If you want to crack down on tax avoidance, go after the banks

Dec 17, 2015 05:05 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Tax is back in the news with the release of information of the taxes paid (or rather not paid) by some of the biggest companies operating in Australia. After much hand wringing (and a break for Christmas) politicians...

How the media spun the Paris climate agreement

Dec 17, 2015 00:58 am UTC| Insights & Views

The Paris deal generally got a very good press. Most reporting in the immediate aftermath had a similar focus on a few key headline points: this was a landmark victory, albeit one with a few cautionary notes. Yet a closer...

Lessons from history: why the push for savings for all is wide of the mark

Dec 17, 2015 00:56 am UTC| Insights & Views

As predicted the US Federal Reserve has raised interest rates after nearly a decade, which means a slightly better rate of return for savers. Meanwhile in the UK, the Bank of England has kept the benchmark rate at a...

Crowded out: how crowdsourcing for startups turned into business as usual

Dec 17, 2015 00:52 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

Crowdfunding has been hailed by some as the democratisation of finance. To many, it is viewed as a key alternative source of finance where we can all get involved in backing new companies through either donations or the...

As big business goes green, green bonds ready for takeoff

Dec 17, 2015 00:49 am UTC| Insights & Views

The climate summit in Paris has shown that global big business is now also on board with the transition to a low-carbon economy. However, the most promising instruments in finance for promoting green investing,...

Experts weigh in on Fed hike: it was the right call, but will it work?

Dec 17, 2015 00:38 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy Central Banks

Editors note: The Federal Reserves policy-setting committee decided to raise its target interest rate known as the Fed funds rate for the first time in nine years. It increased the rate from a range of zero to 0.25% to a...

After Fed’s fresh history of 9 years, Dollar dealing in direct quotes to flourish and indirect quotes to languish

Dec 16, 2015 19:41 pm UTC| Insights & Views

Yes, deal done as per the much anticipated economic phenomenon. Fed finally lifts off its interest rates by 25 bps at 0.50% since 2006. Furthermore, Policy makers separately forecast an appropriate rate of 1.375...