China’s Mr Private Equity explains the new frontier’s hopes and risks October 17, 2010 VICTOR ZHIKAI Gao is staying at the Langham Hotel, down the road from the Chinese Embassy. Just off a plane from Beijing, and sipping green tea to stay ahead of his jet lag, he is in London to brief an investment bank on China’s rapidly developing private equity sector. Although jaded, he manages to be [...]
UN warns of currency war threat October 14, 2010 WORRIES over the US economy sent the dollar tumbling against most world currencies yesterday, prompting the UN to warn countries against an all-out currency war. The dollar reached $1.41 against the euro and near-parity with the Australian dollar, while a rush to hedge against a weak US dollar sent gold prices to a record high. [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 14, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES AIA CHIEF FAVOURS ORGANIC GROWTH AIA will address questions about its growth by increasing profitability and expanding organically rather than by pursuing acquisitions, according to the chief executive of the $30bn Asian life assurer about to list in Hong Kong. Mark Tucker told the Financial Times that AIA, which is being sold by [...]
DO-GOODING HEDGE FUND AUTHORS STRIP MEAT OFF MERVYN’S BONES October 14, 2010 FOLLOWING on from The Capitalist’s coverage of the launch of The Gathering Storm – a compilation of essays by hedgies, with all proceeds going to charities chosen by the writers – the book’s august authors gathered yesterday for cucumber sandwiches and wine at the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation. As the discussion galloped [...]
Hugo Boss earnings up after it saw strong sales in Asia October 14, 2010 GERMAN fashion group Hugo Boss yesterday raised its 2010 outlook after a faster-than-expected recovery in the luxury goods market, together with its strategy of opening more stores, helped it beat third-quarter forecasts. After a sharp downturn, the luxury market has started to recover in 2010, driven by tourist shoppers from emerging markets such as China. [...]
A good quality MBA should be all about broadening horizons October 13, 2010 TRADITIONALLY, an MBA has been a generalist qualification which teaches fresh skills and opens up avenues. But a new breed of focused MBAs has emerged in recent years. These concentrate on a specific area such as the energy industry, defence, financial services, the BRIC countries or even corporate and social responsibility (see box). They are [...]
FTSE down as mining shares fall October 12, 2010 Britain’s leading share index edged lower yesterday with weakness in commodity issues countering strength in defensive issues as investors’ risk appetite faded. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 10.81points, or 0.2 per cent, at 5,661.59, having earlier touched its lowest level in a week below the 5,600 level. Miners Xstrata, Kazakhmys, and [...]
From Japan to Oman: the life of Mark Mobius October 12, 2010 EMERGING markets may be the most popular investment flavour of the past decade but Franklin Templeton’s charismatic and distinctive guru Mark Mobius can safely lay claim to having been one of the first to spot the opportunities these countries offered. Countries like Hong Kong and Japan were deemed emerging markets when Mobius started looking at [...]
Asia may rise but be careful of the dragon October 12, 2010 The Thai government attempted to pull on the reins of its rapidly appreciating currency yesterday. This should be a warning sign for traders putting their cash into emerging market currencies. Capital controls are one of the few weapons available to governments who need to keep their currency weak to compete with China in the export [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 12, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES NIGERIA APPROVES $2.5BN BID FOR NITEL Nigeria has approved a controversial $2.5bn offer for the country’s main fixed-line telecoms group, but has demanded that the winning consortium come up with a $750m downpayment to secure the sale. The approval follows years of ill-fated efforts to sell off Nitel, which has withered since liberalisation [...]