The Responsible Bank – ESADE identifies education needs

The team of ESADE Business School in the Citizen Act Competition disclosed the outcomes of their “information responsibility poll” last week. Almost all of the visitors of their site agreed that educating consumers about finance is primarily a responsibility of the finance industry.

Next question now must be:  how are the banks doing it now?

To get an impression they are gathering anecdotes people might have on how banks did or did not educate consumers. So far, they have some interesting examples from India and the Netherlands. It would be interesting to see what examples exist from the rest of the world. Join the discussion in the quest for change here.

10th anniversary of global roaming

Today is my 10th anniversary of having left my hometown in Germany and of roaming around the world. I left Germany on the 23rd of January 2000 to move to Australia to study at The Southport School. Since then I have lived in Australia, Singapore, China, India, France, Spain and Germany. I had spent 1.5years in Germany in this time however life 1/4 of that time in Paris. What a great experience it has been. So what will the next decade bring?

Article Recommendation: MBA salaries in Asia

Original Article here.

Source: QS TopMBA.com International Recruiter Survey 2009

Emerging Markets – Newsletter #6

Emerging Markets

Report sees emerging markets leading global growth – The world economy will start growing again in 2010 but emerging markets will accelerate at a much faster rate than the U.S and Europe, due in part to continued frugality among Western consumers, a new report says. AP

Latin America

Dubai Shouldn’t Hurt Latin America, World Bank Says –  Latin America is better positioned than other emerging markets to withstand fallout from a possible Dubai debt default because its economy is in better shape, said Pamela Cox, the World Bank’s vice president for Latin America. Bloomberg

Ex-guerrilla easily wins Uruguay presidency – President-elect Jose Mujica retreated to his flower farm and shunned the spotlight on Monday, saying that dumping more talk on Uruguayans after a speech-filled campaign “would be like raining on what is already wet.” AP

Exclusive: Banco do Brasil eyes U.S., Latin takeovers: CEO – Banco do Brasil (BBAS3.SA), Latin America’s largest bank by assets, may seek acquisitions in the United States, looking to benefit from “devalued” prices among regional lenders, Chief Executive Aldemir Bendine said in an interview. Reuters

Brazil Real ‘Most Overvalued’ Currency, Goldman Says – Brazil’s real is the “most overvalued” currency as a “wall of money” coming into Latin America’s biggest economy may overwhelm government efforts to curb its rally, said Goldman Sachs Group Inc. BloombergBrazil: Chinese Buy Stake in MMX Steel – The Wuhan Iron & Steel Group, a Chinese steelmaker, agreed to pay $400 million for a stake in Brazil’s MMX Mineracao e Metalicos to broaden its supply of iron ore. NYTimes

Asia Pacific/Pacific

Christmas in Asia – The Christmas celebrations are turning out to be an important revenue stream for the non-Christian economies in Asia. Christmas has become so popular in Asia that no retailer would want to miss this chance. American Daily

Obama & Asia – What is the feeling now that Obama has left and the dust has settled? ZanesVille

Japanese exports jump – The low value of the Japanese Yen against the Euro and USD has spurred a large demand in exports. Bloomberg

Asia seems to be future – The World Bank now bets on Asia as being the main driver for recovery of the world economies. Reuters, The Australian, AFP

South-Asia epicenter for Islamic fundamentalism – Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, announces South-Asia as being the hub for Islamic extremists. RTT

Asians invade US – Random Story: The Asian carp is causing hamock in the Great Lakes where the great Asian carp threatens the entire fishing industry. CBS

Africa

Eskom Seeks $5.4 Billion in Funding, Cuts Tariff Plan – Eskom Holdings Ltd., South Africa’s state utility, scaled back plans to increase tariffs 45 percent after hostility from companies and unions, saying it will delay projects and seek private investment to meet a cash shortfall. Bloomberg

Looted wealth fuels Congo’s conflict – President Paul Kagame of Rwanda is no neutral observer when it comes to the Democratic Republic of Congo. His attempts to mould events there have often exacerbated a conflict now in its 14th year. FT

Oil majors invest $21 billion in deepwater operations – Oil majors operating in Nigeria have invested more than $21 billion (about N2.9 trillion) in the deepwater developments under the Producing Sharing Contract (PSC), a senior official of Chevron Nigeria Limited revealed on Monday. 234Next

Builders turn to technology to cut cost of houses – The escalating cost of houses has locked out many people from having a decent shelter over their heads. But the use of new building materials such as Prefabricated Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) to put up houses may change this. Business Daily Africa

Where should Africa turn for funds? – Small report on a debate on investment prospects in Africa involving private sector panellists and representatives of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Reuters

Rwanda – first landmine-free country – Rwanda has been declared free of landmines – the first country to achieve this status. BBC

This newsletter was sent by the ESADE Emerging Market Club. If you wish to unsubscribe please reply to this email with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject. To subscribe please email to ESADE Emerging Market Club and write “subscribe” in the subject.

Newsletter – Emerging Markets #3

Emerging Markets

EM new opportunities for Mobile Phone Operator – Mobile Phone Operators see a great growth opportunities with the large amount of SME emerging and growing in the Emerging markets. Reuters

HSBC is looking at the EM – HSBC is on the look out for M&A’s in EM and is particularly interested in China – WSJ, Reuters

Pension Funds are heading to the EM – Fund managers are looking at increasing the amount of pensions funds investmented in EM. Pionline

Latin America

Banco do Brasil wants US$5.7bn US share sale – SAO PAULO, Oct 31 (Reuters) – Banco do Brasil (BBAS3.SA), Brazil’s biggest bank, wants to fetch up to 10 billion reais ($5.7 billion) in a share offering in the United States to replenish its capital base, newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources. Reuters

Honduran coup leaders agree to restore ousted president to power –  The de facto government announces that it will sign accord reinstating Manuel Zelaya. The Guardian

AEI Pulls Offering Amid Record Low Returns for IPOs – Oct. 30 (Bloomberg) — The market for initial public offerings, hurt by the worst returns in at least 14 years, suffered another setback after AEI pulled its sale. Bloomberg & Reuters

EMERGING MARKETS – LatAm stocks tumble, worst day in 8 months – NEW YORK, Oct 28 (Reuters) – Investors pulled back from riskier markets again on Wednesday after weak U.S. housing data upset economic recovery hopes and slammed Latin American stocks for their worst one-day fall in nearly 8 months. Reuters & Bloomberg

Forget China, Brazil’s a cheaper investment – The bustling economy survived the global slump in style, and many of its stocks are still reasonably valued. CNN Money

Asia Pacific/Pacific

Pakistan’s National Bank Net Declines on Provisions – National Bank of Pakistan, the nation’s biggest lender by assets, said third-quarter profit declined 18 percent after it set aside additional funds to cover bad debts and received lower dividend income. Bloomberg

China’s Sinopec posts 25% drop in 3Q net income – Sinopec Profit May Fall as Fuel Prices Lag Behind Oil. Bloomberg, China Economic Review

China sovereign fund buys 45% stake in Russian oil company – China Investment Corporation (CIC), the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, announced Friday that it had closed the first phase settlement for the purchase of a 45 percent stake in Nobel Oil Group. People.com.cn

China’s economic policies, RMB exchange rate to remain stable – China is to maintain basic stability and continuity in the economic policies and RMB exchange rate to ensure a foreseeable prospect for its businesses. Xinhuanet

India is wondering what to do with all the capital – India is facing an unprecedented inflow of foreign capital into the market and now needs to find new ways to cope with that challenge and opportunity.  Seeking Alpha

SE Asia Stocks-Markets subdued, Thailand leads falls. Reuters

Africa

China’s direct investment in Africa, excluding in the financial sector, shot up 78.6% – Mbendi, People.com.cn

IMF forecasts Kenya’s economy to grow by 2.7% in 2009 – A statement issued in Nairobi following the conclusion of a two-week visit to the East African nation said the economic performance is expected to improve gradually.Xinhuanet

Uganda’s Inflation Slowed to 13.3% in October – Uganda’s annual inflation rate declined to 13.3 percent in October after the prices of some foods fell, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics said.Bloomberg

IMF sees 3% Zimbabwe growth, warns on wages demands -Zimbabwe’s economy would grow by 3 percent this year due to improved policies said the IMF. Busrep

Sudan’s oil production has plunged to less than 500,000 barrels per day – Sudan’s oil production has plunged to less than 500,000 barrels per day in 2008/2009, said the minister of energy in an interview with Reuters on Oct. 25. Sudantribune

ArcelorMittal South Africa has posted a headline loss of R65 million – The third quarter loss represents a substantial improvement on the R607 million loss of the previous quarter. Mbendi

SA Rand Pares Loss After Steepest Intraday Decline in One Year – The rand posted its biggest intraday decline against the dollar in more than a year as the Tokyo Financial Exchange Inc. quoted a price on its Web site that was 35 percent below the rest of the market. Bloomberg, Update by Busrep

South Africa’s unemployment rate increased by 0.9% to 24.9% Mbendi

Middle-East

Mizuho Said to Form Investment Bank in Saudi Arabia – Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Japan’s third-largest bank by market value, received a license to start offering investment-banking services in Saudi Arabia. Bloomberg

Dubai’s Drake & Scull Q3 net profit $19 mln – Dubai-based contractor Drake & Scull International DSI.DU recorded a third-quarter net profit of 71 million dirhams ($19.33 million) on Monday and said it continued to review expansion opportunities in the region. Reuters

Most clicked articles last week:

Asian leaders seek to reduce Western trade ties Reuters

No Asia without us, India reminds Asean, Japan Hindu

East Asia Needs New Economic Model, Says Najib Bernama

This newsletter was sent by the ESADE Emerging Market Club. If you wish to unsubscribe please reply to this email with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject. To subscribe please email to ESADE Emerging Market Club and write “subscribe” in the subject.