Compliance has always been a challenge, but that challenge is becoming greater than ever for many financial institutions. The sheer number of employees with access to material nonpublic information (MNPI) is growing, and these individuals are highly dispersed due to the pandemic.
A visit to New Zealand is a step back to a time before the pandemic, when large crowds still congregated at events. New Zealand has been amongst the most successful in beating back COVID-19 and is bearing financial fruits with its enviable, relatively positive economic performance. But a strong recovery is not guaranteed for the country—which, while an island, depends on the rest of the world for its prosperity.
Derivatives carry the potential to drastically increase or drastically decrease initial investments, depending on the underlying assets’ price movements. Derivatives investing is for the experienced investor or the less experienced investor willing to do some research. One advantage is that an investor can get into the action with little expenditure of money but should be prepared to lose some, if not all, of it, should prices swing the wrong way.
Despite attempted encroachments from the ever-popular luxury SUV, the luxury sedan still reigns in its class of automotive grandeur. Mercedes-Benz has long held the top spot with its matchless S-Class, but that doesn’t mean that others haven’t attempted a coup, including Lexus with its LS. If price is no object, buyers will probably stick with the inimitable Mercedes-Benz S-Class. But the less-expensive, feature-rich Lexus LS is worthy of careful consideration.
India’s banking system has been plagued by shadow banking since the 1990s, when non-banking financial companies sprouted up and grew, creating a financial crisis that is as unique as the country itself. NBFCs perform the same functions as traditional banks but under the radar of regulation, creating the potential for disruption. Recent failures of NBFCs that have spread to the broader economy have prompted regulators to adopt a stricter stance.
Like artists, brilliant innovations are not always appreciated immediately. Such is the case of the QR Code, invented in Japan in the early 1990s to boost manufacturing and retail efficiency. In the socially distanced COVID-19 environment, this invention is proving indispensable in a variety of transactions and activities, from making payments to reading menus. Partnering with smartphones, the QR Code is proving itself a boon to both commerce and health.
Today, cloud computing is not only critical to the future success of the European financial sector. It also sits at the heart of the continent’s COVID-19 economic recovery plan. However, due to concerns relating to regional independence and operational resilience, the European Commission (EC) is wary of financial institutions central to Europe’s success becoming too dependent on individual cloud providers.
Until recently, stock trading was the exclusive domain of high-flying, wealthy Goliaths. With the arrival of avenues such as digital platforms, every-day Davids are entering the arena and, by coordinating their efforts, significantly influencing the prices of targeted stocks. Such was the case of GameStop, with its share price recently experiencing a wild ride after attracting investor interest from different corners, including a band of Davids in Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum.
The Brexit referendum delivered a punch to the UK’s pound, but the currency has slowly picked itself up and gained some strength despite the pandemic, once again closing in on the US$1.40 mark in February. How well it fares over the next few months will depend on several factors—including the UK’s COVID-19 response but also the raft of unique issues that the nation will face as it evolves post-Brexit.
The United States has been devastated by COVID-19, enduring more deaths from the virus than any other country. Domestic markets have suffered sporadically, but surprisingly, not all of them. After a brief pause in early spring 2020, the real-estate market has soared and broken 15-year sales records. The main factors propelling these high home prices are low interest rates and short supply, creating a sellers’ market even during a pandemic.