March 2015

Cover Story
The decline in eurozone prices is the most dramatic example of deflationary pressures afflicting the globe. All eyes are now on European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi and his efforts to reverse that trend.

Global Finance presents the winners of its 13th Annual Best Treasury & Cash Management Providers awards.

Awards Presentation | Amsterdam, Netherlands
Global Finance held its Best Trade Finance and Supply Chain Finance Providers Awards Ceremony in Amsterdam in January—during the annual BAFT Europe Bank-To-Bank Forum. Leading corporate and financial executives from around the world were present to accept their awards and honor other recipients.

Global Salon
Global Finance sat down recently with Andrew Spindler, president and CEO of the Financial Services Volunteer Corps, which has spread the gospel of sound financial systems to the developing world for the better part of a quarter of a century.

Country Report | Angola
Up until 2013, Angola's GDP, buoyed by booming oil revenues, grew by an average rate of 10.7%, reaching an all-time high of 23.2% in 2007. Now, as economic growth slows and the country’s financial coffers move from surplus to deficit, Angola is rethinking its dependence on “black gold.”

Country Report | Bangladesh
Bangladeshi economic growth has been strong and relatively stable. But the country has a number of business climate challenges that must be addressed before it can reach its full potential as an investment magnet.

Milestones | Nigeria
A week before it was to take place, Nigeria’s presidential election was postponed for fear it would spark violence. The election was originally scheduled for February 14 but has been pushed back six weeks to March 28. The outcome of this delay is unclear.
 

Milestones | China
New legislation will lower the regulatory hurdles for foreign companies entering the Chinese market, but it is restricted to particular industries.

Milestones | India
The Reserve Bank of India’s recent bid to offer licenses for setting up small finance and payment banks has elicited an overwhelming response, with at least 113 companies entering the fray.

Milestones | Venezuela
Venezuela’s introduction of a marginal free-floating currency system that will freely trade the US dollar and the bolivar seems unlikely to enlarge the country’s foreign exchange reserves or stem its growing external debt.

Newsmakers | Brazil
Aldemir Bendine became one of Brazil’s poster boys for success while at the helm of Banco do Brasil, but his new role as chief executive of the country’s oil giant, Petrobras, is causing him headaches.

Newsmakers | United States
A new crack appeared in the corporate glass ceiling in February, when Cathy Engelbert was appointed CEO of Deloitte US, becoming the first woman to lead one of the Big Four audit and consulting firms in the United States.

Newsmakers | Greece
Following political party Syriza’s triumph in the recent Greek elections, Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, faces the most critical match of his career.

Infosys Strategic Vision
Do you know what is common to WordPress.com, Amazon, Subway, Expedia, Zappos, Bloomberg.com, Wikipedia, iTunes, Dell, and Bing? This list is a sample of companies that have started accepting Bitcoins.

Capital Markets | Fixed-Income Strategy
Investors lined up recently to pay for the privilege of lending money to Finland.

Management | Foreign Direct Investment
FDI volumes are declining globally, as some national governments take a stronger stance against foreign ownership of their companies and land.
 

Capital Markets | Q&A
Axel Merk is president and chief investment officer of Merk Investments, manager of the Merk Funds.
 

Capital Markets | Foreign Exchange
Currency pegs around the world are threatening to come unglued following the Swiss National Bank’s surprise move to drop the exchange rate floor of the euro versus the Swiss franc.

Capital Markets | Equity Capital Raising
Burgundy vineyard Domaine Chanzy expects to be the first company to conduct an initial public offering using crowdfunding, which enables companies to raise money from members of the public, typically via the Internet.
 

Mergers & Acquisitions | Management
Amid the merger frenzy of 2014, a startling number of bids were killed. 2014 may have seen heady times for corporate acquirers, but it was also the year of the rebuffed suitor.

Capital Markets | Stock Markets
The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) will soon have direct competition from an alternative equity-trading platform, also to be located in the heart of Toronto’s financial district, known as Bay Street.

Trends | Credit Ratings
More than six years after the housing market crashed—dragging the world economy and stock markets down with it—Standard & Poor’s settled in early February with the Securities and Exchange Commission for its alleged part in triggering the meltdown. The price was relatively cheap, as these things go: $1.4 billion with no admission of wrongdoing.

Trends | Global Banking
On the surface at least, Spain’s Banco Santander and Cloud storage providers do not appear to have much in common.