Economic danger lurks in China’s shadow banks; The rescue puts off the immediate threat but raises the stakes

January 31, 2014 5:28 pm

Economic danger lurks in China’s shadow banks

By Simon Rabinovitch

The rescue puts off the immediate threat but raises the stakes, writes Simon Rabinovitch

Of all the economic dangers to flare up over the past week, the most unsettling was at first glance also the most esoteric: thenear default of a high-yield loan product held by a few hundred small-time Chinese investors. Read more of this post

Economic danger lurks in China’s shadow banks

January 31, 2014 5:28 pm

Economic danger lurks in China’s shadow banks

By Simon Rabinovitch

The rescue puts off the immediate threat but raises the stakes, writes Simon Rabinovitch

Of all the economic dangers to flare up over the past week, the most unsettling was at first glance also the most esoteric: thenear default of a high-yield loan product held by a few hundred small-time Chinese investors. Read more of this post

High-priced M&A still in vogue in slowing luxury industry

High-priced M&A still in vogue in slowing luxury industry

7:32am EST

By Astrid Wendlandt

PARIS (Reuters) – A scarcity of sellers, combined with a growing number of cash-rich buyers from Asia and the Middle East, mean high-priced takeover deals are set to remain in fashion for the luxury goods industry, despite slowing sales growth. Read more of this post

Physical commodity assets ‘inconsistent’ with Blackstone model: executive

Physical commodity assets ‘inconsistent’ with Blackstone model: executive

8:54am EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Blackstone Group’s (BX.N: Quote,Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) asset-light model may not fit with the potentially risky, capital-intensive business of trading physical commodities, a top executive said on Thursday, in comments that seemed to jar with its interest in the industry. Read more of this post

Two S’pore start-ups head Down Under for listing

Two S’pore start-ups head Down Under for listing

Saturday, Feb 01, 2014

Grace Chng

The Straits Times

SINGAPORE- Two Singapore start-ups have decided to head Down Under to mount public listings there.

Group discount start-up Dealguru Holdings, set up in 2010, merged with two other leading regional e-commerce start-ups to form iBuy, which was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) last month. Read more of this post

Circuit breakers won’t help small investors

Circuit breakers won’t help small investors

Friday, Jan 31, 2014

The Straits Times

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) new “circuit breakers” come 25 years too late, do not cover shares priced below 50 cents, and delay trading by only five minutes – it is 15 minutes on the New York Stock Exchange (“SGX circuit breakers to kick in next month”; last Thursday). Read more of this post

For companies, a rocky road ahead in emerging markets

For companies, a rocky road ahead in emerging markets

2:04pm EST

By James B. Kelleher and Martinne Geller

CHICAGO/LONDON (Reuters) – International companies are taking steps to mitigate the effects of the turmoil in emerging markets, including hedging foreign currency exposure more aggressively, reducing some investment plans, cutting costs, and raising prices frequently. Read more of this post

European chemicals: A German chemicals giant swaps its scientist boss for a restructuring expert

European chemicals: A German chemicals giant swaps its scientist boss for a restructuring expert

Feb 1st 2014 | BERLIN | From the print edition

IT IS always bitter for a chief executive to see his company’s shares spike when his departure is announced. But that is what happened when Lanxess, a German chemicals producer, said this week that Axel Heitmann would be leaving. He has run the business since it was spun off from Bayer, a pharmaceuticals and chemicals group, in 2004. Its shares did well in the early years, and recovered strongly after the financial crisis, but they have slid in the past year. Lanxess says the decision for Mr Heitmann to go was mutual. Read more of this post

Turkish conglomerates: Too big to fail, but in a good way; Two huge family firms, Koc and Sabanci, should weather Turkey’s crisis

Turkish conglomerates: Too big to fail, but in a good way; Two huge family firms, Koc and Sabanci, should weather Turkey’s crisis

Feb 1st 2014 | ISTANBUL | From the print edition

KOC HOLDING and Sabanci Holding, Turkey’s two oldest and largest business dynasties, are now in their third generation, having survived various political and economic storms down the years. Their interests stretch from banking and retailing to producing electricity, cars and fridges. They and their listed subsidiaries together make up more than a quarter of the market capitalisation of the Istanbul stockmarket. Many of their offshoots are joint ventures with global firms. Standard & Poor’s, a credit-rating agency, gives Koc a higher rating than Turkey itself. Read more of this post

Venezuela and Argentina: The party is over; Latin America’s weakest economies are reaching breaking-point

Venezuela and Argentina: The party is over; Latin America’s weakest economies are reaching breaking-point

Feb 1st 2014 | BUENOS AIRES AND CARACAS | From the print edition

WHEN the euro crisis was at its height it became commonplace for struggling European economies to insist that they were not outliers like Greece. Whatever their woes, they declared, Greece’s were in a class of their own. In Latin America, by contrast, the unwanted title of outlier has two contenders: Argentina and Venezuela. Read more of this post

Ryanair teams up with a virtual unknown in the price-comparison market

Flight comparison websites

Comparative advantage

Jan 30th 2014, 15:04 by M.R.

IF YOU frequently shop for flights online, you will almost certainly be familiar with flight comparison websites like Skyscanner and Kayak. These so-called metasearch engines invite you to key in your desired travel itinerary, before pulling data from other websites—mostly airlines, travel agents and rival search engines—and aggregating the results into a list of available airfares. Read more of this post

Thailand’s political crisis: Both sides in the stand-off must back down, or risk their country’s disintegration

Thailand’s political crisis: Both sides in the stand-off must back down, or risk their country’s disintegration

Feb 1st 2014 | From the print edition

FOR more than three months Bangkok has been the scene of confrontation, as huge protests have shut down the government district and other parts of the capital. A snap general election is due on February 2nd, but the opposition (which would lose) refuses to contest it. The protests’ tub-thumping leader, Suthep Thaugsuban, calls for a temporary suspension of constitutional government so that an unelected “people’s council” can “save” democracy. Protesters have blocked Thais from taking part in early voting at polling stations. Several people, from both sides, have been killed, and the risk of grave violence is rising. The capital and surrounding districts are under a state of emergency. Read more of this post

Shock now clearly trumps transparency in central bank policymaking

Shock now clearly trumps transparency in central bank policymaking

By Sumanta Dey

JANUARY 29, 2014

The days of guided monetary policy, telegraphed by central banks and priced in by markets in advance, are probably coming to an end if recent decisions around the world are any guide. Read more of this post

As Overseas Costs Rise, More U.S. Companies Are ‘Reshoring’

As Overseas Costs Rise, More U.S. Companies Are ‘Reshoring’

by JACKIE NORTHAM

January 27, 2014 9:52 AM

For decades, American companies have been sending their manufacturing work overseas. Extremely low wages in places like China, Vietnam and the Philippines reduced costs and translated into cheaper prices for consumers wanting flat-screen TVs, dishwashers and a range of gadgets. Read more of this post