Emerging Markets

While Toronto hosts this weekend's G8 & G20 summits, the topic of 'emerging markets' is hot, hot, hot. What are the changes in the 'emerging markets' that will be impacting all of us by this time next year when we gather for "Postcards from the Emerging Edge"?

Among other topics, you can look forward to hearing lessons from the 'BRIC" markets - Brazil, Russia, India & China. According to the Globe & Mail (Jun 9 & 15, 2010): "Brazil is on fire these days, and it’s not just on the soccer pitch. The country’s economy is surging at its fastest pace in nearly 15 years, unemployment has fallen to levels not seen in a decade and Brazil’s central bank is ratcheting up interest rates to tamp down inflation. Last night, the Banco Central do Brasil raised its key benchmark rate three-quarters of a percentage point, to 10.25 per cent -- the second such increase since April ...and the government expects growth for this year of at least 6 per cent.

"The torrid clip highlights what Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney has called the “uneven” growth of economies emerging from the worst global slump since the Great Depression. While Europe’s debt crisis threatens to plunge the region back into recession, Japan continues to stagnate and the North American recovery looks increasingly fragile, many so-called developing countries are racing ahead in Asia and Latin America. Brazil is quickly emerging as one of the key drivers of emerging-market power and by some measures boasts the healthiest of the BRIC economies. Unlike China, it has so far not had a significant problem -- yet -- with asset bubbles, and policy makers are determined to keep it that way. India has more serious inflation woes, and Russia’s economic performance remains heavily dependent on energy exports to such key slowing markets as eastern and central Europe."

(Globe & Mail: Jun 18, 2010) "Canada must shift its trade focus towards emerging economies, which ... are key drivers of the worldwide economic recovery," says Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney. “The global economy is increasingly multi-polar,” he added. “Emerging-market economies currently account for about two-thirds of global growth. They represent almost one-half of the growth in imports over the past decade, particularly of capital goods. They are the main drivers of commodity prices and are therefore important determinants of our terms of trade. More fundamentally, they are increasingly thought to be leaders and innovators in public policy and business. Canada needs to become fully engaged with these emerging centres of economic power.”

We hope to encourage dialogue and thought-provoking contributions from our alumni in all regions to help the team finalize the speaker line-up and topics that will educate, entertain and enlighten us all. Please send us an email: alumni@pgalumscan.com or comment on the website. And let us know if you plan to attend on Jun 10-11 in 2011 by clicking the "KEEP ME INFORMED" button on the right margin. We look forward to hearing from you!

Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images