Global Finance

Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori, in exile in Japan since 2000, has vowed to seek re-election in next year's presidential race, despite a constitutional ban that precludes him from seeking public office before 2010. Authorities say that while the former president is free to return home and has even been issued a new Peruvian passport, he will face prosecution on charges ranging from corruption and human rights abuses to drug trafficking and homicide. He is reported to have tendered ...

Milestones: Taking Note

M&Amp;a Set for a Record-Breaking Year

Merger and acquisitions bankers are already putting the Champagne on ice. With just a couple of months to go to the end of 2005, it looks set to be the best year for global activity since the technology, media and telecom boom of 2000. The current boom in M&A is strikingly different from those of 1988 or 2000: Price/earnings multiples remain low compared to those years, suggesting the stock market is being relatively sensible. Most current M&A is not being financed by stock -- usually...

The Chinese Battle for Latin America

The People's Republic of China (PRC) and Taiwan are locked in head-to-head combat for Latin American allegiance. Beijing has promised billions of dollars in new investment and trade in the region's largest markets, while Taiwan is focusing on the smaller Central American and Caribbean nations. In both cases the strategy seems based on "dollar diplomacy." Even Mexico, which initially regarded the PRC as more of a competitor than a potential partner, appears to be warming up to Beijing.

Emerging Markets

Black Market Booms

Insurance Industry to Open Up

The Indian government is considering raising the equity foreign holding limit in insurance companies to 49% from the current level of 26%. Several global insurers, including AIG, New York Life, Sun Life Financial, Allianz, Old Mutual, Chubb and Standard Life, have joint ventures with major Indian business groups or financial institutions and are major players. The insurance industry was opened to foreign investors in 2000, and since then the annual premium income has exploded from $8 billion ...

Finance Offshoring Jobs Set to Double

Tenaris Adr Up 129% This Year

Mobile Operator Crosses Borders

Sector Focus

Know Thy Customer's Behavior

Client management and sales are key functions in most organizations, and companies are increasingly realizing the importance of preserving and developing relationships with their existing clients, in addition to developing new client bases. As a result, technology tools geared at improving customer service and managing sales relationships have grown in importance. Sales Force Automation (SFA) software -- as part of an overall client relationship management (CRM) software strategy -- promises ...

Corporate Financing News: Mergers & Acquisitions

Europe's Gas Suppliers Make Explosive Bids

Spain's largest natural gas company, Gas Natural, has made a hostile bid for the country's biggest electricity provider, Endesa, which is nearly double its size. Meanwhile, Russia's largest gas producer, Gazprom, which supplies almost all of the natural gas used in Central & Eastern Europe, is seeking control of Sibneft, a major Russian oil company. Gas Natural's audacious bid of $27.4 billion would be financed by the post-acquisition sale of some of Endesa's assets, including operations ...

Country Focus

Firm Foundations

As the political scandal around president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reached its peak over the summer, nervous investors began to consider bailing out of Brazil. Surprisingly, though, the country's markets barely flinched. While Lula has been weakened by the scandal, which started in June and has led to several of his top government and party aides resigning, neither Brazilian stocks nor the country's macroeconomics have been badly affected. Although the investigation into corruption continues...

Annual Survey

The World's Best Companies 2005

Nearly 80% of this year's winners of best company awards are repeat winners from last year. Rising prices of fuel and raw materials, fluctuating currencies and tough global competition have made the challenge of staying on top more interesting this year. Still, the vast majority of the best companies not only have survived, but they also have thrived and have positioned themselves for greater achievements to come. The best global companies in 29 sectors, as well as regional winners in various...

Best Banks in Project Finance 2005

Project finance activity worldwide has cooled significantly from the fever pitch of 2004, with China largely absent from the market so far this year but with activity still booming in the oil-rich countries of the Middle East. Overall global volume of project financing fell 7%, to $98 billion, in the first nine months of 2005 from $105 billion during the same period last year, according to Dealogic. The number of deals fell to 272 in the first three quarters of 2005 from 311 deals in the same...

Corporate Financing News: Foreign Exchange

Fed Tightening Strangles Yen

By all rights, these should have been the glory days for the Japanese yen. The Nikkei average is trading at the highest levels in four years as foreign money flows into Japanese stocks. The economy is showing sustained growth, and Japanese monetary authorities are on the verge of declaring victory over deflation. In recent months, most analysts have forecast that the yen would strengthen to around 90 to the dollar by the end of the year. The dollar is stronger in general against a range of cu...

Corporate Financing News: Global Equity/Drs

Insurers and Reinsurers Flood Into Equity Capital Market in Wake of Hurricanes

Since Hurricane Katrina plowed into the US Gulf Coast at the end of August, insurers and reinsurance companies have been the biggest issuers of stock in the US capital market. The insurers are raising money not only to pay claims and to stave off downgrades by the ratings agencies but also to position themselves to take advantage of an expected rise in premiums during the important insurance-renewal season starting in January. Munich Re, the world's biggest reinsurance company, put its Katrin...

Corporate Financing News: Corporate Debt

Mexican Homebuilder Cuts Borrowing Costs

Desarrolladora Homex, a leading Mexican homebuilder, lowered its borrowing costs and extended its debt maturity by placing $250 million of 10-year senior guaranteed notes with qualified buyers in the US market and hedging its resulting currency exposure. The notes were sold with an interest rate of 7.55%. The company repaid approximately 81% of its total outstanding debt. The Bond Market Association has developed a standardized format for data files related to collateralized debt obligations ...

Country Report

Searching for Direction

With the French saying "non" to the EU constitution earlier this year and the outcome of the German election sending mixed messages about the public's appetite for radical market reforms, Anglo-Saxon newspapers have taken to calling France and Germany "the new sick men of Europe." As France and the other major eurozone economies grapple with the new economic realities fueled by globalization and competition from lower cost centers, they walk a delicate tightrope in terms of trying to sustain ...

Issues

Risk and Reward

Responsibility is the buzzword of the 21st century. Companies line up to profess their environmental and social credentials and acknowledge their responsibility for communities and ethical practices. At the same time -- and not coincidently -- an ever-increasing array of funds competes to invest savings in companies that are run according to socially responsible investment (SRI) principles. The leading indexes for SRI are Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good. While the changes a company has...