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from Breakingviews:
Graft show-trial a new sign of Putin’s weakness
By Pierre Briançon
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.
Alexei Navalny rose to prominence as a Western-style shareholder activist in a country devoid of Western-style capitalism. He took apart Russian companies’ available statements and numbers to expose graft, corruption and embezzlement detrimental to investors.
This was bound to lead him to take on a political role, since the vices he denounces are an integral part of the Russian system. So instead of being brought into government, he is on trial on dubious charges in the latest of the Vladimir Putin’s attempt to muzzle dissent. This may be, in fact, a sign of the Kremlin’s anguish and weakness. Western governments and investors should take note.
Navalny’s trial opened on Wednesday in Kirov, 500 miles from Moscow, before a judge known for issuing only guilty verdicts. Prosecutors have twice previously rejected the case as groundless. It was revived by Russia’s top investigator days after Navalny revealed that a close Putin ally secretly owned property in the Czech republic.
from Unstructured Finance:
Insider trading—it’s not just hedge funds
Sometimes it seems that insider trading cases are all about hedge funds. After all, the overwhelming majority of the federal government's multi-year crackdown on insider trading has netted dozens of traders and analysts working in the $2.25 trillion hedge fund industry.
But this week's escapades involving a former top audit partner at KPMG and his golfing buddy are reminder that the temptation to profit from inside information exists in many industries and professions.
from Breakingviews:
The first oligarch dies, his kleptocracy thrives
By Pierre Briançon
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Boris Berezovsky built something that lasted. The man found dead on March 23 may have been alone, broken, bitter, and a shadow of his flamboyant former self as Russia’s richest man and king-maker. Yet the system he invented two decades ago in the throes of the big Soviet meltdown is functioning well. The men at the top may have changed, and turned against their former mentor and master. But the rulers of today’s Russia - both the oligarchs who looted the country’s resources and branched out, and the clique of ex-KGB officials working hard to get their hands on a share of the loot - are Berezovsky’s children.
from India Insight:
Corruption trumps reforms and economics in Kejriwal’s politics
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author, and not necessarily of Thomson Reuters)
The transformation of Arvind Kejriwal from taxman to anti-corruption activist and politician has been hard to ignore. He became something of a celebrity last year when he launched broadsides against rich, powerful people. That in turn gave him a platform to enter politics with his "Aam Aadmi Party" (party of the common man). Now Kejriwal, 44, must build a party in time to contest state-level elections in New Delhi this year.
from Global Investing:
U.S. Treasury headwinds for emerging debt
Emerging bond issuance and inflows have had a strong start to the year but can it last?
Data from JPMorgan shows that emerging market sovereigns sold hard currency bonds worth $9.6 billion last month while companies raised $51.2 billion (that compares with Jan 2012 issuance levels of $17.5 billion for sovereigns and $23.9 billion for corporates). Similarly, inflows into EM debt were well over $10 billion last month, very probably topping the previous monthly record, according to JPM.
from Breakingviews:
Review: China’s red capitalism needs retooling
By Wei Gu
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.
China’s authoritarian capitalism may be a victim of its own success. It is getting harder to satisfy a population that is devoid of ideology and which demands non-stop lifestyle improvements. Powerful state-owned companies are consuming the fruits of reform. Moreover, the system’s lack of checks and balances has led to widespread corruption. For China to thrive, it needs change its one-of-a-kind development model. That is the persuasive argument made by journalist-turned businessman James McGregor in his new book, “No Ancient Wisdom, No Followers”.
from John Lloyd:
In Russia, unheeded cries of corruption
In Moscow last week at a conference for young Russian journalists, I met a man named Edward Mochalov, who differed from most of the participants in having spent much of his working life as a farmer. He retains the ruddy countenance and the strong, chapped hands of the outdoor worker in a hard climate ‑ in his case, the Chuvash Republic, some 400 miles east of Moscow.
Mochalov's story is that when thieves stole some of his cattle and pigs, he protested to the authorities, only to find himself in jail for eight months for wrongful accusation. Maddened by what he considered the result of corruption behind the scenes, he protested all the way up to President Vladimir Putin, going so far as to appear in Moscow’s Red Square with a placard telling his story, though to no avail. As he pursued justice, his farm went untended.
from Global Investing:
Corruption and business potential sometimes go together
By Alice Baghdjian
Uzbekistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam found themselves cheered and chided this week.
The Corruption Perceptions Index, compiled by Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International, measured the perceived levels of public sector corruption in 176 countries and all three found their way into the bottom half of the study.
from India Insight:
Kejriwal names his party, now it’s agenda time
(Any opinions expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Thomson Reuters)
Now that we know the name of India’s newest political party, launched by social activist Arvind Kejriwal, let's look at what else it might deal with aside from the annihilation of corruption.
from India Insight:
Kejriwal needs different approach to win hearts and votes
The Arvind Kejriwal-Robert Vadra faceoff has finally reached the place where it should be -- in court instead of in the press.
An activist named Nutan Thakur filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Allahabad High Court on Oct. 9, and it has now been admitted. The government must respond within three weeks. Thakur wants the court to explore allegations by social activist Kejriwal that Vadra, son-in-law of Congress Party chief Sonia Gandhi, has been involved in shady land deals.
