Economics, Policy & Regulation Archives

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Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

LITHUANIA FINALLY JOINS THE EUROZONE

Lithuania | Milestones On January 1, Lithuania abandoned the litas, becoming the 19th member of the eurozone and joining Baltic peers Estonia and Latvia in the economic and monetary union.

Economics, Policy & Regulation

NIGERIA: FORTHCOMING ELECTIONS PROMPT FEAR AMONG VOTERS

Nigeria | Milestones Nigerians go to the polls next month with some trepidation...

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

OECD MOVES FORWARD ON BEPS TAX-AVOIDANCE PROJECT

Regulation | Management In October the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project released a report outlining its progress on a series of steps it was taking to combat tactics—often legal but ethically questionable—used by many multinational companies to reduce or eliminate tax liabilities across their operations.

Country Report

POLAND: NEW ECONOMIC GROWTH PARADIGM WANTED

Poland | Country Report Although still outperforming most of its neighbors, Poland needs to reinvent itself if it wishes to sustain long-term growth.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

PROXY VOTING: CHANGES TO ISS EQUITY PLAN GUIDELINES

Proxy Voting | Management Proxy advisory firm ISS updated its proxy voting guidelines last fall to introduce a more detailed approach to the recommendations it makes on companies’ equity plans and shareholder proposals for an independent chairman. The changes could create uncertainty for companies during this year’s proxy season.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

SOUTH AMERICA’S TOTAL TAX RATE SURPASSES THAT OF AFRICA

Corporate Tax | Trends By replacing cascading sales taxes with a value-added tax (VAT), Africa has succeeded in lowering its total tax rate to 46.6% from a peak of 72.2% in 2005.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

SOVEREIGN DEBT: AFRICAN BORROWERS ACTIVE AHEAD OF FED RATE MOVES

Sovereign Debt | Capital Markets Governments in Africa issued a record amount of debt in international markets in 2014, taking advantage of strong investor demand and low borrowing costs ahead of the Federal Reserve’s expected rate increases this year.

Economics, Policy & Regulation

TAIWAN: A TURNING POLITICAL TIDE

Taiwan | Milestones Taiwan’s president Ma Ying-jeou and his Kuomintang party lost control of important political positions in late November, when Taiwanese voters chose opposition party and independent candidates in local elections across the island.

Award Winners

THE WORLD’S BEST FOREIGN EXCHANGE PROVIDERS 2015

Regulatory uncertainty, technological change and traders behaving badly have collided in a perfect storm for banks’ foreign exchange operations

Banking

TRANSACTION BANKING 2015: DISMANTLING SILOS

Special Report| Global Transaction Banking 2015 Preview Last year brought a vastly altered landscape for transaction banking—and the same is likely to be true of 2015. Regulatory reform and new developments in data analytics and mobile banking will drive change.

Economics, Policy & Regulation

US: SHELBY TO HEAD SENATE BANKING COMMITTEE

United States | Newsmakers After the Republican victory in the 2014 US midterm elections and an eight-year hiatus, Richard Shelby, a senior senator from Alabama, has taken over his old post as chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

Capital Raising & Corporate Finance

VANGUARD PUSHES FOR MINORITY SHAREHOLDERS’ RIGHTS

Activist Investing | Trends Vanguard CEO William McNabb is making it plain that he wants the many public companies in which the world’s second-largest fund management firm owns significant minority stakes to take Vanguard as seriously as they take activist investors.