Some key stats that Bloomberg uncovers in what must be the 800th article in the past 48 hours with the word “BRIC” in it:

• Dollar bonds sold by China earned 11.4 percent in the past
  year, more than double the 4.6 percent for debt in yuan.
• Brazil’s U.S. currency bonds
  returned 3.6 percent as real-based notes lost 4.9 percent
• Russia’s dollar bonds outperformed with a 1.9 percent loss
  compared with a 7 percent drop in ruble debt

Now for the most quoteworthy quotes:

• “It’s not up to politicians to determine which currency
  will be the world reserve currency,” said Lutz Karpowitz, a
  currency strategist at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt.
• Bonds sold in dollars have beaten domestic debt in part
  because Russia and China manage the ruble and yuan. Those
  denominated in the U.S. currency can trade more freely, giving
  fund managers confidence they can sell the securities and get
  their money when they need it.
• China and India are “highly restrictive on the local debt
  side” and Russia has “quite an illiquid market” for foreign
  investors, said Cristina Panait, an emerging-market strategist
  at Los Angeles-based Payden & Rygel, which manages more than $50
  billion. “Currency performance is a big portion of returns.”

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