Demographic trends set to lead to boom in healthcare June 1, 2011 INVESTORS have been profiting from a healthcare revolution sweeping the globe, which still has a long way to run. Stephen Barber of Selftrade notes two global demographic changes set to increase demand for healthcare: “The ageing population and the growth of the middle classes in the emerging world, led by China and India.” Across the [...]
The presentation guru gives his top five tips for visual communication June 1, 2011 LOVE or hate giving PowerPoint presentations, they are a fact of office life for most of us. And often being good at it distinguishes you from your colleagues. To help you along, we’ve selected five of the most useful tips from Dave Paradi’s book: 102 Tips to Communicate More Effectively on PowerPoint. 1. Tell a [...]
Allowing the securitisation sector revival to flourish June 1, 2011 AS the US and European financial sectors continue to collectively dust themselves off after the financial crash of 2008, it is clear that securitisation is vital for market stability and for economic growth – allowing for more efficient use of capital, higher liquidity and more stable risk management. According to the Bank for International Settlements, [...]
TRUST IS MOVING FORWARD FOR ASSET BACKED SECURITIES June 1, 2011 FOLLOWING the onset of the financial crisis in 2008 – and the resulting loss of confidence in the performance of Asset Backed Securities (ABS) – distressed or forced sales led to depressed valuations. Yet the assets themselves suffered few actual defaults – in fact mostly performing as expected. It was the forced selling, or the [...]
Tough capital requirements from Basel III June 1, 2011 LAST year, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) announced new, stricter regulatory capital requirements for banks. This proclamation marked the adoption of several revisions to the regulatory capital framework – collectively known as Basel III – that the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) had previously proposed to address some of the main issues that [...]
Take a trip into PowerPoint hell: slides you dread to see June 1, 2011 DID you know that PowerPoint presentations can be a matter of life and death? Yale professor and visual communication expert Edward Tufte believes it is. Nasa’s use of the technology, he claims, led to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003 that killed seven astronauts. Vital information got lost in the blur of slides, arrows [...]
Banks help FTSE to end May on a high but fear still reigns May 31, 2011 BANKS and energy stocks, buoyed by hopes of a second bailout for Greece, helped Britain’s FTSE 100 higher yesterday, but traders remained concerned about buying momentum in the short-term. “Uncertainty for the near term outlook still remains bearish until the markets can pick up positive momentum and clear hurdles to give the bulls a chance [...]
US rallies on hopes of Greek debt plan May 31, 2011 WALL St bulls took the upper hand with a one per cent rally yesterday as hopes for a new plan to deal with Greece’s debt crisis relieved some investor worry, but grim economic data suggested more hurdles ahead as the S&P 500 closed out its worth month since August. Stocks rebounded late in the session, [...]
Belarus devalues its way to hyperinflation May 31, 2011 LAST week, Belarus demonstrated very clearly what happens to a country when it does not address its deficit, does not rein in spending and tries to mask its problems with state intervention. Overnight, the National Bank of Belarus devalued the Belarusian rouble by 56 per cent. The devaluation resulted in an immediate 24 per cent [...]
DOLLAR-YEN IS FOCUSED ON US JOBS NUMBERS May 31, 2011 YESTERDAY, Moody’s threw a bombshell into the currency market by announcing that it could lower Japan’s Aa2 rating in the coming months. Dollar-yen jumped nearly 100 points as a result of the news, rising to a high of ¥81.80. In its note, the ratings agency cited “heightened concern that faltering economic growth prospects and a [...]