Institutional Investor (May 15)
Voting in India took five weeks and the results won’t be announced until tomorrow, but the stock market has already rallied, which “suggests investors anticipate a solid victory” for Narendra Modi’s business-friendly National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Exit poll projections are notoriously unreliable and this year “several factors heighten the uncertainty,” especially the fact that “of India’s electorate of 814 million, fully 150 million were eligible to vote for the first time.”
Tags: Electorate, Exit poll, India, Investors, Narendra Modi, National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Projections, Rally, Results, Stock market, Uncertainty, Victory, Voting
Institutional Investor (May 8)
M&A appears poised to hit new highs. “Announced global deals this year have already hit $1 trillion as of the end of March, one of the highest quarterly levels since 1998 and almost double the level announced for the same period a year ago. The trend is reaching across industries and regional markets.” Several factors are driving the boom? M&A “reduces the uncertainty as to how surplus capital will get put to work and, with the cost of capital so low, raises the odds that acquisitions can boost future earnings growth.”
Tags: Acquisitions, Cost of capital, Earnings growth, Global deals, M&A, Surplus capital, Uncertainty
Wall Street Journal (November 21, 2013)
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe helped his plans to achieve economic revival “by abandoning Tokyo’s 2009 pledge to reduce the country’s carbon emissions by 25% from 1990 levels by 2020.” With the reduction in nuclear power, the old targets had been looking increasingly unattainable. “Japan is not going to become the Worst Polluter in the World as a result of this announcement. Instead, it will be a country that is striking a smarter balance between the uncertainty of global-warming predictions and current economic reality.”
Tags: Balance, CO2 emissions, Economic reality, Global warming, Japan, Nuclear power, Shinzo Abe, Targets, Uncertainty
Daily Nation (September 23)
As the standoff at Kenya’s Westgate Mall enters the third day, “all round, there is a sense of gloom and doom. Tension is palpable and the citizens are worried about the grotesque drama…. The stand-off and uncertainty are taking a huge toll on the economy as businesses remain closed and many people kept away from work. Worse, the tragedy has sent the wrong message that Kenya is an unsafe destination even when it is clear that terrorism knows no borders.”
Tags: Economy, Kenya, Stand-off, Tension, Terrorism, Tragedy, Uncertainty, Westgate Mall
Institutional Investor (August Issue)
Over the past decade, Brazil produced stellar returns. Internal strife and the looming tapering by the Federal Reserve are now, however, disrupting the long favorable investment environment. “Brazilian investors have not faced such uncertainty for many years. The country attracted investment because it appeared to be one of the most dynamic and politically stable emerging markets. The return of volatility will tax the ingenuity of Brazil’s money managers.”
Tags: Brazil, Dynamic, Emerging markets, Fed, Investment, Money manager, Returns, Stable, Tapering, Uncertainty, Volatility
Wall Street Journal (May 21, 2013)
“Today the U.S. is the world’s largest gas producer and amid the hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling boom could become a global supplier.” Recent approvals have allowed some exports to proceed. “Regulatory indecision,” however, has created a backlog of export proposals, some involving Japanese firms, awaiting approval. “Such deals will wither if regulatory uncertainty grows.”
Tags: Boom, Drilling, Gas producer, Hydraulic fracturing, Japan, Regulatory indecision, U.S., Uncertainty
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
New York Times (September 7)
“In the long euro crisis, there is almost always a sobering morning-after whenever European leaders appear to have made a major breakthrough. And so it went again Friday.” There is again “further uncertainty about the survival of the euro zone.”
“In the long euro crisis, there is almost always a sobering morning-after whenever European leaders appear to have made a major breakthrough. And so it went again Friday.” There is again “further uncertainty about the survival of the euro zone.”
Reuters (June 30)
The S&P 500 closed June with a bang, despite posting the first loss in 3 quarters. “Stocks surged on Friday to close out a sour quarter on a high note as investors cheered an agreement by European leaders to stabilize the region’s banks, a pact that helped remove some of the uncertainty that has plagued markets. The broad rally was the S&P 500’s best day since December 20 and helped the benchmark index trim its quarterly loss to 3.3 percent.”
The S&P 500 closed June with a bang, despite posting the first loss in 3 quarters. “Stocks surged on Friday to close out a sour quarter on a high note as investors cheered an agreement by European leaders to stabilize the region’s banks, a pact that helped remove some of the uncertainty that has plagued markets. The broad rally was the S&P 500’s best day since December 20 and helped the benchmark index trim its quarterly loss to 3.3 percent.”
Tags: Banks, Europe, Investors, S&P 500, Uncertainty
Institutional Investor (September 15)
“The rise in government debt and consequent decline in sovereign creditworthiness…stand out as the biggest and most pernicious legacies of the financial crisis.” Political uncertainty ranks nearly as high. “European leaders careen from one crisis summit to the next” and U.S. politicians pursued a “similarly shaky direction” over the debt ceiling. “As a result, market participants are losing confidence that politicians can strike the right balance and contain debt without killing growth.”
Tags: EU, Politicians, Sovereign debt, U.S., Uncertainty
