Global news and insight for corporate financial professionals
NEWSMAKERS By Efraim Chalamish Satya Nadella, a Microsoft insider who came up through the ranks to become Microsoft’s executive vice president, Cloud and enterprise, has replaced Steve Ballmer as CEO. Choosing Nadella is a safe bet: He has been with ...
REGIONAL FOCUS
The countries of the Caucasus region (Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia) continue to march down very different economic paths, despite their proximity and sociocultural connections.
THE DISCERNING EYE By Tiziana Barghini Not all emerging markets are created equal, as the current EM crisis has once again demonstrated. Global Finance sat down with Markus Schomer, chief economist at PineBridge Investments, to discuss the 2014 economic outlook ...
FRONTIER MARKETS REPORT
Vietnam has great potential, but it also has significant hurdles to overcome to improve its business climate for foreign investors. Given the government’s dominance of industries such as agriculture, utilities and banking, those looking to invest must be prepared for the challenge.
STAR PERFORMERS By Anita Hawser Over the past six years transaction banking has been one of the best performers in an otherwise lackluster banking sector. Even in the midst of a global financial crisis, suppliers and salaries still need to ...
Could proxy advisory firms—those as yet unregulated outfits that wield significant influence during corporate elections at US public companies—be in for a showdown with Wall Street regulators? Critics have become increasingly unhappy with the power exerted by the two main ...
FRONTIER MARKETS REPORT
Zambia’s strong and stable economic expansion is enticing firms looking to build their African presence. Among frontier markets in sub-Saharan Africa, the country stands out for its stable economy and its long record of strong growth. These factors have helped attract investors to this copper-rich, landlocked nation of 14 million people..
CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS By Gordon Platt The value of global mergers and acquisitions has failed to pick up, despite low interest rates and an improving global economy. Worldwide M&A totaled $2.4 trillion in 2013, a decline of 6% ...
MILESTONES By Michael Shari A fissure is opening in the bulwarks of Western sanctions that have isolated Iran from the global banking system since the early 1980s. In an interim deal signed in November in Geneva, Iran agreed to curb ...
CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS By Gordon Platt A total of $797 billion of equity capital was issued globally in 2013, up 27% from a year earlier, while underwriting fees rose 34%, according to Thomson Reuters. The volume of initial ...
EMERGING MARKETS 2.0 By Udayan Gupta At Global Finance ’s Salon in New York in January, Georges Ugeux, CEO of New York–based investment bank Galileo Global Advisors, discussed the economic landscape faced by India and China in 2014 ...
MARKET FOCUS By Jonathan Gregson Equity derivatives are no longer the preserve of hedge funds. Institutional investors and corporates are increasingly using them to offset risk and manage share buybacks. Equity derivatives markets emerged from their post-financial-crisis ...
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT By Valentina Pasquali Global foreign direct investment is undergoing a seismic shift as emerging markets countries are seeing both inflows and outflows rise dramatically—despite flat overall levels of global FDI. When Shuanghui International, a Chinese holding company, ...
CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS By Gordon Platt As exchanges in London, Hong Kong and New York compete for the opportunity to host an expected $15 billion initial public offering by China’s e-commerce leader Alibaba, US investors are once again ...
CORPORATE FINANCING NEWS By Gordon Platt A rebound in global manufacturing, as well as rising confidence in the sector, is forcing bond yields higher, with emerging markets bonds feeling the brunt of the sell-off. However, analysts do not ...
EMERGING MARKETS ROUNDUP By Tom Clouse China’s stock market regulator will simplify the public listing process for Chinese companies selling shares on domestic exchanges. Companies with IPO ambitions now need only meet certain listing requirements; they need not ...
FRONTIER MARKETS REPORT By Dan Keeler Ukraine’s decision to turn its back on Western Europe has seriously undermined its near-term appeal, but long-term opportunities remain. Perhaps more than any other country in Europe, Ukraine is torn between ...
Ryanair: Attitude Adjustment When EasyJet in November reported a pre-tax profit of £478 million (US$785 million) for fiscal 2013—a 51% jump from the previous year—it caused a considerable flap with the shareholders of rival budget airline Ryanair. The stockholders’ vexation ...
Mapping out the history of Argentina (foto: Robles Pepe) Think you know what turned Argentina from an early 20 th -century success story into a Wall Street pariah? Economic mismanagement? Culture? A Latin American boom-bust cycle on steroids? Try geography. ...
COUNTRY REPORT Despite the change of leadership Qatar has undergone, the new emir is expected to follow his father’s lead, building on the country’s early economic gains by diversifying beyond oil and gas.