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Blythe Masters: The Risks of Spreading the Risk
Out of a tragic oil spill came forth a new financial instrument: The credit default swap – to some a financial weapon of mass destruction; to others a nifty way to spread, and thus diminish, credit risk. The credit default
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IMF on MENAP: Call for Focus on Job Creation
The near-term economic outlook for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAP) region has weakened. Difficult political transitions and increased regional uncertainties arising from the complex civil war in Syria and the ongoing developments in Egypt weigh on
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OPIC: Low Write-Offs in Emerging Markets Investments
What organization do you represent? Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the U.S. Government’s development finance institution. In your experience or view, is the invest in Africa story hype or reality? Explain your view using worked examples investment situations, good and bad
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Mr Putin Spills His Coffee Reading the Morning Paper
Where is a leader when you need one? He is probably jogging around the White House with his running-mate Joe Biden, trying to keep in shape while figuring out how to keep the Russians in check. Meanwhile in Moscow, Mr
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Wit, Knowledge and Intellect: Ronan Farrow Poised to Reassert Primacy of Reason
Family connections, or at least bearing a name of near-universal acclaim, do seem to facilitate the breaking down of barriers guarding the entrance to the world of fame and its attendant fortune. To the scions of the famous, this is
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OECD: Time, Trade and Trade Facilitation
Time is money and a lot of money and opportunities are being lost due to painstakingly long customs procedures, waiting times at ports and long lead times. Although “time is money” is a universal idiom, few have looked into how
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Jesse Lauriston Livermore: The Boy Plunger
Playing the stock market in order to make a bundle is not a pursuit deemed suitable for the faint of heart. For every story starring an investor who struck it rich, there are countless others of poor souls who lost
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Fata Morgana in the High Alps: Musings on Davos
While currencies crumbled in emerging markets ranging from Turkey to Argentina, the world’s mostly self-appointed leaders and assorted hangers-on gathered in Davos, Switzerland to assure global audiences that the future looks bright and promising indeed. Keep Calm and Carry On.
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Warren Buffett: Common Sense Billionaire – Please Tax Me More
The wizard, oracle or sage from Omaha: The world’s richest inhabitant, Warren Buffett (83), has been awarded a great many honours and names. However, Great Storyteller is the one that possibly describes him best. Mr Buffett has a way with
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US Political Strife Threatens to Derail IMF Reforms
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been reduced to a bargaining chip. Its request for $63bn (£38.3bn) in additional funding was unceremoniously discarded by the Appropriations Committee of the US House of Representatives where it fell victim to the increasingly
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