By Patrick Imam and Kangni Kpodar
Despite the rapid growth in Islamic banking during the past decade, challenges remain, pointing to the need for further reforms and greater harmonization in the interpretation of what is Shariah compliant between Islamic scholars and bankers.
The fall of Mubarak and the rise of political Islam illustrate the hidden power of social change. To understand how Egypt’s Islamists performed so well and what it means for Egypt’s future, turn the clocks back to 1952.
At the end of October 2011, the heads of the three financial sector regulators were rotated. It is time to ask what are the rules behind the scenes and what the future holds for the Chinese financial sector.
Something has certainly changed in the intervening years in Africa, and in its relations with the outside world, even if excessive pessimism or optimism is unwarranted. What accounts for these changes, and what does this mean for African politics and economic development into the future?
Recently the issue of saving has become maybe too exciting. Despite a booming economy, household saving rates sank to near-zero levels by 2005. Three years later, the U.S. economy experienced a housing and financial meltdown from which we have yet to recover. Americans now contend with massive credit card debt, declining home prices, and shaky financial institutions. It has become painfully clear that millions lack the savings to protect themselves against foreclosures, unemployment, medical emergencies, and impoverished retirements.
By Marvin M. Smith, Anthony Orlando, and Susan Wachter
“If price discovery continues to be unattainable in both the subprime, structured CDO and lower quality markets, and if bridges become non-liquefiable, then what we have is a ‘financing’ dilemma. With balance sheets in the dealer communities very heavy and ac-curate pricing a non-starter, the Fed may need to ease to prevent an asset valuation free fall…” – Robert Wolf, Chairman and COO of UBS Americas, July 20071
From global tourism to manufactured products, and from industrial processes to modern technologies order, the re-convergence of emerging markets and their economic dynamism are re-shaping the world, and they are simultaneously shaking it.
The credit crunch of 2007-2008 shares many similarities in terms of causes with the Depression Era and wave of bank failures which took place in the United States in the 1920’s. It would appear that legislative responses made by the government of President F.D. Roosevelt are finding resonance with today’s legis-lators, in particular a reintroduction of an updated form of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. This article suggests that legislative intervention in financial markets may be premature and counterproductive; the state, acting through regulators, has a poor record in matters of supervision and oversight.
The limited success over the past few years in reforming global financial governance means that there is a need to reassess the current strategy and tactics for achieving global governance reform.
By Baruch Lev
Managers need to be able to respond to investors’ concerns and regain their trust, but their response is seriously hindered by the numerous myths and misconceptions they hold about investors and capital markets. This article explains why.
