Investors who kept faith in Asia as the world teetered on the brink of financial meltdown a year ago have been richly rewarded – the region’s markets rode out the storm in spectacular style and posted stunning gains. The economic outlook for 2010 appears far sunnier. But with frothy markets betting on a smooth return to business as usual, the danger of a sudden correction hangs over Asia, unless the region can steer its way past some treacherous political risks. The two most important issues for the world economy in the coming year are political — the pivotal relationship between the United States and China, and the timing and coordinat...
They are rare, beautiful, valuable and a girl’s best friend but traditionally diamonds have not been considered an asset class in their own right. They do not share the “haven” status of gold and their prices are more volatile than those of the precious metal. While the value of spot gold has gained about 25 percent this year, diamond prices have fallen by at least 10 percent, in line with the poor performance of the luxury industry, according to US-based IDEX Online Diamond Prices, which tracks global asking prices for the polished gems. Some jewellery specialists are doubtful about the merits of diamond investing. David Bennett, the G...
The resistance to mandatory bonus caps for bankers’ bonuses was as inevitable as the public clamour to strip these “fat cats” down to size. In the end – after much politicking worldwide – the bankers won the first round. Mandatory caps have been rejected in favour of a system whereby cash bonuses are limited and deferred, and rewards are paid in shares, though with the possibility of clawing them back if bank profits fall. The key G20 policy is that 40-60 percent of variable pay should be deferred for at least three years. The changes are expected to be implemented in some countries, such as the UK, by the end of the year. France, S...
The events that led to the landmark judgment unfolded in the local authority of Vaxholm, Sweden. There, a Latvian construction company Laval un Partneri had won a contract to refurbish a school and posted a team of Latvian workers to Sweden. But the work deadlocked as the Swedish building workers union demanded the same rates of pay for the Latvian workers as those set out in the Swedish collective bargaining agreement – and then tried to force through their demand by mounting a blockade and organising solidarity action. Believing the collective action to be illegal, the Latvian company issued proceedings in the Swedish Labour Court, which ...
PricewaterhouseCoopers is and has been the leading accounting firm in Mexico not only because it is the oldest, established 103 years ago, but also because of its expertise, innovative approach and professionalism. The tax line of service has always stood out for its dynamism and ability to resolve issues. This is reflected in its size and number of specialists. This line of service has more than 600 specialists, which provides a good measure of its importance in the sector and its leadership among professional services firms. The legal services area, which is relatively new with only three decades in place, can be seen on its own as a first ...
The IT world stands at the threshold of a paradigmatic shift to cloud computing. According to industry consultancy Gartner: “[C]loud computing [is] begin[ning] to move beyond the pure hype stage and into the beginning of mainstream adoption.” The prospect of storing business critical transaction data in the cloud – a massive centralised and virtualised third party-managed data centre – is seen by some as the panacea to all scalability, agility, and operational efficiency issues. Yet to others it’s an invitation to a massive business disruption scenario, poor user experience and potential loss of extremely confidential data. From you...
Businesses that have operations with the EU are now being required to take a more proactive approach to environmental risk management in order to comply with the requirements of the EU’s Environmental Liability Directive (ELD). Companies are now required to prevent significant environmental damage from occurring wherever possible, and they will be held liable for the costs of remediation where significant environmental damage is caused. The ELD is based on the Precautionary and Polluter Pays principles with a view to protecting the environment, and is in response to concerns about the potentially significant impacts of business on the envir...
Although some may consider transfer pricing a “black box,” the shared adage among most finance professionals is that transfer pricing is comprised of both art and science. The science of transfer pricing is grounded in financial data and the relevant tax laws while the art of transfer pricing is based upon an intuitive sense of which adjustments and assumptions may best align the scientific aspects with the realities of the business. At present, many transfer pricing practitioners believe that the recent dynamics in the global economy, such as unprecedented increases in corporate borrowing costs coupled with limited access to capital mark...
By the summer of 2008, the risks associated with the credit crunch were becoming apparent in the market. Years of ‘easy’ money coming out of the US and funded by China meant that the market place was flooded with credit. Assets had become over-inflated, trades had become crowded and investors were highly leveraged. Too many market participants were chasing tiny margins as the only way to make a return. “Value” had evaporated in mature markets and esoteric alternatives were becoming a viable option. Despite the global downturn, the two areas that have retained much of their interest are sub-Saharan Africa and micro-finance. Whilst Euro...
US President Barack Obama has expressed confidence a climate deal can be clinched as dozens of world leaders gather on Wednesday to try to break a deadlock at UN climate talks. “The president believes that we can get an operational agreement that makes sense in Copenhagen,” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told a briefing in Washington on Tuesday, three days before a deadline on a new UN deal to combat climate change. Leaders including Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown were set to give speeches at the December 7-18 climate meeting, until now dominated by enviro...