Deal Brief: Argentine Vineyards

For so long a ‘sleeping giant’ in the wine industry, Argentina is now creating a buzz on world markets.  The largest Latin American producer—and sixth biggest in the world—is one of the hottest prospects as its intense, high-altitude wines and competitive costs seduce collectors and supermarket shoppers alike.

Drawing on extensive research and interviews with industry experts, this ‘deal brief’ will examine why the international wine community is focused on Argentina right now, how this is stirring interest in vineyard real estate in the South American giant, and what are the different assets available for investors.

Read the full report at :
http://www.alternativelatininvestor.com/DealBrief-ArgentineVineyards.pdf

Source: ALI, 27.12.2010

BlackRock lista 7 nuevos ETF de indices de Asia, Polonia, Brazil y renta fija International en Mexico

Ciudad de México, 26 de diciembre de 2010 – El pasado jueves 23 de diciembre, empezaron a negociarse en el Sistema Internacional de Cotizaciones (SIC) de la Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV) 7 nuevos ETFs iShares internacionales, patrocinados por Deutsche Securities, S.A. de C.V., Casa de Bolsa y administrados por BlackRock, en lo que constituye el cuarto paquete de ETFs iShares listados en el SIC el presente año.

Los 7 ETFs iShares que integran este paquete brindan exposición a índices de renta variable internacional de mercados emergentes y de Asia no emergente, así como de renta fija internacional.

Los ETFs iShares listados en el SIC son:

Nombre	Clave de pizarra	% Gastos	Aprobado por CONSAR
Instrumentos de renta variable
iShares MSCI China Small Cap Index Fund	ECNS	0.65	No
iShares MSCI Indonesia Investable Market Index Fund	EIDO	0.65	No
iShares MSCI New Zealand Investable Market Index Fund	ENZL	0.55	No
iShares MSCI Poland Investable Market Index Fund	EPOL	0.65	No
iShares MSCI Brazil Small Cap Index Fund	EWZS	0.65	No
Instrumentos de renta fija
iShares FTSE Gilts UK 0-5	IGLS	0.20	No
iShares DEX Short Term Bond Index Fund	XSB	0.25	No

Estos 7 ETFs iShares permiten tener acceso a un perfil de inversión representado por el dinámico sector de empresas de baja capitalización de economías que han tenido desempeños recientes interesantes, como la china, indonesia, neozelandesa, polaca o brasileña.

Por ejemplo, el iShares MSCI China Small Cap Index Fund mantiene una posición diversificada en empresas chinas de baja capitalización del sector automotriz, minero, tecnológico, de bienes raíces, energético, cementero y de materias primas, entre muchos otros.

Las carteras, desempeños recientes, retornos históricos, prospectos y otros datos de interés de estos nuevos ETFs pueden ser consultados en www.iShares.com.mx.

“Con este cuarto paquete de ETFs iShares listados en el SIC este año, culmina un 2010 de intensa actividad para BlackRock en México, pues arrancamos con 126 ETFs, y estamos cerrando con un total de 168: 146 ETFs listados en el Sistema Internacional de Cotizaciones y 12 ETFs listados en el mercado local de la Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV). Asimismo, pasamos de 10 mil millones a 14 mil millones de dólares en activos bajo administración para clientes en México a través de los ETFs iShares, en cuentas segregadas y clientes institucionales. Ambos indicadores ratifican nuestra posición de liderazgo en esta industria”, indicó Isaac Volin, Director Ejecutivo de BlackRock México.

A escala internacional, BlackRock también mantuvo su liderazgo este año con un total de activos gestionados globalmente por 3.45 billones de dólares (trillion dollars), al 30 de septiembre de 2010.

Con los ETFs iShares de BlackRock, los inversionistas mexicanos tuvieron por primera vez en 2004 acceso desde México a una amplia gama de vehículos de inversión con exposición a diferentes clases de activos internacionales, que les han permitido conformar portafolios mejor diversificados para optimizar rendimientos ajustados por riesgo.

BlackRock está firmemente comprometido a poner al alcance de los inversionistas mexicanos la familia más completa y diversificada de vehículos de inversión para tener acceso a todas las clases de activos disponibles a escala global. A su vez, ofrece acceso a inversionistas internacionales a instrumentos de activos mexicanos que contribuyen al financiamiento y desarrollo de México.

Source: BlackRock 26.12.2010

BlackRock Forecast: 2011 may be a rerun of 2010 for global economy

London, December 22^nd, 2010 – Richard Urwin, Head of Investment within BlackRock’s Fiduciary Mandate Team, believes 2011 is likely to be another positive year for global equities and other risk assets, despite persistent headwinds. Expanding on this view, Richard offers the following outlook for the global economy in 2011:

• Inflation risk remains low in developed economies, but is more pronounced in emerging markets: For the developed economies, 2011 is expected to be a year in which central banks see inflation as too low rather than accelerating. Low inflation does not imply deflation. Indeed, if deflation risk were to rise, so should the degree of monetary stimulus from central banks.  While the inflation risk in emerging economies is significant, inflation is unlikely to accelerate substantially.

• Economic growth should continue through 2011: Global growth could be more balanced with developed markets contributing more to growth next year as the momentum built up in the second half of 2010 continues. For instance, growth in Germany, Japan and the UK in recent quarters has averaged between and 3% and 4%.

• The demise of the euro is a very low probability event: The most significant event to affect financial markets in 2010 was arguably the European sovereign debt crisis. This is likely to have a significant influence on markets well into 2011 and beyond, given that southern Europe faces an extended period of retrenchment. However, the demise of the euro is very improbable.

• There is no sign of irrational exuberance in equity market valuations: On the contrary, equity multiples towards the end of 2010 appear modest by historical standards. We believe the market reflects concerns about the length and strength of the global economic recovery. In these circumstances, additional returns to risk assets do not require utopian outturns, rather an environment in which challenging news is simply not quite as challenging as expected.

• Equity returns in 2011 will be heavily dependent on the global cycle: Valuations are not so supportive that equity markets could rise on material growth disappointments, even if these stop short of recession. In addition, corporate earnings growth could slow from the strong rates of the past year or so.  Similarly, with a moderately favourable cyclical background, most forms of credit should outperform sovereign bond returns.

• The low level of bond yields implies low returns to bonds in the medium term: However, for yields to back up significantly in 2011, one of two conditions would have to apply. Either global growth or inflation picks up enough so that central banks abandon their easy-money policy and raise interest policy rates sharply, or concerns over large and sustained budget deficits increase.

• Policy rates in developed economies are expected to be kept low: We doubt that animal spirits will recover in 2011 even if global savings fall significantly. Hence, the catalyst for significant increases in bond yields during 2011 appears lacking. This suggests that government bond yields, excluding those in peripheral euro zone countries, will remain at stretched valuations for an extended period, delivering negative real returns.

Richard commented:  “In some respects, 2011 may feel like a re-run of this year.  Equities are likely to grind higher - with emerging market equities outperforming modestly rather than spectacularly, partly as a result of currency appreciation in these markets – while commodities could make further gains as supply/demand imbalances persist.

“The most marked difference in returns from 2010 could emerge in the sovereign debt market, with the headwind of very low yields. While diversification into corporate bonds and other non-government debt could add value, the scope for material spread narrowing is more limited. In short, 2011 could be another year where many investors find it difficult to take investment risk.  It is, however, likely to pay off.”

Notes to Editors:

Richard Urwin, Managing Director, is the head of Investments within BlackRock's Fiduciary Mandate Investment team (FMIT). Mr. Urwin is responsible for asset allocation and manager selection within the fiduciary client base.
Source: BlackRock, 22.12.2010

10 Trends for 2011 by Gerald Celente

After the tumultuous years of the Great Recession, a battered people may wish that 2011 will bring a return to kinder, gentler times. But that is not what we are predicting. Instead, the fruits of government and institutional action – and inaction – on many fronts will ripen in unplanned-for fashions.

Trends we have previously identified, and that have been brewing for some time, will reach maturity in 2011, impacting just about everyone in the world. 

1. Wake-Up Call In 2011, the people of all nations will fully recognize how grave economic conditions have become, how ineffectual and self-serving the so-called solutions have been, and how dire the consequences will be. Having become convinced of the inability of leaders and know-it-all "arbiters of everything" to fulfill their promises, the people will do more than just question authority, they will defy authority. The seeds of revolution will be sown…. 

2. Crack-Up 2011 Among our Top Trends for last year was the "Crash of 2010." What happened? The stock market didn’t crash. We know. We made it clear in our Autumn Trends Journal that we were not forecasting a stock market crash – the equity markets were no longer a legitimate indicator of recovery or the real state of the economy. Yet the reliable indicators (employment numbers, the real estate market, currency pressures, sovereign debt problems) all bordered between crisis and disaster. In 2011, with the arsenal of schemes to prop them up depleted, we predict "Crack-Up 2011": teetering economies will collapse, currency wars will ensue, trade barriers will be erected, economic unions will splinter, and the onset of the "Greatest Depression" will be recognized by everyone….

3. Screw the People As times get even tougher and people get even poorer, the "authorities" will intensify their efforts to extract the funds needed to meet fiscal obligations. While there will be variations on the theme, the governments’ song will be the same: cut what you give, raise what you take. 

4. Crime Waves No job + no money + compounding debt = high stress, strained relations, short fuses. In 2011, with the fuse lit, it will be prime time for Crime Time. When people lose everything and they have nothing left to lose, they lose it. Hardship-driven crimes will be committed across the socioeconomic spectrum by legions of the on-the-edge desperate who will do whatever they must to keep a roof over their heads and put food on the table….

5. Crackdown on Liberty As crime rates rise, so will the voices demanding a crackdown. A national crusade to "Get Tough on Crime" will be waged against the citizenry. And just as in the "War on Terror," where "suspected terrorists" are killed before proven guilty or jailed without trial, in the "War on Crime" everyone is a suspect until proven innocent…. 

6. Alternative Energy In laboratories and workshops unnoticed by mainstream analysts, scientific visionaries and entrepreneurs are forging a new physics incorporating principles once thought impossible, working to create devices that liberate more energy than they consume. What are they, and how long will it be before they can be brought to market? Shrewd investors will ignore the "can’t be done" skepticism, and examine the newly emerging energy trend opportunities that will come of age in 2011…. 

7. Journalism 2.0 Though the trend has been in the making since the dawn of the Internet Revolution, 2011 will mark the year that new methods of news and information distribution will render the 20^th century model obsolete. With its unparalleled reach across borders and language barriers, "Journalism 2.0" has the potential to influence and educate citizens in a way that governments and corporate media moguls would never permit. Of the hundreds of trends we have forecast over three decades, few have the possibility of such far-reaching effects…. 

8. Cyberwars Just a decade ago, when the digital age was blooming and hackers were looked upon as annoying geeks, we forecast that the intrinsic fragility of the Internet and the vulnerability of the data it carried made it ripe for cyber-crime and cyber-warfare to flourish. In 2010, every major government acknowledged that Cyberwar was a clear and present danger and, in fact, had already begun. The demonstrable effects of Cyberwar and its companion, Cybercrime, are already significant – and will come of age in 2011. Equally disruptive will be the harsh measures taken by global governments to control free access to the web, identify its users, and literally shut down computers that it considers a threat to national security…. 

9. Youth of the World Unite University degrees in hand yet out of work, in debt and with no prospects on the horizon, feeling betrayed and angry, forced to live back at home, young adults and 20-somethings are mad as hell, and they’re not going to take it anymore. Filled with vigor, rife with passion, but not mature enough to control their impulses, the confrontations they engage in will often escalate disproportionately. Government efforts to exert control and return the youth to quiet complacency will be ham-fisted and ineffectual. The Revolution will be televised … blogged, YouTubed, Twittered and….

10. End of The World! The closer we get to 2012, the louder the calls will be that the "End is Near!" There have always been sects, at any time in history, that saw signs and portents proving the end of the world was imminent. But 2012 seems to hold a special meaning across a wide segment of "End-time" believers. Among the Armageddonites, the actual end of the world and annihilation of the Earth in 2012 is a matter of certainty. Even the rational and informed that carefully follow the news of never-ending global crises, may sometimes feel the world is in a perilous state. Both streams of thought are leading many to reevaluate their chances for personal survival, be it in heaven or on earth….

See also http://www.trendsresearch.com/forecast.html

Source: Gerald Celente, Trendsresearch, 18.12.2010

Kroll LATAM Risk Report December 2010: Brazil Land Ownership n Infrastructure Fraud, Private Banking KYC, Colombia Corruption

FRAUD - Brazil - Steering Clear of the Potholes
Brazil has committed to billions of dollars worth of infrastructure investments in preparation for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. The opportunities for international suppliers, contractors and investors are considerable. So, too, are the risks of fraud.
Vander Giordano, Sao Paulo & Allie Nichols, New York  GO TO FULL STORY

CORRUPTION - Colombia - Battling Fraud & Corruption
By leveraging public outrage, the new administration of President Juan Manuel Santos has an opportunity to change Colombia's "anything goes" culture and attack the scourge of corruption with a new sense of purpose.
Andrés Otero, Miami & Ernesto Carrasco, Bogota GO TO FULL STORY

PRIVATE BANKING - The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
For private bankers, there's nothing more enticing than the prospect of landing a wealthy foreign client, but the client's background and source of funds must be carefully analyzed. Often, only an enhanced due diligence will identify the risks.
John Price, Miami GO TO FULL STORY


LAND RIGHTS - Brazil - Sending the Wrong Message
Turning back the clock, the Brazilian government tightens land rights legislation, restricting land purchases for foreign companies and individuals. Real Estated
Paulo Sérgio Franco & Scheila Santos São Paulo  GO TO FULL STORY
Source: Kroll, 14.12.2010

Alternative Latin Investor Issue 7 November/December 2010

Alternative Latin Investor Issue 7 November/December 2010 click here for a free issue Issue7

Content Index:

Infrastructure
Investing in listed shares of Latin American Infrastructure Companies

Emerging Markets
Latin America vs. Asia

Agribusiness
Ahuacatl: A Fruite for the Ages

Art
Latin American Art Gains Momentum in Europa

Commodities
Brazil's Energy Industry in the Wake of New South

Philanthropy
One Economy: Leveraging the Power of Technology to Improve Lives

Profiles
ALI Speaks with Bertrand Delgado: Senior Analyst for Emerging Markets and Latin America at Roubini Global Economics

Real Estate
Finding and Entrance into Mexico's Affordable Housing Construction Finance Market.

FOREX
Increasing Threat of Currency "WAR's" to Ignite 4th Quarter FX Activity?

Renewable Energy
Argentina's Energy Framework: Preparing for an Onslaught of Renewable Energy Investment
Winds of Change: Harnessing Wind Energy in Brazil

Regulations

New Bills Proposed to Amend the Law on Finance Entities in Argentina

Opinion
How will Nestor's Passing Affect Argentina

Ventures
ALI speaks with Element 360 Founder, Chad Martin

Source: Alternative Latin Investor 02.12.2010

Inmobiliaria Carso, de Carlos Slim, adquiere acciones ordinarias de BlackRock

Inmobiliaria Carso del señor Carlos Slim Helú, y BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK) confirmaron que la primera ha adquirido una posición en acciones ordinarias de la compañía durante la reciente oferta secundaria de acciones.

Como se anunció previamente, BlackRock, Inc. completó el 15 de noviembre de 2010 una oferta secundaria por 58’737,122 acciones de su capital ordinario a un precio de 163.00 dólares por acción.
"Estamos orgullosos de la afiliación del señor Slim como accionista de BlackRock y hemos acordado impulsar nuestra relación en beneficio mutuo", comentó Laurence D. Fink, Chairman y CEO de BlackRock. "Las perspectivas de negocio del señor Slim, y su conocimiento de los mercados latinoamericanos tendrán un valor importante para continuar el desarrollo de BlackRock en esta región."

BlackRock está comprometido con el desarrollo e innovación del sector financiero mexicano, en donde ha estado presente en el mercado de capitales desde 2004 a través de los ETFs iShares. Los ETFs, o Exchange Traded Funds por sus siglas en inglés, son también conocidos en México como "Trackers" o TRACs (Títulos Referenciados a Activos). Los ETFs son canastas de clases de activos estandarizadas que siguen a un índice. El compromiso de BlackRock en México se traduce en el desarrollo de 12 ETFs locales de renta variable y de deuda mexicana listados en la Bolsa Mexicana de Valores y en 150 ETFs listados en el Sistema Internacional de Cotizaciones de la BMV. BlackRock también cuenta con un fuerte equipo local de profesionales abocados a impulsar la cultura financiera en el país.

El Sr. Carlos Slim afirmó: "El equipo de gestión global de BlackRock y el posicionamiento estratégico de su modelo de negocio lo hacen una inversión atractiva. Espero una comunicación frecuente con BlackRock a medida que trabajemos juntos y podamos explorar nuevas oportunidades."

Al 30 de septiembre de 2010, BlackRock administraba aproximadamente 15 mil millones de dólares en activos para clientes en México a través de los ETFs iShares, cuentas segregadas e institucionales. El total de activos gestionados globalmente por BlackRock asciende a 3.45 trillones (millones de millones) de dólares.

Con los ETFs iShares de BlackRock, los inversionistas mexicanos tuvieron por primera vez en 2004 acceso desde México a una amplia gama de vehículos de inversión con exposición a diferentes clases de activos internacionales, que les han permitido conformar portafolios mejor diversificados para lograr mejores rendimientos ajustados por riesgo.

BlackRock está firmemente comprometido a poner al alcance de los inversionistas mexicanos la familia más completa y diversificada de vehículos de inversión para tener acceso a todas las clases de activos disponibles a escala global. Y a su vez, ofrece acceso a inversionistas internacionales a instrumentos de activos mexicanos que contribuyen al financiamiento y desarrollo de México.

Source:BlackRock/Carral Sierra, 29.11.2010

Metabit launches simulator for new Osaka Stock Exchange

As the industry eagerly awaits the launch of the Osaka Stock Exchange on 14 February 2011, Metabit has been authorised and licensed by NASDAQ OMX to build an exchange simulator against their OMNetAPI.  Metabit has leveraged its extensive experience of exchange simulation to launch Exsim for J-GATE on the 2^nd of December, enabling sell side organisations to comprehensively simulate the new exchange’s APIs, prior to the exchange going live.

Daniel Burgin, CEO of Metabit, commented:

“We are delighted to be the first software vendor to launch an exchange simulator for J-GATE.  Companies will need to thoroughly test out different transaction scenarios before J-GATE goes live and after, when Exsim becomes an integral part of a broker’s internal testing facilities.  Exsim for J-GATE will enable them to do so realistically and effectively as well as supporting the onboarding process for the broker members’ institutional buyside clients on an ongoing basis.”

Exsim for J-GATE is independent of geographical location and time zones.  Organisations using Exsim can simulate the behaviour new J-GATE API for order execution as if were up and running now.

Metabit is headquartered in Japan, with offices in Australia, Hong Kong and Mainland China.  For further information about how Exsim for J-GATE could help your organisation, please contact Kenichi Morita on +81-3-3664-4160, mail sales@meta-bit.com or see http://www.meta-bit.com.

Source: Metabit, 24.11.2010

The Currency Investor Magazin Autum 2010

The Autumn 2010 edition of Currency Investor magazine is now available. You can view a complimentary digital version at this link:

Currency Investor Autumn 2010

This exciting new quarterly magazine is designed to help global Retail and Institutional investors discover ways to leverage currencies  as a tactical asset class for their risk management and direct investment and trading requirements.

The next edition is planned for publication in Q1 2011.

Source: Currency Investor 23.11.2010

Brazil: BM&FBOVESPA Monthly News October 2010

Complete Version
 ETF financial volume grows in October
The financial volume registered in October by the seven BM&FBOVESPA Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) reached BRL 654.85 million, in contrast to BRL 646 million in September.

BM&BOVESPA 2010 third quarter earnings
Net revenues of BRL 486.9 million increased 27.1% year-over-year and EBITDA of BRL 336.4 million climbed 28.4% year-over-year, whereas EBITDA margin remained at 69.1%.
Important records set on BM&FBOVESPA in October
There were important BM&FBOVESPA records in October in terms of total financial volume, average daily volume and number of trades. There were also records in securities lending and live cattle markets.

Unprecedented studies into the Brazilian carbon market
The studies contain consolidated and contextualized information, which should contribute towards developing Brazil's carbon market.
Public and private sectors discuss climate change in São Paulo seminar
Seminar seeks development of the carbon credit market and of other financial mechanisms that can help reduce the impact of climate change.

Latest BM&FBOVESPA IPOs
On October 25 and November 1 respectively, Brasil Insurance Participações e Administração S.A. and HRT Petroleo joined BM&FBOVESPA's Novo Mercado

Five years of the ISE Corporate Sustainability Index
BM&FBOVESPA is promoting an international seminar to celebrate the 5th anniversary of its ISE Corporate Sustainability Index.

Volumes and trades by Direct Market Access (DMA) - BM&F Segment (Derivatives)
In October, BM&F Bovespa market segment transactions carried out through order routing via Direct Market Access (DMA) registered 17,469,654 contracts traded and 2,355,643 trades.

Volumes and trades by Direct Market Access (DMA) - BOVESPA Segment (Equities)
BOVESPA market segment transactions carried out through order routing via Direct Market Access (DMA) registered a financial volume of BRL 106,316,674,000.00 and 9,853,783 trades.

MARKET RESULTS - BM&F Segment October 2010
In October the derivatives market segment totaled 42,754,273 contracts and BRL 2.97 trillion in financial volume.

MARKET RESULTS - BOVESPA Segment October 2010
In October the equity markets segment traded a record BRL 154.5 billion in 10,220,821 trades, with daily averages of a record BRL 7.77 billion and a record 511,041 trades.

Latin America Real Estate Report 2010 - Alternative Latin Investor

Alternative Latin Investor is proud to present our latest special report, LatAm Real Estate: 2010.

We cover the commercial, residential and tourism sectors within Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Peru with special sections on Agricultural Land Investment in Argentina and the massive Panama Pacifico Project.

Please register for the free the report at http://www.alternativelatininvestor.com/registration.html
We appreciate any comments or suggestions for future reports you may have, please email us at info@alternativelatininvestor.com

Shenzhen Financial Services and Fund Management Study and Network Tour 3-4 December 2010

Gain deeper knowledge of Shenzhen, China Financial Industry

The study tour is coordinated with the local Shenzhen government support to view the latest mega-development in Shenzhen that would be of interest to business people and visitors alike. Participants will get an orientation of Shenzhen and gain a clear perspective of the importance of Shenzhen in the master plan of the centrally planned economy of China.
Benefits of the Study Tour:

• Gain first-hand exposure to the current growth climate in Shenzhen
• Gain an insight into the vibrant economic sectors in Shenzhen
• Explore ways to capitalize on various initiatives and activities undertaken within Shenzhen
• Meet and exchange views with the industry’s experts on various challenges and prospects in investing in Shenzhen
• Create networking and business match-making opportunities among senior executives and those interested in business and investment.

Shenzhen today is the leading manufacturing hub of China and the master plan from the Central government which was announced recently is to keep Shenzhen growing for the next 30 years with the building of the “Manhattan” of China at Qianhai, Shenzhen.  Does this news catch your eye? Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- The southern Chinese city of Shenzhen plans to invest 40 billion yuan ($5.88 billion) in its Qianhai area to make it the "Manhattan" of the Pearl River Delta, the Securities Times reported today, citing the local government. The investment in the 15 square kilometer area of the city will be made over the next three years, the Shenzhen-based newspaper reported. The government is looking at the possibility of offering a low tax regime similar to Hong Kong’s and of allowing free convertibility of the yuan in the area, according to the report.

ATIC@Shenzhen 2010 will bring together a group of international participants consisting of fund managers, private equity investors, high-net-worth investors, directors of securities brokerage firms as well as senior executives of global stock exchanges to Shenzhen for an in-depth look at the Shenzhen capital market, as well as to network with Shenzhen government officials, fund managers, securities brokerage firms and listed company CEO’s and companies looking to expand overseas This platform provides a timely and strategic platform to convene investors to discuss strategies, leverage opportunities and explore potential cross-borders business partnerships. Participants will be able to network, mingle and make fruitful contacts to improve their business bottomless.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

This is a strategic, informative and concise program designed for Investors, Business Owners, Senior representatives or professionals with Financial Services Organizations such as Fund Management Houses, Securities Brokerage Firms, Securities Exchanges and other finance-related institutions.
Don’t get left behind. Come join us and take this incredible opportunity and advantage to reach your top prospects and grow your business.

Shenzhen Study Tour & Investment Summit Package Price	*Early Bird	Individual	Group (Min 2 persons)
	USD750	USD1,000	USD800

*Limited period only.
Package price includes of one study tour luncheon and one exclusive networking and dinner on 3 December 2010. Participation is on a first-come-first-serve basis and interested delegates are encouraged to submit an early registration in order to avoid disappointment.

For more information, please visit http://www.theatic.net/ or contact us at:

• Hong Kong office : Ms Winnie Kong (Email: winnie.kong@kornerstone.com.hk, Tel: 852-2116 3328)
• Malaysia office: Mr Michael Tee (Email: michael.tee@nextview.com, Tel: (603) 2770 9388)
• Singapore and China offices: Ms. Jingmin Lan ( Email: jingmin.lan@nextview.com, Tel: (65) 63231663)

Mexico: Economy Continues Slowly to Our Targets – November 2010- IXE BANIF – Monthly Analysis

Mexican growth motors continue to balance out

Since last month, we have experienced a re-balancing of growth drivers, with improvement of local demand and a slow-down in exports, the main growth motor. Exports have reduced their YoY growth rate from the nearly 50% of the beginning of the year, although it remained at a high 21% in September. We expect this deceleration to continue until 2011.

Mexico - Monthly Allocation - November 2010

During October, we renewed our good expectations for growth of the Mexican economy with the release of statistics for September: a) Internal retail sales increased 4% YoY; b) consumer confidence grew 12% YoY; c) 780k new jobs created in the first nine months. Concerning job creation, this level was a record high for the same period and mainly due to the export industry. We maintain our expectation for the creation of 650k new jobs in 2010 (seasonally, there is job reduction at year-end) and 530k in 2011.

Despite these changes in export and local demand, we maintain our expectation of a 4.4% GDP growth for 2010 (while market consensus remain at 5%) and 3.7% for 2011. For our 2011 forecast, local demand still has to catch up, as we predict a further decline in exports.

For our November portfolio, we have added Femsa and increased the weight of Grupo Mexico from 15 to 20%. We have reduced the weight of Mexchem from 15 to 10% and withdrawn Soriana.

Mexican tidbits

Inflation remains under control, although the first data collected for October, indicating a 0.5% increase, was slightly above our and market expectations. We continue expecting 4.5% for 2010, with the belief that interest rates increase no earlier than October 2011, although the growth of inflation in the recent past may allow postponement to the beginning of 2012.

The Mexican Peso reduced its volatility in October, appreciating from the 12.6 P$/US$ at the beginning of the month. Our forecast is currently at 12.4 for the end of 2010 and 12.2 for the end of 2011.

Source: Banif - IXE, 05.11.2010

Charles River Development Wins Buy-Side Technology’s “Best Buy-Side OMS” Award for 4th Consecutive Year

Single, consolidated platform streamlines workflows and lowers costs and risks for buy-side firms 

Charles River Development (Charles River), a front- and middle-office investment software solutions provider, today announced that the Charles River Investment Management System (Charles River IMS) has won the Buy-Side Technology Award for “Best Buy-Side Order Management System” for the fourth consecutive year.

“Once again, this award validates Charles River’s commitment to empower portfolio managers, traders and compliance officers with advanced tools that improve efficiencies and reduce risk and costs,” said Peter Lambertus, President and Chief Executive Officer, Charles River Development. “Our continued investment in research and development delivers flexible, scalable solutions to support requirements of both large and small firms.”

Judges for the Buy-Side Technology Awards 2010 included leading buy-side-focused technology consultancy firms. These experts selected Charles River IMS as a multi-asset, multi-currency solution for automated decision support and portfolio management, real-time pre- and post-trade compliance and global FIX trading.

The Buy-Side Technology award follows Charles River’s recent recognition for “Best Buy-Side Technology Firm” by Asia Asset Management Best of the Best Awards and the “FinTech Top 100,” American Banker/Financial Insights 2010.

Source: Charles River Development, 08.11.2010

Brazil: Full and Inconclusive Agenda – November 2010- IXE BANIF – Monthly Analysis

Invisible hand might move the US market

For November, we expect no relevant data coming from the economic indicators in Europe or in the US. One of the main drivers of the month, however, should come from the FED in its meeting on the 2nd and 3rd. We expect immediate action announced in the form of purchases of securities in the financial market, irrigating it by around US$500bn in six months. Last month, deflation was the biggest fear but since then, rumors of FED actions have turned these fears into expectation of inflation. The first practical signs of this change happened at the end of October, when the Treasury sold US$10bn of 5-yr Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) with negative yield, indicating that investors are already betting on increasing inflation. The full effects of a government-induced inflation are uncertain, but we believe that the initial sentiment on such an announcement would be positive.

Mixed drivers for Brazil

We believe investors will closely monitor six main factors in November that should affect the local market: 1) The performance of foreign markets; 2) the end of the bad feeling on Petrobras’ capital increase; 3) the end of the elections; 4) companies 3Q earnings; 5) the stability of Brazil’s FX and 6) the domestic economy. The first three items are likely to be positive. Items 4 and 5 can be mixed and bring volatility and item 6 is likely to be seen negatively. Given these mixed drivers, we foresee the same scenario we projected for October: the market moving sideways with volatility.

We have heavily changed our suggested portfolio again, as we did last month, with the inclusion of Petrobras and Lojas Renner (with weights of 20% and 5%, respectively). We have reduced weights on Guararapes, Telesp and Tractebel (both from 10% to 5%) and have withdrawn Itaú and OGX.

Brazilian Economic Indicators Published in November Weaker

We see the end of elections as positive, as it will leave a great source of stress behind and, independent to the outcome, differences between the two candidates are likely to have practical effects only in the medium term. The most immediate potential stress that can arise after the elections result is likely the announcement of names in the top positions of the new government.

The appreciation of the Real since the Petrobras capital increase stressed the government and other economic agents until the government decided to increase IOF taxation sequentially, first from 2% to 4% and then to 6%. First indications show stability of the FX, but the government will certainly monitor to see if these measures were sufficient to reach long lasting stability. We foresee further action from the Government should the Real start to appreciate again.

In economic terms, we believe that Brazil’s November indicators, published in November, should be weaker than those published for a long stretch of months. The reason for this view is our expectation for three indicators: 1) retail sales; 2) industrial production and 3) activity index (Central Bank measure that indicates GDP performance and precedes its release). We foresee negative figures for the first two and nearly zero for the third.

Source: Banif-IXE, 01.11.2010

Brazil: BM&FBOVESPA October 2010 Market Performance

• Bovespa sets new records for total financial volume, average daily volume and number of trades
• Securities lending reached a BRL 44.88bn record
• Live cattle market reached a record of 228,082 contracts traded

Bovespa Segment

In October 2010, equity markets (Bovespa segment) traded a record BRL 154.5 billion, in 10,220,821 trades, with daily averages of a record BRL 7.77 billion and a record 511,041 trades, in comparison to September when total volume reached BRL 140.9 billion, in 9,398,749 trades, with daily averages of BRL 6.71 billion and 447,559 trades.
Equities
The most traded stocks in October were: Petrobras PN, with BRL 18.79 billion; Vale PNA with BRL 15.97 billion; OGX Petróleo ON, with BRL 6.6 billion; Petrobras ON, with BRL 5.2 billion; and BM&FBOVESPA, with BRL 4.7 billion.
Indexes
The Ibovespa ended October at 70,673 points, up 1.79% from the previous month.
The best performing stocks were: Lojas Americanas PN (+10.31%); Lojas Renner ON (+15.88%); Ambev PN (+15.33%); Pão de Açúcar PNA (+14.14%); and Gol PN (+13.10%). The worst performing stocks were: Redecard ON (-16.19%); Marfrig ON (-10.79%); JBS ON (-10.53%); Petrobras ON (-6.09%); and Usiminas PNA (-5.40%).
All of the other Bovespa segment stock-exchange indexes ended October as follows: IBrX-50 (+1.28% at 9,643 points); IBrX-100 (+1.67% at 22,218 points); ISE (+2.38% at 2,070 points); Itel (+5.77% at 1,442 points); IEE (+3.82% at 26,473 points); INDX (+3.04% at 10,945 points); IVBX-2 (+3.23% at 6,146 points); IGC (+3.46% at 7,714 points); Itag (+3.28% at 10,025 points); Small Cap (+6.35% at 1,426 points); MidLarge Cap (+1.63% at 977 points); Iconsumo (+6.57% at 1,645 points); Imobiliário (+5.74% at 1,091 points); and Ifinanceiro (+2.32% at 3,888 points).
Market Value
Market capitalization of the 379 companies listed on the BM&FBOVESPA in October was BRL 2.55 trillion, compared to BRL 2.48 trillion for the 377 companies listed in September.
Special Corporate Governance Levels
At the end of October, the 163 companies that are part of the BM&FBOVESPA’s special corporate governance levels represented 66.86% of the market capitalization, 73.63% of the financial volume, and 78.44% of the trades in the spot market. At the end of September, there were 162 companies, representing 66.02% of the market capitalization, 71.31% of the financial volume, and 78.61% of the spot market trades.
Market Participation
The spot market accounted for 94.1% of total trading volume in October, followed by the options market, with 4%, and by the forward market, with 1.9%. The after-market traded BRL 1.2 billion with 69,794 trades, compared to BRL 1.1 billion and 75,658 trades in the previous month.
Investor Participation
In October, foreign investors were responsible for 32.88% of the total volume, compared to 30.85% in September. Institutional investors came next, with 32.49%, compared to 35.45%; individual investors had 22.52%, compared to 24.25%; financial institutions, with 8.92%, compared to 7.08%; companies, with 3.08%, compared to 2.31%; and other types of investors with 0.10%, compared to 0.06%.
Foreign Investment
The net flow of foreign investment into the Brazilian stock market in 2010 as of October 31 reached BRL 42,608,216,442.55, which is the combined result of the amount of BRL 37,911,665,001.6 in acquisitions carried out by foreign investors in stock offerings (including BRL 20.21 billion registered in Brazil) and the positive balance of BRL 4,696,551.441.0 in direct trading at BM&FBOVESPA.
In October, the financial volume traded by foreign investors in the stock market was a positive BRL 1,595,230,798.0, which is the net balance between stock sales of BRL 50,220,452,013.0 and stock purchases of BRL 51,815,682,811.0.
The foreign investor participation in stock offerings, including IPOs, represented 26.0% of the total BRL 145,790,463,129.3 in transactions related to the publication of the closing announcement dates ending on November 3rd, 2010, pursuant to information available on the Exchange’s website, under the media section.
Investment Clubs
BM&FBOVESPA ended October with 3,084 investment clubs and 33 new registrations. Total liquid assets reached BRL 11.29 billion and the number of participants reached 135,347, according to the latest available data for September.
Individual Investors
BM&FBOVESPA ended October with 615,694 individual investor stock exchange accounts in custody, compared to 630,895 accounts in September.
Home Broker
Average daily trading via Home Broker hit 213,792 trades in October, compared to 199,523 in September. The total number of trades reached 4,275,836, compared to 4,189,981 in the previous month. The volume in Home Broker trades totaled BRL 36.83 billion, compared to BRL 36.13 billion in September. Home Broker’s participation in the stock market’s total volume in October was 20.92%, compared to 22.29% in September. In October, the number of brokerage firms offering Home Broker remained unchanged at 64.
Securities Lending
In October, the total number of securities lending transactions reached 79,348, with a record financial volume of BRL 44.88 billion, compared to 81,301 transactions and BRL 44.21 billion in September.
Fixed Income
In October, the trading volume for the secondary market, counting both the Bovespa Fix and the Soma Fix, totaled BRL 16.53 million, compared to BRL 38.84 million in September. Of this total, debentures accounted for BRL 8.26 million and Mortgage Backed Securities (CRI) accounted for BRL 8.28 million.
ETFs
The financial volume registered in October by the seven BM&FBOVESPA Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) reached BRL 654.85 million, in contrast to BRL 646 million in September. The ETFs BRAX11, CSMO11, MOBI11, BOVA11, SMAL11, MILA11 and PIBB11 registered 17,920 trades. In the previous month, the number of trades was 23,391. In October the ETF with the highest financial volume was BOVA11 with BRL 558.24 million, in comparison to its total financial volume of BRL 551.45 in September.

BM&F Segment

Derivatives markets in the BM&F segment (including financial and commodities derivatives) totaled 42,754,273 contracts and BRL 2.97 trillion in volume in October, compared to 41,566,908 contracts and BRL 2.72 trillion in September. The daily average of contracts traded in the derivatives markets in October was 2,137,714 contracts, in contrast to 1,979,377 in September. Open interest contracts ended the last trading day of October with 38,018,126 positions, compared to 42,433,285 in September.
Financial Derivatives
In October, interest rate futures (ID) traded 17,014,100 contracts, in contrast to 18,639,700 in September. The US dollar futures ended the month of October with 6,975,505 contracts, compared to 6,135,310 in the previous month. The Ibovespa futures traded 1,567,505 contracts, compared to 1,483,160 in September. The Euro futures contract (EUR) registered 30,510 contracts, in contrast to 31,745 contracts in September.
Agribusiness Derivatives
In October, the BM&FBOVESPA agribusiness derivatives market (including futures and options) totaled 353,731 contracts traded, compared to 300,356 in September. Agribusiness markets totaled 142,252 open interest contracts, in contrast to 174,265 in the previous month.
Live cattle futures and options totaled a record 228,082 contracts traded in October, compared to 155,460 in September. Arabica coffee ended October with 59,106 contracts, compared to 53,743 in September. Soybeans totaled 15,704 contracts, compared to 16,929 in September, and cash-settled corn futures and options totaled 46,831 contracts traded, compared to 70,672 in September. Hydrous ethanol futures totaled 4,008 contracts, compared to 3,552 in September.
Mini Contracts
The derivatives market for mini contracts traded 2,001,831 contracts in October, compared to 1,726,290 in September. Of this total, the futures market for Ibovespa mini contracts traded 1,770,782, compared to 1,561,825 contracts in the previous month. Mini U.S. dollar futures traded 229,236 contracts, compared to 163,382 in September. Mini futures contracts ended October with 21,187 open interest contracts, compared to 28,104 in the previous month
Spot Gold
The spot gold market (250 grams) traded, in October, 1,362 contracts, compared to 526 contracts in September. Spot gold market volume totaled BRL 25.94 million, compared to BRL 9.58 million in the previous month.
Investor Participation
In October, financial institutions led derivatives trading (BM&F segment), accounting for 40.46% of contracts traded, compared to 43.85% in the previous month. Institutional investors were responsible for 31.29%, compared to 28.20%; foreign investors for 22.12%, compared to 21.77%; individuals for 4.40%, compared to 4.39%; and companies for 1.74%, versus 1.79%.
Individual Investors
In October, there were 130,530 individual investors with at least one account registered at the Derivatives Clearinghouse, compared to 125,710 during the previous month.
Volumes and trades by Direct Market Access (DMA)
BM&F Segment
In October, BM&F* market segment transactions carried out through order routing via Direct Market Access (DMA) registered 17,469,654 contracts traded and 2,355,643 trades. In September, the volume reached 14,735,086 contracts traded and 2,042,499 trades.
The volumes registered by each access modality in the BM&F segment were as follows:

• Traditional DMA – 6,994,936 contracts traded, in 737,728 trades, in comparison to 6,099,415 contracts and 650,321 trades in September;
• Via DMA provider (including orders routed via the Globex System) – 6,411,890 contracts traded, in 355,115 trades, compared to 5,231,302 contracts and 328,060 trades in September;
• DMA via co-location – 4,062,828 contracts traded, in 1,262,800 trades, compared to 3,404,369 contracts and 1,064,118 trades in September.In October, transactions carried out by foreign investors presented by CME to BVMF (who use the Globex-GTS order routing system or access BVMF markets via co-location) totaled 2,809,924 contracts traded, in 818,390 trades, compared to 3,324,575 contracts and 872,753 trades in September.

Bovespa Segment
In October, BOVESPA* market segment transactions carried out through order routing via Direct Market Access (DMA) registered a financial volume of BRL 106,316,674,000.00 and 9,853,783 trades.
Trading volumes per type of DMA in the Bovespa segment:
Traditional DMA – Volume of BRL 105,948,731,000.00 and 9,811,686 trades;
DMA via co-location – Volume of BRL 367,943,000.00 and 42,097 trades.
Source: MondoVisione, 05.11.2010

Singapore-Australia exchange tie up threatens Tokyo; Controversy Grows

Japan's top exchange will seek its own alliances if a planned multi-billion dollar merger of the Singapore and Sydney stock exchanges goes ahead, the bourse's head said in a report Wednesday.

Atsushi Saito, chief executive of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, told the Financial Times that if SGX's 8.2 billion dollar offer for ASX went ahead, it would be not be "a good story" for Tokyo.

"If Japan becomes isolated on the international stage -- that is not good," he said. "There are many options. There could be a combination of TSE and others on an international basis."

Saito's remarks illustrate how the proposed offer by Singapore's SGX for ASX has ruffled the region.

"The consensus (among officials at Asian exchanges before the proposed deal was announced) was that such a thing would be impossible in Asia" due to the differences in culture and sense of values, Saito told the newspaper of the proposed deal.

Saito added that if the deal were to go ahead, it could result in a loss for the TSE, which is SGX's second largest shareholder with 4.9 per cent, the Financial Times said.

"Our shareholdings will be diluted, with our stake falling to about 3.1 per cent. It's possible we'll have a loss of hundreds of millions of yen," he said.

The proposed merger aims to create the world's fifth biggest exchange with a market capitalisation of about 12.3 billion US dollars, although it first needs to pass regulators and a growing political backlash in Australia.

Analysts say sticking points may include the Singapore government's large stake in the SGX, which could raise sovereign ownership concerns, and the board's composition with 11 Singapore representatives and four from Australia.

Source: AFP, 27.10.2010

Controversy grows over SGX’s takeover bid for ASX

The Singapore Exchange’s S$10.7 billion takeover bid for Australia’s ASX Limited faces a difficult road ahead amid political backlash in Australia and shareholder reservations over the deal.

For the transaction to push through, the Australian parliament, currently controlled by a coalition led by the ruling Labour party, would need to lift the 15 percent ownership cap on the ASX bourse. The Australian Treasury could grant a waiver, but the Business Times reports that this could be stymied if any party demands a vote.

Bob Brown of the Greens Party, a key Labour ally, said he was not supportive of the deal given Singapore’s human rights record and the city-state’s execution of an Australian drug smuggler in 2005.

“This is a state that tramples all over freedom of speech, democracy, the rights of oppositions, the ability for public discourse,” he was quoted in a report by the Associated Press. A few other lawmakers also indicated they were inclined to oppose the takeover.

Aside from regulatory approvals, the merger of the two exchanges will also be subject to shareholders’ approvals. But, already, one SGX shareholder has expressed a negative view over the issue.

Under the deal, SGX will issue new shares and pay ASX shareholders a combination of A$22 or S$28.04 in cash and 3.472 new ordinary SGX shares for each existing ASX ordinary share or equivalent to A$48 per share.

Atsushi Saito, chief executive of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), was quoted by the Financial Times as saying that the transaction could result in a loss for the Japanese exchange, which is SGX’s second largest shareholder with a 4.9 percent stake. He told the UK paper that if the deal were to push through it would not be “a good story” for Tokyo.

Some analysts said the planned acquisition looked expensive. Gabriel Yap, executive chairman of investment firm GCP Global, said the price of A$48 per share “is too high” as it represents 25 times price-to-earnings ratio while the estimated cost synergies and savings at 20% is higher than that achieved in other mergers and takeovers of other exchanges before.

From the point of view of ASX shareholders, “Christmas has come early,” said Yap.

The SGX-ASX deal aims to create the fifth-largest exchange in the world with a market capitalisation of more than US$12.3 billion and to capitalise on opportunities for growth in Asia-Pacific.The press statement on the proposed merger enumerates other benefits.

Source: Fit To Post Singapore, 27.10.2010

BMV Mexican Stock Exchange September 2010 Performance Report

Click here to download  BMV September Performance Report 2010
Source: BMV , 26.10.2010

Mexico’s Scotiabank Inverlat, Automates Mutual Fund Operations with the Charles River Investment Management System

Streamlines workflows; ensures compliance for all local/international securities and debt instruments 

October 21, 2010 – Charles River Development (Charles River), a front- and middle-office investment software solutions provider, today announced that Scotiabank Inverlat, S.A. (Scotiabank Mexico), one of Mexico’s largest banking groups, has implemented the Charles River Investment Management System (Charles River IMS) across its Scotia Fondos subsidiary. The multi-phased project, delivered on-time, is part of Scotia Fondos’ initiative to automate its domestic and international mutual fund (Fondos de Inversion) operation with 16 different portfolio options on a single, consolidated platform.

Scotia Fondos’ users benefit from advanced decision-making and analysis tools, automated portfolio management and trading, and real-time, pre-trade compliance monitoring for all asset classes, including equities, money market, mutual funds, as well as Mexican corporate and government fixed income instruments, such as Bonos, CETES and UDIBONOS. During the initial project, Charles River automated Scotia Fondos’ equity portfolio management and trading operations, as well as compliance monitoring. The second phase consolidated capabilities across the firm’s fixed income operations.

“We required a state-of-the-art system and a vendor with proven experience in supporting the needs of Mexico’s asset managers; Charles River delivered both,” said Ernesto Diez, Director General, Scotia Fondos. “Our portfolio managers can now stay ahead of the market by analyzing and rapidly implementing changes to portfolios. We can also validate that our portfolios comply with all mandates – at any time and for any asset class.”

Support for Mexico’s numerous local market requirements was critical to the project. Charles River IMS allows Scotia Fondos to manage and execute trades for all Mexican government and corporate debt instruments. The firm’s mutual fund traders can also execute stock lending, support repurchase agreements and rebalance against Mexican indices. In addition, Charles River’s open architecture makes it easy for Scotia Fondos to integrate with its proprietary accounting system, as well as back-office providers, such as Bloomberg for real-time pricing, and Mexican Stock Exchange-owned Valmer for risk data.

Charles River IMS supports region-specific security types and associated workflows, including Mexican corporate and government bonds. In the near future, Scotia Fondos will continue with the implementation of Charles River IMS’ advanced derivatives exposure calculations and coverage functionality helping clients comply with Mexican regulations, such as Comision Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV) rules, by monitoring and managing pre- and post-trade exposure to derivatives instruments. Charles River’s pre-built compliance libraries contain over 1,700 regulatory and general example rules across 35 regulatory bodies of 20 countries, including comprehensive rule libraries for Mexico.

“Charles River offers asset managers in Mexico sophisticated, yet easy-to-use solutions for expanding their operations into new asset classes and markets – delivering a competitive advantage that supports business growth,” said Spiros Giannaros, Vice President of Sales, Americas, Charles River Development.

Charles River supports five client firms in Mexico, and serves over a dozen firms across Brazil, Chile, and Panama.

Source: CRD, 21.10.2010

Alternative Latin Investor Issue 6 September/October

Alternative Latin Investor Issue 6 September/October 2010 click here for a free issue
Issue 6 Content Index

• Infrastructure Municipal Bonds in Latin America
• Emerging Markets Let the World See Your Wares in the Right Light
• Investment Flows and Stock Market Returns p
• Agribusiness Beekeeping in Latin America
• Art Pinta: The Contemporary and Modern Latin American Art Show
• Commodities The BP Oil Spill
• Sowing Pools: Alternative Financing
• Funds Latin America’s Favorite Sport: For Sale
• Philanthropy Ashoka: Inspiring and Supporting Tomorrow’s Leaders
• Regulation Due Diligence: You Bought the Company, Now What?
• Renewable Energy Opportunities in Argentine Biodiesel
• Ventures Real Estate Colombia: Founder Chad Smalley
• Economist Emerging Market Forecaster
• Wine Stocking up for World Cup 2014
• Hedge Funds The Spectrum of Investors for Latin American Hedge Funds by Merlin Securities

Source: Alternative Latin Investor 22.09.2010

FPL: Mexico FIX Event 30.09.2010

The FPL Mexican Briefing will provide an unrivalled opportunity for industry representatives to participate in a forum where the real issues, challenges and opportunities impacting the region’s electronic trading community will be addressed. Through a series of presentations and panel sessions this one day event, closing with networking drinks, will offer an invaluable and informative experience for local market participants who will benefit from:

An interactive program that truly addresses market needs, providing impartial, high quality content  The knowledge and experience of industry leading speakers  Separate business and technical streams that generate intelligent debate and educational opportunities  Significant networking opportunities throughout the day and into the evening at the post-event cocktail party A dedicated team of industry practitioners from the FIX Protocol Mexican Working Group, including senior representatives from some of the region’s leading investment firms, who have a detailed understanding of the challenges facing the markets today, are driving the event agenda to ensure it meets the trading needs of firms in Mexico in 2010.

2010 Topic Areas Will Include: Algorithmic trading and the options available to the Mexican trader High frequency trading and the opportunities and challenges it presents The technical and regulatory developments emerging in the Mexican markets including the RINO rules Key trends emerging in the local market and how to trade more easily internationally Implementing the FIX Protocol Using FIX to achieve a low latency solution The recently released FIX algorithmic trading definition language (FIXatdlSM): Generating cost saving and efficiency gains for all market participants involved in the algorithmic trading process The use of FIX beyond equities in multiple asset classes

Asia E-Trading: Electronic Trading in China - Webinar September 7th

Asia E Trading presents the free  1 hour webseminar : Electronic Trading in China

• Overview of the Electronic Trading industry
• Buy-side Algorithmic Trading
• CSI300 Index future
• Latest news on QFII and QDII
• High Frequency Trading and Colocation
• Update: Shanghai and Shenzhen Exchange

Speakers are:

• Lionel Sancenot - Sungard- MD NE Asia & Greater China
• Bill Liu -Qing Ma Investments -Portfolio Manager
• Zennon Kapron - KapronAsia- Principal

REGISTER HERE
Date: 07. September 2010
TIME: 5pm Hong Kong, 10am London, 5am New York

If you can not attend the seminar will be recorded and available on demand

Mexico: Drifting Toward Troubled Waters – September 2010- IXE BANIF – Monthly Analysis

Slow US economy decreases Mexican expectations
The structure of the Mexican economy is unchanged when it comes to the breakdown between local and export markets, and we base our expectation for Mexican economic growth on both markets. We continue to expect a 4.4% GDP growth for 2010 (growths of 4.3%, 7.6%, 4.0% and 1.9% for each quarter, sequentially) while other, more aggressive houses, have reduced this from 5% to nearly 4%.
Despite the most recent reduction in 2H10 growth expectations, we maintain our figure in the belief that the local market will compensate for a likely weaker export scenario that heavily depends on the US economy.

We have assumed since last month that the US would grow at a lower than previously expected pace. Locally, the Mexican construction segment has been the weakest in the industrial sector, while manufacturing has led the economy. We expect export companies, which have been suffering from the weaker foreign market, to recover by year-end, although car exports have performed well even during these tougher times.

Mexican tidbits
Mexico's inflation has been increasing and, from the current annualized 3.7%, we maintain our expectation of it reaching 4.7% by year-end. We believe that our expectation of interest rate hikes in 3Q11 might become market consensus soon.

The FX has moved negatively lately, after three months without definite direction. It has surpassed the P$13/US$ line, the worst level since the end of June. We still expect it to be at P$12 by year end but, if we do not see a downward movement over the next weeks, we might change this expectation to a P$12.25-12.35 range. We do not believe this potential change in the FX scenario would cause any change to Mexican exports, with the main driver here continuing to be the strength of the US economy (and demand).

For August, we have added Alsea and Femsa to our portfolio and increased the weights of America Movil (from 20% to 25%) and Walmex (from 10% to 15%). We also reduced the weights of GenomaLab and Geo (from 10% to 5%), and have withdrawn Cemex.

Read the full market analysis Mexico - Monthly Allocation - September 2010
Source: IXE-Banif, 01.09.2010

Brazil: US economy still in the spotlight – September 2010- IXE BANIF – Monthly Analysis

Little hope for a short-term change in the economy

For September, we foresee that attention will continue focused on the US economy, which has been showing signs of weakness since the beginning of 2H10. This expectation is the same we had for August, which proved to be correct. The main event we highlight for September is the FOMC meeting on the 21st, which might raise market expectations of new measures to improve economic growth. The latest statement on the economy from the President of the Central Bank mentioned that the Bank is ready, if necessary, to intervene to adjust the economic trend. However, its portfolio of potential measures is, in our view, limited due to the current low level of interest rates. Meanwhile, data released on housing, payroll and investment are likely to drive the market in the ST.

Concerning the rest of the world, we believe that Europe will continue out of the spotlight, with Germany leading the local economy well. We believe that the only negative in the month could come from China, which has been releasing some mixed and inconclusive data lately.

In September, with little change in the scenario and no major event in sight, we expect the market to move sideways and with less volatility. Therefore, we decided to maintain our defensive view and keep the core of our previous portfolio. We have added Tietê, MRV and EZ Tec, increased the weight of Petrobras (from 15 to 20%) and reduced the weight of Eletropaulo (from 10 to 5%). We have withdrawn B2W (weak 2Q results without good ST expectations), CSN (due to its deteriorated ST outlook) and Tegma (stellar performance in the month).

Petrobras is the month’s highlight

Last month, we predicted that the start of the political TV campaign in August, at presidential level, would be exciting and move the markets. The reality proved to be very dull, with the Labor Party’s candidate having the unquestionable advantage and no response at all from any of the main financial markets: equity, interest rate and FX. In September, we believe that Petrobras’ capital increase operation will be the highlight. The weak performance of the company’s shares in the past 1.5 years contributed to holding down the Ibovespa. We believe that, after the capital increase, they can have the opposite effect.

When it comes to economic data, we believe the two most important events of the month will take place in the first week. These are the Copom meeting on the 1st and the 2Q GDP report on the 3^rd. We expect an unchanged Selic rate of 10.75% for the former and a 1% change for the later (QoQ seasonally adjusted, or around 8% YoY).

Read full analysis Brazil – Monthly Allocation – September 2010

Source: IXE-BANIF, 01.09.2010

India and China: A Himalayan rivalry

Asia’s two giants are still unsure what to make of each other. But as they grow, they are coming closer—for good and bad.

MEMORIES of a war between India and China are still vivid in the Tawang valley, a lovely, cloud-blown place high on the south-eastern flank of the Himalayas. They are nurtured first by the Indian army, humiliated in 1962 when the People’s Liberation Army swept into Tawang from next-door Tibet. India now has three army corps—about 100,000 troops—in its far north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which includes Tawang.

With another corps in reserve, and a few Sukhoi fighter planes deployed last year to neighbouring Assam, they are a meaty border force, unlike their hapless predecessors. In 1962 many Indian troops were sent shivering to the front in light cotton uniforms issued for Punjab’s fiery plains. In a weeklong assault the Chinese seized much of Arunachal, as well as a slab of Kashmir in the western Himalayas, and killed 3,000 Indian officers and men. Outside Tawang’s district headquarters a roadside memorial, built in the local Buddhist style, commemorates these dead. At a famous battle site, below the 14,000-foot pass that leads into Tawang, army convoys go slow, and salute their ghosts.

Read the full article at the Economist

Forget Chindia
There are many caveats to the recent improvement in their relationship. As the world’s oil wells run dry, many—including sober analysts in both countries—foresee China-India rivalry redrawn as a cut-throat contest for an increasingly scarce resource. The two oil-gluggers’ recent co-operation on energy was, after all, as unusual as it was tentative. More often, Chinese state-backed energy firms compete with all-comers, for Sudanese oil and Burmese gas, and win.
Rivalry over gas supplies is a bigger concern for Indian policymakers. They fear China would be more able to “capture” gas by building massive pipelines overnight. Water is already an object of contention, given that several of the big rivers of north India, including the Brahmaputra, on which millions depend, rise in Tibet. China recently announced that it is building a dam on the Brahmaputra, which it calls the Yarlung Tsangpo, exacerbating an old Indian fear that the Beijing regime means to divert the river’s waters to Chinese farmers.

Negative views
In China, whose Communist leaders are neither voluble nor particularly focused on India, this bruising is mostly clear from last year’s quarrel itself. The Chinese, many of whom consider India a dirty, third-rate sort of place, were perhaps most obviously to blame for it. This is despite China’s conspicuous recent success in settling its other land disputes, including with Russia and Vietnam—a fact Chinese commentators often cite to indicate Indian intransigence. Chinese public opinion also seems to be turning against India, a country the Chinese have been wont to remark on fondly, if at all, as the birthplace of Buddhism. According to a recent survey of global opinion released by the BBC, the Chinese show a “distinct cooling” towards India, which 47% viewed negatively.
In garrulous, democratic India, the fallout is easier to gauge. According to the BBC poll, 38% of Indians have a negative view of China. In fact, this has been more or less the case since the defeat of 1962. Lamenting the failure of Indian public opinion to move on, Patricia Uberoi, a sociologist at Delhi’s Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, notes that while there have been many Indian films on the subcontinent’s violent partition, including star-crossed Indo-Pakistani romances, there has been only one notable Indian movie on the 1962 war: a propaganda film called “Haqeeqat”, or “Truth”, supported by the Indian defence ministry.
Hawkish Indian commentators are meanwhile up in arms. “China, in my view, does not want a rival in Asia,” says Brajesh Mishra, a former national security adviser and special envoy to China, who drafted the 2005 agreement and is revered by the hawks. “Its main agenda is to keep India preoccupied with events in South Asia so it is constrained from playing a more important role in Asian and global affairs.” Senior officials present a more nuanced analysis, noting, for example, that India has hardly been alone in getting heat from China: many countries, Asian and Western, have similarly been singed. Yet they admit to heightened concern over China’s intentions in South Asia, and foresee no hope for a settlement of the border. Nicholas Burns, a former American diplomat who led the negotiations for an America-India nuclear co-operation deal that was concluded in 2008, and who now teaches at Harvard University, suspects that over the past year China has supplanted Pakistan as the main worry of Indian policymakers. He considers the China-India relationship “exceedingly troubled and perturbed” and thinks that it will remain “uneasy for many years to come”.

Fear of encirclement
For foreign-policy realists, who see China and India locked in a battle for Asian supremacy, this is inevitable. Even fixing the border could hardly mitigate the tension. More optimistic analysts, and there are many, even if currently hushed, consider this old-school nonsense. Though both India and China have their rabid fringe, they say, they are rational enough to know that a strategic struggle would be sapping and, given each other’s vast size, unwinnable. Both are therefore committed, as they claim, to fixing the border and fostering better relations. Yet there are a few impediments to this—of which two are most often cited by analysts in Beijing and Delhi.

Source: TheEconomist  Aug 19th 2010 | Beijing, Delhi and Tawang