Cyprus Readies for Reopening of Banks

Cyprus is finalising capital control measures to prevent a run on the banks by depositors anxious about their savings after the country agreed a painful rescue package with international lenders.

OP-ED: The BRICS and the Rising South

On Tuesday, leaders of five large emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, known as the BRICS – will gather in Durban, South Africa to discuss harnessing their formidable resources on behalf of faster development progress in Africa and elsewhere.

Tourism Lies at the Heart of the BRICS

As tourism between the emerging nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa starts to increase, South Africa is determined to weld the iron while it is hot.

BRICS Summit Means Business

African nations and other emerging countries are expected to soon outperform the developed world, and South Africa wants to take advantage.

BRICS Invest in National Priorities

A leading South African economist and investment strategist has warned that national priorities may be a more compelling factor influencing business decisions in the BRICS group of countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – than the prospects of increased market access through the alliance.

South Africa-Brazil Trade Partnership Hits Potholes

As the five members of the BRICS group of emerging economies – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – tighten ranks and seek to expand their global influence, the inevitable trade spats have begun.

BRICS Seeks New Dialogue with Africa

South Africa plans to boost links between Africa and its partners in the Brazil, Russia, India and China alliance at a landmark summit, which will be held in this country in March, Xavier Carim, deputy director general at the Department of Trade and Industry, told IPS.

Q&A: Will the BRICS Bury IBSA?

China’s presence in the leading developing nations alliance of Brazil, Russia, India and China has given the bloc an advantage that another developing nations club, India, Brazil and South Africa, has hitherto been lacking, according to Peter Draper, one of South Africa’s leading experts on international relations and trade.

South-South Political Alliances Yet to Influence Business

Politicians in the leading developing nations have been active in boosting mutual ties, as one way of counterbalancing the influence of the developed world. But the economic success of the Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa and the India, Brazil, and South Africa groupings will depend on the extent to which businesses take advantage of the new opportunities which are being created.

Q&A: The Challenges of Women’s Empowerment and Equality

Today, approximately 125 countries have laws that penalise domestic violence - a great advance from a decade ago. Yet 603 million women around the world still live in countries where domestic violence is not a crime, and up to seven in ten women are targeted for physical or sexual violence, or both.

Wine to China

South Africa and China are partners within a club of leading emerging markets, and it would seem natural that exports of South African wine to the Chinese market should be surging.

Building BRICS

Will the BRICS expand into the BRICSIT?

Brazil Frustrated with European “Backtracking” on IMF Reforms

In the aftermath of last week’s elections to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s executive board, Brazil and others are expressing frustration that a reforms process aimed at increasing the representation of developing countries is being stymied by European countries.

EU Seeks Protection from Emerging Economies

For many years, the European Union (EU) and its individual member states counted among the strongest advocates for free trade, arguing that it would boost economic growth and welfare both at home and abroad.