Khodorkovsky: The jailed former head of Yukos is back in the news. The Russian presidential campaign kicked off in mid-January, with Dmitry Medvedev—who is virtually guaranteed victory in the early March poll thanks to the support of ...

LATIN AMERICA REGIONAL REPORT Latin American governments’ attempts to gain more control over their countries’ economic fortunes are having far-reaching effects on international corporations doing business in the region.       Left in charge: Brazilian president Lula da Silva ...

BRAZIL     Rock solid: Vale is thought to be ready to bid for Xstrata. Brazilian mining giant Vale (formerly CVRD) is in talks to acquire Swiss mining company Xstrata, reportedly for $90 billion. The deal would be the single ...

CHINA     Riding high: China's economic growth continues to break records. China’s economy grew 11.4% in 2007, its fastest rate in 13 years. Fourth-quarter GDP growth fell to 11.2% year-on-year, however, as government tightening measures and weakening global demand ...

RUSSIA/IRAQ     Talabani: Russia's decision is a historic turning point. Russia agreed in February to write off $12 billion of Iraqi debt in an apparent effort to help Russian companies including Lukoil to win contracts in Iraq. The debt ...

BRAZIL BANKING & FINANCE Local banks’ stranglehold on the Brazilian market is coming under threat from acquisition-hungry international banks and investors.   Brazilian central bank governor Henrique Meirelles's steady hand has helped instill growing confidence in prospects for the country's ...

DR NEWS ReneSola, a China-based manufacturer of solar wafers, listed 10 million American depositary shares on the New York Stock Exchange on January 29. Although the issue was priced at a discount of 9.7% to the underlying shares, which trade ...

COMPANY TO WATCH: COMPANIA DE MINAS BUENAVENTURA/PERU Compañía de Minas Buenaventura, Peru’s largest publicly traded precious metals mining company, is basking in record high prices for much of its output. Buenaventura operates seven mines in Peru and holds controlling interests ...

MEXICO Mexico’s recent economic progress could be derailed by turmoil in the US economy and the outcome of the US presidential election.     High aspirations: Mexico is hoping its economy can resist a US downturn.     The last ...

GUATEMALA     Colom: Facing challenges on the fiscal front. Just weeks after being sworn in on January 14 as the new Guatemalan president, Álvaro Colom—the Central American country’s first left-of-center leader since Jacobo Árbenz, who was overthrown in a ...

MEXICO     Mexico's stock exchange: Lining up a $1 billion IPO. After last year’s blowout initial public offering by the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa), which raised $3.6 billion, the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV), the Bovespa’s Mexican counterpart, ...

NEWS PowerShares Capital Management last month announced the first exchange-traded fund (ETF) to provide direct exposure to a diversified portfolio of Indian securities. The PowerShares India Portfolio, with symbol PIN, was set to begin trading in late February on NYSE ...

ISRAEL     Tel Aviv: Aiming for greater integration with world markets. Israel’s minister of finance Ronnie Bar-On has approved a legislative amendment that will enable foreign portfolio management companies to serve Israeli clients and operate in Israel without the ...