February 2007

The seemingly interminable wrangling over global trade encapsulated in the so-called Doha Round of talks might be about to come to an end. The dormant world trade talks may finally emerge from a prolonged suspension this spring as trade officials ...

A modern form of Islamic trade financing has taken root and is flourishing in the Middle East With its ancient caravan trails winding through the desert sands of Arabia, the Middle East is a fabled trade entrepôt between Europe and ...

As the use of letters of credit declines worldwide, banks are devising other ways to help companies manage their financial supply chains With global trade ballooning and companies looking for ever more efficient ways to fund and manage that trade, ...

Global Finance selects the leaders in a specialized area of finance that is changing rapidly Global trade finance has become an extremely competitive business, mainly suitable for financial institutions with economies of scale or special expertise. Most international trade is ...

The seemingly interminable wrangling over global trade encapsulated in the so-called Doha Round of talks might be about to come to an end. The dormant world trade talks may finally emerge from a prolonged suspension this spring as trade officials ...

Wielding increasing global power, Russia could be on the verge of becoming a real partner with Europe Rich in natural resources, Russia likely will enjoy a ninth straight year of solid economic growth in 2007. While the 1998 financial crisis ...

Russia Murdered: Andrei Kozlov A Russian banker, Alexei Frenkel, whose institution had its license revoked in June 2006, was arrested in mid-January on charges that he was behind the murder of Central Bank of Russia deputy chairman Andrei Kozlov. The ...

India Bidding war over India’s wireless communications Reliance Communications (RCL), India’s second-largest wireless telecom company, and Vodafone, the world’s largest wireless company, are heading for a showdown over a 67% stake in India’s fourth-largest wireless company, Hutchison Essar. Reliance has ...

Company To Watch: Cemex/Mexico Cemex has transformed itself from Mexico’s largest cement company into the world’s third-largest cement maker through a series of major acquisitions. If it is able to bag Australia’s Rinker Group, Cemex will become one of the ...

China China’s central bank governor Zhou: Trade surplus will be lowered China’s central bank is considering further options for lowering the country’s trade surplus and tightening the money supply, governor Zhou Xiaochuan told reporters in Switzerland at a January meeting ...

News The Indian arm of Scotland-based oil and gas company Cairn Energy was anything but a gusher in its debut on the Bombay Stock Exchange on January 9. Cairn India fell 14% below its initial public offering price on its ...

Brazil Lula: Effectively consolidated reforms of the 1990s When Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in for a second term in January, he vowed to make economic growth and job creation the focus of his administration. The ...

Dr News JPMorgan Chase announced the launch of a sponsored American depositary receipt program for the Series A common shares of Mercantil Servicios Financieros, the largest financial services group in Venezuela. The Caracas-based holding company owns Banco Mercantil, Venezuela’s leading ...

Russia Tessler:Wants better standards in Russian capital markets The international central security depositary (ICSD) Clearstream is the first to accept the Russian ruble as an eligible settlement currency. Following increasing demand from issuers and investment banks, the ruble became a ...

Venezuela Chávez:Re-election mandate for nationalization Encouraged by a strong mandate in the December presidential elections and a booming oil sector windfall that boosted GDP by 10.3% in 2006, Venezuela’s president Hugo Chávez began a new six-year term in January by ...

Mergers & Acquisitions Merger Boom Likely To Continue In 2007 Despite Increased Scrutiny of Cross-Border Deals Worldwide mergers and acquisitions announced in 2006 rose 38% to a record $3.8 trillion, according to Thomson Financial, and the fast pace of M&A; ...

Corporate Debt Although the US credit markets performed well in 2006, with tight spreads of corporate bonds to US treasury securities, analysts say persistent underlying inflation and a potential weakening in the dollar threaten to cause spreads to widen this ...

Global Equity/Drs Initial public offerings in the form of depositary receipts rose more than 75% in 2006 from a year earlier to a record $20.9 billion, according to a year-end analysis by Citigroup. The previous record of $17.1 billion was ...

Foreign Exchange Chances for a US interest rate cut fell sharply following a string of stronger-than-expected economic data in early 2007, providing a platform for the dollar to rebound from its year-end pounding. Whether the dollar can sustain its recovery, ...

United Kingdom TUC head, Barber, helping to create a workplace revolution Just a century and a half after it spearheaded the Industrial Revolution, the United Kingdom claims to be at the forefront of another “revolution”—this time in the workplace—which it ...

India Nanda: Controlling spread of AIDS makes good business sense Three US-based global organizations—including the US-India Business Council—want to make sure that India’s HIV/AIDS epidemic doesn’t eventually deter companies from investing in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. India now ...