Financial Times (May 19, 2013)
“Europe’s recent lamentable growth numbers bring home the cost of poor policy. But after years of confusion, distraction and errors, eurozone leaders are focusing on the right task, as finance ministers did in their meeting last week: to build a banking union for the euro.”
Tags: Banking union, Errors, euro, Europe, eurozone, Finance ministers, Growth, Policy
Euromoney (May Issue)
“The central bank-driven global money-go-round has been turning ever faster since last summer. Now the Bank of Japan has turbo-charged it. So far, investors are enjoying the ride. But a bout of nausea cannot be ruled out.”
Tags: Bank of Japan, Central banks, Expansion, Investors, Monetary policy, Outlook, Risk
The Economist (May 18, 2013)
Shinzo Abe is defying expectations. “He has put Japan on a regime of ‘Abenomics’, a mix of reflation, government spending and a growth strategy designed to jolt the economy out of the suspended animation that has gripped it for more than two decades. He has supercharged Japan’s once-fearsome bureaucracy to make government vigorous again.”
Tags: Abenomics, Expectations, Government, Growth strategy, Japan, Reflation, Shinzo Abe, Spending
Los Angeles Times (May 17, 2013)
“If the horrific garment factory collapse last month in Bangladesh has any silver lining, it is the response from more than 30 of the world’s leading apparel companies — including Benetton, PVH, Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M, Inditex (Zara), Marks & Spencer and Tesco — to sign an agreement to protect the safety and lives of that nation’s workers, who make the companies’ products.”
Tags: Agreement, Apparel companies, Bangladesh, Lives, Safety
New York Times (May 15, 2013)
Pakistan’s “election was a welcome repudiation of militants who are trying to overthrow the state.” With nearly 60% voter participation, Pakistan is achieving “a peaceful transition of power in a country where coups have predominated…. Pakistanis deserve credit for their courage, and the military for allowing the election to go ahead and deploying 73,000 troops to keep order.”
Investment Week (May 14, 2013)
A recent sentiment poll by Bank of America Merrill Lynch shows that worries over the commodity sector are moving to the fore as fears over Europe dissipate. “A quarter of respondents to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s monthly poll on manager sentiment said a commodity collapse is the number one tail risk, an increase from 18% in April.” In contrast, respondents identifying “EU sovereigns and banks as the number one tail risk dropped to 29% from 42% in April.”
Tags: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Banks, Commodities, EU, Fund managers, Sentiment, Sovereigns, Tail risk
Financial Times (May 14, 2013)
In the UK, the state-owned Royal Mail may be taken public this fall in line with legislation passed in 2011. In marked contrast to the U.S. Postal Service, which is hemorrhaging money, the Royal Mail’s “fortunes have been improving as a result of modernisation and the boom in internet-related packet deliveries,” leading observers to value it at £2bn-£3bn.
Tags: Boom, Internet, IPO, Legislation, Royal Mail, UK, USPS
Euromoney (May Issue)
“The record stock market debut of BTS Group Holdings in Thailand provides fresh hope of a broader revival for public offerings across the Asia Pacific region.” The $2.1 billion IPO was the region’s largest in a year when “deals have been notoriously difficult” amid “volatile equity markets fuelled by geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.” The BTS deal may prove a bellwether, prompting “long-awaited rush of listings.” In contrast, the otherwise successful $1 billion IPO of Japan Prologis REIT in February proved a “false dawn;” the rush of deals never followed.
Tags: Asia Pacific, BTS, Geopolitical, IPO, Japan Prologis, Macroeconomic, REITs, Thailand, Uncertainty
Washington Post (May 13, 2013)
“It’s been five years since the onset of the financial crisis — the rescue of Bear Stearns in March 2008 — and we still don’t know whether the financial system is safe.” Progress has clearly been made, but whether it’s sufficient or even the right sort remains very much to be seen. “Will Dodd-Frank save capitalism or suffocate it? It may be years before we know.”
Time (May 12, 2013)
“While people in some parts of India continue to battle malnutrition, many residents in the wealthier states have, during the past two decades of the nation’s boom, faced a menace of excess. Rising incomes paired with sedentary lifestyles and starchy, sugary diets have helped diabetes spread furiously.” Now the crisis is spreading to rural areas and the poor. It’s hard to even get a grip on the size of the problem, let alone move towards a solution. “Researchers believe there are nearly five times the total of undiagnosed patients and diabetes-related deaths in India than in the U.S.,” but nobody knows for sure.
Tags: Diabetes, Diet, Income, India, Lifestyles, Malnutrition, U.S.
