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    Public-private partnerships

    Public-private partnerships is the institutional and practical expression of the central idea: the involvement of the private sector in the provision of infrastructure and services which were previously the exclusive domain of public authorities, such as health, education, penal and other social services, and so on. PPPs are not a form of privatisation. The state keeps all its power and authority it wants over the deliverables under a PPP. Goals of public interest and social services remain still under the public authority, but why not a private finance solution for such public goals and social services? PPPs are a means to achieve social goa...
    On February 12, 2009 / By
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    Balancing risk and credit in Spain

    Mr Longarte, what does it mean for your firm to ?have been selected as the best and most innovative transfer pricing team in Spain?It means everything, considering that the prize is granted by analysing the feedback of the clients and also that the selection panel is composed of people with high technical knowledge and wide experience, and who really understand what the clients answers are. The selection criteria are normally very closely related to depth of practice, size of firm, international links, reputation, size of projects but in this case, attending to the information we received, in this case the clients also valued excellence in th...
    On February 12, 2009 / By
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    Leading family firms

    In order to extend their legacy of success to future generations, leaders must devise a strategic plan, not only for driving business growth, but also for effectively managing the intricate and constantly-evolving personal relationships that define buy levitra online their company, and indeed their lives. The Stanford Graduate School of Business Office of Executive Education is launching a new program entitled Leading Family Firms, that seeks to provide leaders of independent firms with the skills they need to rise to the challenges posed by the modern business environment. In essence the course explains how to manage future growth while over...
    On February 10, 2009 / By
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    Frontier shift

    The fact that emerging markets in Asia, Africa and Middle East have managed to stave off the worst effects of the global credit crunch for over a year has impressed investors enough to rethink their fund strategies and shift large amounts of cash to countries which just five years ago they would have been reluctant to touch. Fund managers feel that many developing countries have shaken off their legacy of debt and that since they now have current account surpluses, they are therefore deemed to be of investment-grade quality. Corporate governance is also improving and many companies are adding shareholder value by offering steady dividend payo...
    On December 15, 2008 / By
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    On the boards

    This is, by general consensus, about the worst time to be a broker since 1929 – and possibly since 1914 and the start of the First World War. Both retail brokerage and prime brokerage firms have been kicked around by the crisis of the past few months, and both will emerge changed, even ignoring the way some firms have simply disappeared off the map. There is going to be a much more risk-averse culture from clients and among the owners of brokers, there is going to be greater pressure on analysts (who might find their remuneration changes to “payment for accurate prediction”), and there is almost certainly going to be regulation to ensur...
    On December 15, 2008 / By
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    Defending the indefensible

    For a brief moment in October it seemed as if the world’s financial systems were about to implode. What was once unthinkable, and if we are to believe many financial models, unimaginable, was actually happening. Rock solid corporations were crumbling, governments that had long espoused free market capitalism were rushing to bail out banks, in many cases through part or complete nationalisation. As is always the case, along with the woe, there was plenty of finger wagging. A once in a lifetime financial crisis is bound to be accompanied by some serious recrimination. And so it has proved. In the frame are a number of people and practises ass...
    On December 15, 2008 / By
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    Directors beware

    Investors are looking for scalps and insurers have warned that companies worldwide – not just in the US, where shareholder actions are more common – face potentially ruinous litigation claims for losses caused either as a direct result of their own actions and failure to manage risks effectively, or through their exposure to those companies that followed high-risk strategies. Insurance market Lloyd’s of London has warned that businesses could be facing a future liability crisis if they do not face up to growing litigation issues. In its report called “Directors in the Dock – is business facing a liability crisis?” published in May...
    On December 15, 2008 / By
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    2008 Banking Awards

    Best Investment Services Provider,SwitzerlandBank Sarasin Best Online Investment ProviderEuropeIW Bank SpA Best Brokerage Services Provider,Middle EastUnited Securities LLC Best Trade Finance Bank,TurkeyYapi Kredi Best Corporate Lending Bank,RussiaNOMOS-BANK Best Investment Bank,Middle EastRiyad CapitalBest FX Bank,Islamic FinanceStandard Chartered Saadiq Best Emerging Investment Bank,Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaFALCOM Financial ServicesBest Universal Banking Solutions Provider,Islamic FinanceInternational Turnkey Systems Best Investment BankPortugalEspírito Santo Investment Best Investment Services Provider, ?Cyprus ?Laiki Investments (Financial...
    On December 5, 2008 / By
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    Virtual Edition

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    On December 3, 2008 / By
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    acronyms you really ought to know

    CRAA credit rating agency of the kind that handed out triple-A ratings like confetti and, as the US Fed and scores of other regulators have belatedly recognised, got us into trouble. EcofinOne of those invisible backroom EU bodies, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council is actually the grand panjandrum of financial affairs that draws up a €100bn annual budget. MifidThe Markets in Financial Instruments Directive is the EU’s way of making sure the investment community plays by the same rules right across all Member States. BITsIf we didn’t have a BIT, money would never leave home. Most foreign direct investment travels by virtue of a ...
    On November 30, 2008 / By