With the Reserve Bank Of India (RBI) upping its benchmark repo rate by 25bps to 5.00% on March 19, two diverging philosophies are coming to light across emerging Asia’s central banks with regards to the urgency and pace with which to normalise monetary policy. India, alongside Malaysia and Vietnam, now appears to be taking a… [Read more]
Political risk is a perennial concern for foreign investors in Turkey, and a frequent cause of volatility on the Istanbul markets. Yet despite threats of military coups, an on-again off-again EU accession process, deep social tensions between secularist and moderate Islamist institutions, and a protracted ethnic Kurdish insurgency, the Turkish economy and financial markets have… [Read more]
On February 22, sugar prices were trading around the USc25.00/lb area, and I targeted a sharp correction to the USc18-20/lb area on Business Monitor’s online service. ( I decided to share this with Risk Watchdog readers on two days later). This view has played out magnificently, although a little faster than I had anticipated, with… [Read more]
My colleagues and I have just returned from a research trip to Nigeria with some interesting insights. Generally, business is booming, with a host of banks, private equity funds and corporates reporting strong economic activity. The difficult-to-measure informal sector also seemed to be flourishing, with general commerce looking robust. (Image: Downtown Lagos) Incidentally, opinion seemed… [Read more]
Dave Fry, founder and publisher of ETF Digest, hosts Terry Alexander, Head of Country Risk and Financial Markets at Business Monitor International, alongside Asia analyst Stuart Allsopp, and Head of Commodities analysis, Cedric Chehab. Emerging Markets Forecast 03/12/10 from David Fry on Vimeo.
Early returns from Iraq’s national elections suggest that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law Alliance is on track to secure the highest number of seats of any party in the next parliament, and that he himself is well placed to retain his post. If Maliki does stay on in his role, this should ensure… [Read more]
With Libyan leader Muammar al Qadhafi stepping up his anti-Western rhetoric, there are growing fears that what Mark Mobius recently called ‘the ideal frontier market’ is turning its back on the reformist experiment it has been pursuing for the last few years. Mark Schaltuper speaks to Liz Martins, Head of Middle East and North Africa… [Read more]
