World trade: Ecuador not bananas about pact

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Emerging markets: Wall Street backs the samba boys

Wall Street fears that a Brazil defeat in tomorrow's England soccer match could destabilize the country's volatile stock markets and weaken the right wing government's electoral chances. The US is largely unmoved by soccer - but if Brazil were to follow Argentina into meltdown, this would seriously affect American financial interests.

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HIV patents: no solution - yet

While the WTO has not yet made a breakthrough on the issue of patent-free HIV drugs for developing economies, something must be done to alleviate the human and economic cost of the HIV epidemic. Western pharma companies will inevitably lose out - the only question is how well their profit maintenance strategies can cushion the blow.

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Volatility in global commodities markets drives spend in risk management IT

Analysts expect that increased volatility in commodities markets globally will drive spend in risk management IT. However, commodities present their own unique characteristics that must be observed, making it fundamental for IT vendors looking to capitalize on the opportunity to have a full understanding and appreciation of the underlying physical market and of their potential client's business.

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Money market funds: back in fashion

In the wake of large-scale outflows from money market funds late last year, Datamonitor argued that investors' fears around this fund class were unjustified, and predicted significant movements of cash back into the category. The latest data shows that we were right: money market funds are back in fashion, although they will have to fight for investors' attention during 2009.

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Davos: Doha agreement provides hope for transport and logistics industries

Trade ministers have agreed that the Doha round of trade negotiations is the best step global leaders can take to avoid a protectionist backlash to the current economic crisis. Although the market is expected to contract in 2009 and 2010 regardless of any political intervention, resolving the Doha round will at least help towards reducing the impact of the downturn.

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HSBC rights issue: much to be positive about

The long list of banks raising new money in the current crisis has been joined by HSBC, with the announcement of a GBP12.5 billion cash call. What singles the company's money-raising exercise out from the others is less the scale of the operation than the fact that it is acquiring cash in the traditional way, pointing not just to the bank's strength, but to fledgling faith in the banking industry.

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Funes election win may not be bad omen for El Salvador outsourcing

The recent election of Mauricio Funes as the president of El Salvador has many in the global outsourcing community questioning the viability of the country as an optimal location for business process outsourcing delivery. However, Datamonitor is cautiously optimistic that the new president-elect will not jeopardize the positioning of El Salvador as a third-party function delivery site.

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The G20 clampdown on tax havens has not signed their death warrant - yet

Tough talk from the G20 about clamping down on tax havens is making for very uncomfortable reading among jurisdictions that hold non-resident client assets, including those in Europe. Although no specific sanctions against uncooperative jurisdictions were outlined, Brazil provides an example of the kind of 'stick' that could be used on the European jurisdictions to make them show willing.

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Unilever: shrewd investment should aid recovery from Q1 profit decline

Consumer packaged goods company Unilever has announced an overall decline in sales and profits for the first three months of 2009. The firm has been hit by falling sales in developed countries, although growth has been seen in emerging markets. Many consumers have traded down as their disposable income shrinks, but investment from Unilever should ensure that it remains in a strong position.

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