Global links help talent pool flourish

LINDA Kreitzman, executive director for the masters' in financial engineering (MFE) at the University of California at Berkeley, says a few years ago she was contacted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city-state's de facto central bank, to...

Why dollar is right out in front of 'ugly parade'

Sarah O'ConnorFT Syndication ServiceThe fallout from the US rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has sent dollar bulls scuttling for cover while raising the question: how much more pain can the battered US currency take?Relief over the Treasury's...

A test of India's confidence

FT Syndication ServiceNEW DELHI: When Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, decided early this month to push through a nuclear deal with the US, the response from his erstwhile communist parliamentary allies was immediate and to the point. "That time has...

For a manageable population

A great deal of publicity was given some years ago to the decreasing population growth rate in Bangladesh, with the world's highest population density. Population growth rate, that was well above 3.0 per cent annually in the seventies, was declining...

Tailored to create a common culture

IT was just five years ago that Grant Thornton, the globally recognised accountancy firm, dipped its toes in the water of customised management education. But today David McDonnell, chief executive of Grant Thornton International, is planning a range of programmes...

Tailored to create a common culture

IT was just five years ago that Grant Thornton, the globally recognised accountancy firm, dipped its toes in the water of customised management education. But today David McDonnell, chief executive of Grant Thornton International, is planning a range of programmes...

Pillay tipped to become Human Rights HC

NEW YORK, July 19: Navanethem Pillay, a high court judge from South Africa with links to Tamil Nadu in India, is being widely tipped to be nominated to the high profile office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights by...

Don't delay for tomorrow what can be done today

Procrastination is delaying any task which can be done now or today, another meaning is taking longer time to complete a task than is required. As is described in Wikipedia-procrastination is'deferment of actions or tasks to a later time'.It is...

Private sector needs some public spirit

I was delighted to see the unspeakable Ken Livingstone defeated in the London mayoral elections. He debased the office he occupied, and sent a toxic message to wealth creators. But his replacement, my namesake Boris Johnson, will have a hard...

NBR plans to be flexible in income assessment

Back from SavarThe government's revenue board that expects to collect a record Tk 545 billion in 2008-9 fiscal year from internal sources will show optimum flexibility in assessment of income statements of self-motivated tax payers, said the chief of the...

Why companies and campaigners collaborate

IN October 1997 John Browne, then chief executive of BP, told a conference of Greenpeace activists what a pleasure it was to be occupying one of their platforms instead of the usual practice of their occupying his."We have a close...

Bangladesh's microcredit good example to world

Microcredit operation that helped to bring changes in the socio-economic life of the people in Bangladesh can be a good example to the rest of the world in setting mechanisms to fight poverty, said chief of Norwegian Nobel Committee Friday.Professor...

Spiralling prices of essentials

Prices of most daily essentials including rice, lentils, edible oil, eggs, baby food, wheat flour, onions, sugar, beef and vegetables increased further during the past one week due to shortage of supply, mainly caused by heavy monsoon and impact of...

China's finance houses vie to lure workers

This year, Peter Ma., the chairman of China's second largest life insurer, Ping An Insurance, became the target of thousands of angry Chinese, after the company revealed he earned Rmb66.16m ($9.0m) in 2007, nearly three times his pay in 2006.Although...

Ailing global economy pins hopes on Dubai and the region

NEW YORK, July 18: With the Arab nations', excluding Iran, earnings from oil exports grossing well over $400 billion in 2007 it was no surprise that they played and would be playing a very crucial role in revamping a sluggish...

Talks signal Mideast shift

After years of escalating tensions and bloodshed, the talk in the Middle East is suddenly about talking. The shift is still relatively subtle, but hints of a new approach in the waning months of the Bush administration are fueling hopes...

Pvt land phone cos fear financial losses due to massive tariff cut by BTCL

The country's private land phone companies fear financial losses and job cut due to a massive 40 per cent tariff reduction by their public sector rival and other reasons.PSTN (Public switched telephone network) operators said they have invested Tk27.0 billion."Our...

The curse called drug addiction

Inside the room, lit only by a kerosene lamp, five men crouched around a small stool. The lamp flickers on the stool while the men use a foil to heat up something they call heroin, a popular drug for the...

Water scarcity triggers global food crisis

AFTER decades in the doldrums, food prices have been soaring this year, causing more misery for the world's poor than any credit crunch.The geopolitical shockwaves have spread round the world, with food riots in Haiti, strikes over rice shortages in...

Taking a hard line on soft soap

IN 2003, Patrick Cescau sat down with fellow Unilever directors to hear a presentation from the Dove soap and cleansing products team. The Dove people had an idea for an advertising campaign that would feature women of all shapes and...

Oil giants plan to go nuclear in Middle East

Total and Eni, two of Europe's biggest oil and gas companies, each plan to bring nuclear power to countries in the Middle East in what would be a controversial shift in an industry that is finding itself squeezed out of...

Unlocking the mysteries of force

On a par with the advancement of human knowledge about the structure of matter, the technological civilisation made great strides. And when one talks about structure, the concept of force automatically comes in. For how is it possible to conceive...

Ambani acrimony builds over Reliance and MTN

THE conflict between India's billionaire Ambani brothers over a proposed tie-up between mobile operators Reliance Communications and South Africa's MTN deepened early this month amid growing indications the feud could scupper the deal.Representatives of Reliance Communications, India's second-largest mobile operator...

Govt extends time again for release of bond for export-oriented industries

The government has extended time up to September 30 next for the release of indemnity bond offered to the export-oriented industries on promise of exporting goods.The government has offered the indemnity bond facility to 100 per cent export-oriented garment industries...

Zimbabwe: Liberation hero turns dictator

FEDERATION of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in South East Africa, 1953-63, comprised the self-governing British colony of Southern Rhodesia and the British protectorates of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The capital was Salisbury (now Harare) in Southern Rhodesia. The federation, also called...

The wrong tools to tackle rising inflation

I remember a popular sticker in Germany during the 1970s, designed to ridicule the opponents of atomic energy. It read: "Nuclear power? No thanks! We get electricity from our power sockets."Our current debate on inflation sometimes reminds me of this...

IMF set to end offshore 'stigma'

THE distinction between "offshore" and "onshore" financial centres has been dropped by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in a victory for more than 40 small countries that complained they had been unfairly stigmatised in the fight against financial crime.The IMF...

Red tape impedes PDB pre-paid metering system in Ctg

CHITTAGONG, July 17: Bureaucratic procrastination is hampering implementation of pre-paid metering system of Power Development Board (PDB) in Chittagong aimed at reducing system loss of power and enhancing revenue income.According to PDB sources, Tk 7.50 billion was allocated for the...

corporatewatch

EGM on August 29An extra-ordinary general meeting (EGM) of Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited (IBBL) will be held on August 29, 2008 at 9:00am to amend memorandum and articles of association of the bank regarding increase of the authorised capital of...

A passage through India

It is 1am and Ashok Alange prays for a safe trip, lighting incense sticks before the miniature statue of the Hindu elephant god Ganesh that he keeps fixed to his truck's dashboard.In terms of distance, the 540-kilometre drive is relatively...