As in other regions around the world, the issue of liquidity in the banking system has been a matter of great debate in the Middle East in recent months. While the management of liquidity has always been among the most important activities conducted by banks, the issue has been put into stark relief following the effects of the global slowdown. Banks and financial institutions around the world are now forming strategies to improve liquidity and comply with new or upcoming regulatory requirements. The Middle East is no exception to this trend, and liquidity is likely to be a focus well into 2010.
During the past 20 years, outsourcing has grown to a $500 billion industry and has become a standard option for organisation service delivery strategy. Especially now that world economies are beginning their slow path to recovery, organisations are renewing their intentions to explore outsourcing capability not only to manage costs, but to bring higher levels of quality and innovation.
We’re not worried about whether the Internet will survive. No, the question is whether we, as human beings and workers, can survive what the Internet is doing to us.
The Middle East is receiving significant attention from transportation and logistics players worldwide. Thanks to substantial investments in infrastructure, as well as − until recently − significant economic growth, investors see attractive opportunities in the logistics industry in the region. Furthermore, local governments aim to establish a thriving logistics service industry and ensure that regional companies benefit from the new opportunities.
Cairo is becoming an international real estate market and is emerging on the radar screen of an increasing number of regional and global developers, investors and occupiers. More than any other regional city, Cairo is characterised by a combination of mature and emerging market conditions. The city is growing rapidly from its heavily constrained historic core to a range of new areas on the urban periphery.
Political changes, government reforms, a stable economy, vast natural resources and a large population have all led to Russia seeing enormous advances in their foreign trade links. However, Churchill's description of the country as a “riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma” still very much holds true for outsiders looking in. Gaining some basic insight into the Russian mentality, culture and etiquette are key for anyone doing business in Russia.
The domestic and Gulf financial communities heaved a collective sigh of relief when the UAE Central Bank announced in December that it would provide additional liquidity to locally operating domestic and foreign banks. This eased tensions over Dubai’s request to delay its debt payments, which most industry observers agree was overplayed by the markets and was not as bad as perceived. Overall, the domestic investment market fared well in 2009 and can look forward to even better days in 2010.
Recent events have exposed a gaping hole in the investment practices of some business organisations in Dubai. Their forays into investment seem to constitute a pattern of random acquisition rather than structured strategic portfolio choices. An underlying progressive vision that has guided their efforts was solid, but execution left a lot to be desired.
Equities are expected to outperform corporate and government bonds in 2010 as governments look to consumers to replace them as a catalyst for sustained economic growth in the wake of the recession, according to the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Year Ahead 2010.
Saxo Bank has released its annual "Outrageous Predictions" for 2010 predicting devaluation of the CNY, the emergence of a third political party in the US, a massive fall in the price of sugar, a positive US trade balance for the first time since the 1975 oil crisis, and that the US Social Security Trust Fund will go bust.
Joel and Denise each led fund-raising campaigns for their respective service club and community agencies. Under another member's leadership, Joel's club had raised a record amount in its last effort. Joel wasn't sure they could come close to that level again. But organisation was one of his real strengths.
Nobody likes to do a bad job; we all want to "make a difference". Of course, making a difference means leaving some sort of legacy. For a business leader, that means a platform for sustained success, or, to put it another way, leaving behind an organisation that continues operating successfully after you have moved on.
This is the third part of a six-part series on Business Community Centers (BCCs). In the October issue of Capital, we discussed the forces driving the economy towards less complex, smaller work organisations ("Too Big to Succeed: The Evolution of Organisations"). Then in December, we took on the rules of industrial economics (“Breaking the Rules: Looking at How the Economy Is Really Going to Work”), while this month we lay out just how we think commercial success will be measured and managed in the 21st-century postindustrial society. The principle of the "triple bottom line" forms the basis of the business model embodied in BCCs.
As in other regions around the world, the issue of liquidity in the banking system has been a matter of great debate in the Middle East in recent months. While the management of liquidity has always been among the most important activities conducted by banks, the issue has been put into stark relief following the effects of the global slowdown. Banks and financial institutions around the world are now forming strategies to improve liquidity and comply with new or upcoming regulatory requirements. The Middle East is no exception to this trend, and liquidity is likely to be a focus well into 2010.
During the past 20 years, outsourcing has grown to a $500 billion industry and has become a standard option for organisation service delivery strategy. Especially now that world economies are beginning their slow path to recovery, organisations are renewing their intentions to explore outsourcing capability not only to manage costs, but to bring higher levels of quality and innovation.
The Middle East is receiving significant attention from transportation and logistics players worldwide. Thanks to substantial investments in infrastructure, as well as − until recently − significant economic growth, investors see attractive opportunities in the logistics industry in the region. Furthermore, local governments aim to establish a thriving logistics service industry and ensure that regional companies benefit from the new opportunities.
Cairo is becoming an international real estate market and is emerging on the radar screen of an increasing number of regional and global developers, investors and occupiers. More than any other regional city, Cairo is characterised by a combination of mature and emerging market conditions. The city is growing rapidly from its heavily constrained historic core to a range of new areas on the urban periphery.
Political changes, government reforms, a stable economy, vast natural resources and a large population have all led to Russia seeing enormous advances in their foreign trade links. However, Churchill's description of the country as a “riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma” still very much holds true for outsiders looking in. Gaining some basic insight into the Russian mentality, culture and etiquette are key for anyone doing business in Russia.
The domestic and Gulf financial communities heaved a collective sigh of relief when the UAE Central Bank announced in December that it would provide additional liquidity to locally operating domestic and foreign banks. This eased tensions over Dubai’s request to delay its debt payments, which most industry observers agree was overplayed by the markets and was not as bad as perceived. Overall, the domestic investment market fared well in 2009 and can look forward to even better days in 2010.
Recent events have exposed a gaping hole in the investment practices of some business organisations in Dubai. Their forays into investment seem to constitute a pattern of random acquisition rather than structured strategic portfolio choices. An underlying progressive vision that has guided their efforts was solid, but execution left a lot to be desired.
Equities are expected to outperform corporate and government bonds in 2010 as governments look to consumers to replace them as a catalyst for sustained economic growth in the wake of the recession, according to the Merrill Lynch Wealth Management Year Ahead 2010.
Saxo Bank has released its annual "Outrageous Predictions" for 2010 predicting devaluation of the CNY, the emergence of a third political party in the US, a massive fall in the price of sugar, a positive US trade balance for the first time since the 1975 oil crisis, and that the US Social Security Trust Fund will go bust.
Joel and Denise each led fund-raising campaigns for their respective service club and community agencies. Under another member's leadership, Joel's club had raised a record amount in its last effort. Joel wasn't sure they could come close to that level again. But organisation was one of his real strengths.
Nobody likes to do a bad job; we all want to "make a difference". Of course, making a difference means leaving some sort of legacy. For a business leader, that means a platform for sustained success, or, to put it another way, leaving behind an organisation that continues operating successfully after you have moved on.
This is the third part of a six-part series on Business Community Centers (BCCs). In the October issue of Capital, we discussed the forces driving the economy towards less complex, smaller work organisations ("Too Big to Succeed: The Evolution of Organisations"). Then in December, we took on the rules of industrial economics (“Breaking the Rules: Looking at How the Economy Is Really Going to Work”), while this month we lay out just how we think commercial success will be measured and managed in the 21st-century postindustrial society. The principle of the "triple bottom line" forms the basis of the business model embodied in BCCs.
