We have repeatedly highlighted that the risks to foreign companies operating in Argentina would increase as the government of President Cristina Fernández failed to address the root causes of high inflation and capital flight, a view which has been reinforced by the nationalisation of YPF, the largest oil and gas company in the country. The… [Read more]
Today in Business Monitor Online, we cover two noteworthy developments in Asia. China’s real GDP growth came in at 8.1% y-o-y and 7.2% q-o-q on a seasonally-adjusted annualised basis in Q1 2012, according to data released on Friday April 13. This was much weaker than consensus expectations. Unlike the situation facing the economy in Q1… [Read more]
Mark Schaltuper speaks to Business Monitor’s Head of Latin America Country Risk Richard Hamilton and Latin America Analyst Davide Scigliuzzo in New York to discuss why 2012 may prove to be a ‘pivotal year’ for Argentina and Venezuela. This follows a recent Special Report on The Hidden Risks To The Global Economy, in which our… [Read more]
The first round of France’s presidential election is now only 11 days away, and President Nicolas Sarkozy is catching up with Socialist party challenger Francois Hollande in the opinion polls – although surveys still give Hollande the edge in a second round. Polls aside, the history of hairstyles of Presidents of the Fifth Republic suggests… [Read more]
This week will be very important for the future of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea Preparing To Inaugurate Kim Jong Un On Wednesday April 11, North Korea’s ruling Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) is scheduled to hold a rare conference, and on Friday April 13 the country’s Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA, the ‘rubber stamp’ parliament) will… [Read more]
Egypt’s presidential election in May 2012 will be a major milestone in the transition to democracy following the fall of long-time leader Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. The country’s most powerful political movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, announced earlier this month that it would field its own candidate, Khairat al-Shater, for the presidency, and we believe… [Read more]
Myanmar held widely anticipated by-elections on April 1. While the elections will have little effect on the overall composition of the legislature (45 out of 664 seats were up for grabs), the results will have major implications for the country’s future. The opposition National League for Democracy Party (NLD), led by veteran democracy campaigner Aung… [Read more]
