The Best Banks in Africa for 2009

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The following are the ” Best Banks in Africa for 2009″ according to rankings published by Global Finance magazine:

Algeria – Arab Banking Corporation Algeria
Angola – BES Angola
Botswana – Standard Chartered Bank
Botswana – Cote d’Ivoire Ecobank
Ethiopia – NIB International Bank
Gambia – Trust Bank
Ghana – Ghana Commercial Bank
Guinea – International Commercial Bank
Kenya – Barclays Bank Kenya
Libya – Al-Wahda Bank
Mauritius – Mauritius Commerical Bank
Morocco – Attijariwafa Bank
Namibia – Standard Bank Namibia
Nigeria – FirstBank
Rwanda – Banque Commercial du Rwanda
Senegal – Ecobank
South Africa – Standard Bank
Sudan – Al Salam Bank Sudan
Togo – Ecobank
Tunisia – Banque de Tunisie
Uganda – Stanbic Bank Uganda
Zambia – Standard Chartered Bank Zambia

The Best Banks in the Middle East 2009

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The following are the ” Best Banks in the Middle East for 2009″ according to rankings published by Global Finance magazine:

Bahrain – Ahli United Bank
Egypt – Commercial International Bank (CIB)
Iraq – Commercial Bank of Iraq
Iran – Parsian Bank
Jordan – Arab Bank
Kuwait – National Bank of Kuwait
Lebanon – BLOM Bank
Oman – BankMuscat
Qatar – Qatar National Bank
Saudi Arabia – Samba Financial Group
Syria – Bank Audi Syria
United Arab Emirates – NBD Emirates
Yemen – Arab Bank Yemen

Will US Stocks Lead European Stocks in a Recovery ?

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Yesterday’s New York Times had a piece titled “Europe Lags as U.S. Economy Shows Signs of Recovery“. This article stated that while the European economy was still gloomy and will remain in recession well till 2010 primarily due to differences in policy difference between the Europeans and Americans in solving the current economic crisis.

The article further added:

“Some private economists are even predicting that the American economy will resume growth in the fourth quarter, while Europe’s economy is expected to remain in recession well into 2010, after contracting an estimated 4.2 percent this year compared with an expected 2.8 percent decline in the United States.

“The shock originated in the U.S., but Europe is paying a higher price,” said Jean Pisani-Ferry, a former top financial adviser to the French government who is now director of Bruegel, a research center in Brussels.”

While the two economies may take different paths, I wanted to see how the markets in Europe and US are reacting to the various stimulus programs implemented in the US and Europe. I used the Dow Jones Index as the sample index for US and the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 Index for Europe. The DJ Stoxx 50 was not used since it includes the UK but I wanted to exclude UK as it is facing similar problems like the US does. Like the Dow Jones index the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 Index is comprised of fifty of the largest companies in continental Europe.

DJ Euro Stoxx 50 Vs. Dow Jones Index 5-Year Performance:

DJ Euro Stoxx 50 Vs. Dow Jones Index Returns

The above chart shows that the European stocks ran much higher than the US stocks.And after March lows, the European stocks have rebounded and are leading US stocks.

DJ Euro Stoxx 50 Vs. Dow Jones Index 6-Months Performance:

DJ Euro Stoxx 50 Vs. Dow Jones Index 6-Months Performance:

On a 6-months basis, the DJ Euro Stoxx is slightly ahead of the Dow Jones Industrials as well.Overall these two indices closely track each other.We shall recheck this comparison at the end of the year to see how they performed.

The Best Emerging Market Banks in Asia 2009

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In an earlier article, I wrote about the The Best Emerging Market Banks in Latin America 2009. In this post, the best emerging market banks in Asia are listed.

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Shinhan Financial Group (SHG) of South Korea and HDFC Bank  (HDB) of India trade in the New York Stock Exchange. Shinhan does not pay a regular dividend. As per a recent Marketwatch article, though many Korean banks have rallied in the past few weeks , bad loans and lower profit margins may drag them lower. India’s HDFC bank (HDB) is expensive with a P/E ratio of 31.29. HDB has a dividend yield of just 0.54%. The latest earnings report showed a rise in profits but provisions for non-performing assets are also increasing. HDB is not a good buy at these levels.