EIU Country Analysis

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [MarketWatch Bullets] Merck & Co. is selling $#.## billion in debt Monday, with portions maturing from # years to ## years, according to Informa Global Markets. The drugmaker mrk increased the amount from $#.# billion earlier

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Datamonitor Pharmaceutical & HealthWire] KIMS Healthcare Management, an Indian healthcare provider, has opened a new ##-bed hospital in Darsait, Oman, reported Times Of Oman. According to the news source, the new KIMS center will offer services

FROM THE ECONOMIST First they came for the bankers. FAMILY ties can make or break a person in Kazakhstan. They help when it comes to advancing a career, be it in business or in politics. Kazakh tradition requires you to

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] TOYOTA, Japan-Toyota shareholders approved the appointment of the company founder#;s grandson Akio Toyoda as new president Tuesday, hoping that reaching back to the automaker#;s family roots will help steer the manufacturer out

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [ADP Germany News] German shopping centre operator Management fuer Immobilien AG (Mfi) plans to submit a bid for ## of the ## Karstadt high-street stores of insolvent Arcandor (FRA:ARO), CEO Matthias Boening has said. "Once

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [BNamericas (English)] Brazil#;s senate committee charged with following the financial crisis, CACFE, has released its list of eight recommendations to increase competition in the country#;s banking sector, senate news agency Agencia Senado reported. The first

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [South China Morning Post] Beijing is expected to unveil subsidised prices for solar power production as soon as the second half to enable mass adoption of the previously prohibitively expensive green electricity on the mainland. The National

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Consumer Goods and Retail Report for this country In terms of its share of the domestic economy, Greece has one of the largest agricultural sectors in the

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] Testimony begins Tuesday in the Italian trial of four Google executives accused of defamation and violating privacy for allowing a video to be posted online showing an autistic youth being abused. All four deny wrongdoing

Country Commerce El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Released June #### The Economist Intelligence Unit ### West ## th Street New York NY##### USA The Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit is a specialist publisher serving companies establishing and managing operations

FROM THE ECONOMIST The world economy#;s deepest post-war slump has resulted in higher rates of unemployment in many countries. Spain#;s jobless rate has increased by more than # percentage points in the past ## months, much of

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Hindu (English) (India)] Indicating the Government#;s will to go ahead with disinvestment, the Coal Ministry is working on a plan to disinvest #-## per cent stake in state-run Navratna [-- a term for a special

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] Toyota Motor Corp.#;s (####.TO) Executive Vice President Masatami Takimoto said Tuesday that the company hopes to roll out a new fuel-cell car by ####. He made the comment at the

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Asia Pulse Businesswire] Chinese solar cell manufacturer Yingli Green Energy Holding yesterday signed a contract to supply crystalline photovoltaic-solar modules to a #-mW power plant in Slovakia this year. Yingli would supply more PV modules

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Bharat Chronicle (India)] While many of us celebrated Father#;s Day, a video clip from Iran reached out to the rest of the world, showing us a father#;s nightmare - a daughter dying in his arms. On

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Falling private capital flows are threatening macroeconomic stability in developing countries. The global financial and economic crisis has made credit scarce and caused investors to retreat to safe-haven assets, making it more difficult for

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Herald, The (Scotland)] LLOYDS Banking Group has more than doubled the size of its corporate restructuring operation and launched a major advertising campaign as it adopts a more hands-on approach to working with companies in trouble

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] Drug developer MannKind Corp. said Monday it completed the previously announced buyout of a quantity of bulk insulin and a license to make bulk insulin from Pfizer Inc. for $# million. The company is using

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Gold Coast Bulletin (Australia)] THE number of new motor vehicle sales in May rose by a seasonally adjusted #.# per cent. Australian new motor vehicle sales increased to ##,### units in May, from ##,###

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [New York Times] President Obama does not discuss the fact that he still occasionally smokes, a habit he very publicly tried to kick during his race for the White House. But there he was on Monday, talking

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [New York Times] Bain Capital, an American private investment firm, said Monday that it had agreed to invest as much as $### million to acquire a minority stake in Gome Electrical Appliances, one of the biggest retailers

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [AllAfrica.com] The government has appointed a team to fast-track the generation of clean and renewable energy using sources such as wind, solar, biomass, and biogas. Kenya is planning to commission the use of clean energy

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Energy Report for this country Seismic sensitivity means Greece has avoided the use of nuclear power, but representatives of the Ministry for the Environment, Physical Planning and

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Venezuela#;s health ministry has banned the sale of Coca-Cola#;s Zero brand cola drink., produced in Venezuela by bottler Coca-Cola FEMSA. Health officials cited unspecified health concerns for the prohibition. Coca-Cola

FROM THE ECONOMIST The downturn is claiming victims that never appear on a balance sheet. NINE months after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the world#;s economic crisis is still usually discussed as though it consisted of dire bank balance

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Asia Pulse Businesswire] Indonesia#;s crude oil production in the first half of this year fell short of the target of ###,### barrels per day. Production so far this year averaged only ###,### barrels per

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Asia Pulse Businesswire] Car sales in Indonesia are forecast to reach the level of one million units in #### from an estimated ###,### units this year, car makers said. Currently, Indonesia is the second largest car

FROM THE ECONOMIST A foreign banking expedition in China reaches a premature but successful end. BACK in ####, when China was more convinced that the West had something to offer its financial system, TPG, an American private-equity firm, was

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [AFP World News (English)] Heart disease deaths dropped ## percent in Canada between #### and ####, likely as a result of fierce campaigns against smoking and bad cholesterol, a study said Monday. Researchers noted a rapid decline

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] Only nine companies have gone public so far this year, down by ## from the same period of ####, with many firms forgoing initial public offerings amid the economic downturn. Stock exchanges have

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] The Energy Department is expected to announce that Ford Motor Co. will receive funds from a $## billion federal loan program to develop fuel-efficient vehicles. Congressional officials say Energy Secretary Steven Chu will make

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT (Forecast closing date: June ##rd ####) Consumer goods and retail report: Overview Retail sales are estimated to have been worth US$##.#bn in ####. In recent years, solid private consumption growth has been driven

FROM THE ECONOMIST The obscure origins of a crisis at a Saudi conglomerate. IN DECEMBER Arabian Business magazine published its annual ranking of the richest Arab businessmen. Third on the list was Maan al-Sanea, with a fortune of $#

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Express, The (UK)] THE Royal Bank of Scotland will consider breaking up its Asian business after its attempted auction hit problems. It is believed the three bidders, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, HSBC and Standard Chartered

Country Commerce El Salvador Guatemala Honduras Released June #### The Economist Intelligence Unit ### West ## th Street New York NY##### USA The Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit is a specialist publisher serving companies establishing and managing operations

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Overview AvtoVAZ began life as a paradox. Established in #### by communist economic planners, it was meant to address insatiable demand from Soviet consumers for so individualistic an item as the private motor car. Its

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Globes (Tel Aviv)] Nochi Dankner has found a use for the NIS # billion he made on investing in Credit Suisse, and today he marked a new investment target: the retailing industry. Today Koor, controlled by Nochi

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The banking sector faces a period of much more subdued activity Sweden has suffered a considerable deterioration in its financing score and the financing environment will continue to suffer from the effects of the global

Initial conditions: Indonesia is the largest economy in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), but GDP per head, at an estimated US$#,### (on a purchasing power parity basis) in ####, is relatively low. The years immediately

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT South Africa#;s retail sales volumes fell by #.#% year on year in April, which is markedly worse than the #.#% and #.#% contractions seen in February and March. According to the

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] Nissan Motor Co. (####.TO) Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said Tuesday the company plans to produce an electric vehicle in the U.S., becoming the first Japanese car maker to mass produce such

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Overview If you#;ve brushed your teeth, washed your hair or sipped a cup of coffee today, chances are you#;ve used a product from The Procter & Gamble Co (P&G). With over ### brands

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Daily Telegraph (UK)] THE aviation industry could be powered by biofuels instead of traditional petroleum-based products within five years, according to one of the contributors to a study backed by heavyweights including Boeing, Rolls-Royce and

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Energy Report for this country Greece faces a serious mismatch of power supply and demand. The majority of power plants are in the north, where the lignite

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Asia Pulse Businesswire] Nike Inc has placed orders for an additional supply of footwear worth US$## million from Indonesia this year, an official said. Earlier Nike announced plan to cut ## per cent of its shoe

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Several companies in Brazil#;s beef industry, including JBS, owner of the Friboi meat brand and the world#;s largest beef producer, are being investigated by the country#;s federal prosecutor#;s office. The far

FROM THE ECONOMIST Plans to avoid another crisis prompt feuding within Britain and with Europe. THE midsummer dinner with bankers at Mansion House, the Lord Mayor#;s home in the City of London, offers chancellors of the exchequer a chance

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Network World Middle East] Nortel Networks has entered into an agreement with Nokia Siemens Networks to sell its its wireless network infrastructure business assets for US$### million, it said. Reports of the company#;s interest in

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Bond Buyer] Over-the-counter derivatives that are securities-based should be regulated under federal securities laws by the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC chairman Mary Schapiro told a Senate panel yesterday. At a hearing on modernizing

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Vanguard (Nigeria)] MILITANTS under the aegis of Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta say they have blown up two oil facilities belonging to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in Rivers state. A statement signed by spokesman

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Canadian Press DataFile] Sorry Paul Simon, Kodak is taking your Kodachrome away. The Eastman Kodak Co. announced Monday it#;s retiring its most senior film because of declining customer demand in an increasingly digital age. The world

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, FL)] The recession pushed back building plans for the Greenland Energy Center, but now the Jacksonville power project is moving forward with a cheaper price tag. Two natural gas-powered combustion turbines, each

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] Detroit#;s car makers increased their new-vehicle quality scores by an average of ##% in an influential industry survey despite being rocked by bankruptcies and the recession. Ford Motor Co., General Motors

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Asia Pulse Businesswire] A US$###.# million contract to supply equipment for the Vung Ang I coal-fired power plant was signed in Hanoi on Thursday between the Vietnam Machinery Installation Corporation (Lilama) and Babcock & Wilcox

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [ADP France News] French pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Aventis (EPA:SAN) may further cut jobs after the ### lay-offs in ####, business daily Les Echos reported on Monday, quoting trade union sources. Sanofi-Aventis management is expected

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Daily Telegraph (UK)] Dairy Crest is in talks with staff about the future of the group#;s final salary scheme after insuring the remainder of its pension liabilities for £###m. The Cathedral City cheese-to-milk producer

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [AFP World News (English)] German bank Hypo Real Estate said Monday it would cut #,### jobs and expected to lose hundreds of millions of euros in the second quarter of #### due to the world economic

New revelations about high pay at banks could provoke another fire-storm. Some banks are paying even more than before. Gordon Brown, Britain#;s prime minister, was in bullish mood this past March, scheming to get the G## to sign

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Houston Chronicle (TX)] Sempra Energy received its first shipment of liquefied natural gas at its new terminal near Lake Charles, La., on Sunday, making it the fourth LNG terminal opened in the U.S. in a little

The large consumer market is an attraction for long-term investors Indonesia remains an attractive market in a variety of sectors, particularly given the country#;s relatively strong economic performance during the current global recession. The consumer market is the

FROM THE ECONOMIST The financial and health reasons behind a new craze ONE day Judith Haller was watching television and saw that Martha Stewart had chickens. "I was very envious that she had her own chicken manure," she recalls. So

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] Drugmakers Merck and Co. and Schering-Plough Corp., which are in the process of a $##.# billion tie-up, said Monday the Federal Trade Commission has asked for more information about the deal. Merck

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [BNamericas (English)] Colombia#;s state oil company Ecopetrol (NYSE: EC) has completed repairs to the ##,###b/d Transandino pipeline in the country#;s south, Calgary#;s Gran Tierra (NYSE, TSX: GTE) said in a statement. Gran

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Asia Pulse Businesswire] A US$###.# million contract to supply equipment for the Vung Ang I coal-fired power plant was signed in Hanoi on Thursday between the Vietnam Machinery Installation Corporation (Lilama) and Babcock & Wilcox

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [AFP World News (English)] Colombia on Sunday reported its second swine flu death with three more fatalities suspected to involve the virus, as the pandemic continued its slow but steady march across South America. The confirmed victim

Initial conditions: The populist conservatives--who continue to occupy a number of the key institutions of state--tend to take a cautious approach towards political rapprochement, in particular with the US. They also tend to be resistant to economic liberalisation

FROM THE ECONOMIST See graphic below. SOURCE: The Economist

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Consumer Goods and Retail Report for this country The EU largely determines Greek foreign-trade policy. Greece regularly runs a large deficit on foreign-merchandise trade, for

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [AFP World News (English)] Three major Chinese banks said Tuesday the nation#;s top auditor had uncovered lending irregularities in their business, adding the findings would not impact their financial results. The National Audit Office found violations

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [New York Times] The White House on Monday hailed what it described as a "historic agreement to lower drugs costs" for older Americans, but it was not immediately clear how much the government would reap in savings

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Consumer Goods and Retail Report for this country The Greek retail market is fragmented, with the most number of shops per person in the EU. However, large

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Yonhap] The Prime ministers of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a deal Monday to cooperate in the field of nuclear energy, paving the way for South Korean energy giants to participate in a

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT German business sentiment strengthened for a third consecutive month in June, according to the latest Ifo index of business sentiment. The Ifo index--which covers #,### companies in manufacturing, construction, retail and wholesale trade

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Overview Eisai, one of Japan#;s leading pharmaceuticals companies, faces the prospect of patent expiry on its best-selling drug, Aricept, in late ####. Eisai can trace its origins back to a company established in

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [EquityBites] Biopharmaceutical company Trubion Pharmaceuticals Inc (Nasdaq: TRBN) declared on Monday that Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth (NYSE: WYE), has exercised its option to extend the research period of their collaboration by an additional one-year

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT China has gained market share as the worldwide garment trade struggles. But will its gains prove temporary? The garment export industry is traditionally an engine of growth for emerging markets, but the global economic downturn

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Scotland on Sunday] SCOTLAND faces a summer of strike action at major power stations and airports as construction workers consider industrial action in a row over pay and cheap foreign labour. Strikes which have seen thousands of

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Daily Telegraph (UK)] THE battle for Chaucer stepped up a gear yesterday after Pamplona Capital Management, the private equity group financed by Russia#;s Alfa bank, increased its stake in the Lloyd#;s of London insurer to

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Yonhap] The Prime ministers of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a deal Monday to cooperate in the field of nuclear energy, paving the way for South Korean energy giants to participate in a

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Business Daily Update (China)] The government is rolling out a pilot program to boost spending on public hospitals, as well as cut pharmaceutical and treatment costs, Health Minister Chen Zhu said yesterday. The move includes government subsidies

FROM THE ECONOMIST A much-trailed financial overhaul is a curious mix of audacity and timidity. EVEN Merton Miller, a Nobel prize-winning economist with a passion for financial arcana, found it "deadly dull". But if ever there was a

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Canadian Press DataFile] Apple Inc. sold more than a million units of its latest iPhone model in the first three days, making it the most successful debut for a smart phone yet. The iPhone #G S went

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [AllAfrica.com] After the successful launch of the Orange mobile brand in the Kenyan market, Telkom Kenya chief executive officer Dominic Saint-Jean, is expected to quit at the end of this month, the Nation has learnt

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Business Daily Update (China)] GE Healthcare will establish a ##-## percent joint venture with China#;s Shinva Medical Instrument Co Ltd in Zibo, Shandong province, according to Shinva#;s filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Japanese firms were less pessimistic in the second quarter of ####, according to the business outlook survey from the Ministry of Finance and the Cabinet Office. The sentiment index for large enterprises rose to -##

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [New York Times] Bain Capital, an American private investment firm, said Monday that it had agreed to invest as much as $### million to acquire a minority stake in Gome Electrical Appliances, one of the biggest retailers

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Irish Independent (Ireland)] Telemedia company expected to pay premium of up to EUR##m above cash fund Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT) is expected to make a bid for Eircom through an offer for its parent firm Eircom Holdings

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [AFP World News (English)] The number of patients who have lowered their "bad" cholesterol to the advised level has nearly doubled in nine countries over the last decade, according to a study released Monday. The research, published

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Energy Report for this country Greece lacks any significant domestic oil and gas resources and saw its imports increase by over ##% between #### and ####. Import

Initial conditions: Indonesia is the largest economy in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), but GDP per head, at an estimated US$#,### (on a purchasing power parity basis) in ####, is relatively low. The years immediately

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [South China Morning Post] Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are frontrunners in the race for lucrative underwriting roles and may share up to US$### million in fees in the estimated US$## billion Hong Kong

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [MarketWatch Bullets] Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., teva the Jerusalem drugmaker, exercised an option to complete an investment and license for Andromeda Biotech Ltd.#;s DiaPep###, a late-stage-development treatment for Type # diabetes. The investment and

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT (Forecast closing date: June ##rd ####) Greece#;s energy sector accounts for roughly #% of its total GDP and employs approximately ##,### people. Energy consumption per head is among the lowest in Europe, at

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Daily Telegraph (UK)] A GROUP of major hedge funds, including Man Group, Brevan Howard and BlackRock, have joined forces to oppose a European Union directive that threatens to put a cap on leverage. New rules could impose

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT A state-backed company, supported by shady private investors, is suspected of operating a broadband service without formal permission. Russia#;s State Spectrum Committee (GKRCh) decides how the country#;s spectrum assets are awarded and

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Asia Pulse Businesswire] The Australian government has axed another renewable energy grant - this one for people in remote areas who aren#;t connected to the electricity grid. The federal government on Monday announced it would end the

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] Panasonic Corp. (PC) is increasingly likely to turn Sanyo Electric Co. (SANYY) into a subsidiary in the first half of this fiscal year in light of progress in addressing potential antitrust issues for

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [AFP World News (English)] Britain and Jordan signed a nuclear cooperation pact here Monday, with Foreign Secretary David Miliband hailing the country#;s "transparent" approach to developing nuclear energy. Miliband inked the deal with Jordanian counterpart Nasser

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Business Daily Update (China)] Sanofi-Aventis, a French pharmaceutical company, has announced plans to establish a joint laboratory, with Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University in Beijing, for regenerative medicine. The laboratory would initially focus on age