GCC debt markets poised for take-off: for the Middle Eastern economies domestic bond markets have traditionally played a fairly minor role in financial intermediation. However, as in other emerging market regions, the pace of innovation in financial products is now gaining momentum in the Arab World.
Top-tier companies in the Middle East's financial services, telecoms, real estate and transport sectors are increasingly turning to rights issues on regional stock markets, debt securities and sophisticated Islamic financial instruments for their medium and long-term funding programmes, although conventional bank lending remains the dominant source of finance. ...

The conquest of worldwide inflation: currency competition and its implications for interest rates and the yield curve.
In the United States and in virtually every country around the world, inflation has declined, and in most countries dramatically so. In addition, the volatility of inflation and expectations of future inflation have also fallen significantly. I will call these changes experienced around the globe the conquest of worldwide...

Gulf investors focus on Arab & African neighbours: the Arab oil producing countries in the Gulf are continuing to use huge financial surpluses from oil to increase their international investment portfolios with Arab and African neighbours increasingly the lucky recipients.
A recent report by the respected Saudi-based Samba Financial Group suggests the Arab oil producing countries of the Gulf may earn a staggering $24 trillion from exports of crude oil and gas over the next 20 years, as energy hungry countries such as China and India continue to develop...

The outlook for Arab offshore investments: Moin A. Siddiqi analyses the situation of the global stock and bonds market; where Arab investors are putting their money and where they are not.
THE PAST FOUR YEARS HAS SEEN EVER-INCREASING volatility in global bond and equity markets and Arab private and official investors, notably the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the Kuwait Investment Authority, Qatar Investment Office and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, have not been immune to market volatility. On...

The financial knowledge of college freshmen.
The problem of the study was to determine college freshmen's financial knowledge. The entire freshman English 101, College Reading and Writing class at Texas A&M University--Commerce was surveyed. There were a total of 407 students enrolled in these classes. There were 20 multiple choice questions dealing with basic knowledge...

Revitalising Turkey's banking sector; Jon Gorvett reports from Istanbul on Turkey's attempts to revitalise its ailing banking sector by returning confidence to the markets. (Business & Finance).
When Turkey's economy went into meltdown back in February 2001, analysts and politicians pointed the finger of blame at a wide variety of different people and institutions. Yet one place they all agreed on as having a major responsibility for the crisis was the country's beleaguered banking system. ...

The Arab World: Facing the Challenge of the New Millennium. (Books in Brief).
Azzam, Henry T. The Arab World: Facing the Challenge of the New Millennium. London, U.K.: I. B. Tauris, 2002. Hardcover $59.50. The book contains useful figures and tables about the economies of the Arab world as a region and individual countries. It is also useful for those...

Arm-twisting Africa: ...Startling revelations at the GATA African Gold Summit in Durban. (Cover story 2: Gold Special Report).
While the gold price appears to be calm and placid on the surface, powerful forces war behind the scenes to shape it. The stakes are stupendously high, as the state of the gold marker and the price of gold do not exist in a vacuum. Virtually every important capital...

Regional markets update.
The last few months have seen significant developments in several regional share and bond markets. Without doubt, the region's star performer in recent months has been Egypt. The performance of the Cairo stock exchange has been stellar. In 1996, the Egyptian bourse delivered a return of over 45 per...

Gaining acceptance: the insurance-linked securities marketplace is now seen as an accepted class of risk.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Summary * Insurance-linked securities in such forms as the catastrophe bond are considered cutting-edge in the industry today. * Specific triggers narrow the terms under which the losses are repaid under a CAT bond. * The size of the...