Money-Soft

Untapped Bangladesh

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:35:00 +0000

Sweden's largest hedge-fund manager explores emerging Bangladesh.
Brummer & Partners, which manages about $6 billion, set up the Frontier Fund in July to invest in Bangladeshi stocks and private equity. It plans to grow the fund to about $500 million in the next five years, said Khalid Quadir, CEO of the firm's unit in Dhaka. Bangladesh may join the ranks of the fastest-growing economies in the region as it benefits from its geographical proximity to India and China. The nation of 150 million people, equivalent to about half of the population of the U.S., offers a ``huge untapped cheap labor force,'' Quadir, 43, said.

Via Bangladesh Blogger

Mumbai Attacks: The Economic Impact

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:56:00 +0000

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"People who do business with India will think twice about taking any Indian exposure. But all this will pass in a month or two, [and] I don't think in the medium to longer term there will be any lasting damage."

>> Saumitra Chaudhuri, The Economic Advisory Council

How to save money on auto insurance

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 05:39:00 +0000

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Finding the right auto insurance deal can be tough. However, with the right advice you can find a auto insurance package that suits you and also save money.

Auto Insurance Basics:
What is auto insurance?

Saving money on auto insurance

Choosing the right company

Deflated Putin

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 05:22:00 +0000

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Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, has said in a speech that the country's large foreign currency, gold reserves and anti-crisis measures would prevent a sharp fall in the rouble. "The reserves that we have accumulated have given us room for manoeuvre, they allow us to preserve macroeconomic stability and will help us prevent a surge, and a sharp change in the rouble rate," Putin said.

Managing Credit Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 04:52:00 +0000

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The credit freeze isn't just effecting the cash flow between businesses, but also impacting individual lives. AP Personal Finance Editor Trevor Delaney offers advice on effectively managing credit card payments.

Restoring Confidence in Iceland

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:34:00 +0000

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The IMF has approved a $2.1 billion loan to Iceland to help it recover from the financial crisis and restore confidence in its currency. The IMF's mission chief for Iceland talks about the crisis and the plans for dealing with the repercussions.

The Obama Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:14:00 +0000

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U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has outlined his plan to create 2.5 million jobs in coming years to rebuild roads and bridges and modernize schools.

The End Is Nigh

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:44:00 +0000

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Amid growing concern that a power vacuum in Washington was contributing to the global financial crisis, shares of banking giant Citigroup skidded, while legislators and corporate chieftains weighed the fate of the U.S. auto industry.

Afghan Winds of Change

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:23:00 +0000

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It was in the Panjshir Valley that both the Soviets and the Taliban were repeatedly repulsed by Ahmad Shah Massoud. Now, as AlJazeera's David Chater reports, the lair of the Lion of Panjshir is the site of the country's first ever wind farm.

The bleak future of UK property

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:06:00 +0000

The number of properties repossessed by mortgage lenders rose by 12% to 11,300 in the UK, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has said. The CML reports that 1.44% of mortgages were at least three months in arrears as at the end of September 2008. This was up from 1.33% at the end of June. The number of cases in arrears at the end of September was 168,000, 8% higher than June.

BBC News: Repossession of homes up by 12%

The Water Wars

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:45:00 +0000

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“As you may know, the coming World War Three will be fought over water, not oil.”

Image Day - Bombay Stock Exchange

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:08:00 +0000

A man reacts, while watching a display screen at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai. The BSE's benchmark Sensex fell as much as 4.1% percent.

> AP-Image

The Pakistani Economic Crisis

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:22:00 +0000

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South Asia's second-biggest economy needs external aid after its foreign-exchange reserves shrank 75 percent in the past year to $3.5 billion, threatening its ability to repay debt. The State Bank of Pakistan increased its benchmark interest rate by 2 percentage points, the most in more than a decade, on Nov. 12, citing inflation that has reached a 30-year high.

Info via Bloomberg

Profile: Biocon India

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:36:00 +0000

Founded by Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, India's richest self-made businesswoman, Biocon is India's biotechnology pioneer. Its founder was named as one of Fortune magazine's 50 Most Powerful Women in 2007 and was instrumental in forging India's biotechnology industry. She set up Biocon in 1978 and has developed it into a global biopharmaceutical player with highly developed research and development facilities focusing on cancer and diabetes treatments.

> Quiz India's mother of invention

Biocon has rapidly developed a robust drug pipeline, led by monoclonal antibodies and other molecules at exciting stages in the bio-pharmaceutical value chain.

Over the years, Biocon has evolved from an enzyme-manufacturing company into a fully integrated bio-pharmaceutical enterprise.

Leveraging India’s globally competitive cost base and exceptional scientific people resource, they are advancing their in-house R&D programs, while also providing custom and clinical research services to international pharmaceutical and biotechnology majors through their subsidiary companies, Syngene and Clinigene.

Biocon is India's first biotechnology company, established in 1978.

It is the first Indian firm to receive US funding for proprietary technologies.

Biocon is the first Indian company to be approved by US FDA for the manufacture of lovastatin, a cholesterol-lowering molecule.

Biocon created a huge stock market buzz in March 2004 with its successful IPO. Day 1 closed with a market value of $1.11 billion.

Subsidiary Companies:

Syngene is a custom research organisation offering synthetic chemistry and molecular biology services for early stage drug discovery and development.

Clinigene is a clinical research organisation offering Phase I-IV clinical trials and studies for novel/generic molecules to international pharmaceutical majors.

Biocon Biopharmaceuticals Private Limited (BBPL) is a joint venture with CIMAB to develop and market a range of monoclonal antibodies and cancer vaccines.

Russia invades Dubai

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:51:00 +0000

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There is increasing fear among Dubai's property developers that the relentless construction boom may be over. But there is one community that continues to ride out the storm. Al Jazeera's Roza Ibragimova reports on the Russian invasion.

How to eat cheap

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:27:00 +0000

While Barack Obama may have his hands full, the rest of us need to be thinking about our plates. Interestingly, one of the ways to start doing this would be to stay right where you are -- in front of your computer. The Internet has emerged as an incredible tool for planning. The Eat Well Guide is hoping to help people make good decisions about what they eat and how.

Via AlertNet

St. Louis ponders Treasury bailout

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:55:00 +0000

Cheap money! Come and get it, bankers. Uncle Sam is opening the vaults at the Treasury. Oh, there will be strings attached, of course. And if your bank desperately needs the money, the government won't give it to you.

Some banks taking the money are salivating at the chance to grow their loan portfolios and perhaps gobble up a few weaklings among area banks. The Treasury is offering to buy preferred stock in banks. The money counts as capital, which means that a healthy bank could, in theory, make new loans in an amount 10 times the amount of the Treasury's investment. The government will also take warrants allowing it to take stock in the company, diluting current shareholders.

>> There would be limits on golden parachutes.

More worrisome: The feds say they may add additional requirements later, and there are rumblings in Congress about lending requirements and restrictions.

Via stltoday.com/ssave

G20 Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:16:00 +0000

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“The financial crisis has clearly been a wake up call to the global economic system, rippling from country to country in waves of economic loss and anxiety.

- World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick.

>> Statement by World Bank Group President

IMF to Help Pakistan

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 14:27:00 +0000

Pakistan's new agreement with the International Monetary Fund over a $7.6 billion loan may lead to more help from other donors.

But the IMF's package falls well short of the $10 billion to $15 billion that Pakistani officials have said they need over the next two years to fix the economy.

Some of that shortfall will be made up by loans from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The IMF will deliver $4 billion – the amount Pakistan says it needs immediately to avoid defaulting – this year, with the rest to be disbursed in 2009, said Shaukat Tarin, an economic adviser to Pakistan's prime minister.

Via WSJ

The New Rulers of the World

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 14:12:00 +0000

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John Pilger's The New Rulers of the World tackles the double standards inherent in the politics of globalization. It sets out to explain something of the "new" order--the unholy alliance of business interests and imperial repression--and the importance of breaking the silence that protects great power and its manipulations.

Social media gains credibility

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:40:00 +0000

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Social media gained mainstream credibility in the 2008 election, as a way to engage voters. Barack Obama used it skillfully in his campaign.

Google Analytics in 60 Seconds

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:57:00 +0000

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Learn how to use Analytics to find top performing keywords & increase your ROI.

Google solves Adobe puzzle

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:43:00 +0000

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Learn how Adobe is using Google Site Search to improve customer satisfaction.

The Saudi Royal Family - Part three

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:46:00 +0000

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At a time when America's relationship with Saudi Arabia is under close scrutiny because of the war against terrorism, this timely profile looks at the colorful history of Saudi Arabia's royal rulers. Discover how charismatic King Ibn-Saud went from being a desert warrior to leader of the largest oil-producing nation in the world, and how his successors have been both friends and foes of the U.S.

> The Saudi Royal Family: Part one - Part two

Shell Deals Iraq

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:41:00 +0000

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International oil company Shell has signed a $4bn deal to process natural gas at a plant in the Iraqi city of Basra. It is finalising details of the multi-billion-dollar plan, a joint venture with Iraq's state-run Southern Gas Company, before a final agreement is signed. An initial deal was signed in September. Some Iraqi politicians have expressed alarm that such a deal could be signed without any tenders.

Related Link: Nigerian conflict a warning for ‘big oil’ in Iraq