Otaviano Canuto, IMF: What Happened to World Trade?

World trade suffered another disappointing year in 2015, experiencing a contraction in merchandise trade volumes during the first half and only a low recovery during the second half (Figure 1). While last year’s trade performance can be associated to the

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Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX): At the Heart of Vision 2030

The Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) was established in 2000 as a legal entity with autonomous status, independent finance, and management. ADX is also provided with the necessary supervisory and executive powers to exercise its functions. ADX began operations on

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Ann Low, US Department of State: Good Corporate Governance is Good Business

OECD Guidelines on Corporate Governance of State-Owned Enterprises. Over the past decade, cross-border trade and investment by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has surged. According to the OECD, whereas in 2005, there were only three SOEs in the Fortune Global 50 list

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Grant Thornton Hong Kong: M&A – Cultural Alignment for Successful Integration

Too often companies put together look great on paper but are fraught with management and structural problems that end up turning deals into busts. Acquiring companies often underestimate the problems that different corporate cultures can inflict on a merger. In fact,

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Science-Based Emissions Targets: A New Foundation for Corporate Climate Action

Corporate emissions-reduction targets have become commonplace. In 2014, 80% of companies that reported their emissions to CDP, an international NGO that holds the largest collection of corporate emissions data, also reported targets for cutting their emissions. These targets vary significantly

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Michael Pettis: Money Is Not Created Out of Thin Air

A recurring conversation I have with clients concerns the ability of banks to create credit, and of governments to monetise debt, and whether this ability is the solution to or the cause of financial instability and economic crisis. Monetarists and structuralists

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SpaceX: Making a Splash in Privatised Space Exploration

The United States government is outsourcing its business in space at an astronomical rate. Contracts worth billions of dollars are being awarded to private enterprise. This has caused a dynamic marketplace to emerge which supplies cost-effective solutions for NASA’s routine

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Evan Harvey, Nasdaq: Something New Under the Sun

A report from the WFE annual meeting in Qatar. Stock exchange leaders, policymakers, regulators, investors, and corporates all gathered in Doha, Qatar, for the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) annual general meeting in October. The Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE) served

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Mowgli Foundation Report: Mentoring Achieved Return on Mentoring Investment (ROMI) Returns of 890%

The Mowgli Foundation publishes a report that highlights the Return on Mentoring Investment (ROMI) and economic generation impact achieved through the mentoring of over 780 entrepreneurs in the Middle East and North Africa during their 12-month mentoring programs. Governments, funders,

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James Zhan, UNCTAD: Investment – In Need of Direction

Fragmented, incoherent investment policies, and regulatory uncertainty are dampening investor confidence in an economic environment already fragile and bruised by weak global demand. Moreover, the extent to which investment and trade have become interlocked through the pervasive spread of global

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