Now that the value of the Swiss Frank has shot up, I would like to remind you that we have a Credit Suisse competition where you can win 3000 Swiss Franks :) just by submitting an essay. Further details: Emerging Leaders Essay Competition 2015 by Credit Suisse This year participants can submit either one essay OR one video per topic. Submissions are open to current undergraduates, Master’s or PhD students globally. The essays are graded blind by the Academic Review Board which consists of highly reputed academics from across the globe. Three winners will be invited to attend the prestigious Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference (AIC) in Hong Kong in March 23-27, 2015, all expenses paid by Credit Suisse. The best essays will be published. The submission deadline is January 25, 2015 Prizes: 1st place: 3000 CHF + full expenses paid trip to an Asian investment conference 2nd price: 1500 CHF + full expenses paid trip to an Asian investment conference 3rd place: 1500 CHF 10 additional winners will get 250 CHF Essay Topics: TOPICS 1. In Asia who benefits and loses the most from falling oil prices? 2. Do new government leaders really matter for financial markets? Give examples from Asia to support your answer. 3. Tackling Water Insecurity--how can big business create Shared Value? 4. Warren Buffet said no sector has destroyed more value than airlines. So why would anyone think there is money to be made from space travel? 5. What, if any, are the next big plays in the carry trade? Support your answer with data. The Academic Review Board (ARB) has provided some guidance for participants entering the Emerging Leaders Competition 2015. This guidance is optional and, as always, each submission will be evaluated on its merit. Topic 1: In Asia who benefits and loses the most from falling oil prices? The phrase “the most” in the question will require thought. On what objective basis can some be said to lose or gain more than others? Plus over what time horizon, a consideration made all the more pertinent given the future course of oil prices is necessarily unknown? Before you begin ask yourself what tools did you learn at university that can inform your analysis. Suggested readings: FT: Malaysia follows Indonesia and abolishes fuel subsidies FT: China releases first formal estimate of strategic oil reserves FT: Kazakhstan opens up to stave off economic crisis FT: India raises tax rates on petrol and diesel FT: Commodities: A partial pump primer Topic 2: Do new government leaders really matter for financial markets? Give examples from Asia to support your answer. Much is written when government leaders change but how much of it is really relevant to financial markets? This question challenges you to identify and evaluate the link between political transitions and asset markets, supporting your argument with compelling evidence, as opposed to anecdotes. It might be fruitful to start by identifying one change in government leadership in Asia, research what claims were made in the aftermath of that transition, and then check whether those claims came to pass and, if not, why not. Suggested readings: FT Blog: Elections and reformers in the Fragile Five FT: Indonesia bourse hits record high FT: Modi-mania boosts Indian stock markets FT Alphaville: Bird, plane, Abe FT Alphaville: Doubling down on the Nikkei Topic 3: Tackling Water Insecurity--how can big business create Shared Value? This question encourages you to go beyond exhortations to take our finite water resources seriously. Instead, it seeks to connect three factors: notion(s) of water insecurity, the actions and intentions of big business, and the corporate strategy concept of Shared Value. What links are strongest, most plausible, and can be backed up with evidence? Plus understanding how big business can make a contribution could inform assessments of whether this is such a good idea in the first place. Suggested readings: FT: Threat to world’s water security greater than thought Project Syndicate: What Water’s Worth Project Syndicate: The Unity of Water Project Syndicate: The Third World’s Drinking Problem FT video: Water security threatens China Topic 4: Warren Buffet said no sector has destroyed more value than airlines. So why would anyone think there is money to be made from space travel? Even if Buffet is right, must his scepticism carry over to space travel? Must be business models be the same? Or is it a matter of timing—with first movers making money? And what are the first private customers in space really paying for and in what ways could that be relevant for launching service offerings and for financial performance? Suggested readings: FT: Showmanship and business collide in Virgin’s space venture FT: Spaceports are unlikely to get off the ground FT: Elon Musk plans next stage of space travel with reusable rockets FT: The new market space: billionaire investors look beyond Earth FT video: Future of space tourism in doubt? Topic 5: What, if any, are the next big plays in the carry trade? Support your answer with data. With the end of asset purchases by the US Federal Reserve Board, has the low hanging fruit in the carry trade been picked? Or are highly profitable carry trades just a matter of careful analysis? Where does “hard data” analysis end and intangibles and judgement begin? The reference to data in the question suggests that conjectures, theoretical or otherwise, aren’t enough. Suggested readings: FT Blog: Parsing EM vulnerability to the “carry trade” unwinding FT: Yen weakness challenges other central banks FT: Why trade foreign exchange FT Blog: EM currencies: letting them slide Vox EU: Currency carry trades are not what you think
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 17:10:41 +0000
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