Emerging Europe basks under Basel light touch
A lighter touch from the regulators in Basel is likely to be good news for eastern Europe, where policymakers have been concerned about the withdrawal of cash by western European banks to shore up their balance sheets at home.
Global regulators yesterday gave banks four more years and greater flexibility to develop cash buffers. Banks now have until 2019 to build up enough liquid assets to keep them funded for 30 days in a squeeze.
Templeton’s Mobius still buying Egypt stocks
LONDON (Reuters) – Protests in Egypt have failed to deter veteran emerging market investor Mark Mobius, who said on Tuesday he is holding onto his Egyptian stock position and is looking to add more even as the latest crisis unfolds.
Mobius, executive chairman of Franklin Templeton’s emerging markets group, told Reuters in a telephone interview that while there was an international focus on the protests over Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi’s plans to vote on a new constitution, business continued as usual in many parts of the country.
Shale gas redraws emerging market investment map
LONDON (Reuters) – Shale gas reserves are changing the way fund managers view emerging markets, with countries from Poland and Mexico to global market giant China all gaining in investment appeal.
While controversy rages over the environmental impact of ‘fracking’, the method used to extract shale gas, exploring these reserves could nevertheless give sluggish global growth a much-needed boost.
Analysis: Shale gas redraws emerging market investment map
LONDON (Reuters) – Shale gas reserves are changing the way fund managers view emerging markets, with countries from Poland and Mexico to global market giant China all gaining in investment appeal.
While controversy rages over the environmental impact of ‘fracking’, the method used to extract shale gas, exploring these reserves could nevertheless give sluggish global growth a much-needed boost.
Yuan bond market: slow to flower in London
London’s offshore yuan bond market, launched to much fanfare last October, is still struggling to get many deals off the ground. Banks and authorities from Britain, China and Hong Kong met last week in London at their twice-yearly forum to discuss reasons. Liquidity, or lack of it, was deemed to be the main hurdle.
China Construction Bank last month became the first Chinese borrower to launch a London-listed bond. But there have only been a handful of London bonds this year, as the nascent offshore market continues to lag far behind Hong Kong.
Invest in food on climate change risk: Baring
LONDON (Reuters) – Farmland in Brazil, soybeans and agricultural equipment makers are among ways to play the global risks of climate change and population growth, Baring Asset Management’s chief investment officer said on Thursday.
Melting ice at the North Pole is affecting weather patterns in the northern hemisphere, just when the world will have more mouths to feed, particularly in Africa, Marino Valensise, chief investment officer of Baring Asset Management, told the Reuters Global Investment Outlook 2013 Summit.
Safe or junk, bonds in bubble trouble
LONDON (Reuters) – Investors’ love affair with bonds could be on the rocks after five long years as both safe haven and junk bonds look to be in bubble territory.
Huge demand has pushed borrowing costs for sovereigns as well as companies to multi-year or even record lows, with some governments in the West now effectively charging investors to lend to them.
Strike on Iran: bets are off
Spread betters have drastically cut their expectations of a U.S. or Israeli air strike on Iran since Barack Obama’s re-election earlier this month.
Intrade, a Dublin-based online exchange, is showing 20 percent of its clients seeing a strike by June 2013, and 33 percent by Dec 2013.
Angola: is it a loan, is it a bond?
Is it a bird or is it a plane?
Among the scores of issues coming to the flavour-of-the-year emerging sovereign debt market – recent borrowers include Costa Rica and Ukraine – Angola’s debut deal is one of the most confusing.
Russia’s second-largest bank VTB provided what was described as a $1 billion loan to the Angolan government earlier this year through a private placement of 7-year paper, with a yield of 7 percent.
Analysis: Expensive emerging markets assets may be vulnerable
LONDON (Reuters) – The looming U.S. fiscal cliff of tax rises and spending cuts combined with renewed euro zone tension over Greece are threatening demand for riskier emerging market assets, just when some are getting expensive.
It is all making the asset class vulnerable to a pullback.
Once high-yielding bonds are offering less than they were and although emerging equities have performed less well than fixed income, some sectors within them are looking pricey.
-
About Carolyn
-
Follow Carolyn
