Governance, Regulation & Compliance

Hungary | Milestones
Hungary has witnessed the biggest street protests since the current right-wing government came to power in 2010, against the government’s plans to tax Internet traffic, the world’s first such levy.

Vatican | Newsmakers
René Brülhart, known as the “James Bond of the financial world” for his high-profile role in cases such as the return of assets from Saddam Hussein to post-war Iraq and the uncovering of the Siemens bribery scandal, has become chairman of the Vatican’s anti-money-laundering unit.

 

Seeking A New Paradigm | Emerging Markets Growth
To ascertain whether emerging markets is an obsolete term, we must first understand what it means.

Middle East | Emerging Markets Regional Review
The drop in oil prices is likely to affect public spending in the rentier states of the Persian Gulf, and pressure is mounting on governments to reduce economic dependency on hydrocarbons.
 

Pakistan | Frontier Markets Focus
Pakistan’s ability to attract both foreign direct and domestic investment fell dramatically during the past decade. Some of the reasons why still apply.   

Shareholder Activism | Management
Shareholder activism—when investors in a company use their equity as a lever to pressure management—is booming and will grow dramatically on both sides of the Atlantic through mid-2016

Annual Awards
In the final installment of a two-part series, Global Finance recognizes the best corporate/institutional and consumer Internet banks globally and in six regions, as well as an overall winner. We spotlight the financial institutions around the world that are leading the way in digital banking services that generate strong business results.

Corporate Tax | Management
Approximately 500 American companies operate in Argentina—but on November 3 that number abruptly decreased by one as the country’s tax authority, the Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos (AFIP) revoked the company’s registration, accusing P&G of tax and accounting fraud.

Central & Eastern Europe | Emerging Markets Regional Review
Central and Eastern Europe has come a long way in the past 25 years, but the region must overcome some significant obstacles in 2015—particularly as Russia’s conflict with Ukraine continues.

Foreign Exchange | Capital Markets
How to take the gaming instinct out of foreign exchange traders has become the order of the day, following last month’s imposition of $4.3 billion in fines on six global banks for manipulating currency benchmarks.

Capital Markets | Mergers & Acquisitions
Global cross-border mergers and acquisitions totaled $1.1 trillion during the first nine months of 2014, more than double the level of the same period a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters.

Newsmakers | Argentina
Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in early October triggered the resignation of the head of the country’s central bank, Juan Carlos Fabrega, by criticizing him for not reducing manipulation of the country’s currency. His replacement, Alejandro Vanoli, formerly the head of the country’s securities regulator, CNV, doesn’t look likely to set Argentina on a better path.

Management | Compliance Risk
Corporations are stepping up their efforts to mitigate execution risk in cross-border mergers and acquisitions, as growing numbers of regulators worldwide are becoming more stringent about enforcing antitrust and anticorruption laws.

Newsmakers | United Kingdom
After a bumpy ride, the UK’s candidate, lord Jonathan Hill, has been confirmed by the European Parliament as commissioner for financial stability, capital markets and financial services.

Trends | CryptoCurrencies
There are potential benefits that bitcoin or bitcoin-like technology­—as opposed to the cryptocurrency itself—could bring to the derivatives marketplace.

Banking Regulation
The globe’s financial systems are still vulnerable to contagion. Critics say regulators are unlikely to fix the problem unless they shift gears.

EXCLUSIVE
As China’s top political leaders gathered this week in Beijing for their annual conclave amid expectations for a new reform push, a joint study by two U.S. think tanks said that the world’s second-largest economy is undergoing a massive overhaul of its obsolete growth model.

Some discrepancy exists between the rules that are written and those that are enforced. This is true for most places in the world, and China is no exception.

NEWSMAKERS | POLAND
Tony Elumelu, former managing director and CEO of United Bank for Africa, returned to the bank in late August as chairman, following his appointment by the shareholders.

The central banker’s job today is certainly difficult. But it had better not be impossible.