The Cypriot parliament, the EU and the IMF have agreed to a €10bn bailout after a tense week of negotiations. The deal will spare depositors from a controversial levy, but will force substantial losses for large-scale depositors in two of the country’s biggest lenders. The last minute aims at preventing a collapse of the island’s…
Getting the most from your pensions and savings is, of course, very important to maximizing your retirement income. It isn’t, in fact, just the total size of these savings that are important as you enter your retirement. The way in which you withdraw these savings in a regular income is key and that is where…
It’s a pretty common childhood fantasy: playing video games as a form of homework. But that dream might just become a reality for many college freshmen enrolled in American government courses. McGraw Hill Education has developed “Government in Action,” a 3-D multiplayer computer game that takes users on a virtual journey through Congress as a…
The year 2012 began with multiple headwinds for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) markets, which raised concerns over provisions pertaining to the financial sector, corporate growth and profitability. The equity markets remained under the dark shadow of geopolitical situations which were persistent in the Middle East, especially Iran and the on going unrest across other…
First elected as Argentinian President in 2007, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner began her term riding a wave of popularity. The election wasn’t even close, with Kirchner winning 45.3 percent of the vote, over double that of her nearest rival. Her husband, the late president Néstor Kirchner, had appeared to successfully steer the country through the…
Founded in 2007, Burj Bank – formerly known as Dawood Islamic Bank – has a distinguished history, spanning more than five years, as a central pillar of Pakistan’s Islamic Banking landscape. In 2011, Burj Bank’s board of directors became concerned about the slow growth and concentration of the bank’s financing portfolio in areas of the…
2012 was an eventful year, with the key global central banks announcing fresh stimulus measures, bringing in a much-needed respite for asset markets. Globally, economic data remained mixed, with pockets of strength in the US, while eurozone data was broadly disappointing. Moreover, the fiscal cliff overhang in the US weighed on investor confidence. The year…
By the end of 2012, we at Boubyan Bank had completed the first three years of our Five-Year Strategy (2010-2014). The strategy has certainly realised many of its objectives; last year, we returned to profitability and were even able to pay dividends to our shareholders. The realisation of these strategic objectives can be attributed to…
When George Stephenson invented the steam locomotive and then went on to build the Stockton and Darlington railway in 1821, he changed the way people and merchandise got around for good. Less than 100 years later airplanes were crossing the Atlantic, and another 40 years after that the Boeing 707 was in operation. According to…
He is due to commence talks with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras today, with the two countries financial situations being the main point of discussion. Reports indicate that Anastasiades will be asking for Greece to provide €2bn from its €48bn bank recapitalisation package to support Cypriot lenders. Little over a fortnight ago, Anastasiades, said that…
