Middle East Eye: How finance technology can grow Middle East economies

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Lack of access to banking is hampering the Middle East and North Africa.

Access to such services in the region lags the world, which, in turn, is holding back economic growth, according to new research. 

The better news is that there is plenty of untapped potential to unleash, particularly through the use of fintech, or financial technology. In other words, the problem is fixable. Read more here.

Barron's: Two Ways to Play Theresa May’s Brexit Drama

By SIMON CONSTABLE

United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May’s travails in selling her Brexit deal with the European Union to her own Conservative government played out in the U.K. market. Stocks were hit hard, with the locally focused FTSE 250 index losing 1.6% and the pound retreating 1.7%. 

Among the harder hit stocks were big U.K. real estate investment trusts, British Land (ticker: BLND.UK) and Land Securities (LAND.UK), which fell 5.4% and 5%, respectively, on Thursday alone. Read more here.

Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash

Barron's: Why Hungarian Stocks Are Ready to Rise

By SIMON CONSTABLE

There’s lots to like in Hungary, including strong capital inflows, fast economic growth, low borrowing costs, and a much-improved banking sector. All should help boost local stocks.

“Higher bank profits should improve banks’ ability to ramp up lending and give more support to output growth and investment,” says Ugras Ulku, deputy head of emerging market Europe research at the Institute of International Finance (IIF). Read more here.

Budapest

Photo by Keszthelyi Timi on Unsplash

New York Financial Writers 2018 Follies Intro.

Korn Ferry: In Germany, New Lessons on Succession

In a move that rocked the political sphere, Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel has recently announced she’d step down in three years. Sure, that’s a ways off, but Merkel has held the position for more than decade and been a clear if not stable fixture that will be hard to replace. And for now, few experts see any obvious replacements. 

Succession plans in the political world are, of course, different than those at a company. “There’s no assurance that the up-and-comer politician might not get impatient and challenge the leader to an election,” says Alan Guarino, Vice Chairman in our CEO and Board Services practice for Korn Ferry in New York. “It’s not like corporate America.” Still, a growing number of firms are waking up to the often-ignored importance building high-level pipelines far in advance.  Read more here.

WSJ: What Is the Real Effective Exchange Rate?

By SIMON CONSTABLE

In reports explaining why some currencies plunged this year, analysts may have mentioned the Real Effective Exchange Rate, or REER.

The REER provides a broader assessment of a currency’s value than simply comparing the value of one country’s currency against another country’s currency. Read more here.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Barron's: How Electric Vehicles Should Give a Jolt to Copper Miners

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Copper prices have dropped 18% in recent weeks, creating a long-term opportunity to get in on some cheap copper-mining giants with generous dividend payouts. Their prospects will depend on a major technological transition: the move from gasoline-powered to electric vehicles.

“If you’re bullish on global growth over the next 18 to 24 months, you have to own copper-related assets, especially since current prices aren’t high enough to fund new-mine development,” says Adam Johnson, founder and author of the Bullseye Brief financial newsletter. Read more here.