Sharp emerging market sell-off creates pockets of value for discerning investors January 28, 2014 The recent chaos in emerging markets has brought back uneasy memories of last summer’s sell-off. The MSCI emerging markets index fell from around 1,003 at the beginning of January to less than 932 on Monday, before stabilising in anticipation of the Federal Reserve meeting taking place today and tomorrow. But should investors be put off [...]
Emerging markets need a structural overhaul before they can return to favour January 27, 2014 PEOPLE talk about emerging markets as if they were one homogenous group, but nothing could be further from the truth. The only thing that really links Argentina, Turkey and Indonesia is that they all look vulnerable to further volatility in their currency, bond and equity markets. The diversity of the emerging market universe is such [...]
Investors braced for emerging markets chaos January 27, 2014 INVESTORS are bracing themselves for yet another day of volatility in the financial markets, as political problems in Argentina, Turkey and Ukraine, concerns about slower growth in China and reduced support from US monetary policy spook traders. A full-scale flight from emerging markets accelerated last Friday as shares in major economies were dumped in favour [...]
The Mints are falling apart: It’s time to reassess our view of emerging markets January 26, 2014 TO PARAPHRASE Antony in Julius Caesar, I come to bury the Mints idea, not to praise it. True, as with its Brics ancestor, former Goldman Sachs Asset Management head Jim O’Neill has hit upon something vitally important by identifying Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey as future economic giants. With the Brics, it was that the [...]
Don’t underestimate Turkey’s turmoil: Not all emerging markets will succeed January 8, 2014 TURKEY’S often-fickle political system may not make its current domestic turmoil seem particularly important. But the country’s troubles hold lessons for the likely success – or failure – of other emerging markets in 2014 and beyond. More and more, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan looks like a man who has outlasted his usefulness. If [...]
Miller gets lift from emerging market sales November 21, 2013 SABMILLER, the world’s second-largest brewer, said yesterday that emerging markets would continue to drive sales and earnings while European and North American consumers drink less beer. Other companies including Unilever and Diageo have reported a slowdown in emerging markets such as China and Brazil but SABMiller said it was upbeat on the outlook for Latin [...]
Pru puts faith in emerging markets boom November 14, 2013 PRUDENTIAL chief executive Tidjane Thiam yesterday said retiring US baby boomers and a burgeoning Asian middle class would fuel the company’s aggressive growth plans over the next five years. Thiam, who took over as Pru chief executive in 2009, sounded a bullish note on future growth prospects after posting double-digit profit increases in new business [...]
Diageo hurt by weak emerging markets growth October 17, 2013 DIAGEO posted a lower than expected rise in first quarter sales yesterday as strong growth in the US was dampened by a slowdown in emerging markets such as Africa and Russia. The world’s largest drinks company, which owns brands including Guinness and Smirnoff, said organic sales rose by three per cent in the three months [...]
CNBC Comment: Stability isn’t saving emerging markets October 14, 2013 INVESTORS have remained remarkably sanguine, despite being just a couple of days from the 17 October date when the US Treasury says it will run out of money if the debt ceiling isn’t raised. Yes, volatility has spiked, and very short-dated credit has seen yields higher. But whatever last minute extension is crafted, everyone expects [...]
Investment Comment: Emerging markets: A risky bargain October 8, 2013 Despite cheap valuations, investors must exercise extreme caution EMERGING market equities have underperformed developed markets for three years in a row. This year has been particularly volatile for the former, with concerns over the deceleration of the Chinese economy and the growing realisation that a wind-down in quantitative easing (QE) by the US Federal Reserve [...]