News & Features Archive

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Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

Cuba Learns The Art Of The Deal With Unilever

Cuba: News that Anglo-Dutch consumer products company Unilever will return to Cuba to build a $35 million plant in the special development zone at the port of Mariel, about 40 kilometers west of Havana, is one of the clearest signs yet that the communist nation is taking a more pragmatic approach to foreign direct investment.

Banking

Cutting The Cord In Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is the Gulf Cooperation Council’s largest economy, but major economic, political and social challenges threaten the kingdom’s immediate economic future. Reducing its dependence on oil and gas is now a case of when, not if.

Award Winners

Driving Innovation

Challenger banks join start-ups and outside providers in supplier finance to get funding where it’s needed most.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

EC Orders Belgium To Recoup Money Lost In Illegal Tax Breaks

Trends | Taxation As part of a crackdown on generous tax incentives across the European Union, in January the European Commission (EC) demanded Belgium claw back €700 million ($762 million) in tax breaks from at least 35 European firms.

Economics, Policy & Regulation

Editor’s Letter: Fundamentals And Contagion

The new year started with unusually negative intensity and uncertainty in the financial markets and the global economy.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

Female CEOs Outperform, But Glass Ceiling Remains

Management | Corporate Governance Despite various initiatives to get more women into the executive pipeline, the number of US corporations with a female CEO remains stuck in the low double digits.

Economics, Policy & Regulation

Gordhan Gets His Turn To Heal South Africa’s Woes

South Africa: After burning through two Finance ministers in 18 months—with the second having held the job for less than a week—South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, moved in mid-December to restore a measure of stability to the post.

Country Report

Has Italy Turned A Corner?

The foundations for economic recovery have been laid by Matteo Renzi’s government, which is tackling fundamental issues at the heart of Italy’s problems. But he has yet to work his magic on public spending.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

High-Grade Corporate Debt Draws Safe-Haven Buyers

Capital Markets | Corporate Bonds Demand for investment-grade corporate debt seems insatiable, even as investors shun riskier high-yield bonds.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

High-Yield Bonds Crumbling Not Crashing

The junk market is hurting. Experts predict the pain will continue, with defaults peaking a couple of years from now.

Banking

International Investors Decry Portuguese Bank Bail-In

Capital Markets | Fixed Income A bail-in provision, which places the onus on bondholders and other investors to write down their holdings in the event of winding up a troubled financial institution within the European Union, came into effect on January 1, 2016.

Economics, Policy & Regulation

Looser Rules May Spur Japanese Fintech Revolution

Japan’s Financial Services Agency is preparing legislation allowing the government to relax restrictions on fintech investment, promising a technological jolt to one of the world’s biggest financial markets.