After months of mulling over the possibility of a Eurobond sale, Angolan authorities confirmed last month that the issue would go ahead in the early 2010. The amount being sought is reported to be close US$4.0bn – quite a sum for country whose nominal GDP is only about US$100bn. To my mind, the decision to… [Read more]
Sovereign risk roared back on to the agenda this week after Fitch Ratings agency downgraded Greece’s sovereign issuer default rating to ‘BBB+’ on December 9. We discuss the tactical market implications for the eurozone and the strategic risks posed by further downgrades in the region going forward.
One of the things that has been troubling me more and more lately is Japan’s colossal debt burden, which is heading towards 200% of GDP. At the moment, the debt burden is existing in an equilibrium of sorts, with Japanese financial institutions seemingly content to keep buying Japanese Government Bonds (JGBs). In a climate of… [Read more]
Fiscal deficit management and debt sustainability are two vital economic themes right now, given that governments across the world have been boosting public spending to reinvigorate their economies. In this respect, two charts immediately grab my attention. These charts appeared in Business Monitor Online earlier today, and in BMI’s weekly Emerging Markets Monitor magazine. The… [Read more]
The Circassians are shaping up to be another headache for the Kremlin in the North Caucasus. President Dmitri Medvedev recently described rising violence in the region as Russia’s biggest domestic problem. Not long after that, bombs exploded on the Moscow-St Petersburg Nevsky Express train, killing at least 25 people. Chechen separatist rebels were quick to… [Read more]
Last Friday’s November nonfarm payrolls release was far more positive than the market – or I – expected. The headline numbers portrayed a significant improvement in the labour market situation, or, at least, a decline in the pace of deterioration. The unemployment rate was down from 10.2% in October to 10.0% in November, and nonfarm… [Read more]
With the international investment community shaken by suggestions of a potential Dubai World default, this week we turn our attention to the troubled Kazakh banking sector. Bruce Jeffery, Business Monitor’s Kazakhstan analyst, provides some insight into the industry and shares his views on the key themes, which will likely dominate next year.
