IKN

Take physic, pomp

Things wot caught my eye

I agree with Salmon’s take on the US unemployment figures. He picks one sub-category to highlight (i.e. male unemployment) but there are others. Basically, away from the headline number things are far worse than they seem (yes, we know about the lagging indicator theory of unemployment figures). I also noted with a nod of the head the commenter on the post, who pointed out the US Bank stress test model called for US unemployment to top out at 8.9%…we’re already there, folks! 10.5% here we come.

This Bloomie headline about Vale (VALE) made me smile. “Vale “Ready to Explore” Alternative Iron Ore Pricing”. I mean, do you really need me to translate that into real English?

Chile’s CenBank drops rates 0.5% to 1.25%…a record low.

Peru’s CenBank drops rates 1% to 4%…plenty more to come, too.

But it’s not all bad, folks. Brazil’s telco Vivo (VIV) posted strong results. Notice that VIV is now managing to feed the bottom line from its revenue pile..the sign of a maturing telecoms market in Brazil. Basically, the major investment period is over and its payback time…we’ve seen this pattern many times before (Argentina, Mexico) and now Brazil, a country that has (somewhat surprisingly) lagged other regional telco markets is getting its turn at bat.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Hello, you are not in a chatroom, you are in my living room. Opposing views and criticisms welcome, insults or urinating on furniture unwelcome. Please refrain from swearing if possible, it is not needed.