Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) -- For Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the road to a higher share price is paved with chicken feet and Spam.

The world's largest retailer, long the biggest importer of goods into the U.S., last year joined a list of the top 100 U.S. exporters for the first time. It sent 39 percent more shipping containers overseas than General Motors Corp., and surpassed cigarette maker Altria Group Inc.

Although only a fraction of the $18 billion in goods it bought from China alone in 2005, exports will increase further as Wal-Mart targets a third of its sales growth from abroad amid the slowest gains at U.S. stores in at least 27 years.

International sales will expand to 30 percent of Wal-Mart's total in 2010, up from 22 percent last year, estimates Citigroup Inc. analyst Deborah Weinswig.

International markets ``could be like a savior for Wal- Mart,'' said David Abella, an analyst at Rochdale Investment Management in New York, with $2.4 billion in assets including Wal-Mart shares.

The expansion may help end the seven-year stock slump for Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart. The shares will rise 29 percent in the next 12 months, says Weinswig. She is top-ranked by Institutional Investor and rates the stock ``buy.''

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Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market shares and currencies slumped, with Indonesian stocks tumbling the most in a year, after widening losses linked to U.S. subprime loans prompted investors to shun riskier assets.

``U.S. subprime losses have detonated a global financial markets disaster,'' said Vickie Hsieh, who helps oversees $1.4 billion at President Investment Trust Corp. in Taipei. ``Investors typically associate emerging markets with higher volatility and so unload those stocks whenever there is turbulence in financial markets.''

The Malaysian ringgit declined to the weakest in four months against the dollar and the Indonesian rupiah to a one- year low. Morgan Stanley Capital International's Emerging Markets Index fell 1.7 percent to 1,021.31 as of 3:47 p.m. in Manila, headed for its lowest close since June 13.

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Aug. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil canceled a weekly local debt auction, refusing to pay the higher yields sparked by the rout in global financial markets.

The Treasury was scheduled today to sell zero-coupon bonds, known as LTNs and 10 percent notes known as NTN-F, according to its monthly debt sale schedule. The cancellation is the second in the past month. Treasury officials also called off the July 26 sale, days into the month-long decline in global stocks and high- risk bonds.

The yield on Brazil's benchmark zero-coupon bonds due January 2008 rose 10 basis points, or 0.10 percentage point, to 11.33 percent, the biggest rise in secondary market trading since July 26, according to Banco UBS Pactual SA.

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Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market bonds gained after a U.S. report showing sales of new homes unexpectedly rose last month eased concern that the world's largest economy is slowing.

Demand for riskier securities such as developing-nation debt and stocks picked up as home purchases increased for the first time this year. The U.S. is the biggest buyer of exports from emerging-market countries.

``People are really looking for any signs of a material slowdown in the U.S. economy, and so this number helps sentiment at least in the short term,'' said Tomasz Stadnik, who helps manage $3.1 billion of emerging-market debt at ABN Amro Asset Management Services in London. ``It's too early to say we're out of the woods. There's so much uncertainty out there.''
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Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Argentina and Venezuela paced declines in emerging-market bonds as speculation of mounting losses from subprime mortgages led investors to shed riskier securities.

DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Singapore's largest bank, said it has more at risk from asset-backed debt than it earlier reported. Barclays Plc rebutted a Financial Times report that it provided funding to an investment unit for Landesbank Sachsen Girozentrale, the German public lender hurt by the global credit squeeze.

``People just don't know what surprises may be out there from small or large banks,'' said Cathy Elmore, who helps manage $700 million of emerging-market debt at WestLB Mellon Asset Management in London. ``That makes people worry.''

The spread, or extra yield, investors demand to own emerging-market bonds instead of U.S. Treasuries widened 10 basis point to 2.37 percentage points at 4:07 p.m. in New York, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s EMBI Plus index. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. The risk premium is the biggest since Aug. 21.

U.S. equity markets tumbled, heightening aversion to high- risk assets such as developing nation's bonds. The S&P 500 dropped 2.3 percent while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.1 percent.

Argentine bonds, among the riskiest in emerging markets, posted losses for the first time since Aug. 20. The yield on the South American country's 8.28 percent dollar-denominated securities maturing in 2033 increased 28 basis points to 9.98 percent. The bond's price, which moves inversely to the yield, declined 2.5 cents to 83 cents.
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Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks posted their biggest drop in three weeks on weaker consumer confidence and speculation tighter credit markets will hurt bank earnings.

Citigroup Inc., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos. led all 93 financial companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index lower after Merrill Lynch & Co. reduced its recommendation on the shares. Lennar Corp. and D.R. Horton Inc. sent homebuilders to the lowest level since May 2003.

The declines erased all of last week's gains. The S&P 500 decreased 34.43, or 2.4 percent, to 1,432.36, as 487 of its members fell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 280.28, or 2.1 percent, to 13,041.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 60.61, or 2.4 percent, to 2,500.64.

The Conference Board reported today consumer confidence fell the most since 2005, while S&P/Case-Schiller said home values had the steepest tumble in at least five years in June. Financial shares have posted the biggest drop among 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 this year amid concern that higher borrowing costs sparked by subprime mortgage defaults will erode earnings from trading and debt underwriting.

``Our concern when we look out is with the U.S. consumer,'' said David Chalupnik, who helps manage about $100 billion as senior managing director at First American Funds in Minneapolis. ``Are the housing issues that we're seeing going to finally depress the U.S. consumer? That's the risk that we see.''
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Sept. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market bonds were little changed after a report indicated slowing manufacturing growth in the U.S., the biggest buyer of developing nations' exports.

The Institute for Supply Management's factory index fell to 52.9, from 53.8 in July. Economists forecast the Tempe, Arizona- based group's measure would decline to 53. Readings higher than 50 signal expansion. The report is one of the first to show the impact of housing-sector weakness and soaring borrowing costs on other parts of the U.S. economy.

``The report was in line with expectations that the U.S. economy is slowing,'' said Cathy Elmore, who helps manage $700 million of emerging-market debt at WestLB Mellon Asset Management in London. ``There's still quite a lot of nervousness out there. People are waiting before they jump into the market again.''

The yield to the 2015 call date on Brazil's 11 percent bonds due 2040, the most widely traded emerging-market securities, was unchanged at 5.87 percent at 4:21 p.m. in New York, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. The bond's price, which moves inversely to the yield, was 132.20 cents on the dollar.

The spread, or extra yield, investors demand to own emerging-market bonds instead of U.S. Treasuries narrowed 1 basis point to 2.22 percentage points, according to JPMorgan's EMBI Plus index.

Venezuela sold 50 billion bolivars ($23 million) of 91-day debt in an auction today, its first sale of securities with such a short maturity since December. Yields surged amid concern inflation will quicken.
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Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- What a difference nine years makes.

Banks from New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. to ABN Amro Holding NV in Amsterdam are providing more loans to Russian companies than ever as memories of the country's $40 billion default in 1998 fade.

Aluminum monopoly United Co. Rusal and supermarket chain OOO Lenta led corporations that borrowed $29 billion in the past three months, 40 percent more than the same period a year ago, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Outside Russia, at least 50 companies from leveraged buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. to Tyco Electronics Ltd., the biggest maker of electric connectors, canceled more than $100 billion of deals.

``We're going to have to think of a new term for emerging markets,'' said Roland Nash, chief strategist at Renaissance Capital in Moscow, which has helped clients raise more than $15 billion since 1995. ``Russia really is in the current credit crunch a bit of a safe haven. All the problems are emanating out of the developed world. That's a real turnaround.''

Russian companies are raising money at the most favorable terms ever, thanks to rising prices for oil, natural gas and metals. Investors seeking assets untouched by record U.S. mortgage delinquencies are lining up to lend in the world's 10th- largest economy, which grew 6.7 percent in 2006. Central bank Deputy Chairman Alexei Ulyukayev said last week the economy may expand as much as 7.5 percent this year.

Corporate loans outstanding in Russia doubled to $256 billion at the end of last year from 2004, according to data compiled by Newport Beach, California-based Pacific Investment Management Co. and securities firm Dresdner Kleinwort in London. Both are units of Munich-based Allianz SE.

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Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market stocks rose, almost erasing their loss since July, after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates to contain losses from the U.S. housing slump.

Turkey's ISE National 100 Index jumped 6.7 percent, the most since December 2003. Indexes in South Korea, Hong Kong, India, Russia, South Africa, Indonesia, Peru and Poland surged more than 3 percent.

Oil and gas stocks such as Russia's OAO Gazprom and Hong Kong's CNOOC Ltd. led the gains as crude surged to a record.

The Fed yesterday reduced its benchmark lending rate by half a percentage point to 4.75 percent, easing concern that the fallout from subprime mortgage defaults would send the world's largest economy into recession. The Reuters/Jefferies Commodities index rose to its highest in more than a year.

``The worst case scenario people have imagined is not going to play out,'' said David Semple, whose $139 million Van Eck Emerging Markets Fund outperformed 93 percent of its peers last year. ``The end of the tough times comes perhaps a little bit nearer with the aggressive Fed move.''

Exporters such as South Korea's Posco, Asia's third-biggest steelmaker, and Russia's GMK Norilsk Nickel gained more than 6.9 percent.

China Mobile Ltd., the world's largest wireless-phone operator, advanced 4.5 percent to HK$111 in Hong Kong.
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By Paul Okolo

Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Oceanic Bank of Nigeria Plc, the Nigerian lender whose market value has more than doubled this year, said it raised 174.5 billion ($1.4 billion) in a share sale.

The Abuja-based bank received three times as many offers for the 3.36 billion shares it offered at 16.5 naira each in February, according to a statement published today in Punch newspaper. The sale had been expected to raise 54.4 billion naira.

Nigeria's stock exchange regulator has granted Oceanic permission to issue the balance of 7.22 billion shares to investors, it said.

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Oct. 11 (Bloomberg) -- South Africa's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point, the third increase this year, as it struggles to bring inflation back within the target range.

The repurchase rate was increased to 10.5 percent, Governor Tito Mboweni said in a televised speech from Pretoria today. That was in line with the forecast of 12 of the 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg last week. The others expected rates to be left unchanged.

Inflation, which has exceeded the central bank's 3 percent to 6 percent target band since April, may continue to accelerate, fueled by rising food and gasoline costs. The Reserve Bank has increased its key rate by 3.5 percentage points since July 2006, to crimp consumer spending and head off higher inflation.

``If we allow the inflation genie to get out of the bottle, which it's threatening to do, then they run the risk of having to raise rates even more,'' said Rudolf Gouws, chief economist of Rand Merchant Bank in Johannesburg. ``It's a brave decision, but a correct one.''

The rand strengthened to 6.73 against the dollar as of 5:30 p.m. in Johannesburg from 6.835 before the rate decision. The yield on the R153 bond, due 2010, rose 10 basis points, or 0.1 percentage point, to 8.9 percent.
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Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Investors were the most optimistic on emerging markets since 2004 this month, replacing Europe as the region of choice as the outlook for growth in the rest of the world deteriorated, a Merrill Lynch & Co. survey showed.

More than half of the 209 respondents to the poll, conducted between Oct. 5 and Oct. 11, said earnings look the most favorable for emerging markets, while prospects for European profits dropped to the lowest in almost two years.

``The bulls are out there,'' David Bowers, a consultant to Merrill, the world's largest brokerage, said at a press briefing in London today. ``There is a belief among investors that emerging markets are the only oasis for growth.''

The Morgan Stanley Capital Emerging Markets Index has surged more than 33 percent since falling to a four-month in August, triggered by concern a slump in credit markets would spill over to the broader economy. The MSCI World Index has recovered 12 percent since then.

A net 52 percent of investors said they were ``overweight'' emerging market shares in October, the highest since 2004, according to the survey, which questioned 209 money managers, who together manage $671 billion. That compares with 36 percent in September.

Fifty-one percent of respondents said corporate earnings were most favorable in emerging markets, an increase from 32 percent in September and the highest since a global market rally began in March 2003.

In contrast, the percentage of investors who are ``overweight'' euro-region equities fell to 34 percent from 37 percent last month. An ``overweight'' position means that investors hold more of the securities than are represented in asset-allocation models. The U.S. remained the least-favored region.

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Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- The Democratic Republic of Congo, which has a 10th of the world's copper reserves, will give China a majority stake in a mining joint venture as well as mineral rights in return for a loan currently being negotiated.

Four Chinese state enterprises will own 68 percent stake of a joint venture with Gecamines, the state-owned mining company with the rights to Congo's copper reserves, Managing Director Paul Fortin said in an interview yesterday in Kinshasa. China will lend Congo $5 billion to pursue mining and infrastructure projects, Infrastructure Minister Pierre Lumbi said Sept. 18.

``The Chinese want to go into production,'' Fortin said. ``They'll go very fast. They're here to get the metal.''

Congo, which also has the world's largest cobalt deposits and is Africa's biggest tin producer, is seeking investment from abroad to help rebuild its economy after two civil wars between 1996 and 2003 in which 4 million people died. Chinese demand for metals has led companies including BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest miner, and AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., the third- largest gold producer, to develop projects in Congo.

China invested $11.7 billion in Africa by the end of 2006, most of it destined for oil producers Nigeria, Angola and Sudan. Chinese President Hu Jintao last year predicted annual trade with Africa will double to $100 billion by 2010.

Marriage

China, which wants to extract copper, cobalt, gold, lead and tin from Congo, will also receive rights to metal deposits in Congo, Fortin said. Chinese companies have calculated the volume and value of Gecamines' copper and cobalt assets, he added, without providing further details.

The bulk of China's loan to Congo will be used to repair roads, railways and electricity supply, Fortin said. Most of the funds will be ``disbursed upfront''.

The government and Gecamines will send delegations to China's capital, Beijing, next week to hammer out the details of the agreement, Fortin said.

``The Chinese have their draft, we have ours,'' he said. ``We'll try to marry the two.''

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Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Nigeria's state of Lagos, which generates about a third of the country's economic output, plans to sell 150 billion naira ($1.26 billion) of bonds early next year to fund infrastructure development.

The bond is part of a 400 billion-naira infrastructure program over the next four years, which will be mainly funded through the debt markets, Lagos state Governor Babatunde Fashola said today in an interview in London.

``The reason we need spend so much is because the infrastructure that previously supported 3 million people is the infrastructure that is now supporting 18 million people,'' Fashola said. The government will use the funds to upgrade roads, hospitals and water infrastructure, he added.

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Nov. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Renault SA, France's second-largest carmaker, will start building cars in South Africa from 2009 to expand its share of sales in rapidly growing emerging markets.

Renault will assemble ``entry-level'' Sandero cars at its affiliate Nissan Motor Co.'s plant north of Pretoria, South Africa, Patrick Pelata, Renault's vice president of Asia-Africa projects, told reporters in Johannesburg today. Renault may export the car to other parts of Africa and to Europe.

South Africa produced 590,000 vehicles last year, giving it a share of world production of just under 1 percent. Toyota Motor Corp., General Motors Corp. and Volkswagen AG are among companies that make cars in the country, where the government encourages exports by giving carmakers discounts on imported vehicles and components.

South African vehicle sales, which surged 16 percent to a record last year, fell for the seventh consecutive month in October as interest rates increased four times this year.

Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn intends to ramp up production of more affordable cars including its no-frills Logan in emerging economies as part of a plan to increase Boulogne- Billancourt, France-based Renault's total sales by 39 percent to 3.33 million vehicles in the next three years.

``If Renault wants to grow, it has to grow outside of its natural markets, especially Europe,'' Pelata said. He declined to say how many cars Renault will make in South Africa, where Renault expects to make a loss this year.

More than 40 percent of Renault's car sales will come from markets outside of Europe by 2009, compared with about a third this year, Pelata said.
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Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Standard Bank Group Ltd., Africa's largest lender, won approval for the sale of a 20 percent stake to Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. for 36.7 billion rand ($5.4 billion), China's biggest overseas purchase.

More than 95 percent of Standard Bank's investors voted in favor of selling ICBC new shares at 104.58 rand apiece, Chairman Derek Cooper said after a shareholder meeting in Johannesburg today. Investors also agreed to sell existing shares at 136 rand each, said Vincent Maleka, a lawyer who chaired the meeting.

``It's a huge kicker for Standard Bank's international expansion strategy,'' said Neville Chester, who helps manage the equivalent of $20 billion including Standard Bank shares at Coronation Fund Managers in Cape Town. ``The success of the deal now depends on its implementation.''

ICBC, the world's No. 1 bank by market value, is paying an average 120.29 rand per share in cash, 14 percent more than Standard Bank's share price on Oct. 22, the day before the company said it was in talks. The sale gives Standard Bank capital to expand in South Africa and abroad while boosting ICBC's access to Africa's commodities to feed China's growth.

Standard Bank shares added 0.9 rand, or 0.9 percent, to 105.90 rand as of 12:56 p.m. in Johannesburg, giving the company a market value of 145 billion rand. ICBC shareholders will vote on the deal Dec. 13.

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Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- European leaders will seek closer economic ties with Africa at a weekend summit to counter China's growing influence on the continent, while grappling with discord caused by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's attendance.

The heads of government, meeting in Lisbon Dec. 8-9, will discuss how to deepen cooperation with Africa in areas including peace and security, governance, human rights and poverty alleviation. It's part of a strategy adopted in December 2005 aimed at reasserting the European Union's influence on the continent and forming a ``strategic partnership.''

``China's role in Africa is a wake-up call for the EU, which has for too long taken Africa and its relationship with the continent for granted,'' Christopher Alden of the London School of Economics and author of ``China in Africa'' said in a telephone interview.

China has agreed to double aid to Africa by 2009 and provide $8 billion in loans and investment, eroding Europe's clout that dates back to the colonial era of the 19th century. President Hu Jintao's government, which needs to secure access to oil and other resources to fuel China's 11.5 percent growth rate, attaches no political demands to the aid and investment.

``China is a very different player than the EU. It has far fewer scruples, so it's easy money for Africa. Although the EU tends to shroud itself in moral language, it's now trying to treat its African partners more as equals,'' John Kotsopoulos, an Africa expert at the Brussels-based European Policy Centre, said in a telephone interview.
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In the United States, the South is known for its hospitality. And lately, it seems more and more German companies are keen to experience it first-hand, snapping up production sites in places such as Alabama and Georgia.

BMWs produced in South Carolina, Mercedes Benzes made in Alabama -- the carmakers may have been among the first German firms to succumb to the charms of the American Old South, but they're not likely to be the last.

The strong euro and a weakened dollar have made the option of opening a production facility in the US more attractive than ever for German industrial heavyweights.

Volkswagen is currently shopping for a factory location, and the ThyssenKrupp concern is currently building a $3.7 billion (2.5 billion euro) facility in Calvert, Alabama, due to be finished in 2010.

It's the up-and-coming southeastern US states that are benefitting most from the influx of German companies, which employ some 80,000 people in the four states of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina alone.

In addition to an abundance of land, low labor costs and minimal bureaucracy, these southern states also hold the trump card of hefty tax breaks and millions of dollars in incentives to attract foreign direct investment.
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Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Persian Gulf shares gained on speculation some Gulf Arab countries may revalue their currencies against the dollar. Emirates Telecommunications Corp., Emaar Properties PJSC, and Qatar Islamic Bank SAQ led the advance.

Egyptian stocks rose for a seventh day, with the CASE 30 Index closing at a record. Orascom Telecom Holding SAE, the largest mobile phone company in the region, led gains after a report in the Sunday Times, denied by the company's chief executive officer, said it may be for sale.

The six Persian Gulf states may revalue their dollar-pegged currencies in the next two months to combat the inflationary effect of a weakening dollar, Standard Chartered Plc said Dec. 5. Saudi Arabia, the region's biggest economy, has said it has no plans to alter its dollar peg, whereas the United Arab Emirates has said it may consider a revaluation.

``The stock market is the best place for foreign investors who want to play the currency game,'' said Kamran Butt, head of Middle East equity research at Credit Suisse Group. ``Investing their dollars in local currency-denominated stocks means they stand to gain in the event of a revaluation.''

The Abu Dhabi Securities Market Index added 3.1 percent to 4,486.13, its highest close since April 9, 2006. The Dubai Financial Market General Index increased 2.3 percent to 5,682.56, bringing the six-day gain to 8.4 percent. Qatar's Doha Securities Market Index rose 1.8 percent.
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Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Tata Steel Ltd., the world's fifth- largest steelmaker, will spend $1.5 billion developing the Mt. Nimba mine in Ivory Coast in its first overseas iron ore venture.

The mine will supply Tata's European mills in the next two to three years, Managing Director B. Muthuraman said today on a conference call from Ivory Coast. Tata has a 75 percent stake in the project with the balance held by Sodemi, a company owned by the African nation's government, he said.

Supplies from the project will help lower costs at Tata's mills in Europe that were acquired as part of its 6.83 billion pound ($13.9 billion) takeover in April of Corus Group Plc. Contract prices for iron ore have tripled in the past five years on demand from China. Corus imports iron ore and coal, while Tata mines the steelmaking ingredient domestically.

``Profit margins at Corus will improve significantly once the ore is shipped,'' Vishal Chandak, an analyst at Emkay Share & Stock Brokers Ltd., said in Mumbai. ``This is good news.''

Corus spends $230 more to produce each ton of steel at its plants in the U.K. and Netherlands than Tata does in India, said Rakesh Arora, an analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd. in Mumbai. Tata and Corus combine produce about 25 million tons a year. Capacity may reach 56 million tons by 2015 after three mills planned in India start production, Chairman Ratan Tata said in July.

``The competitiveness of Corus will substantially improve once it gets raw materials from the mines,'' Muthuraman said.

Tata Steel shares gained 3.4 percent to 864.45 rupees at close in Mumbai. The stock has doubled this year and is among the biggest gainers on India's benchmark Sensitive index.

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Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Investors, fleeing slumping shares in the U.S., poured a record $3.4 billion into diversified emerging- markets mutual funds in the past week.

In addition, investors put $1.6 billion into Asian funds, excluding Japan, $489 million into Latin American funds and $846 million into the emerging economies of Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the week that ended Dec. 12, according to Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Emerging Portfolio Fund Research.

The Morgan Stanley Capital International Emerging Markets Index, which tracks companies in developing nations, has risen 34 percent this year, 10 times the pace of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index of the U.S. Investors have removed $14.6 billion this year from U.S. stock funds on concern that the credit squeeze may cut economic growth, according to Emerging Portfolio.

``U.S. equity funds have seen record outflows as credit concerns and slowing growth have really sent money out of developed markets into money markets and global equity funds,'' Brad Durham, managing director of Emerging Portfolio Fund Research, said today in an interview.
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Rising demand for US exports has offset the domestic downturn in home-building.

With concern growing about a possible recession, the United States is leaning increasingly on other nations as a source of economic growth.

It's not that the export of American-made goods can single-handedly prevent a slump if US consumers start spending less.

But after years when American consumers have pulled the global economy forward, today the roles are largely reversed. A growing global economy is providing the best source of momentum America has right now, as the nation's consumers struggle to cope with high oil prices and a downturn in the housing market.

How big is the momentum? Enough to offset much of housing's negative impact. Over the year that ended on Sept. 30, a rise in US exports has equaled the decline in residential construction that represents the biggest portion of housing's current drag on growth.

"One of the reasons that the US economy has avoided a recession so far, despite a ... prolonged downturn in the housing industry, is because of the stimulus that the US has received from the global boom," says Ed Yardeni, an economist at Yardeni Research Inc. in Great Neck, N.Y. "It's been a big benefit, and I think it will continue be so."

Global growth benefits the US through several channels:

•The most obvious is that exports have been rising, now running at an annualized pace of $1.7 trillion, up from $1.5 trillion a year ago.

•America's largest companies also gain profits from sales of goods and services by their foreign-based operations. The employees are overseas, but the resulting profits provide a cushion for these companies during a US slowdown. Just ask General Motors Corp.

•The US enjoys access to foreign sources of capital that are more abundant than ever. This includes a continuing flow of investment funds – despite the drawbacks of a weaker dollar and the mortgage woes of US banks. It also means direct investment by foreign firms in US operations
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Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Economic growth in Uganda, Africa's biggest producer of robusta coffee, rose 7 percent in 2007, boosted by the manufacturing, construction and agriculture industries, President Yoweri Museveni said.

The east African nation's construction industry expanded by 11.8 percent, electricity supply improved and agricultural production recovered from the effects of a 2005 drought, Museveni said in a statement published yesterday in the New Vision newspaper. Output of coffee, tea, cotton and cocoa, the east African nation's main commodity exports, rose during the year, he said.
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Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- South African stocks attracted less foreign investment last year than in 2006 as four interest rate increases curbed economic growth.

Overseas investment in shares slid 16 percent to a net 63.3 billion rand ($9.3 billion), from a record 73.7 billion rand in 2006, according to figures from JSE Ltd., operator of Africa's biggest stock exchange. Foreigners bought 648.5 billion rand of stock and sold 585.2 billion rand.

South Africa's central bank last month lifted its key lending rate to the highest since August 2003 as inflation exceeded its target for an eighth month in November. Growth in Africa's biggest economy probably slowed to 4.9 percent last year from a 25-year high of 5.4 percent in 2006, the Finance Ministry said Oct. 30. China's economy expanded 11.5 percent in the third quarter of 2007 while Indian growth was 8.9 percent.

``Its growth is on the low side when compared with India, China and even most of Latin America,'' said Allan Conway, who oversees about $30 billion as head of global emerging-markets equities at Schroders Investment Management in London. ``We have not really liked South Africa for a year.''

Brazil's economy expanded 5.7 percent in the third quarter of 2007 while Argentina and Venezuela grew 8.7 percent.

The FTSE/JSE Africa All Share Index gained 16 percent in 2007, its fifth consecutive annual advance. That was less than the 36 percent gain in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, a global benchmark.

Jacob Zuma's Dec. 19 victory over President Thabo Mbeki to become head of the South Africa's ruling African National Congress may also deter some foreign investors. Prosecutors reinstated corruption charges against Zuma nine days later.
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Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- South African vehicle sales fell an annual 15.1 percent last month, the most in more than five years, as rising interest rates and fuel prices eroded demand, an industry body said.

Sales dropped to 41,813 units, the ninth consecutive decline, the Pretoria-based National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa said in an e-mailed statement today. Vehicle sales for the whole of 2007 fell 5.2 percent to 612,707. December's decline is the biggest since March 2002.

The Reserve Bank has increased its benchmark interest rate by two percentage points since June, crimping spending. The price of crude oil rose 57 percent last year, further dampening demand for vehicles.

``During 2008, market sentiment and automotive industry trading conditions would continue to be tested by the high interest rate environment, record high levels of household debt, rising inflation and volatile and increasingly vulnerable international financial markets,'' the association said.

Passenger car sales fell an annual 19 percent last month, while purchases of light commercial vehicles, such as minivans and pick-up trucks dropped 11 percent, the association said. It forecasts carmakers will sell 650,000 vehicles in South Africa this year.
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Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- South African business confidence fell to its lowest in more than four years last month as higher interest rates and inflation boosted business costs, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.

The Business Confidence Index declined to 94.8 in December, the lowest since November 2003, from 95.8 in the previous month, the Johannesburg-based chamber said in an e-mailed statement today.

The chamber ``foresees that 2008 will be economically more difficult than 2007,'' it said. ``The business mood will be affected accordingly'' and confidence is likely to continue to moderate in 2008.

South Africa's central bank increased its benchmark interest rate four times last year, pushing it to 11 percent, to curb spending and inflation, which has exceeded its 3 percent to 6 percent target range since April.

Other factors that are damping business confidence include high crime levels, a widening current account deficit and bottlenecks in the government's plans to build new railways, roads and power stations, the chamber said.
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Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Niger, Africa's biggest uranium producer, said revenue from uranium mining will rise 14-fold after the West African country signed a new agreement two days ago with Areva SA.

The nuclear fuel's contribution to Niger's budget will jump to 100 billion CFA francs ($227 million) a year from 7 billion CFA francs, Ali Badjo Gamatie, special adviser to the president on mineral matters, said on national television late yesterday.

It's ``a big push forward,'' he said in the broadcast from the capital, Niamey. ``It has been very rewarding for Niger to change the terms of the last agreement.''

Niger depends on the nuclear fuel for most of its exports, shipping about 120 million CFA francs of uranium last year, according to the International Monetary Fund. Niger previously said it would seek to end its reliance on Areva, which operates the country's two uranium mines, Somair and Cominak.

Under the new agreement, Paris-based Areva, the world's largest nuclear power-plant maker, will pay 50 percent more for the uranium it gets from Niger.

Niger will be able to sell 900 metric tons of uranium on the open market each year over the next two years, Badjo Gamatie said.
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Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Essar Oil Ltd., India's newest refiner, acquired a 50 percent stake in Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd.

The acquisition was made by unit Essar Energy Overseas Ltd., the Mumbai-based company said in an e-mailed release. The acquisition is expected to be completed ``in early 2008,'' the company said.

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Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- South African retail sales growth slowed to an annual 0.2 percent in November, the lowest in more than five years, after the central bank raised interest rates to crimp spending.

Sales growth eased from a revised 1.9 percent in October, Pretoria-based Statistics South Africa said on its Web site today. Retail sales were expected to drop an annual 0.4 percent, according to the median estimate of seven economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Four interest rate increases last year have hurt consumer spending on furniture and cars, threatening to undermine economic growth in Africa's biggest economy. With inflation still above the central bank's 3 percent to 6 percent target range, the bank is still under pressure to lift its benchmark interest rate from 11 percent at its next meeting on Jan. 30-31.

``The worse is yet to come'' for retail sales, said Ridle Markus, senior economist at Absa Group Ltd., South Africa's third- largest bank. ``The full impact of the cumulative rate hikes are coming through, but still have some way to go.''

The yield on the R153 government bond, due 2010, rose 5 basis points, or 0.05 percentage points, to 9.31 percent. The rand was at 6.942 against the dollar as of 2:49 p.m. from 6.87 before the data were released.
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Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Nigerian stocks attracted seven times more foreign investment last year than in 2006 as a rise in oil prices and improvements in the local banking industry boosted the All-Share Index.

Overseas investment in shares jumped 631 percent to 256 billion naira ($2.2 billion), from 35 billion naira in 2006, according to a statement by Nigerian Stock Exchange Chief Executive Officer Ndi Okereke-Onyuike.

Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, benefited from a 57 percent surge in crude prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange last year. Consolidation and restructuring of the banking industry, which the central bank began in 2004, has increased local banks' ability to lend to customers and driven profits. Shares of United Bank for Africa Plc, Nigeria's biggest lender by number of branches, almost doubled last year.

Nigeria's benchmark rallied 75 percent last year, with the market value of the 212 companies trading on the bourse climbing to $105.65 billion, compared with $40.32 billion a year earlier, the statement said. This makes the Nigerian exchange sub-Sahara Africa's second largest after South Africa.
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January 21 – Financial Times (Deborah Brewster): “Investors are pouring money into the opposite ends of the risk spectrum, with cash and high-risk emerging markets attracting record inflows while the middle ground - traditional bond and equity funds - attract little or no money. In an unprecedented shift of money from developed world stock markets to emerging markets, US investors last year put a record $40bn into emerging markets funds - almost double the amount of last year… Other than emerging markets, money market funds were the clear winners in 2007, with inflows of $760bn during the year that lifted their assets to a record $3,100bn, according to iMoney-Net.”

http://www.prudentbear.com/index.php/CreditBubbleBulletinHome

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Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) -- AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., Gold Fields Ltd. and Anglo Platinum Ltd. kept their South African mines shut as power supply was cut for a fourth day, threatening investment and jobs in the continent's biggest economy.

State utility Eskom Holdings Ltd. only provided enough power for maintenance and safety procedures. AngloGold expects supply to increase later this week, allowing a ``phased return'' to normal output. Precious metals traded close to a record.

Eskom, which supplies 95 percent of the country's power, can't meet demand after South Africa delayed a decision on expansion by four years. Eskom and the government will meet mining companies tomorrow to discuss a resolution to a crisis that threatens growth and may deter foreign investment in a country with a jobless rate of 25.5 percent.

``You are constraining the economy and the investment that can take place,'' said Dennis Dykes, chief economist at Nedbank Group Ltd., South Africa's fourth-biggest lender. ``It's already been seriously damaging to investor sentiment.''

Gold Fields Ltd. slid 3.8 percent to 103.80 rand in Johannesburg trading, after losing 8.5 percent on Jan. 25. Anglo Platinum dropped 2.7 percent to 980 rand.

Eskom may decide tomorrow whether mining companies can resume output, said spokesman Andrew Etzinger. The utility will meet large industrial users in the morning and discuss cutting power to other parts of the economy, including residential customers, he added.
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Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The Kenyan shilling's recent volatility has been caused by ``speculation and misinformation'' and the country has sufficient foreign exchange reserves to meet demand from importers, Finance Minister Amos Kimunya said.

``We have adequate reserves'' equivalent to about five months of import cover, Kimunya told reporters today in the capital, Nairobi. ``I am not worried about the shilling vis-a- vis the dollar.''

The shilling fell to 73.50 against the dollar today, from 69.71 on Jan. 25, and has weakened 16 percent since a disputed election on Dec. 27 that sparked violence in which more than 700 people have died. The opposition Orange Democratic Movement claims the poll was rigged, while international observers have expressed concern over irregularities in the polls.

Growth in the east African economy, the region's biggest, is likely to slow in the first half of this year, due to a slowdown in the tourism industry, Kimunya said. Kenya received 1.25 million tourists in the first nine months of 2007, generating 49.2 billion shillings ($670.6 million) of revenue, according to the Kenya Tourism Board.

Kimunya spoke after holding talks with Mark Brown, Britain's Minister for Africa, who said the U.K. is ``deeply alarmed'' by the escalation of violence in Kenya, Brown said.
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Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Kenya had the outlook on its debt cut at Fitch Ratings, which cited the worsening violence in the east African country following last month's disputed elections.

Fitch reduced the outlook on the nation's foreign and local credit ratings to ``negative'' from ``stable,'' the London-based company said in a report today, signaling it's more likely to downgrade the debt than raise it or leave it unchanged. Kenya is rated B+ at Fitch, four steps below investment grade. Standard & Poor's also rates it B+.

``There's a 50 percent chance of a downgrade within a maximum time horizon of two years,'' Richard Fox, head of Middle East and Africa sovereign ratings at Fitch and the author of the report, said in a telephone interview from London. ``If there's a serious deterioration in the political environment and the Kenyan economy is badly affected, we could downgrade in a shorter space of time.''

More than 750 people have died in violence in Kenya since a Dec. 27 presidential election that the main opposition Orange Democratic Movement said was rigged to keep President Mwai Kibaki in office. The violence has lost the east African economy, the region's biggest, $1 billion partly through a slump in tourism, according to the Finance Ministry.

Kenya's rating will be determined by how quickly it can resolve its political differences and avoid further damage to the economy, said Fox. Gross domestic product expanded about 6.4 percent last year and is projected to grow another 6.5 percent in 2008, according to the International Monetary Fund.
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Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Anglo Platinum Ltd., BHP Billiton Ltd. and Gold Fields Ltd. resumed some mine production in South Africa after power cuts that halted most output for five days eased.

While state utility, Eskom Holdings Ltd., boosted power supplies to 80 percent of normal needs and pledged 90 percent by the end of the week, the company said it still has a shortfall of 1,500 megawatts today. Power cuts are expected to continue intermittently until at least 2013, Eskom has said.

``What we have seen is only a warning signal,'' said Danko Konchar, chairman of Samancor Chrome Ltd., the world's second- biggest ferrochrome producer. ``The worst is yet to come from Eskom.''

Eskom, which supplies about 95 percent of the country's power, can't meet demand after South Africa delayed a decision on expansion by four years. The company asked 138 industrial customers on Jan. 24 to cut electricity use after heavy rain damaged coal stocks. Coal-fired stations account for 90 percent of its installed capacity of about 41,500 megawatts.

That request shut mines and cut output from smelters in a country that produces almost 80 percent of global platinum supply, more than a tenth of the world's gold and over half of its ferrochrome. Platinum, gold and rhodium, a byproduct of platinum mining, rose to records after the closures.

Platinum for immediate delivery fell as much as 2.2 percent to $1,680.25 an ounce today and traded at $1,685.40 as of 3:47 p.m. in London. It rose to a record $1,738.75 yesterday. Gold for immediate delivery fell 0.3 percent to $921.28 an ounce.
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Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Anglo American Plc, the world's second-biggest mining company, signed an agreement with China Development Bank to develop natural-resource projects.

Anglo and China's biggest state-controlled bank plan to identify and develop ventures in China and Africa, the London- based company said today in a statement. China Development Bank funded most of last week's purchase of a $14 billion stake in Rio Tinto Group by government-owned Aluminum Corp. of China.

In China, ``senior leaders are clearly worried about the industry's rapid consolidation, and the risk it will tilt the balance of market power even further in the direction of a handful of mining majors,'' John Kemp, an analyst at Sempra Metals Ltd. in London, wrote in a report published today.

China is the largest raw-materials consumer as it feeds an economy that grew 11.4 percent in 2007, the fastest in 13 years. Aluminum Corp. of China, the nation's largest producer of the metal, and Alcoa Inc. bought the Rio Tinto stake to derail BHP Billiton Ltd.'s hostile bid for the London-based mining company.

Anglo has reduced investments in steel and gold and approved expansion in copper and iron ore to compete with larger rival BHP in supplying industrial resources to China.
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Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- The Democratic Republic of Congo, the world's biggest source of cobalt, plans a ``fast track'' process to conclude a review of mining licenses.

The new arrangement will include a ``brief and open appeal process,'' according to a statement issued today by public relations company Bell Pottinger.

``What caught us by surprise when the review commission started to look at the contracts in detail was the scale of the problem that we had inherited,'' Victor Kasongo, Congo's vice minister of mines, said in the statement.
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Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- South Africa, the world's biggest producer of precious metals, said a change is ``imminent'' in mining laws aimed at redistributing assets to black people.

``Significant progress is being made,'' Mines Minister Buyelwa Sonjica said in a speech in Cape Town today at the Mining Indaba conference. ``An announcement of proposed changes is imminent.''

The minister said last year South Africa will change a 2004 law, making it clearer and smoothing its implementation. Under the legislation, mining companies must reapply by 2009 for the right to exploit resources and prospects. The law increases scrutiny of applications to try to ensure wealth is being spread to the black majority to help make up for discrimination during apartheid.

South African is also drafting a law aimed at encouraging the processing of gold, platinum, diamonds and other commodities domestically.

``In December of last year, the draft bill was released by our minister of finance,'' Sonjica said. ``We envisage that this bill will be finalized before 2009. It is on the agenda for parliament this year.''

Power cuts are curbing mine production, Sonjica also said. Safety at mines in South Africa, the world's biggest producer of platinum, chrome, manganese and vanadium, is ``far from impressive,'' she added.
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Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Striking workers at the Coffee and Cocoa Bourse in Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producer, will return to work tomorrow after an agreement on payments with management, a union official said.

``The strike has been suspended'' until Tuesday, Jeannot Kouadio, second secretary of the cocoa and coffee workers union and head of the bourse's logistics department, said by telephone from the commercial capital Abidjan. ``People will start working again tomorrow.''

Workers walked out Feb. 1, preventing exporters getting the permits they need to ship cocoa. Union members, in their third strike since December, demanded the dismissal of bourse Managing Director Tanoh Kassy, improved conditions and pay, and the re- instatement of a bonus paid at the end of the harvest.

The bonus, which hasn't been paid since the 2003 harvest, ranged from one to three months' salary, Kouadio said.

``We're asking for two months,'' Kouadio said. ``They've agreed to pay out the bonus for the 2007 harvest. They've got until Tuesday to implement it.''

Managers at cocoa industry agencies will keep their jobs until the chief prosecutor completes an investigation into alleged corruption, the Ministry of Agriculture said today in a statement.
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Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Ceramic Industries Ltd., a South African maker of tiles and sinks, fell the most in more than 17 years in Johannesburg trading after the company said fiscal first-half profit fell as much as 20 percent.

Ceramic Industries dropped 30.99 rand, or 22 percent, to 110 rand, its steepest slide since at least August 1990. The stock has declined 38 percent in the past six months for a market value of 2 billion rand ($261 million).

The company's business ``deteriorated markedly'' as rising interest rates slowed consumer spending and higher oil prices pushed up costs, Ceramic Industries said. South Africa's central bank increased its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to 11 percent on Dec. 6, the fourth increase since June, crimping consumer spending on cars, furniture and homes.
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Feb. 29 (Bloomberg) -- South Africa's trade deficit widened almost eight-fold to 10.2 billion rand ($1.3 billion) in January as oil imports surged and power outages crimped gold and platinum exports.

The deficit grew from 1.2 billion rand in December, the South African Revenue Service said on its Web site today. The trade gap was expected to reach 8 billion rand, according to the median estimate of 11 economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Anglo Platinum Holdings Ltd., the world's biggest producer of the precious metal, and other mining companies shut their South African mines for five days last month because of a power shortage. The widening trade gap increases pressure on South Africa to attract more foreign investment to fund the shortfall.

``Given the stellar rise in precious metal prices and a weaker rand, the drop in precious metal exports is worrying,'' said Fanie Joubert, an economist at Efficient Group in Pretoria. ``The widening deficit will continue to be a serious problem.''

The trade gap widened last year after the government stepped up infrastructure spending on railways, power supplies and stadiums as it prepares to host the 2010 FIFA soccer World Cup. The wider deficit has added to pressure on the rand, which has fallen 11 percent against the dollar this year.
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March 3 (Bloomberg) -- South Africa's rand fell to its lowest level in five years against the dollar as concern that the U.S. may slide into a recession cut demand for riskier, emerging- market assets.

The rand dropped versus 13 of the 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg as stock markets in Europe and the U.S. weakened on speculation a slowdown in the world's biggest economy will dent global profit growth.
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March 3 (Bloomberg) -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and four other Gulf Arab states may form a common stock exchange after completing a currency union planned for 2010, the head of the Abu Dhabi Securities Market said.

``You will see in this region a common capital market and securities market after the Gulf common currency,'' Tom Healy, director general at the bourse, said in an interview in Abu Dhabi today. The exchange would start ``some years'' after regional monetary union, he said, without being more specific.

The Gulf Cooperation Council states, which also include Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait, in 2001 agreed to form a European Union-style monetary union with a single currency to help boost regional trade. Though Oman has said it can't meet convergence criteria by the 2010 deadline, the other five member states have said they remain committed to their 2010 target.

At stake for international investors is access to stocks in a region that pumps about a fifth of the world's oil and where the MSCI GCC Countries Index jumped 47 percent last year on oil- fueled economic growth. At $471 billion, Saudi Arabia's stock market capitalization is twice that of Greece's bourse, yet only Gulf citizens and expatriates living in the kingdom may trade shares freely.
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March 12 (Bloomberg) -- South African business confidence plunged to a seven-year low in the first quarter as rising costs undermined company profits and political concerns increased, Rand Merchant Bank said.

The business confidence index dropped 19 points to 48, the biggest decline in 24 years, the bank, a unit of FirstRand Ltd., said in an e-mail today. The survey is compiled by RMB and the University of Stellenbosch's Bureau for Economic Research.

Interest rates at a four-year high and record gasoline costs have cut consumer spending in Africa's biggest economy, while pushing up business costs. The election of Jacob Zuma as leader of the ruling party in December has also undermined business sentiment. Zuma is backed by labor unions and his election has raised doubt about the future of economic policy.

``The sharp fall in business confidence during the first quarter of 2008 reflects a deepening slowdown in business volumes, profitability coming under pressure, as well as increased economic and political uncertainty,'' RMB said. ``The leadership change has increased uncertainty about the direction economic policies will take in future.''

The drop in business confidence indicates a slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter, though not necessarily a decline in output, Ettienne le Roux, an economist at Rand Merchant Bank, said by phone from Johannesburg. Growth accelerated to an annualized 5.3 percent in final three months of 2007, compared with 4.8 percent in the third quarter, the statistics office said on Feb. 26.

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March 14 (Bloomberg) -- Hungary had the outlook on its credit rating lowered by Standard & Poor's, which cited growing political pressure on the government to increase spending.

S&P reduced the outlook to ``negative'' from ``stable,'' indicating it's more likely to cut the rating than raise it or leave it unchanged. Hungary's long-term debt is rated BBB+ by S&P, three steps above non-investment grade, or ``junk.''

Hungarians voted by a 4-to-1 margin in a March 9 referendum to abolish medical and tuition fees, part of the deficit plan. The rejection may weaken the government's resolve to narrow the European Union's widest shortfall and risks sending the gap to 4.5 percent of gross domestic product this year, higher than the government's 4 percent target, S&P said.

``With the early 2010 general elections approaching, incentives for further fiscal consolidation measures are dwindling fast and the risk is rising that Hungary's traditional electoral budget cycle will be repeated,'' said Franklin Gill, a London- based analyst at S&P, in a statement today.

The forint weakened to 258.78 per euro at 4:43 p.m. in Budapest, from 258.48 late yesterday. The benchmark BUX stock index fell 1.1 percent. The yield on the benchmark three-year bond fell to 9.12 percent from 9.27 percent.

Hungary's government remains committed to its deficit-cutting plan endorsed by the EU and still expects to meet budget target this year and through 2010, Finance Minister Janos Veres told reporters today.
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March 17 (Bloomberg) -- Emerging-market bonds and currencies declined after JPMorgan Chase & Co. agreed to buy Bear Stearns Cos. for $2 a share and the Federal Reserve cut its discount interest rate in an emergency move aimed at alleviating a deepening credit squeeze.

The extra yield investors demand to own emerging-market bonds over Treasuries swelled to the widest since June 2005 as investors shunned all but the safest securities. The so-called spread widened 11 basis points, or 0.11 percentage point, to 3.22 percentage points at 4 p.m. in New York, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s EMBI Plus index.

``When people get scared, they start to sell everything,'' said Silvia Marengo, who manages $130 million of bonds at Clariden Bank in London. ``Risk perception is very high, and that's why people are dropping risky assets.''

The yield on Venezuela's benchmark 9 1/4 percent bonds maturing in 2027 jumped 13 basis points to 9.92 percent, according to JPMorgan. The bond's price dropped 1.05 cents on the dollar to 94.25 cents.

Brazil's real led declines in Latin America, falling 0.7 percent to 1.7226 per dollar and extending its decline over the past three days to 2.9 percent. The Turkish lira dropped 2.47 percent, the most since Aug. 16, to 1.2609 per dollar.

In its first weekend emergency action in almost three decades, the Fed lowered the so-called discount rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.25 percent. The Fed also will provide up to $30 billion to JPMorgan to help finance its purchase of Bear Stearns, which collapsed after clients pulled $17 billion in two days.

`Systemic Crisis'

``We're at the beginning of a systemic crisis,'' said Luis Costa, an emerging-market strategist at Commerzbank AG in London. ``We will need the presence of the central banks more and more over the next several months. The market was not expecting the collapse of Bear Stearns.''

The risk of owning Argentine bonds surged today, according to Bloomberg data. Five-year credit default swaps based on the country's debt climbed 17 basis points, the most since March 6, to 599 basis points. That means it costs $599,000 to protect $10 million of the country's debt from default.
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"it costs $599,000 to protect $10 million of the country's debt from default."

(damn well should)

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April 8 (Bloomberg) -- India wants to build a common strategy on food, energy and terrorism with Africa, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.

``We have emergent common challenges of food security, energy security, pandemics, terrorism and climate change,'' Singh told an India-Africa summit in New Delhi today, attended by nine heads of state and government from the continent, including South African President Thabo Mbeki. ``We should have cooperative mechanisms for addressing these pressing issues.''

India, which seeks to secure oil and gas fields in Sudan, Nigeria and Angola and catch up with China in gaining Africa's energy resources, announced plans to provide preferential market access to least developed nations from the continent.
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