El Salvador’s scheduled date to sell its state-run telecommunications company in July couldn’t have come at a worse time: not only were world financial markets reeling from investor jitters over emerging markets, but the much-anticipated privatization of Brazil’s massive state-owned telecom company, Telebras, was just a few days away and capturing much of the limelight. […]
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Seeing the Light
Blackouts and energy rationing may finally become a thing of the past in Central America as governments continue to open up their countries’ electricity industries to the private sector. These changes mean that for the first time in its history, Central America may soon be able to meet its population’s soaring demand for electricity, which […]
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Silver Bullet?
David Mulford As former US Treasury Undersecretary and Assistant Secretary for International Affairs from 1984-1992, David Mulford is credited with having been the chief architect of the fabled Brady Plan, the program that carries the name of former US Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady and which used market mechanisms to provide a global solution […]
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Sovereign Bonds
Although the Uruguay River is the only thing that physically separates Brazil from Argentina at one point, financially speaking the two countries have been worlds apart. Brazil has been struggling to entice international investors while Argentina has managed to re-open the market on several fronts. Underscoring this difference is the fact that by the end […]
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The New Fundamentals
Are there any lessons to be learned from the efforts to support Brazil? What do you think we can expect with regard to Brazil?MN: There is no need to predict anything. The package is already on the table. All that remains to be seen is if the markets believe it. Look at this list of […]
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The Shadow of Doubt
When pundits and participants in the international financial community get together these days the encounters have the tone one imagines in the meetings of the US’s Republican Party, which in November unexpectedly lost several seats to the Democrats in the House of Representatives. Recriminations, blame laying and posturing are woven in among the legitimate arguments […]
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Untapped Potential
Predictions abound about the explosion of e-commerce in Latin America and the innovative ways the Internet is expected to dramatically alter the way businesses interact with consumers. But while everyone is heralding the e-commerce revolution, here is a somewhat different point of view, specifically regarding information technology product delivery, but also applicable for other products […]
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Volatile Interest Rates
The region’s interest rate environment has been particularly volatile this year, as Latin governments responded to speculative attacks on their currencies and tried to turn the tide on massive investor flight. The charts below examine the movements in Latin America’s currencies and interest rates, comparing them on a country-by-country basis. Mexico’s peso-which along with the […]
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Caribbean Players
Until recently, foreign banks have dominated the Caribbean banking industry. But through growth, diversification and improved service, two Trinidadian banks are vying to become the premier banking and financial services company in the Caribbean. Trinidad’s Republic Bank and Royal Bank have strengthened their positions in the domestic market and transformed into regional players in the […]
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Deals Of The Decade
Deals of the DecadeThe normal criteria in our annual Deal of the Year reviews-size, innovation and impact on the market-take on new meaning in the context of reviewing the decade’s major deals. That’s because these transactions represent more than just the best deals in a given year. Rather they mark significant milestones […]