Learning Islamic finance
The Star: There’s an in-demand MBA course at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management that essentially teaches back-to-basics banking for Canadian businesses. Students who enroll learn the merits […]
Saudi Arabia: Five-day week in private sector agreed
ARAB NEWS Friday 7 September 2012 JEDDAH: The National Committee of Workers and businessmen have agreed on providing two-day weekly off for employees in the private sector, said Abdul Rahman Al-Zamil, head of the team of businessmen that attended a social dialogue forum on the issue. “A closed-door meeting of […]
Kuwait- Islamic microfinance curbs poverty
(MENAFN – Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Islamic Microfinance is a viable means to curb poverty, a specialized report by Kuwait Finance House (KFH) said Wednesday Addressing poverty continues to be one of the greatest challenges faced by governments around the world today. In Islam, a person is considered poor if […]
Switzerland remains most competitive economy
Switzerland is the most economically competitive country in the world for the fourth year in a row, according to an annual World Economic Forum (WEF) report. The Global Competitiveness Report, […]
Jordan, US sign $100m grant accord
AMMAN — Planning and International Cooperation Minister Jafar Hassan on Tuesday signed a $100 million grant agreement with US Ambassador to Jordan Stuart Jones and USAID Mission Director Beth Paige. The additional grant, which was announced earlier this year, will support the state budget and help the Kingdom address its […]
Baghdad threatens Kurds with budget cut over oil row
By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraq’s central government is considering cutting federal budget payments to the country’s Kurdistan by more than $3 billion (1.9 billion pounds) to cover losses it says came from the autonomous region’s oil exports, a government spokesman said on Tuesday. Ali al-Moussawi, advisor to Prime […]
Slump in August car sales in France
RFI France. The manufacturers’ organisation said the number of sales of new cars in France slipped to 96,115. Over the first eight months of this year, the fall was 13.4 percent, it said, noting that the French carmakers PSA Peugeot Citroen and Renault suffered more last month than their foreign […]
How Switzerland is weathering the storm
by Chantal Britt, swissinfo.ch Switzerland is mastering the current economic crisis better than its recession-hit European peers. To explain the discrepancy with prosperity and unique laws that foster money laundering […]
Bernanke’s Jackson Hole speech may be a letdown
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Every year, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City hosts a meeting of the world’s top economic minds near the small Wyoming town of Jackson Hole. The invitation-only meeting is usually a big deal, closely watched by investors, economists and journalists. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke has […]
Women-only industrial cities welcomed
JEDDAH: SARAH ABDULLAH Friday 31 August 2012 Saudi businesswomen are voicing their approval of the latest plan by the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (MODON) to begin building the first of […]
German and Italian Leaders at Odds Over Euro Plans
BERLIN — Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, on Wednesday praised the progress that Italy’s prime minister, Mario Monti, has made in revamping his country’s economy. But she also indicated there were limits to how much financial risk Germany was willing to bear in helping out its euro zone allies. After […]
Home prices gain for fifth month in June: S&P
(Reuters) – U.S. single-family home prices gained for the fifth month in a row in June, a fresh sign of improvement in the housing market, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday. The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas gained 0.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, topping […]
Bids for Jeddah metro will be invited shortly
ARAB NEWS Monday 27 August 2012 JEDDAH: International bids for Jeddah metro system and other modes of public transport will be invited shortly, a municipal official said in a statement. “Jeddah’s light rail transit system resembling the Dubai Metro involves the construction of a 108-km long railway track that will […]
A Regulator’s Key Role in Failed Mutual Fund Reform
Luis A. Aguilar, one of five members of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is generally known as one of its strongest advocates for tougher oversight of the securities industry. In public statements this year, he has pushed his S.E.C. colleagues to be more aggressive, contending that the commission was not […]
Saudi Arabia ‘best place for seeking jobs’
ARAB NEWS Sunday 26 August 2012 JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s financial situation is stable and is the best place for seeking jobs, according to a consumer confidence survey conducted by Bayt.com in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Thirty-eight percent of Saudis who participated in the survey said the present […]
Export Powerhouse Feels Pangs of Labor Strife
Source: NY Times. ISHWARDI, Bangladesh — The air thickened with tear gas as police and paramilitary officers jogged into the Ishwardi Export Processing Zone firing rubber bullets and swinging cane poles. Panicked factory workers tried to flee. A seamstress crumpled to the ground, knocked unconscious by a shot in […]
Mixed Picture in Durable-Goods Report
New orders for long-lasting manufactured goods surged in the United States in July, the Commerce Department said Friday, but a decline in a gauge of planned business spending pointed to slowing growth in the factory sector. Durable goods orders jumped 4.2 percent on strong demand for civilian aircraft after an […]
Saudi Arabia: Ministry offers 1 visa for every 2 exit-only visas
ARAB NEWS Friday 24 August 2012 JEDDAH: An employer will be able to obtain a new work visa for every two expatriate workers he has sent on exit-only visas, according to the point system introduced by the Labor Ministry recently, an informed ministry source said. The source also pointed out […]
Beating youth unemployment: Exporting the Swiss apprenticeship model
by Julie Zaugg in London, swissinfo.ch Faced with massive youth unemployment, Britain is the latest country to take an interest in the Swiss apprenticeship system. The “dual” model which combines […]
IMF chief impressed with Mursi’s strategy
CAIRO: ARAB NEWS Thursday 23 August 2012 Egypt has asked for a $ 4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, which stressed the need for a reform program to […]