globalEDGE Blog - Page 136

Relations between Russia and Turkey have been strained ever since a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M bomber was downed by a Turkish F-16 fighter jet over the border between Turkey and Syria in late November. Turkey claimed the shooting was done because the bomber was violating Turkish airspace. Turkey also made a statement professing their awareness of the presence of Russian warplanes in the Syrian area, leading Russia to believe that the strike was a premeditated attack. In retaliation, Vladimir Putin signed a series of economic sanctions against Ankara on November 28. Now, Russia is discussing passing additional sanctions against Turkey.

There are many risks associated with frontier markets, but there may be even more reward for investors.  Compared to the popular emerging markets, frontier markets are even higher on the risk-reward scale. It is a smart move for investors now to make a move to invest some of what is already invested in emerging market into frontier markets, generating more diversification for their portfolio and to generate higher growth potential.

In recent years, the pharmaceutical industry has been faced with the message of “do more with less.” Companies in the industry are used to arguing with insurers over the coverage of a particular drug, searching for cures for seemingly untreatable diseases, or facing public backlash from the high prices of currently sold drugs. Overall, this underlying message is not expected to go away in 2016, and significant challenges are predicted ahead.

Since the first automobile was developed, we have been making tremendous steps towards improvement. The insertion of a braking system, turn signals, air bags, radios, automatic windows, cruise control, and parking assistance are a few of the major developments over the years. We have made advancements so that the driver is assisted at their highest level of convenience. We have not, however, thought about taking the driver out of the equation altogether. Nearly 1.3 million people are killed on the world’s roads every year. People are texting, talking on the phone, reprimanding their kids, spilling coffee, and reaching for fallen items, just to name a few. Distracted people are operating 1.3 ton vehicles. People are the problem and driverless vehicles may be the solution. 

Alibaba Group Holding Company is a Chinese e-commerce corporation that works to connect online businesses and marketplaces all over the world. The company is the largest e-commerce operation in China and has made its founder and chairman, Jack Ma, his country's richest man. Alibaba has often drawn comparisons to Amazon due to each company's respective dominance in local and global markets. A big part of Amazon's success has been due to its expansion from online retail services, and Alibaba now appears to be following a similar route. 

Alas! After months of waiting and a volatile year in the global markets, the Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it will be increasing rates from close to zero to between 0.25% and 0.5%. This is the first interest rate rise in almost a decade, and the effects of the increase will spark volatility in domestic markets as well as international markets. The rate hike is meant to signal economic strength in the United States by showing that the economy is strong enough to handle larger borrowing costs. Janet Yellen, the Federal Reserve chair, explained that further rate hikes will be “gradual” in an effort not to slow economic recovery.

For the first time in 15 years, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has changed the structure of the special drawing rights (SDR) basket and has announced the Chinese yuan to be a new official foreign reserve asset. This change not only acknowledges China's monetary reforms, but also accelerates the yuan’s internationalization. This blog will explain the challenges and benefits that China is facing with respect to the inclusion of its currency in the SDR basket.

Across Nigeria, low cost goods imported from China are rampant, further providing evidence of Beijing’s growing dominance in global trade. While the trade flow from China has helped to keep life affordable for some Nigerian families in times of economic stagnation and plunging prices, low quality and counterfeit products are becoming a major problem within the country. For example, dozens of fires each year can be connected to electrical wiring, outlets, and power strips from China found in the homes and offices of Nigerian citizens. Not only are poor quality items posing safety risks, but they are also taking away employment opportunities from workers in Nigeria.

The Celtic Tiger is roaring again. After an economic downturn in 2008, Ireland was in dire straits. It was more often associated with the failing economies in Southern European countries than its peers in Northern Europe. In 2015, however, these troubles seem to be a relic of the distant past. Ireland’s GDP has grown at an astounding 7% through this point in 2015, while most of Western Europe is marred in low growth in the 0 to 2 percent growth range. This positive trend in the Irish economy has been spurred mainly by investment from overseas, particularly U.S. pharmaceutical and tech companies.  A skilled workforce, and a minimal corporate tax rate of 12.5% has led many of these U.S. corporations to set up their base European operations in Ireland. Companies such as Pfizer, Apple, Facebook, and Google have built up major operations in Ireland’s main cities. Some major US companies have even completed mergers or acquisitions to execute a tax inversion, and move their base of operations for tax purposes to Ireland. Not only are these countries creating jobs and bringing in tax income to help the public financing of Ireland, but they are helping to offset all of the negative aspects that were dragging down the Irish economy.

Over the past five years, the U.S. real estate market has been flooded with capital from Chinese investors who are eager for the opportunity to both earn high yields and move their cash outside the reach of the Chinese government. This real estate binge began when the crash of the U.S real estate market drew in thousands of Chinese investors looking to swoop up houses and commercial properties for highly reduced prices. The Chinese government limits individual's annual overseas investments to roughly $50,000; however, for years these laws have been circumvented by channeling money through friends, relatives, and employees. After the Chinese market crash in August, the government has cracked down on these laws, making it increasingly difficult to transfer capital outside the country. John Chang, a real estate broker with Re/Max in New York City described the current situation as being “like barbarians at the gate,” Chinese families want to buy, but “can’t get the money out.”