Argentinian authorities have adopted another set of moves that are symbolic of the rapid deterioration in the country’s business environment. Chubut province stripped Spanish-controlled Repsol YPF, which is also the country’s largest producer, of two oilfield concessions. The governor of Chubut Province, MartÍn Buzzi, said that the company had failed to fulfil its investment promises… [Read more]

My colleagues and I at Business Monitor International (BMI) spend a good deal of our time assessing risks to countries’ politics, economies, financial markets, and industries. In fact, our previous special report was titled Hidden Risks To The Global Economy. Yet no one wants to hear only news of lurking dangers – which is why… [Read more]

Most of the main risks to global economic and geopolitical stability are well known. These are typically a double-dip recession in the United States; the collapse of the eurozone; a ‘hard landing’ in China; and a war involving the US and its allies against Iran. However, there are plenty of other risks that, while not… [Read more]

In Business Monitor Online today, we provide an update of two of our asset class strategies, and our reasoning behind them. Below, we publish short excerpts from each article. Japan: Under almost all scenarios we can envisage, Japanese equities look set to outperform government bonds over the medium term, particularly in risk-adjusted terms, with the… [Read more]

The Baltic Dry Index – the index measuring dry bulk shipping costs – hit a 25-year low this month. The latest drop in rates was due to the lack of import demand during the Chinese New Year holiday, but the underlying cause of the long-term decline is the oversupply of vessels. We believe there is… [Read more]

Business Monitor International’s (BMI) Head of Latin America Country Risk & Financial Markets, Richard Hamilton, and Head of Americas Research, Cedric Chehab, discuss BMI’s core global themes and the impact and opportunities these will create within the Latin American and Caribbean market. Sign up for a free trial In this recorded webinar the team examines… [Read more]

Monetary data out of China released over the past week have bolstered investor sentiment. Chinese CPI (consumer price index) continued to fall in December 2011, coming in at a 15-month low of 4.1% y-o-y (compared with the 6.5% high registered in June), while producer price inflation was subdued at just 1.7%. Such disinflation raises hope… [Read more]