UJ Economics & Finance Librarian APK

World Bank Updates

2009-02-23T13:17:00.002+02:00

The World Bank yesterday approved a grant of US$8 million to support the Government of the Central African Republic to rehabilitate the country’s power infrastructure, balancing supply and demand in the capital Bangui, and helping the power utility to improve its financial and operational sustainability. During the recent energy crisis in June 2008, over half of the electricity supply was lost for several weeks, affecting Bangui’s water supply, which relies on electric power for pumping water around the city. Hospitals were also affected by the lack of power. The project will reduce the risk of such a crisis reoccurring in one of Africa’s poorest countries.

IAS: Trustees announce membership of reconstituted Standards Advisory Council

2009-02-23T13:10:00.003+02:00

The Trustees of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) Foundation, the body that oversees the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), announced today appointments to the reconstituted Standards Advisory Council (SAC). Membership of the SAC is for the period ending on 31 December 2011.

Subscribing to the IMF's alerting service

2009-02-09T07:20:00.007+02:00

To subscribe to the International Monetary Fund's alerting service is easy and fast, and ensures you are kept up to date with any changes or new publications. All new information is sent via email.

Steps:

1) Go to their website:

2) Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Free Email Notification

3) Choose whether you would like to be notified regarding Country information or Selected series:

4) Selected series covers a vast array of data:

Choose from:

IMF and Civil Society News - Provides civil society organizations with relevant, up-to-date information on new developments at the Fund
Communiqués - Are typically issued on behalf of ministerial groups, such as the G-10, G-24, Development Committee, and others.
Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER) - Quarterly aggregate data based on an IMF database that keeps end-of-period quarterly data of the currency composition of official foreign exchange reserves. The currencies identified are the U.S. dollar, Euro, Pound Sterling, Japanese yen, Swiss francs, and other currencies.
Finance & Development - A quarterly magazine, F&D presents articles and book reviews on a wide variety of topics in international economics and finance, as well as economic development.
Financing IMF Transactions - A report on the use of the Fund's available quota-based resources, both its holdings of official SDRs and creditor members' currencies, to finance the Fund's non-concessional lending and repayment operations.
Financial Statements of the IMF - The statements for the IMF's General and SDR Departments and Administered Accounts (as at end-July, end-October, and end-January) are unaudited, condensed versions of the annual financial statements. The April 30 financial statements are the audited annual financial statements published in the IMF's Annual Report
GFSR Market Update - This series has been initiated to cover global financial market developments. GFSR Market Update (formerly known as Financial Market Updates) is produced twice a year and timed to fall between the semi-annual publication of the Global Financial Stability Report.
Global Financial Stability Report - A Semiannual Report by the International Capital Markets Department on Market Developments and Issues
IMF Country Reports - This series includes Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes, Article IV Reports, Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Documents, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), Interim PRSPs, PRSP Progress and Status Reports, Joint Staff Assessments (JSAs), Offshore Financial Center Assessments, and Assessments of Compliance with the Basel Core Principles.
IMF Financial Activities - Summary of financial assistance to member countries in support of their policy programs, available IMF resources, arrears, and key IMF rates. Includes current Stand-By, Extended, and Poverty Reduction and Growth (PRGF) Arrangements and Status of Commitments of HIPC Assistance.
IMF Policy Papers
IMF Seminars, Conferences and Economic Forums - These events are hosted by the IMF on a regular basis to promote more informed discussion on major issues confronting the organization and the international community more broadly
IMF Working Papers
IMF's Financial Resources and Liquidity Position - A summary of the IMF's financial resource and liquidity position expressed in SDRs, the IMF's unit of account.
Regional Economic Outlook Reports - They discuss recent economic developments and prospects for countries in various regions. They also address economic policy developments that have affected economic performance in the regions and discuss key challenges faced by policymakers. The reports include data for countries in the regions.
SDR Valuation - The SDR's value is determined using a basket of currencies. The basket is reviewed every five years to ensure that the currencies included in the basket are representative of those used in international transactions and that the weights assigned to the currencies reflect their relative importance in the world's trading and financial systems.
World Economic Outlook Report (WEO) - A semiannual review of recent global developments, forecasts and risks, and current policy recommendations.

State of Green Business in the USA

2009-02-04T11:21:00.000+02:00

Greenbiz.com releases an annual State of Green Business report and recently released the newest one.

The report assesses how, and how well, companies are doing from an environmental perspective. The free 62-page report offers 10 trends of the past year as well as their GreenBiz Index, a set of 20 indicators that, in aggregate, provide a picture of U.S. companies' environmental achievements.

Here is the table of contents
Top Stories of 2008............................................................................4

The Green Economy Gains Currency.............................................................. 4

Water Becomes the New Carbon.................................................................... 5

Building Efficiency Rises Again........................................................................ 7

Universities Take Class Actions........................................................................ 9

Green Moves Up, and Down, the Chain of Command................................. 10

Product Stewardship Creates a Material Change.......................................... 11

Green Marketing Suffers a Failure to Communicate..................................... 13

Carbon Becomes a Business Imperative....................................................... 14

Information Technology Plugs Into Green..................................................... 16

Greener Design Comes Out of the Lab........................................................ 17

The GreenBiz Index

Introduction ................................................................................................... 19

Summary Chart .............................................................................................. 20

Building Energy Efficiency ............................................................................ 22

Carbon Intensity............................................................................................ 24

Carbon Transparency .................................................................................... 26

Cleantech Investments ................................................................................. 28

Clean-Energy Patents.................................................................................... 30

Corporate Reporting..................................................................................... 32

Employee Commuting.................................................................................. 34

Employee Telecommuting ............................................................................ 36

Energy Efficiency........................................................................................... 38

E-Waste......................................................................................................... 40

Financial Impacts............................................................................................ 42

Fleet Impacts.................................................................................................. 44

Green Jobs..................................................................................................... 46

Green Office Space ...................................................................................... 48

Green Power Use .......................................................................................... 50

Packaging Intensity ....................................................................................... 52

Paper Use and Recycling............................................................................... 54

Toxic Emissions ............................................................................................. 56

Toxics in Manufacturing.................................................................................. 58

Water Intensity................................................................................................ 60

Credits / About Greener World Media........................................................... 62

Take Overs - December 2008 to 4 February 2009

2009-02-04T09:44:00.000+02:00

Please see a summary of this month’s TakeOver Talk activity below. Additional information and search / sort facilities are available on our website (click on TakeOver Talk):

click on image to enlarge

Access to the South African Insitute of Race Relations

2009-02-04T09:07:00.004+02:00

The library recently acquired access to the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR).

This website is home to the largest and most comprehensive database tracking trends on South Africa. It provides a wide variety of statistical and other data on South Africa, ranging from education, health, social development and welfare to business, employment, the economy, and politics.

It really is a terrific website and well worth bookmarking it or subscribing to its RSS feed.

The Research and publications section covers the following:

South Africa Survey
The South Africa Survey has been published annually by the Institute since 1947. It is a 500-page statistical reference work on every area of the country’s socio-economic development. Made up of statistical tables and charts, the Survey tracks trends over time and offers forecasts where available. It also contains international comparisons and limited analysis.
Fast Facts Online
Fast Facts is a monthly bulletin providing analysis of key development and policy indicators. It is designed to be read quickly by busy people. Fast Facts also tracks 170 socio-economic indicators in each issue.
Resource Centre
The Institute's Resource Centre tracks and updates files on over 1200 political, social, and economic subject headings on a daily basis. It is the best and biggest current affairs library in South Africa. It also contains significant holdings of books, journals, historical documents, and biographical files. It provides an Information Service for Business and Corporate subscribers to send electronic requests for any available data on South Africa. Queries are answered within 24 hours.
South African Mirror
The South African Mirror is a state-of-the-nation style briefing presented annually by the Institute at venues around South Africa. Briefings are also available in-house for Corporate subscribers
Special research projects
The Institute operates a number of Special Research Projects which range from information services for public representatives to in-depth research on race relations, affirmative action, and other topical issues.
Outreach projects
The Institute is regularly consulted by the local and international media on all aspects of South African development. Literally hundreds of Articles and News Reports cite the Institute annually. This section contains selected references to the Institute from the media.
Annual Report
The Annual Report contains the activities and accounts of the Institute for any given year
Historical publications
The Institute has published widely on South Africa since 1929. A selection of these historical documents, reports, and papers will be uploaded to this section of the website from time to time.
Hoernlé Lectures
The Hoernlé memorial lecture honours Professor R F Alfred Hoernlé, and his wife, Agnes Winifred Hoernlé, both of whom, as presidents, shaped Institute thinking during the organisation's early existence.

Matric results from 2008

2009-02-04T09:01:00.002+02:00

The PMG released the National Senior Certificate 2008 Results from the DoE.

Summary:
The Department of Education briefed the Committee on its technical report on the national senior certificate results of 2008. The report looked at the examination cycle, the milestones reached, the National Curriculum Statement, National Senior Certificate requirements and the types of interventions that took place in 2008.

Of the 533 561 students that wrote the exam, 37.25% had failed or qualified for a supplementary exam. The national average pass rate was 62.5%.

Provinces that achieved below the national average were the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

Accounting, agricultural science, math and physical science were the lowest scoring subjects.

Results also showed that females fared better than males in most of the exams.

The National Achievement rate per quintile showed that the less resourced a school was, the poorer they performed. Quintile 1 schools, which were the poorest schools, only achieved an average pass rate of 50.10% while quintile 5 schools received an average pass rate of 84.94%. The Minister had initiated an investigation into the reasons why about 50 000 results were outstanding on the 30 December 2008.

Members were concerned that there were 200 000 learners who did not have a place in higher education due to their poor matric results. They were also concerned that so many students left school before their matric year.

The Committee noted that the math literacy results were higher than the physical science results. The Department would conduct an investigation on this.

A question was raised that there had been reports that the Mathematics paper had been below standard requirements. The Department stated that the paper had been approved by Umalusi and was not too easy. Another allegation was raised that examination markers had been told to inflate certain marks.

The Department assured the Committee that this allegation had proved to be groundless. The late submission of cumulative marks by schools was also discussed and the Department agreed that this had been very disappointing. The poor performance in certain subjects such as agricultural science would be investigated by the Department to find out where learners went wrong.

Those 24 schools that produced 0% matric results would no longer be allowed to offer Grade 11 and 12. The matter of certain “no fee” schools not receiving timely funding from the Department was also discussed.

Annual Report of Unemployment Insurance Fund & Annual Report of Compensation Fund

2009-02-04T08:55:00.002+02:00

The Parliamentary Monitoring Group released the Unemployment Insurance Fund Presentation on Annual Report as well as the Compensation Fund Presentation on Annual Report recently.

Summary:
The Commissioner of the Unemployment Insurance Fund outlined its financial performance and a summary of financial achievements. Gains in operations performance were presented and the decentralisation of functions was highlighted as one of the UIF's most important goals. An increase in the total benefit payment was noted. He reported on social security reforms, stakeholder engagements, people management and corporate governance.

The matters highlighted in the Auditor-General’s audit report were discussed and the progress made in this financial year as well.The members expressed concerned about the insufficiernt numbers of taxi drivers and domestic workers registered with the Fund. Concerning UIF benefits for new mothers, the role of agencies was queried. Clarity was sought on the vacancy rate, if the labour force training the UIF was considering introducing was relevant to the South African labour market and if its own staff training produced results.

The UIF was asked how they determined increases and decreases in unemployment and if their surplus could be used to increase unemployment payments. The UIF was asked if the decrease in operational expenditure was a reflection of increased efficiency. The lack of maintenance of rented buildings was raised as a concern as was the accessibility of their services to seasonal workers. The UIF was also complimented on taking their services to the people in cases of recent large-scale retrenchments.

The Compensation Fund provided a background to the state of affairs in the Fund. They reported on the critical challenges faced by the Fund, including a diminished management structure, disciplinary action against managers and the process of constructing a new organisation under way. It was emphasised that there was a plan to get reach their objectives and that Parliament should hold them to that plan.The members appreciated the open approach of the Compensation Fund on the problems they faced. They queried the extent to which the Fund would consider tenders for outside companies to do work on their behalf. The delegation was asked about the accidents in the construction sector with a view to 2010.

The R400 million in unpaid claims was noted as a matter of particular importance. The members asked how they maintained staff morale and queried the reasons for the dismissals and the incidence of fraud in their disciplinary action cases. The members suggested that the Fund tender for a better IT system and highlighted the problem of employees working in an acting capacity, accompanied by the delays in appointing new staff. Other questions concerned the capabilities of the Fund’s employees to cultivate service delivery, the inclusion of foreign workers for compensation and the plans to employ a service provider and how this would affect the construction plans related to the 2010 deadlines.

IMF updates

2009-02-04T08:42:00.002+02:00

Working Papers

Working Paper No. 09/6: Regional Financial Interlinkages and Financial Contagion Within Europe
Author/Editor: Arvai, Zsofia ; Driessen, Karl ; Otker-Robe, Inci

Summary: This paper focuses on financial interlinkages within Europe and potential contagion channeled through these interlinkages. It discusses the increased role of external financing as a source of funding for credit growth; analyzes potential channels of contagion through financial linkages; and assesses the magnitude of cross-border exposures between emerging and western European countries. Based on the stylized facts on these exposures, the paper provides simple indices of exposure to regional contagion that could help identify the likely pressure points and capture potential spillover effects and propagation channels of a regional shock originating from a given country.

Working Paper No. 09/9: Distress in European Banks: An Analysis Based on a New Dataset
Author/Editor: Poghosyan, Tigran; Cihák, Martin

Summary: The global financial crisis has highlighted the importance of early identification of weak banks: when problems are identified late, solutions are much more costly. Until recently, Europe has seen only a small number of outright bank failures, which made the estimation of early warning models for bank supervision very difficult. This paper presents a unique database of individual bank distress across the European Union from mid-1990s to 2008. Using this data set, we analyze the causes of banking distress in Europe. We identify a set of indicators and thresholds that can help to distinguish sound banks from those vulnerable to financial distress.

Working Paper No. 09/7: Australia and New Zealand Exchange Rates: A Quantitative Assessment
Author/Editor: Edison, Hali J.; Vitek, Francis

Summary: The paper describes three empirical models commonly used to conduct exchange rate assessments and applies them to data for Australia and New Zealand. The baseline results using data and mediumterm projections available as of October 2008, suggest that the Australian and New Zealand dollars were broadly in line with fundamentals, but with a wide variation across models. A battery of sensitivity tests illustrate that altering the underlying assumptions can yield substantially different assessments. The results are particularly sensitive to the choice of assessment horizon, the set of economies included in the sample, medium-term forecasts, and the exchange rate reference period.

Working Paper No. 09/8: The Role for Counter-Cyclical Fiscal Policy in Singapore
Author/Editor: Eskesen, Leif Lybecker

Summary: Singapore's policymakers have often used fiscal policy as a counter-cyclical tool. Empirical results based on a structural autoregression framework suggest that fiscal policy can be used for demand management, although the impact may be somewhat short lived. The short-lived impact could reflect a number of factors, including the absence of credit-constrained economic agents, a high propensity to save among households, monetary focus on price stability, and leakages due to economic openness. Notwithstanding, fiscal policy should still play a key stabilizing role in the current downturn given the downside risks to growth and the vast fiscal space.

Working Paper No. 09/10: Benford's Law and Macroeconomic Data Quality
Author/Editor: Gonzalez-Garcia, Jesus; Pastor, Gonzalo C.

Summary: This paper examines the usefulness of testing the conformity of macroeconomic data with Benford's law as indicator of data quality. Most of the macroeconomic data series tested conform with Benford's law. However, questions emerge on the reliability of such tests as indicators of data quality once conformity with Benford's law is contrasted with the data quality ratings included in the data module of the Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (data ROSCs). Furthermore, the analysis shows that rejection of Benford's law may be unrelated to the quality of statistics, and instead may result from marked structural shifts in the data series. Hence, nonconformity with Benford's law should not be interpreted as a reliable indication of poor quality in macroeconomic data.

Working Paper No. 09/11: How Can Burundi Raise Its Growth Rate?The Impact of Civil Conflicts and State Intervention on Burundi's Growth Performance
Author/Editor: Basdevant, Olivier

Summary: Over the last thirty years Burundi's low economic growth has led to a significant decline in per capita GDP. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on supply-side constraints that prevented Burundi's economy from growing faster. Lack of investment, civil conflict, economic inefficiencies, state intervention in the economy, and regulatory restrictions explain a large part of the weak growth performance for the last thirty years.

* Working Paper No. 09/12: The International Diversification Puzzle when Goods Prices are Sticky: It's Really about Exchange-Rate Hedging, not Equity Portfolios
Author/Editor: Engel, Charles; Matsumoto, Akito

Summary: This paper develops a two-country monetary DSGE model in which households choose a portfolio of home and foreign equities, and a forward position in foreign exchange. Some nominal goods prices are sticky. Trade in these assets achieves the same allocations as trade in a complete set of nominal state-contingent claims in our linearized model. When there is a high degree of price stickiness, we show that not much equity diversification is required to replicate the complete-markets equilibrium when agents are able to hedge foreign exchange risk sufficiently. Moreover, temporarily sticky nominal goods prices can have large effects on equity portfolios even when dividend processes are very persistent.

Working Paper No. 09/13: Why Do Central Banks Go Weak?
Author/Editor: Ize, Alain; Oulidi, Nada

Summary: Determinants of central banks' profitability are studied using a statistical analysis of their balance sheets, country characteristics, and the macroeconomic and institutional environments in which they operate. Central banks at both tails of the distribution of profits generally operate in poorer countries with more troubled macroeconomic and institutional environments. For these central banks, profitability is strongly influenced by fiscal dominance and, to a lesser extent, by how actively central banks used their balance sheet for monetary policy purposes.

Working Paper No. 09/14: Bank Efficiency in Sub-Saharan African Middle Income Countries
Author/Editor: Chen, Chuling

Summary: We use bank level data to study the efficiency of banks in Sub-Saharan African middle-income countries and provide possible explanations for the difference in the efficiency levels of banks. We find that banks, on average, could save 20-30 percent of their total costs if they were operating efficiently, and that foreign banks are more efficient than public banks and domestic private banks. Among the factors that could affect the efficiency levels are macroeconomic stability, depth of financial development, the degree of market competition, strong legal rights and contract laws, and better governance, including political stability and government effectiveness. Our findings point to the importance of policies that aim to build stronger institutions, promote more competition, and improve governance.

Working Paper No. 09/15: The Determinants of Commercial Bank Profitability in Sub-Saharan Africa
Author/Editor: Flamini, Valentina; McDonald, Calvin A.; Schumacher, Liliana

Summary: Bank profits are high in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) compared to other regions. This paper uses a sample of 389 banks in 41 SSA countries to study the determinants of bank profitability. We find that apart from credit risk, higher returns on assets are associated with larger bank size, activity diversification, and private ownership. Bank returns are affected by macroeconomic variables, suggesting that macroeconomic policies that promote low inflation and stable output growth does boost credit expansion. The results also indicate moderate persistence in profitability. Causation in the Granger sense from returns on assets to capital occurs with a considerable lag, implying that high returns are not immediately retained in the form of equity increases. Thus, the paper gives some support to a policy of imposing higher capital requirements in the region in order to strengthen financial stability.

Working Paper No. 09/18: On Impatience and Policy Effectiveness
Author/Editor: Bayoumi, Tamim; Sgherri, Silvia

Summary: An increasing body of evidence suggests that the behavior of the economy has changed in many fundamental ways over the last decades. In particular, greater financial deregulation, larger wealth accumulation, and better policies might have helped lower uncertainty about future income and lengthen private sectors' planning horizon. In an overlapping-generations model, in which individuals discount the future more rapidly than implied by the market rate of interest, we find indeed evidence of a falling degree of impatience, providing empirical support for this hypothesis. The degree of persistence of "windfall" shocks to disposable income also appears to have varied over time. Shifts of this kind are shown to have a key impact on the average marginal propensity to consume and on the size of policy multipliers.

Working Paper No. 09/17: Does Global Liquidity Matter for Monetary Policy in the Euro Area?
Author/Editor: Berger, Helge; Harjes, Thomas

Summary: Global excess liquidity is sometimes believed to limit sovereign monetary policy even in large economies, including the euro area. There is much discussion about what constitutes global excess liquidity and our approach adjusts liquidity for longer-term interest rate and output effects. We find that especially excess liquidity in the U.S. leads developments in euro area liquidity. U.S. excess liquidity also enters consistently positive as a determinant of euro area inflation. There is some evidence that this result may be related to a weakening of the effectiveness of monetary policy in the euro area during times of excessive U.S. liquidity.

Working Paper No. 09/19: An Index Number Formula Problem: The Aggregation of Broadly Comparable Items
Author/Editor: Silver, Mick

Summary: Index number theory informs us that if data on matched prices and quantities are available, a superlative index number formula is best to aggregate heterogeneous items, and a unit value index to aggregate homogeneous ones. The formulas can give very different results. Neglected is the practical case of broadly comparable items. This paper provides a formal analysis as to why such formulas differ and proposes a solution to this index number problem.

Working Paper No. 09/21: Causes, Benefits, and Risks of Business Tax Incentives
Author/Editor: Klemm, Alexander

Summary: This paper provides an updated overview of tax incentives for business investment. It begins by noting that tax competition is likely to be a major force driving countries' tax reforms, and discusses tax incentives as a possible response to this. This is complemented by other arguments for and against tax incentives, and by an illustrative analysis of different incentives using effective tax rates. Findings from the empirical literature on tax incentives are also presented. Based on the overview of theoretical and empirical findings, the paper then suggests a matrix of criteria to determine the usefulness of different tax incentives depending on a country's circumstances.

Working Paper No. 09/20: Capital Inflows and the Real Exchange Rate: Can Financial Development Cure the DutchDisease?
Author/Editor: Saborowski, Christian

Summary: This paper argues that, in improving the efficient allocation of resources, financial sector development could dampen the appreciation effect of capital inflows. Using dynamic panel data techniques, the paper finds that the exchange rate appreciation effect of FDI inflows is indeed attenuated when financial and capital markets are larger and more active. The main implication of these results is that one of the main dangers associated with large capital inflows in emerging markets-the destabilization of macroeconomic management due to a sizeable appreciation of the real exchange rate-can be mitigated partly by developing a deep financial sector.

Surveys

Global Slowdown Damages Progress in Low-Income Countries
Low-income countries, already weakened by high food and energy prices, are likely to be hit hard by effects of the financial crisis in advanced economies and the global recession, says a panel at an IMF-World Bank meeting with labor unions.

Germany Faces Extended Downturn Despite Stimulus
A combination of slowing demand for German exports because of the global recession, continued caution among German consumers, and a sharp drop in investment will result in a dramatic contraction in Europe's largest economy in 2009, according to an IMF analysis.

Don't Forget the Role Automatic Stabilizers Can Play
When recession hits a market economy, trends such as lower tax takes and higher unemployment benefit payouts effectively ease fiscal policy. These "automatic stabilizers" have a prominent role in European economies, writes Horst Siebert of the Kiel Institut.

Are 'Temporary' Fiscal Boost Measures Really Reversible?
Fiscal measures to stimulate sluggish economies should be reversible, the IMF recommends, and governments should precommit to unwinding once economies recover. But the bulk of Europe's public expenditures are entitlements and for political reasons they are not reversible, writes Jean-Pierre Dumas.

Country Reports

Qatar: 2008 Article IV Consultation - Staff Report; Staff Statement; and Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion;

Barbados: Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes - FATF Recommendations for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism

Republic of Armenia: 2008 Article IV Consultation and Request for a Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility - Staff Report; Staff Supplement; Staff Statement; Public Information Notice and Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Republic of Armenia.

Bolivia: 2008 Article IV Consultation - Staff Report; Staff Supplement; Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Bolivia

Greece: Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes - FATF Recommendations for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism

Republic of Belarus: Financial System Stability Assessment - Update, including Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes on Banking Supervision

Qatar: Statistical Appendix

Côte d'Ivoire: Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative - Preliminary Document

Malawi: Request for a One-Year Exogenous Shocks Facility Arrangement - Staf fReport; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by theExecutive Director for Malawi

Germany: 2008 Article IV Consultation - Staff Report; Staff Supplement; Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Germany

Ukraine - Stand-By Arrangement - Review Under the Emergency Financing Mechanism

Kenya: Third Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility Arrangement and Request for Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria - Staff Report; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Kenya

Republic of Serbia: Request for Stand-By Arrangement - Staff Report; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Republic of Serbia
Hungary - Stand-By Arrangement - Interim Review Under the Emergency Financing Mechanism

Call for papers for ERSA Workshop on Financial Instability

2009-02-04T07:22:00.002+02:00

ERSA Workshop
Financial Instability: an Emerging Market Perspective
26 & 27 March 2009

ERSA in collaboration with the Wits Business School is pleased to announce a 1.5 day workshop on ‘Financial Instability: an Emerging Market Perspectives’ to take place at The Spier Hotel, Stellenbosch on 26 and 27 March 2009. The workshop will serve as a forum to discuss the implications of current international financial instability on emerging market economies and to present ongoing research on the issue. The programme will include the presentation of 8-10 academic papers, a policy panel discussion and a special session with Professor Barry Eichengreen of the University of Berkley

ERSA in collaboration with the Wits Business School is pleased to announce a 1.5
day workshop on ‘Financial Instability: an Emerging Market Perspectives’ to take
place at The Spier Hotel, Stellenbosch.

The workshop will serve as a forum to discuss the implications of current
international financial instability on emerging market economies and to present
ongoing research on the issue. The programme will include the presentation of 8-
10 academic papers, a policy panel discussion and a special session with
Professor Barry Eichengreen of the University of Berkley.

The organizers are looking for both theoretical and empirical studies and would
welcome any work in progress that present interesting preliminary results on the
issue.
Submission:
Please submit papers or extended abstracts (2-3 pages) as pdf-file together with
full contact details by 13 February 2009 to: Tania Jacobs

University World News fom West

2009-02-03T14:31:00.004+02:00

FRANCE: Academics strike over job status
Jane Marshall
Universities throughout France are set to close tomorrow, Monday 2 February, with lecturers starting an unlimited strike unless the government withdraws proposals to change their statute of employment. President Nicolas Sarkozy enraged researchers further by describing the national system of research as "disastrous".

CANADA: $2 billion puts new coat of paint on universities
Philip Fine
Canadian universities and their aging infrastructure have received a promised injection of C$2 billion (US$1.65 billion), part of a five-year $85 billion stimulus package announced by the federal government last week. Universities in Canada are not alone in calling for more government spending to improve their buildings and facilities; their counterparts elsewhere have made the same demand, asking their governments to spend their way out of the economic crisis, most notably in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

UK: Lessons from the Antipodes
Diane Spencer
Britain should emulate Australia by adopting a coordinated approach to international education says a new report by million, a think-tank set up by 28 universities that are mostly former polytechnics. Pam Tatlow, the organisation's chief executive, said that compared with Australia the UK still lacked a comprehensive approach to international higher education.

GREECE: Government seeks consensus on education
Makki Marseilles
Unlike his predecessor, Greece's new Education Secretary Aris Spiliotopoulos appears extremely conciliatory and is striving to give the impression a real change of policy has been brought about in his ministry after a government reshuffle. Spiliotopoulos has indicated he is even prepared to make significant concessions during a forthcoming dialogue on education.

FINLAND: Bridging the gender divide?
Ian R Dobson*
Finland's university sector is preparing for its biggest shake up in decades, including a number of university mergers that could alter the gender divide. A merger between Helsinki University of Technology (HUT), Helsinki School of Economics and the University of Art and Design is to be Finland's tilt at establishing a 'world class university'. The new institution will receive more state funding than other Finnish universities and have a different governance structure.

GERMANY: Science boost for development
Michael Gardner
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has launched two new programmes focusing on development cooperation. Universities identified as having the best concepts to address problems in developing countries will receive special funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. And, via the Foreign Office's Aktion Afrika programme, Centres of excellence for teaching and research are being established to train future leaders in Sub-Saharan Africa.

UK: New funds for sector
Diane Spencer
Universities and colleges in England have been invited to participate in a £50 million ($71 million) scheme to help individuals and businesses through the recession. The Higher Education Funding Council for England launched the Economic Challenge Investment Fund (ECIF) to enable the sector to respond rapidly to the needs of employers and individuals during the economic downturn.

Professor Accused of Genocide
Goucher suspends faculty member in French who is being sought by Interpol for charges that he was directly involved in the 1994 massacres in Rwanda -- charges that some experts doubt.

Managing Aid, and Rethinking How Families Pay
Many worry about the financial crisis's effect on private college enrollments, and the demand for aid. At meeting of Catholic colleges, advice on bracing for this fall, and beyond.

It's Culture, Not Morality
What if academics have been fighting the wrong war against plagiarism? What if it's not even a war? In new book, anthropologist doesn't argue for you to drop standards, but she challenges longstanding strategies.

Using Foucault to Deconstruct Rankings
Law school officials reveal to sociologists how U.S. News influences their decision making -- not necessarily for the better.

New Initiatives for Disabled Vets
Rochester Institute of Technology announces program for those with hearing loss, while Michigan State starts new financial aid program for disabled veterans.

Funding for universities and colleges in 2009-10
Thursday, January 29, 2009, 11:50:00 AM
HEFCE has set out a summary of the Board's decisions relating to the recent grant letter from the Secretary of State.

HEFCE welcomes new campaign to promote science
HEFCE is supporting a new government campaign launched today to highlight the vital role science plays in the wellbeing and prosperity of Britain.

Universities to respond rapidly to recession
The new Economic Challenge Investment Fund will enable higher education to respond quickly to the fallout from the economic downturn.

Progress in reducing accountability burden on universities
The costs of accountability for universities and colleges have continued to fall according to a report published today.

Grant announcement for higher education 2009-10
The Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills has set out the funding for higher education in 2009-10 in the annual grant letter to HEFCE.

Well, what do you know?
As the academy looks beyond the traditional roles played in assessment by essays and timed exams, new techniques are helping to turn students into active partners in their own learning. Rebecca Attwood reports

Pulling all the bits together
Academic computing has come a long way from the first lumbering leviathans. Now, says John Gilbey, we need to work on making everything accessible everywhere, every time

IAS Latest News

2009-02-03T14:16:00.002+02:00

IASB and FASB announce membership of Financial Crisis Advisory Group
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today announced the membership of the Financial Crisis Advisory Group (FCAG). The FCAG is the high-level advisory group set up by the boards to consider financial reporting issues arising from the global financial crisis.

Web presentation introducing the exposure draft on Consolidation
Alan Teixeira, Director of Technical Activities, along with Patrina Buchanan and Michael Buschhueter, Project Managers, will be introducing the exposure draft on Consolidation in a live Web presentation on 8 January 2009, followed by a question and answer session.

Postponed - Live web presentation introducing the Discussion Paper on Revenue Recognition
Due to unforeseeable circumstances the web presentation introducing the Discussion Paper on Revenue Recognition had to be postponed. The two web presentations on 3 February 2009 have been cancelled and will now take place on 10 February 2009 at 9am and 3pm London time.

If you have already registered for the web presentation on 3 February 2009 either at 9am or 3pm London time, you do not need to register again. You have automatically been registered for the respective presentation on 10 February. To access the presentation on the 10 of February you can use the link that was sent to you in the email confirming your registration. You will also receive an email reminder on the day of the presentation.
If you have not previously registered but now want to participate you will need to register.

10 February 2009 at 9am (GMT, London time)
Web registration - Register here
If you want to listen to the presentation over the telephone - Register here
10 February 2009 at 3pm (GMT, London time)
Web registration - Register here
If you want to listen to the presentation over the telephone - Register here

IASB proposes amendments to IFRIC Interpretations
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published today for public comment proposals to amend IFRIC 9 Reassessment of Embedded Derivatives and IFRIC 16 Hedges of a Net Investment in a Foreign Operation.

Trustees enhance public accountability through new Monitoring Board, complete first part of Constitution Review
The Trustees of the IASC Foundation, the oversight body of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), today announced important amendments to the organisation’s Constitution, as well as a summary of other agreements reached at the Trustees’ meeting in New Delhi, India, on 15 and 16 January 2009.

IASB proposes amendments to clarify the accounting for embedded derivatives
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) today published for public comment proposals to clarify the accounting treatment for embedded derivatives.

IASB January 2009
We are pleased to announce that IASB Update for January is now available:

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

2009-02-03T14:11:00.001+02:00

Personal Income and Outlays: December 2008
Personal income decreased $25.3 billion, or 0.2 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) decreased $25.1 billion, or 0.2 percent, in December, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Personal consumption expenditures (PCE) decreased $102.4 billion, or 1.0 percent. In November, personal income decreased $44.0 billion, or 0.4 percent, DPI decreased $33.9 billion, or 0.3 percent, and PCE decreased $77.8 billion, or 0.8 percent, based on revised estimates.

Gross Domestic Product: Fourth Quarter 2008 (Advance)
Real gross domestic product -- the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States -- decreased at an annual rate of 3.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, (that is, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter), according to advance estimates released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the third quarter, real GDP decreased 0.5 percent.

New OECD releases

2009-02-03T12:53:00.004+02:00

REALISING SOUTH AFRICA'S EMPLOYMENT POTENTIAL
ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT WORKING PAPER No. 662
By Geoff Barnard

Unemployment in South Africa is extremely high and unevenly distributed, being concentrated among young less skilled blacks. The legacies of apartheid can explain part of the increase in labour supply and inability of the economy to absorb it which produced the extreme levels of unemployment, but more could have been done to unwind those legacies and other policies and institutions have contributed to the dysfunction of the labour market.

This Working Paper relates to the 2008 OECD Economic Assessment of South Africa

Making the most of Norwegian schools

ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT WORKING PAPER No. 661
By Romina Boarini

Traditionally, the Norwegian compulsory education system has focused strongly on the linked goals of equal opportunities to learn, comprehensive and inclusive education. While some of these objectives have been met successfully, a number of educational outcomes, notably measures of pupil performance at the end of compulsory schooling, are unsatisfactory.

New Releases from African Development Bank

2009-02-03T12:43:00.005+02:00

Zoellick Calls for ‘Vulnerability Fund’ Ahead of Davos Forum

World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick has a message for the world as heads of state, CEOs, policy-makers and economists gather in Davos, Switzerland, for perhaps the gloomiest World Economic Forum in the meeting’s 39-year history. Don’t leave developing countries “out in the cold.” Zoellick wants developed countries to dedicate 0.7 percent of their economic stimulus packages to a “Vulnerability Fund” for developing countries suffering in the global downturn.
Such a fund could speed resources to existing World Bank, United Nations and regional development bank safety-net programs that give the poor access to health, education and nutrition services; build infrastructure such as roads, bridges and low-carbon technology projects; and support small and medium-size businesses and microfinance institutions that lend to the poor, says Zoellick.

World Bank to Launch Development Marketplace for the African Diaspora in North America (DMADA)

The Africa Region of the World Bank on February 27, 2009 will launch the “Development Marketplace for the African Diaspora in North America” (DMADA), as part of its ongoing “Mobilizing the African Diaspora for Development” initiative.
DMADA will be implemented with the support of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and will seek proposals from members of the African Diaspora living in the United States and Canada, who wish to implement projects related to Youth and Employment in Sub-Saharan Africa countries.

Mauritius - Economic Transition TA

The following project was approved today by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors:

IBRD Loan: US$18 million
TERMS: Maturity = 15 years; Grace= 5 years
Project Description: The project will strengthen the investment climate of Mauritius and advance public enterprise reform in order to encourage supply-side investment.

For project documents, please click here.

Burundi Reaches Decision Point under the Enhanced HIPC Debt Relief Initiative

The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have agreed that Burundi has made sufficient progress and taken the necessary steps to reach its completion point under the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Because of this agreement, Burundi becomes the 24th country to reach the completion point under the Initiative.

Debt relief under the Enhanced HIPC Initiative from all of Burundi’s creditors has been revised upward to US$832 million in net present value (NPV) terms[i] from US$825 million estimated at the time of the decision point document. HIPC debt relief committed by IDA and the IMF amounts to US$425 million and SDR 19 million (US$27 million) in NPV terms, respectively.

In reaching the HIPC completion point, Burundi also becomes eligible for further debt relief from the IMF, IDA, and the African Development Fund (AfDF) under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). MDRI relief net of HIPC assistance would lead to a nominal[ii] reduction of debt owed to IDA and the IMF by US$90 million and SDR 9 million (US$13 million) respectively.

New Project to Strengthen HIV/AIDS Prevention Efforts in Botswana

Botswana’s efforts in combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic received a welcome boost, thanks to an innovative US$50 million project that includes a “buy-down” design being implemented for the first time in Africa.

Botswana, one of the countries in the region most afflicted by HIV/AIDS, is facing an uphill challenge in combating the epidemic. An estimated 283,000 Botswana adults, many in their prime are suffering from the debilitating disease. The national adult prevalence rate is nearly 24 percent.

“The Government of Botswana is committed to intensifying the battle against HIV/AIDS,” said Hon. Baledzi Gaolathe, Botswana’s Minister of Finance and Development Planning, at a project signing ceremony held in Gaborone today. “The funds will help us to increase the coverage, efficiency and sustainability of our interventions.”

Mapping decline and recovery across sectors

2009-01-28T08:59:00.003+02:00

Different sectors enter and emerge from downturns at different times. A look at past recessions suggests how some industries may fare.
Bin Jiang, Timothy M. Koller, and Zane D. Williams

In an ideal world, every company would enter a recession led by a team of grizzled executives who could draw on their experiences of past downturns to guide it through the current one. Many companies don’t, however, and even for those that do, it can be difficult to rise above the crisis to ponder the lessons of history. Yet in a recession, developing accurate strategic plans is usually a high-stakes effort. False assumptions about the pace, scale, and timing of growth may slow progress in good times but could be fatal now.

Read More

Business ethics and OECD principles

2009-01-28T08:54:00.001+02:00

What can be done to avoid another crisis?
The global economic crisis was partly caused by a failure of business ethics. In response, the OECD is developing a framework to help countries enhance transparency in areas like finance, competition, corporate governance, taxation and pensions, building on instruments such as its Principles of Corporate Governance and Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

IASB & FASB propose joint approach for revenue recognition

2009-01-28T08:49:00.002+02:00

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) published for public comment a discussion paper setting out a joint approach for the recognition of revenue.

Revenue is an important number to users of financial statements in assessing a company’s performance and prospects. However, revenue recognition requirements in US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) differ from those in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and both are considered in need of improvement. The requirements in US GAAP comprise numerous standards—many are industry‑specific and some can produce conflicting results for economically similar transactions. Although IFRSs contain fewer standards on revenue recognition, its two main standards have different principles and can be difficult to understand and apply beyond simple transactions.

The discussion paper is open for comment until 19 June 2009.

Preliminary Views on Revenue Recognition in Contracts with Customers is available on the ‘Open for Comment’ section on http://www.iasb.org/from today

New releases from the OECD

2009-01-26T11:26:00.000+02:00

Financial crises: Past lessons and policy implications
This overview paper examines the financial crisis in light of past country experience and economic theory and draws preliminary policy recommendations. A number of facets of the crisis are detailed, including its origins and spreading factors as well as crisis resolution polices and their associated gross and net fiscal costs.

The challenge of the financial crisis and faith in multilateralism
The crisis has shown the vulnerability of a global economy based on the idea that ever increasing production and consumption were the key to success, says OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría. But this crisis is “a big opportunity for change, a colossal opportunity to bring about a greener economic growth and a more inclusive and reliable globalisation.”

University news from Africa

2009-01-26T11:16:00.005+02:00

EGYPT: Corpse shortage affects medical students
Ashraf Khaled
When he applied to attend the medical school of Cairo University, Egypt's biggest public institution, Ahmed Masoud never dreamed he and fellow students with limited economic resources would face the problem of a shortage of corpses for autopsy training. "This badly affects our medical skills," says Masoud. "And, with examinations nearing, we are left with two options: either to buy corpses ourselves or attend private tuition classes in anatomy. Most of us cannot afford either."

ZIMBABWE: Universities demand US dollars
Clemence Manyukwe
Universities and their lecturers are demanding payment in foreign currency, with the institutions charging dollar tuition fees of US$700 and $1,500 per semester, as inflation in the crisis-torn southern African country plays havoc with the local currency and the education and health sectors collapse. Students are not sure whether they will get their results after lecturers declined to mark examination scripts, citing poor salaries and working conditions.

NIGERIA: Government in court over ruling councils
Tunde Fatunde
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, the ASUU, has dragged the N igerian government before the Federal High Court, challenging as illegal President Shehu Musa Yar'Adua's failure to reconstitute the governing councils of federal universities. All councils were dissolved in 2007 and the lack of the decision-making bodies has hampered university operations. The court action has jolted the presidency which claims to champion the rule of law.

UGANDA: Students protest 'discriminatory' fees
Kayiira Kizito
Late last year, Kenyan students enrolled at Makerere University, Uganda's most famous institution, protested against 'discriminatory' foreign student fees and other charges. As with many other universities around the world, Makerere charges differential rates for domestic and international students with those from East Africa pay around 1.5 times the local rate.

TUNISIA: Conference discusses Averroès project
Mobility of university students and teachers, and joint studies and diplomas, were on the agenda at the University of Sousse during a three-day conference to discuss the Euro-Mediterranean Averroès programme, reported La Presse of Tunisia

SENEGAL: Alumni demand dismissal of UCAD rector
The alumni association of the Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD) of Dakar, Senegal's biggest university, last week demanded the immediate departure of rector Abdou Salam Sall, claiming he was the "principal obstacle to a calm academic year". If he did not leave, they said, they would "paralyse the university".

CAMEROON: Forgers of Slovakia university papers bust
A network of forgers who extorted large sums of money from parents hoping to enrol their children as students in Slovakia has been uncovered in Yaoundé and Douala, say newspaper reports.

MALAWI: Plans for a Muslim university
Malawi's former President, Bakili Muluzi, is planning to open a Muslim university. The institution will join other church-run universities - the Catholic University and Livingstone University (which is run by the Presbyterian Church) - to outnumber Malawi's two public institutions, the University of Malawi and Mzuzu University.

ZAMBIA: University to charge 'economic' fees
The University of Zambia will begin charging 'economic' fees this year after submitting proposals to the government. Vice-chancellor Professor Steven Simukanga said that although the government wanted affordable student fees, this was not possible because government grants were inadequate said.

University News from the West

2009-01-26T10:50:00.002+02:00

GLOBAL: Ban sex between lecturers and students?
Paul Rigg
When Professor Istvan Pogany, 57, began a consensual relationship with one of his students at Britain's University of Warwick, he did what many would consider 'good practice' and informed his line manager. But the student, who is in her 30s, then fell pregnant and her subsequent anguished decision to have an abortion led to lurid headlines that raised the question again whether intimate relationships between academics and students should be more strongly discouraged, or even prohibited.

US-INDIA: Boosting private-public partnerships
Geoff Maslen
A high-powered taskforce set up by the US Asia Society to expand interactions between India and the new Obama administration has called for the creation of education partnerships between the two nations to cope with India's burgeoning higher education and secondary school populations. In a new report*, the taskforce says the training requirements for India's large population exceed current capacity, "a challenge uniquely suited for linkages with US institutions".

INDONESIA: Students swindled and stranded
David Jardine
A scandal involving 49 Indonesian students who sought places in Egypt's prestigious Al-Azhar University has been revealed. Instead of enrolling in the Cairo university, the students ended up in Malaysia where 15 were discovered doing odd jobs to support themselves.

BANGLADESH: Private universities meet demand
Mahdin Mahboob
The system of private universities is a relatively new concept in Bangladesh. Because of the ever-growing demand for education at the university level, and the fact that existing public universities could not meet the need, the government passed a Private Universities Act in 1992. Starting with a handful, the number of private universities has grown rapidly and stands at 54 to date, compared with 21 public universities.

UK: Reskilling and upskilling
Diane Spencer
The higher education sector should play a greater part in the government's agenda of improving skills of the workforce, says a new report* by a parliamentary select committee. MPs looked at the review of leading businessman Lord Leitch, published in 2006, which was based on depressing statistics revealing the level of skills among the UK working population.

GLOBAL: New African research resource
A new online search portal called the HERANA Gateway provides access to the latest research on African higher education. Using Google technology, the Gateway returns focused search results from more than 15 sites worldwide - including University World News and the Centre for Higher Education Transformation in South Africa - making it one of the most specialised resources of its kind.

PHILIPPINES: Trikes spread telecommunications
Five young Filipino graduates are building the country's first self-contained and wireless-enabled mobile telecentres using the national mode of transport - the three-wheeled motorcycle called a Trike.

FRANCE: Inter-university information service
Jane Marshall
Nearly 150 librarians from 14 Parisian university libraries have banded together to open Rue des facs, an online documentary information service for students and academics. They can send in questions - in French - and should receive a reply by email within three days.

Here Comes the Flood
How to handle the constant pileup of scholarly publications? Scott McLemee takes a look at two alternatives.

Half Empty or Half Full
New report attempts to gather key data on women in higher education -- students, faculty, administrators -- and to analyze key issues. In just about every category, study finds progress and disappointments.

Assessing Assessment
New center with backing from key education groups will compile data and case studies on evaluation of student learning. And new coalition plans to speak on higher ed's response to demands for accountability.

'I Am Less Patient and Dress Better'
Research project outlines the changes -- positive and negative -- experienced by faculty members who become administrators.

The language of competition
Continental business schools are spearheading the attempt to access the lucrative market for higher education in English. Matthew Reisz reports

Get wise to the product
'Knowledge for its own sake' is as narrowly utilitarian a remit for universities as the business-facing alternative, argues Gary Day

When it comes to the crunch...
The economic downturn is affecting most sectors in the UK, including higher education. But, writes Hannah Fearn, it is not necessarily all bad news

The support troops are getting flak
Social scientists deployed in war zones to engage with civilians and advise US military commanders are under fire from their peers, writes Jon Marcus

The queue's the thing
National Theatre-going regular Rivka Isaacson finds compelling drama in the early morning cast of characters waiting to buy day tickets

Happy to be here
Times Higher Education's annual Student Experience Survey highlights a host of institutions bent on making the university experience first rate in every way. Rebecca Attwood reports

Key Findings released

2009-01-23T10:45:00.000+02:00

P6343.2 - Motor trade sales, November 2008

Motor trade sales for the three months ended November 2008 decreased by 0,2% compared with the three months ended November 2007, while the corresponding growth for the same period in 2007 was 6,0%. This decrease was mainly the result of the general decrease in new vehicle sales (contributing -6,2 percentage points). However, the negative growth was counteracted by the positive growth experienced in the form of sales of fuel and sales of accessories (contributing 3,8 and 3,1 percentage points respectively).

P6141.2 - Wholesale trade sales, November 2008

Wholesale trade sales, at constant (2000) prices, for the three months ended November 2008 increased by 2,7% compared with the three months ended November 2007. The annual growth rate for the corresponding period in 2007 was 6,0%. Seasonally adjusted wholesale trade sales, at constant (2000) prices, for the three months ended November 2008 increased by 0,3% compared with the three months ended August 2008.

Africa World Bank releases

2009-01-23T09:53:00.002+02:00

Benin- Fifth Poverty Reduction Support Grant (PRSC-5)
WASHINGTON, January 22, 2009 - The following project was approved today by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors:

IDA Grant: US$30 million
Project Description: This grant aims to support implementation of Benin’s poverty reduction strategy. Specifically, it would support: (i) modernizing the regulatory framework and policy environment for private investment and infrastructure; (ii) increasing progress toward the MDGs by raising the quality, efficiency and access for basic social services; and (iii) promoting better governance through public financial management reforms.

Improving Access to Basic Services and Enhancing the Investment Climate in Benin
The World Bank Group Board of Executive Directors today approved the Fifth Poverty Reduction Support Grant for the Republic of Benin. The $30 million equivalent grant resources will support the implementation o f the Government’s reform agenda in the following areas: (i) improving the regulatory framework and policy environment for private investment and infrastructure; (ii) pursuing progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by improving access to basic services and ensuring greater efficiency o f public expenditures on human capital formation; and (iii) promoting better governance, notably through public financial management reforms.

Botswana-Botswana - Morupule B Generation and Transmission Project

World Bank appoints new Country Director for Kenya
The World Bank is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Johannes Zutt as Country Director for Kenya, Comoros, Eritrea, Rwanda, Seychelles and Somalia.
Mr. Zutt, a Dutch national, joined the World Bank in August 2000, where he has held various positions in the Africa department, the East Asia department, the office of the Managing Director, and most recently the Integrity department. Mr. Zutt has wide-ranging experience in Africa, having served as the country program coordinator for Angola, Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. He has also been the Bank’s country program coordinator for China and Mongolia.
Prior to joining the World Bank, Mr. Zutt was involved in program planning, monitoring and evaluation in various countries in eastern and southern Africa. He has also served as a lecturer at the University of Nairobi. He holds a law degree from Harvard University and a doctoral degree from Oxford University.
Mr. Zutt’s top priority in the countries under his responsibility will be to strengthen the Bank’s cooperation, with a view to accelerating and sustaining poverty reduction.
His appointment became effective on January 12th, 2009, and he will be based in Nairobi.
Mr. Zutt replaces Mr. Colin Bruce, who served as Country Director until June 2008.

What your clasroom will look like in future

2009-01-23T09:22:00.006+02:00

The 2009 Horizon Report describes the continuing work of the NMC’s Horizon Project, a long-running qualitative research project that seeks to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, research, or creative expression within Higher Education.

You can also view the reports for 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004 if you'd like to check how accurate their predictions were.

So expect more of the following in your classrooms in the next:

One year or less:

Mobiles

Mobiles are already in use as tools for education on many campuses. New interfaces, the ability to connect to wifi and GPS in addition to a variety of cellular networks, and the availability of third-party applications have created a device with nearly infinite possibilities for education, networking, and personal productivity on the go; almost every student carries a mobile device, making it a natural choice for content delivery and even field work and data capture.

Cloud Computing

The emergence of cloud-based applications is causing a shift in the way we think about how we use software and store our files.
Educational institutions are beginning to take advantage of ready-made applications hosted on a dynamic, ever-expanding cloud that enable end users to perform tasks that have traditionally required site licensing, installation, and maintenance of individual software packages. Email, word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, collaboration, media editing, and more can all be done inside a web browser, while the software and files are housed in the cloud.

Already, cloud-based applications are being used in the K-12 sector to provide virtual computers to students and staff without requiring each person to own the latest laptop or desktop machine; a handful of basic machines, provided they can access the Internet and support a web browser, are all that is needed for access to virtually unlimited data storage and programs of all kinds.

Two to Three years:

Geo-Everything

Everything on the Earth’s surface has a location that can be expressed with just two coordinates. Using the new classes of geolocation tools, it is very easy to determine and capture the exact location of physical objects — as well as capturing the location where digital media such as photographs and video are taken. The other side of this coin is that it is also becoming easier to work with the geolocative data thus captured: it can be plotted on maps; combined with data about other events, objects, or people; graphed; charted; or manipulated in myriad ways.

A sampling of location-aware applications across disciplines includes the following:
Literature.

Geotagging and virtual geocaching can be used to create annotated maps and real-world locations related to works of literature, enhancing the experience of reading the story. For instance, out of personal interest, one reader created a map of the course described in The
Travels of Marco Polo, including passages from the text, photographs of the places mentioned (historical and contemporary), annotations and links, and other information

Medicine.

The University of Florida has used a 2-dimensional web-based Transparent Reality Simulation Engine to teach students how to operate medical machinery for several years. Recently, the addition of a GPS-enabled tablet device has allowed learners who are spatially challenged to experience the transparent reality visualization overlaid directly onto the real machine, enabling them to use the machine’s controls rather than a mouse as input to the simulation. Geolocation is used to track the tablet and align the physical machine with the visualization on the tablet.

Games-based Learning.

The Local Games Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is developing "local games," learning experiences set in real-life neighborhoods and ecological habitats. Combining geolocation and alternate reality games, local games immerse the learner in a physical space as they explore the unique characteristics of the location and its inhabitants.

The Personal Web

Armed with tools for tagging, aggregating, updating, and keeping track of content, today’s learners create and navigate a web that is increasingly tailored to their own needs and interests: this is the personal web.

The tools that enable the personal web are also ideal toolsets for research and learning. The ability to tag, categorize, and publish work online, instantly, without the need to understand or even touch the underlying technologies provides a host of opportunities for faculty and students. By organizing online information with tags and web feeds, it is a simple matter to create richly personal resource collections that are easily searchable, annotated, and that support any interest.

Four to Five Years:

Semantic-Aware Applications

The idea behind the semantic web is that although online data is available for searching, its meaning is not: computers are very good at returning keywords, but very bad at understanding the context in which keywords are used.

The capability of semantic-aware applications to aid in searching and finding has implications for research, especially in light of the rate at which web content is being created. As semantic search tools continue to develop, it will be more common to see highly relevant results that display desired information in the hit list summary itself, saving time that is now spent clicking through to each page in turn. Semantic search also promises to reduce the number of unrelated or irrelevant results for a given search and to facilitate natural-language queries, both potentially useful features for researchers.

Smart Objects

Smart objects are the link between the virtual world and the real. A smart object "knows" about itself — where and how it was made, what it is for, who owns it and how they use it, what other objects in the world are like it — and about its environment. Smart objects can report on their exact location and current state (full or empty, new or depleted, recently used or not).

There are very few examples of smart objects in use in academia, although significant research is being done into how to create and track smart objects and how they might eventually be used.
A sampling of applications for smart objects across disciplines includes the following:
Archaeology.

The way that a single smart object connects to a network of information is useful for many disciplines. Consider a student or researcher examining a group of objects from an archaeological dig. A tag attached to the label of each object, when scanned with a mobile device like a camera-enabled phone, would instantly bring up photographs of other objects from the dig, video of the dig site, maps, and any other media or information associated with the area.

Health Care.

Researchers and students at the University of Arkansas have created a simulated hospital environment in the virtual world of Second Life to test the practical and social implications of tagging and tracking patients, hospital staff, supplies, and locations.

Oncology

At Purdue University, researchers have developed a tiny smart object designed to be injected into a tumor. Once placed there, the device can report on the doses of radiation received at the site where it is implanted and indicate the exact location of the tumor during treatment.

New releases from StatsSA

2009-01-22T10:48:00.002+02:00

StatsSA released their newest statistics:

P6242.1 - Retail trade sales, November 2008
Retail trade sales decrease in real terms
Retail trade sales, at constant (2000) prices, for the three months ended November 2008 decreased by 4,0% compared with the three months ended November 2007. Retail trade sales, at constant (2000) prices, for the same period in 2007 increased by 1,1%.

Retail trade sales at constant (2000) prices for November 2008 also decreased by 4,0% compared with November 2007. Retail trade sales at constant (2000) prices for the first eleven months of 2008 reflected a decrease of 2,4% compared with the first eleven months of 2007, while growth for the same period in 2007 was 5,8%.

Retail trade sales at current prices, for the three months ended November 2008, increased by 11,4% compared with the three months ended November 2007. The major contributors to this increase were general dealers (+5,7 percentage points), retailers in textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods (+2,1 percentage points), retail trade in specialised food, beverages and tobacco stores (+1,8 percentage points), and all other retailers (+1,2 percentage points).

Retailers in household furniture, appliances and equipment contributed negatively (-0,6 of a percentage point) to the change in retail trade sales.

Retail trade sales at current prices for November 2008 increased by 10,7% compared with November 2007, while sales for the corresponding period in 2007 increased by 8,7%.

P0041 - Civil cases for debt, November 2008
The total number of civil summonses issued for debt for the three months ended November 2008 increased by 5,2% compared with the three months ended November 2007. However, there was a decrease of 4,2% between November 2007 and November 2008. The total number of civil judgements recorded for debt for the three months ended November 2008 decreased by 12,9% compared with the three months ended November 2007. There was also a decrease of 16,4% between November 2007 and November 2008. The total value of civil judgements recorded for the three months ended November 2008 decreased by 3,4% compared with the three months ended November 2007. However, there was a 13,3% y/y increase in the value of civil judgements recorded for debt in November 2008.

P5041.1 - Selected building statistics of the private sector as reported by local government institutions, November 2008
The value of recorded building plans passed by larger municipalities (at current prices) during January to November 2008 decreased by 4,8% (-R3 649,1 million) compared with January to November 2007. This was due to a decrease of 15,1% (-R6 290,7 million) reported for residential buildings. However, the decrease in residential buildings was partially counteracted by increases reported for non-residential buildings (17,0% or R2 475,7 million) and additions and alterations (0,8% or R165,8 million).

The preliminary estimates indicate that the value of buildings reported as completed to larger municipalities (at current prices) during the above-mentioned period increased by 9,3% (R4 000,9 million). Increases were reported for additions and alterations (25,2% or R1 912,9 million and non-residential buildings (24,4% or R2 100,0 million). Residential buildings decreased marginally by R12,0 million.

Business/Economics E-Reference Ratings

2009-01-21T14:05:00.002+02:00

The Library Journal recently published an article comparing the various Business/Economic E-resources available. Each database is rated based on the seven criteria librarians consider the most when making purchasing decisions:

Scope - range and breadth of content

Writing -quality of the writing; consideration of the audience

Design - visual appeal; strengths and weakness of the interface

Bells & Whistles - inclusion of multimedia files, interactive maps, blogs, and other features

Ease of Use - logic behind the organization; efficiency of the search mechanisms

Linking - cross-searchability with other files; ability to integrate with and link to other products

Value for money - Value is a relative term, taking into consideration not only cost but myriad related factors. If a product is expensive, does its comprehensiveness and quality warrant the high cost? Are too much time and energy required to find material, given the price?

Below is the results in table format. (Click on image to enlarge)

Of the 14 databases used in the comparison UJ used to subscribe to 3:

1. ABI/Inform - which we've cancelled. In the LJ comparison ABI/Inform did not receive a high rating for value for money, scope or writing. It did slightly better for ease of use.

2. Business Source Complete - the Library subscribes to the Business Source package from Ebsco (the Complete package includes a few more journals). This database was rated as excellent in terms of scope and value for money; it also scored high in the other categories

3. Emerald EMX - Emerald scored quite high for the linking they provide and also managed a good/plentiful rating for the other six criteria

Here is the comments from LJ regarding the two databases we still have (Business Source and Emerald):

Business Source: Visually attractive and easily searchable, this business resource offers everything a user would expect from a native EBSCO product. Searches can be limited to academic journals, trade publications, magazines, newspapers, books/monographs, company profiles, SWOT analysis, country reports, industry profiles, market research reports, and product reviews. With over 4000 titles (3000 full text), the product is well worth the price. If your library can afford only one business resource this year, give this one a try.

Emerald has brilliantly combined its web site and online database into a single platform to provide 85,000 full-text articles from 175 peer-reviewed journals as well as web site content. Search results can be limited by clicking on articles, abstracts & reviews, Emerald site, or other content tabs. Current journal issues are easily located from the journal list, which are displayed with cover images, and links to RSS, latest issue, editorial team, and submission guidelines.

The future of the Global Financial System

2009-01-21T08:11:00.003+02:00

The World Economic Forum released its initial report from the New Financial Architecture project, The Future of the Global Financial System: A Near-Term Outlook and Long-Term Scenarios to explore the driving forces that are shaping the global financial system and how these forces might affect governance and industry structure.

Key conclusions from phase one report – “The Future of the Global Financial System”
The phase one report identifies a near-term industry outlook characterized by an expanded scope for regulatory oversight, back to basics in the banking sector, some restructuring by alternative investment firms and the emergence of a new set of winners and losers.

Over the long-term, a range of external forces and critical uncertainties will further shape the industry. In particular, our study found that the pace of power shifts from today’s advanced economies to the emerging world and the degree of international coordination on financial policy are the two most critical uncertainties for the future of the global financial system. The report therefore explores four challenging scenarios.

Driving forces and critical uncertainties
In phase one of the New Financial Architecture project, the World Economic Forum engaged more than 250 industry practitioners, policy-makers and academics in workshops, interviews and participation in a survey to identify and prioritize the key driving forces expected to shape the future of the global financial system between today and 2020. The engagement process resulted in an inventory of 34 prioritized driving forces:

click on image to enlarge

Four scenarious for the future of the global financial system

click on image to enlarge

1. Financial regionalism is a world in which post-crisis blame-shifting and the threat of further economic contagion create three major blocs on trade and financial policy, forcing global companies to construct tripartite strategies to operate globally.
2. Fragmented protectionism is a world characterized by division, conflict, currency controls and a race-to-the bottom dynamic that only serves to deepen the long-term effects of the financial crisis.
3. Re-engineered Western-centrism is a highly coordinated and financially homogenous world that has yet to face up to the realities of shifting power and the dangers of regulating for the last crisis rather than the next.
4. Rebalanced multilateralism is a world in which initial barriers to coordination and disagreement over effective risk management approaches are overcome in the context of rapidly shifting geo-economic power.

Phase two priorities

In phase two of the New Financial Architecture project, the World Economic Forum will work closely with industry stakeholders to delve deeper into the implications of this analysis, with the goal of exploring collaborative strategies and areas of systemic improvement. This will involve an examination of the potential future sources of systemic risk, as well as opportunities to reposition the industry for sustainable, long-term growth in ways that maximize the stability and prosperity of both the financial and real economies.

New releases from IASB

2009-01-21T08:00:00.000+02:00

IASB publishes proposed new Consolidation standard as part of comprehensive review of off balance sheet risk
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) today published for public comment proposals to strengthen and improve the requirements for identifying which entities a company controls.

Change in effective date of restructured IFRS 1
At its December 2008 meeting the Board decided to change the effective date of revised IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (published in November 2008) from 1 January 2009 to 1 July 2009.

Leading investor appointed as IASC Foundation Trustee
The IASC Foundation announced today the appointment of Scott Evans, Executive Vice President, Asset Management and Chief Executive Officer of TIAA-CREF Investment Management LLC, as a Trustee of the IASC Foundation.

IASB publishes revised proposal to eliminate unnecessary disclosures for state-controlled entities
The IASB today published a revised proposal to simplify the disclosure requirements that apply to state-controlled entities.

New releases from the African Development Bank

2009-01-19T09:38:00.002+02:00

Nigeria: Commercial Agriculture Development Project (S)
Friday, January 16, 2009, 12:07:44 AM
WASHINGTON, January 15, 2009 - The following project was approved today by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors:

IDA Credit: US$150 million
TERMS: Maturity = 40 years; Grace= 10 years
Project Description: The project will support the government in strengthening agricultural production systems and facilitating access to markets for participating small- and medium-scale commercial farmers in the targeted states. The project has two components, namely, (i) Agricultural Production and Commercialization; and (ii) Rural Infrastructure. The project will also finance Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation and Studies.

Nigeria-Nigeria - Public/Private Partnership Initiative
Mozambique-MZ-Energy Development and Access Project (APL-2)
Cameroon-CM-Community Development Program Support Project Phase-II

All eyes on Washington tomorrow

2009-01-19T09:14:00.003+02:00

The presidential inauguration is the official day that the President of the United States is sworn into office. The purpose of this inauguration is to honor the incoming president with formal ceremonies, including: a Presidential Swearing-in Ceremony, an Inaugural Address, and an Inaugural Parade.

The inauguration will take place tomorrow on January 20, 2009 in Washington D.C. on the steps of the United States Capitol and will be covered by all the big news channels on DSTV. The swearing-in ceremony starts at 19:00 (Africa time) with the Inaugural Parade starting at 21:30

President-elect Barack Obama will take the oath of office, which states the following:

"I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

The theme for the inauguration is The Birth of a New Freedom and keeping with the Election 2.0 style the Obama Inauguration already has an impressive website running with blogs, videos, bios etc.

IMF recent releases

2009-01-19T08:33:00.004+02:00

Working Papers:

Recent French Export Performance: Is There a Competitiveness Problem?
Author/Editor: Kabundi, Alain N. ; Nadal-De Simone, Francisco
Summary: Recently, the export performance of France relative to its own past and relative to a major trading partner, Germany, deteriorated. That deterioration seems related to the geographical destination and product composition of trend exports. Faced with an increase in unit labor costs or in its terms of trade, France adjusts relatively less via price and wage changes, and more via employment changes. Given that SMIC convergence resulted in a significant increase in unit labor costs, foreign sector difficulties might be structural. Trade flows relevance and euro area policy constraints highlight the importance of structural reforms that increase markets flexibility.

Banking Stability Measures
Author/Editor: Segoviano Basurto, Miguel A. ; Goodhart, C. A. E.
Summary: This paper defines a set of banking stability measures which take account of distress dependence among the banks in a system, thereby providing a set of tools to analyze stability from complementary perspectives by allowing the measurement of (i) common distress of the banks in a system, (ii) distress between specific banks, and (iii) distress in the system associated with a specific bank. Our approach defines the banking system as a portfolio of banks and infers the system's multivariate density (BSMD) from which the proposed measures are estimated. The BSMD embeds the banks' default inter-dependence structure that captures linear and non-linear distress dependencies among the banks in the system, and its changes at different times of the economic cycle. The BSMD is recovered using the CIMDO-approach, a new approach that in the presence of restricted data, improves density specification without explicitly imposing parametric forms that, under restricted data sets, !
are difficult to model. Thus, the proposed measures can be constructed from a very limited set of publicly available data and can be provided for a wide range of both developing and developed countries.

Yen Bloc or Yuan Bloc: An Analysis of Currency Arrangements in East Asia
Author/Editor: Shirono, Kazuko
Summary: This paper examines the role of Japan against that of China in the exchange rate regime in East Asia in light of growing interest in forming a currency union in the region. The analysis suggests that currency unions with China tend to generate higher average welfare gains for East Asian countries than currency unions with Japan or the United States. Overall, Japan does not appear to be a dominant player in forming a currency union in East Asia, and this trend is likely to continue if China's relative presence continues to rise in the regional trade.

A European Mandate for Financial Sector Supervisors in the EU
Author/Editor: Hardy, Daniel C. L.
Summary: The EU is deliberating the introduction of an explicit "European mandate" for financial sector supervisors to supplement national mandates. Suggestions are made on (i) the formulation of a European mandate; (ii) the policy areas to which it should apply; (iii) which institutions should be given a European mandate; (iv) the legal basis for the mandate; (v) how to implement the mandate in practice; and (vi) how to achieve accountability for fulfilling a European mandate. Decisions on these issues are needed if the introduction of a European mandate is to have a substantive positive effect.

Surveys:

Hungary: Markets Have Stabilized, but Long Road Ahead
Hungary's financial markets have stabilized since the IMF approved a $15.7 billion loan to back a program designed to ease financial market stress and support economic activity. But the road ahead is long, says James Morsink, the IMF's mission chief for Hungary.

IMF Helping Counter Crisis Fallout in Emerging Europe
The financial crisis has hit Europe hard. In an interview, IMF European Department head Marek Belka talks about Europe's prospects for recovery and the principles that guide the Fund as it seeks to help Europe's emerging economies counter the fallout of the crisis.

Economic Crises Hit Workers Hardest, Labor Conference Told
Workers, farmers, and the poor are likely to be among the groups worst affected by the current global recession, an IMF and World Bank meeting with global labor unions heard. The poor were also likeliest to spend any extra liquidity, the meeting was told.

IMF Makes $800 Million Available to El Salvador
In an interview, the IMF's mission chief for El Salvador, Alfred Schipke, talks about the impact of the global financial crisis on El Salvador, the precautionary nature of the economic program, and the challenges surrounding the future of the country's economic policies.

Country Reports:

Cape Verde: Fifth Review Under the Policy Support Instrument - Staff Report; Staff Supplement; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Cape Verde

United Republic of Tanzania: Fourth Review Under the Policy Support Instrument - Staff Report; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for United Republic of Tanzania
Senegal: Second Review Under the Policy Support Instrument, Request for a Twelve-Month Arrangement Under the Exogenous Shocks Facility, and Request for Waivers and Modification of Assessment Criteria -Staff Report; Staff Statement; Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Senegal
Palau: Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes - FATF Recommendations for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism
Republic of Madagascar: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper - Annual Progress Report - Joint Staff Advisory Note
Sierra Leone: Selected Issues and Statistical Appendix
Liberia: 2008 Article IV Consultation, First Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility, Financing Assurances Review, and Request for Waiver and Modification of Performance Criteria - Staff Report; Public Information Notice and Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Liberia

Management Decision: Call for Papers

2009-01-14T15:07:00.002+02:00

Management Decision is calling for papers for their Special Issue on "Why green management matters" Edited by: Professor David Lamond & Dr Rocky Dwyer

Background

Following the 2007 special issue "Alleviating poverty through trade", and the 2008 "Questions we ask about ethics in a global marketplace", this is the third in an ongoing series of special issues of Management Decision devoted to matters of ethics, sustainability and corporate social responsibility and woven in with the organising theme of the Academy of Management. In 2009, the theme is Green Management Matters.

The special issue will be edited by Rocky Dwyer and David Lamond and will appear under the title of "Why green management matters". It is scheduled for Volume 47, Issue 7 and will appear in August 2009 in CD format, as well as its usual hard copy version, to coincide with the Academy of Management Conference in Chicago.

Whether dealing with waste management or investment management, today's decision makers are confronted with the "green" in those decisions - sustainability, carbon footprints, industrial ecosystems, greenhouse gasses, and energy efficiency are some of the elements which are increasingly the "stuff" of those decisions, the criteria by which decisions are judged to be more or less sound.

This issue seeks to make a contribution to the debate about the "green" consistent with its title "Why green management matters". Papers are welcomed that explore green management and the principles which underpin this approach.

Questions such as "Can I just get by through paying someone else to have a smaller carbon footprint?", "Should business be my brother's (green) keeper?", and "Isn't my responsibility to the shareholders?" needs answers. Conceptual papers, as well as qualitative and quantitative research papers, are welcomed, as they add to the knowledge base about corporate social responsibility and ethics in relation to green management matters.

Papers

Submission of the full paper is required by 1 February 2009 for consideration for the special issue. Papers submitted will be subject to a minimum double-blind peer review process to ensure that this special issue maintains the excellent reputation and record of Management Decision.

For style guidelines please visit the Management Decision web site.

Submissions to Management Decision are made using ScholarOne's Manuscript Central http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/md.

Full instructions are on the author guidelines site. As a guide, articles should be between 3,000 and 6,000 words in length.

A title of not more than 12 words should be provided.

Please e-mail any queries to:

Professor David Lamond PhD E-mail: david.lamond@ntu.ac.uk

Dr Rocky Dwyer PhDE-mail: Dwyer.RJ@forces.gc.ca

ScienceDirect's Hottest articles July - September 2008

2009-01-14T14:42:00.004+02:00

Every 3 months ScienceDirect distributes a list of the Top 25 Hottest articles published with in a specific subject area.

Here is the newest list available for Economics, Econometrics and Finance for the time period: July - September 2008:

Accounting is classed with Business Management and is available here.

1. Foreign exchange risk management in UK, USA and Asia Pacific multinational companies • ArticleJournal of Multinational Financial Management, Volume 10, Issue 2, Pages 185 - 211Marshall, A.P.Cited by Scopus (10)

2. Recent Developments in Corporate Governance: An Overview • EditorialJournal of Corporate Finance, Volume 12, Issue 3, Pages 381-402Gillan, S.L.Cited by Scopus (11)

3. The demand for organic foods in the South of Italy: A discrete choice model • ArticleFood Policy, Volume 33, Issue 5, Pages 386-396Gracia, A.; de Magistris, T.

4. Market efficiency, long-term returns, and behavioral finance • ArticleJournal of Financial Economics, Volume 49, Issue 3, Pages 283-306Fama, E.F.Cited by Scopus (405)

5. Investor protection and corporate governance • ArticleJournal of Financial Economics, Volume 58, Issue 1-2, Pages 3-27La Porta, R.; Lopez-de-Silanes, F.; Shleifer, A.; Vishny, R.Cited by Scopus (334)

6. Information asymmetry, corporate disclosure, and the capital markets: A review of the empirical disclosure literature • ArticleJournal of Accounting and Economics, Volume 31, Issue 1-3, Pages 405-440Healy, P.M.; Palepu, K.G.Cited by Scopus (195)

7. World population and food supply - can food production keep pace with population growth in the next half-century? • ArticleFood Policy, Volume 27, Issue 1, Pages 47-63Gilland, B.Cited by Scopus (14)

8. The theory and practice of corporate finance: evidence from the field • ArticleJournal of Financial Economics, Volume 60, Issue 2-3, Pages 187-243Graham, J.R.; Harvey, C.R.Cited by Scopus (229)

9. Earnings management and earnings quality • ArticleJournal of Accounting and Economics, Volume 45, Issue 2-3, Pages 350-357Lo, K.

10. Corporate governance and firm performance • ArticleJournal of Corporate Finance, Volume 14, Issue 3, Pages 257-273Bhagat, S.; Bolton, B.Cited by Scopus (1)

11. How does foreign direct investment affect economic growth? • ArticleJournal of International Economics, Volume 45, Issue 1, Pages 115-135Borensztein, E.; De Gregorio, J.; Lee, J.-W.Cited by Scopus (276)

12. Integrating the valuation of ecosystem services into the Input-Output economics of an Alpine region • ArticleEcological Economics, Volume 63, Issue 4, Pages 786-798Gret-Regamey, A.; Kytzia, S.Cited by Scopus (1)

13. Integrated ecological-economic modelling of water pollution abatement management options in the Upper Ems River Basin • ArticleEcological Economics, Volume 66, Issue 1, Pages 66-76Volk, M.; Hirschfeld, J.; Dehnhardt, A.; Schmidt, G.; Bohn, C.; Liersch, S.; Gassman, P.W.

14. Is Globalization Reducing Poverty and Inequality? • ArticleWorld Development, Volume 32, Issue 4, Pages 567-589Wade, R.H.Cited by Scopus (53)

15. Capital markets research in accounting • ArticleJournal of Accounting and Economics, Volume 31, Issue 1-3, Pages 105-231Kothari, S.P.Cited by Scopus (149)

16. The price of innovation: new estimates of drug development costs • ArticleJournal of Health Economics, Volume 22, Issue 2, Pages 151-185DiMasi, J.A.; Hansen, R.W.; Grabowski, H.G.Cited by Scopus (590)
17. Is financial openness bad for education? A political economy perspective on development • ArticleEuropean Economic Review, Volume 44, Issue 4-6, Pages 891-903Bourguignon, F.; Verdier, T.Cited by Scopus (2)

18. The ecology of ecosystem services: introduction to the special issue • EditorialEcological Economics, Volume 29, Issue 2, Pages 179-182Limburg, K.E.; Folke, C.Cited by Scopus (10)
19. Who makes acquisitions? CEO overconfidence and the market's reaction • ArticleJournal of Financial Economics, Volume 89, Issue 1, Pages 20-43Malmendier, U.; Tate, G.Cited by Scopus (2)

20. A new world order: explaining the international diffusion of the gold standard, 1870-1913 • ArticleJournal of International Economics, Volume 66, Issue 2, Pages 385-406Meissner, C.M.Cited by Scopus (5)

21. Ownership Concentration and Corporate Performance in the Czech Republic • ArticleJournal of Comparative Economics, Volume 27, Issue 3, Pages 498-513Claessens, S.; Djankov, S.Cited by Scopus (50)

22. Why do firms pay dividends? International evidence on the determinants of dividend policy • ArticleJournal of Financial Economics, Volume 89, Issue 1, Pages 62-82Denis, D.J.; Osobov, I.

23. Oil price dynamics (2002-2006) • ArticleEnergy Economics, Volume 30, Issue 5, Pages 2134-2153Askari, H.; Krichene, N.

24. Earnings quality at initial public offerings • ArticleJournal of Accounting and Economics, Volume 45, Issue 2-3, Pages 324-349Ball, R.; Shivakumar, L.

25. Mixed-variable fuzzy clustering approach to part family and machine cell formation for GT applications • ArticleInternational Journal of Production Economics, Volume 103, Issue 1, Pages 185-198Yang, M.S.; Hung, W.L.; Cheng, F.C.Cited by Scopus (1)

University news from Africa

2009-01-14T14:33:00.003+02:00

SOUTH AFRICA: The politics of higher education

Karen MacGregor

Power changed hands within South Africa's ruling African National Congress a year ago, and national elections are looming. What the new ruling elite will mean for higher education is unsure, but the hot political issues this year look set to include teacher education and student fees, says Dr Cheryl de la Rey, chief executive officer of the statutory advisory Council on Higher Education.

NIGERIA: Renovations suspended at teaching hospitals

Tunde Fatunde

Crucial renovations at 12 academic hospitals in Nigeria by two Austrian medical engineering firms, under contracts worth US$291 million, have ground to a halt following an alleged plan by "over-zealous" officials in the Ministry of Health to re-award the contracts to other firms. The companies have gone to court claiming breach of contract. Lecturers and students at medical colleges affiliated with the hospitals are concerned and President Musa Yar 'Adua has been called on to intervene.

TUNISIA: Arab world adult education conference

A three-day conference on adult education and building a knowledge society in the Arab world opened on Monday in Gammarth, Tunisia. Titled "Investing in adult learning: Building knowledge and learning societies in the Arab region", it is one of five preparatory regional conferences for Unesco's Sixth International Conference on Adult Education, Confintea VI, which will take place in May in Belém, Brazil.

ZAMBIA: Government audits two universities

Clemence Manyukwe

Audits are underway at two of Zambia's largest higher education institutions, on the orders of the government, Higher Education Minister Professor Geoffrey Lungangwa told parliament late last year. This followed an attack on the government from parliamentarians over examination paper leakages and political interference at institutions of higher learning

ZIMBABWE: Brain drain project suffers brain drain

Clemence Manyukwe

A Unesco-sponsored initiative to stem the academic brain drain in five African countries faces collapse in Zimbabwe - as a result of the flight of lecturers. An end of year report by the vice-chancellor's office at Chinhoyi University of Technology said academic staff trained in grid computing as part of the initiative had left the institution for safer - pastures

EQYPT: Law tightens government control

Ashraf Khaled

A new civil universities law approved late last year by the Shura Council, the Egyptian parliament's upper house, is set to tighten the government's grip on higher education. The law provides for the creation of 17 new non-profit universities and makes the Ministry of Higher Education responsible for appointing half the institutions' boards of directors. The other half will be left up to the universities' founders and investors to select.

University news from the West

2009-01-14T14:00:00.002+02:00

ISRAEL-PALESTINE: Operation 'Cast Lead' shuts universities
Helena Flusfeder
Universities in Israel and Gaza have been caught up in the savage conflict now raging in the Palestinian territory. All five universities in Gaza have been shut down while two were closed in southern Israel. "The academic situation in Gaza is collapsing. People's main preoccupation is to get food and stay alive. They feel that everywhere in Gaza is not safe," said one Palestinian professor.

FRANCE: Universities begin move to autonomy
Jane Marshall
Nearly a quarter of France's 80-plus universities assumed new powers of autonomy on 1 January under the government's Universities' Freedoms and Responsibilities law. The legislation gives the universities control over their budgets, staff recruitment and salaries, and other areas that were previously the responsibility of the state. All universities must adopt the reform by 2012, though academics and students continue to express their opposition.

RUSSIA: Rector calls for sweeping reforms
Nick Holdsworth
The rector of Moscow's Higher School of Economics - one of Russia's top universities - has called for a massive shake up in the country's system of higher education. Yaroslav Kuzminov, (shown here at a conference on the right of Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin), says unrestricted growth of university-level institutions in recent years has left Russia's higher education system a mess with wide disparities in standards of teaching and qualifications.

AUSTRALIA: Upheaval across university sector
Geoff Maslen
A plan to reshape Australia's higher education system, deregulate universities, vastly increase their enrolments, provide students with vouchers to study at the university of their choice and extend government funding to a bigger group of providers are among 46 wide-ranging recommendations being considered by the federal government.

UK: Research activity "world leading"
Diane Spencer
Cambridge University came top of the league again in the latest research assessment exercise carried out by England's higher education funding council, Hefce. The 2008 results, published just before Christmas, will be the last of their kind as the next process will be undertaken with a different method. After reviewing research conducted by 52,400 staff submitted by 159 universities and colleges, Hefce concluded that 54 % of UK research activity came into the top two grades of "world leading" or "internationally excellent".

INDIA-AUSTRALIA: Joint venture research academy
The first joint institution for research and research training in areas of mutual importance to India and Australia has been established between the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, or IITB, and Monash University in Melbourne. The new institution was officially opened at the end of November and is a centre of research excellence in clean energy, water, biotechnology, mineral exploration and computer simulation.

'Doing Diversity in Higher Education'
Editor of new collection of essays discusses the role of professors in welcoming and educating students of all types.

The Impact of a Ban on Affirmative Action
New study projects a 35 percent drop in minority enrollments at the most competitive four-year colleges and universities -- but little gain for white students

Practise what you preach
A lack of quantitative analysis and a tendency to avoid policy-based research has left the study of higher education in the UK in the doldrums

The wizards of Oz
The 'Melbourne model' has prompted universities worldwide to consider broadening undergraduate degrees. But the template does not win over everyone

Academics fear PhD quality is slipping
Staff say that pressures to get more students through quickly are harming standards

For-Profit University Begins A Large Media Campaign steven bell
An online educator is presenting itself to potential students as “a different kind of university.” The school is Kaplan University. A campaign for Kaplan University, which began last week, carries the theme “A different school of thought” and suggests that learning online is a way to develop talent that could otherwise go to waste. The campaign is the first national, multimedia effort for Kaplan University. The campaign arrives as the popularity of distance learning for adults, through online universities and colleges, continues to grow. Read more

New simplified access to the OECD National Accounts

2009-01-14T13:49:00.004+02:00

The OECD national accounts - GDP and main aggregates - are now available in a new simplified electronic format. Data are derived from OECD.stat, they are updated on a daily basis and they follow the presentation of the publication "National Accounts of OECD Countries, Volume I".

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table 1. Gross domestic product (GDP): expenditure approach
Table 2. Gross domestic product (GDP): output approach
Table 3. Gross domestic product (GDP): income approach
Table 4. Disposable income, saving and net lending/net borrowing
Table 5. Population and employment in persons, national concept
Table 6. Employment in persons and hours worked by industry, domestic concept

Here is an example of Table 1:

(click on the image to enlarge)

Annual Report 2007

2009-01-14T13:44:00.002+02:00

The IASC Foundation's Annual Report 2007 (63 pages) is now available to download.

The annual report includes an overview of the Trustee's oversight activities for 2007, as well as reports of the Chairman of the IASC Foundation Trustees, the IASB Chairman and independent auditors.

Here is the table of contents:

Report of the Chairman of the IASC Foundation Trustees
Putting public accountability first: A report of the Trustees’ oversight activities for 2007
Funding of the organisation
Report of the Chairman of the IASB
Trustees of the IASC Foundation
Members of the International Accounting Standards Board
Members of the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee
Members of the Trustee Appointments Advisory Group
Members of the Standards Advisory Council
Report of the independent auditors
Statement of comprehensive income
Statement of financial position
Statement of cash flows
Notes to the financial statements
2007 financial supporters
IASB pronouncements current at 1 January 2008

IASC publishes IFRS Taxonomy 2009 for public comment

2009-01-14T13:36:00.003+02:00

The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) Foundation announced the release of the near final version of the IFRS Taxonomy 2009 for public comment.

Download Exposure Draft of the IFRS Taxonomy 2009 [ZIP, 857 KB]
Download documentation of changes [PDF, 70 KB]

The IFRS Taxonomy 2009 is a translation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as issued at 31 December 2008 into XBRL (eXtensible Business ReportingLanguage), a language that is used to communicate information between businesses and other users of financial information.

\]
The specific characteristics of XBRL allow companies, regulators, investors, analysts and others using the IFRS Taxonomy 2009 with easier filing, access to and comparison of financial data.
XBRL is rapidly becoming the format of choice for the electronic filing of financial information – particularly within jurisdictions reporting under IFRSs.

In addition, on 4 March 2008 the recent US SEC rule that allows non-US companies listed in the US to file their financial reports according to IFRSs as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) became effective. According to this rule non-US companies that choose to submit their financial reports in IFRS electronically will have to do so using the IFRS Taxonomy 2009.

The IFRS Taxonomy 2009 builds upon the architecture of the IFRS Taxonomy 2008. Amendments to the 2009 IFRS Taxonomy mainly reflect changes in IFRSs. However, improvements in the syntax (not affecting semantics) of the taxonomy have led to a decrease in size and download time.

The IFRS Taxonomy 2009 was reviewed by the external XBRL Quality Review Team (XQRT) that was established by the IASC Foundation at the end of 2007. Interested parties are invited to access the near final version of the IFRS Taxonomy 2009 and submit comments by 12 March 2009.

In accordance with XBRL International policy the near final version of the IFRS Taxonomy 2009 is freely available on this Website. The final version is expected to be released in early April 2009, when it will also be freely available.

IASB and FASB announced membership of Financial Crisis Advisory Group

2009-01-14T13:31:00.000+02:00

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) announced the membership of the Financial Crisis Advisory Group (FCAG) late last year.

The FCAG is the high-level advisory group set up by the boards to consider financial reporting issues arising from the global financial crisis. The group includes recognised leaders from the fields of business and government with a broad range of experience in international financial markets.

As previously announced, the FCAG will be jointly chaired by Harvey Goldschmid, former Commissioner, US Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC), and Hans Hoogervorst, Chairman, AFM (the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets).

For a full membership list of the FCAG please click here

Major exporters pledge ongoing credit support for developing country imports

2009-01-13T11:10:00.001+02:00

Image: woodsy

Thirty-six exporting countries,including 29 OECD members, issued a statement pledging continued export-credit support for international trade deals in line with a call by G20 leaders for emerging and developing economies to retain access to financing for imports in the present financial crisis.

The countries are:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, European Community, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, Slovenia, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States.

Impact of the economic crisis on employment in OECD countries

2009-01-13T09:54:00.004+02:00

The OECD area economy has entered recession and labour market conditions are rapidly deteriorating in many countries, according to the latest issue of the OECD Economic Outlook (No. 84, November 2008).

OECD projections indicate that the average unemployment rate in the OECD area may reach 6.3% in the last quarter of 2008, from 5.5% a year earlier. The unemployment rate is projected to increase further in the next 18 months and peak at 7.3% in the second quarter of 2010.

Overall, these projections suggest an increase in the number of unemployed persons in the OECD area from 34 million in 2008 to 42.1 million in 2010 – the most rapid rise in OECD unemployment since the early 1990s.

(click on the images to enlarge)

Back to Basics!

2009-01-13T07:58:00.003+02:00

I’d like to say welcome back, but since most of you started before me, I’ll just say that I hope you had a wonderful rest during the festive season and that 2009 will bring less stress!

With the classes almost upon us, I’d like to give you some information on the training sessions I provide as well as a refresher on the Library services on offer:

Image: danzo08

Training
I provide training to all postgraduate students, both on individually and in groups.
· Individual training is done by appointment only – please give my details to all your postgraduate students
· Training is usually for an hour and a half and please send your new student assistants for training – it will improve their service to you tremendously

A few pointers to keep in mind when scheduling a group/class library session:
· I am more than happy to give a presentation/demo or hands-on training during class time. The library has a training venue with 14 computers that can accommodate about 28 students. If your class is bigger, I am happy to do training in the Labs as well.

If the class is an evening class the follow will come into play:
o I do only one evening training session per week
o Please let me know a week in advance so that I can book our training room and prepare the manuals
o The library training/session must be in the first hour (i.e. starting at 17:30 or 18:00 at the latest) and will be for an hour

Keep in mind that I am responsible for the training of 8 departments’ postgraduate students as well as 1st year training during January - March – so please let me know well in advance if you want me to train your class.

Library Services
In a nutshell I offer:
Training – for yourself, your student assistants and your postgraduate students
Alerting – be the first to know if a specific journal or article on your research topic has been published, or keep up to date with the publications of a specific author
Access to other universities – gain free access to all resources of other South African universities
Publishing – I can assist you in finding an accredited publication for your article, or a co-author or conference you can present at
Money - Want to know how much money you have left to buy books or databases with? Need help in weeding out old material? Just ask
Referencing – The university subscribes to RefWorks, a software package that automates the referencing and citation functions, please ask if you’d like me to show you how it works
Current Awareness – remember to check this blog regularly for updates on library services as well as relevant information for your subject area

My office is located on the 1st floor of the Library (by the Reference section) and you are more than welcome to come by for help or assistance.

2008-11-20T08:45:00.000+02:00

ERSA Working Papers released

2008-11-20T07:47:00.002+02:00

Half empty, half full and the possibility of agreeing to disagree

By Alexander Zimper, Working Paper 58

Aumann (1976) derives his famous we cannot agree to disagree result under the assumption of rational Bayesian learning. Motivated by psychological evidence against this assumption, we develop formal models of optimistically, resp. pessimistically, biased Bayesian learning within the framework of Choquet expected utility theory.

As a key feature of our approach the posterior subjective beliefs do, in general, not converge to “true” probabilities. Moreover, the posteriors of different people can converge to different beliefs even if these people receive the same information. As our main contribution we show that people may well agree to disagree if their Bayesian learning is psychologically biased in our sense. Remarkably, this finding holds regardless of whether people with identical priors apply the same psychologically biased Bayesian learning rule or not.

A simple example about the possibility of ex-post trading in a financial asset illustrates our formal findings. Finally, our analysis settles a discussion in the no-trade literature (cf. Dow, Madrigal, and Werlang 1990, Halevy 1998) in that it clarifies that ex-post trade between agents with common priors and identical learning rules is only possible under asymmetric information.

Asymmetry and Discrimination in Internet Peering Evidence from the LINX

Alessio D'Ignazio and Emanuele Giovannetti, Working Paper 102

Is the quality of interconnection between Internet operators affected by their asymmetry? While recent game theoretic literature provides contrasting answers to this question, there is a lack of empirical research.

We introduce a novel dataset based on Internet routing policies, and study the interconnection decisions amongst the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) members of the London Internet Exchange Point (LINX).

Our results show that interconnection quality degradation can be significantly explained by asymmetry between providers. We also show that Competition Authorities should focus more on the role played by the “centrality of an operator”, rather than on its market share.

Adaptive Bayesian Analysis for Binomial Proportions

Sonali Das and Sourish Das, Working Paper 103

We consider the problem of statistical inference of binomial proportions for non-matched, correlated samples, under the Bayesian framework. Such inference can arise when the same group is observed a different number of times on two or more inference occasions, with the aim of testing the proportion of some trait. These scenarios can occur when we are interested to infer the proportion of extreme wave height per year, at a certain measuring station, where measurements are made every hour.

Gaps in measurements, either due to a malfunction of the measuring instrument or another reason, can result in an unequal number of observations in different years. For such scenarios, we develop an adaptive Bayesian method, and suggest a heuristic decision procedure to conduct statistical inference. We use the ø-divergence measure to quantify the perturbation of the posterior distribution of the proportion in different time points.

We present a simulation study for frequentist power investigation for both the adaptive Bayesian method, as well as the regular frequentist method, using the Monte Carlo technique. Based on the simulation study of frequentist power, as well as theoretical proof, under certain design, the adaptive Bayesian method is shown to outperform the regular frequentist method.

We administer the developed adaptive Bayesian method to two case studies when the total number of observation instances of the same group are unequal, at different time points of interest.

On attitude polarization under Bayesian learning with non-additive beliefs Alexander Zimper and Alexander Ludwig, Working Paper 104

Ample psychological evidence suggests that people’s learning behavior is often prone to a "myside bias" or "irrational belief persistence" in contrast to learning behavior exclusively based on objective data. In the context of Bayesian learning such a bias may result in diverging posterior beliefs and attitude polarization even if agents receive identical information.

Such patterns cannot be explained by the standard model of rational Bayesian learning that implies convergent beliefs. As our key contribution, we therefore develop formal models of Bayesian learning with psychological bias as alternatives to rational Bayesian learning. We derive conditions under which beliefs may diverge in the learning process despite the fact that all agents observe the same - arbitrarily large - sample, which is drawn from an "objective" i.i.d. process. Furthermore, one of our learning scenarios results in attitude polarization even in the case of common priors.

Key to our approach is the assumption of ambiguous beliefs that are formalized as non-additive probability measures arising in Choquet expected utility theory. As a specific feature of our approach, our models of Bayesian learning with psychological bias reduce to rational Bayesian learning in the absence of ambiguity

Loss leader or low margin leader? Advertising and the degree of product differentiation Witness Simbanegavi, Working Paper 105

This paper attempts to isolate the conditions that give rise to loss leader pricing.

I show that for sufficiently low distance between firms, the advertised good is priced below cost irrespective of whether firms advertise the same or different products. Instead, if products are sufficiently differentiated, loss leader pricing may result only if firms advertise the low reservation value product, otherwise the advertised good is a low margin leader. Thus, whether the advertised good is a loss leader or a low margin leader is primarily a function of the extent of differentiation between competing firms.

The OCED Investment News new edition out

2008-11-20T07:36:00.002+02:00

The November issue of the OECD's Investment News is currently available. Here is what you can expect:

Grim outlook for FDI and shifting global investment patterns pg 1-3

As the financial crisis has evolved into a global economic crisis, the outlook for FDI has likewise darkened. On current trend, inflows will be down 13% and outflows by 6% by the end of the year. These declines would be much less severe than those experienced in 2001, when FDI inflows and outflows dropped by 49% and 43%, respectively. However, it seems likely that FDI flows will fall sharply in the second half of 2008 and continue to decline into 2009, especially considering the speed with which the global economic crisis deepened during Q3 and into Q4 of 2008.

OECD guidance on sovereign wealth funds presented at World Bank/IMF meetings pg 4

The OECD Investment Committee‟s project on "Freedom of Investment, National Security and „Strategic Industries‟" (FOI) has, since early 2006, provided a forum for intergovernmental dialogue on how governments can reconcile the need to preserve and expand an open international investment environment with their duty to safeguard the essential security interests of their people. With the current crisis, it is all the more important to keep capital inflows moving freely. The Investment Committee is treating the issue of recipient country policies toward Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) and other government-controlled investment entities as an integral part of the FOI project.

China intensifies efforts to promote responsible business conduct in co-operation with OECD pg 4-5

The Chinese government has been intensifying its efforts to promote Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) in co-operation with the OECD. Most recently this involved a Multi-stakeholder Symposium on Government Approaches to Encouraging Responsible Business Conduct jointly organised by the Chinese government and the OECD Investment Committee in Paris on 26-27 June 2008.

ILO and OECD join forces to promote responsible business conduct pg 6

Every year around June, the National Contact Points (NCPs) of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises meet to review their experiences in implementing and promoting the Guidelines. This year, at the invitation of OECD Ministers and the G8, the annual NCP meeting was held back-to-back with a high-level conference on "Employment and Industrial Relations: Promoting Responsible Business Conduct in a Globalising Economy" jointly organised by the OECD and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

Selected investment publications pg 7

- Investment Policy Perspectives

- 2008 Annual Report on the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises: Employment and Industrial Relations

- 2008 Investment Policy Review of China Encouraging responsible business conduct

- OECD Investment Policy Review of Peru

- OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment

Calendar of events and news in brief pg 8

- 10-11 DECEMBER 2008, KAMPALA, UGANDA NEPAD-OECD Annual High-level meeting on advancing investment policy reform in Africa

- 17 DECEMBER 2008, PARIS, FRANCE Ninth OECD Roundtable on Freedom of Investment, National Security and „Strategic‟ Industries

- 26-27 FEBRUARY 2009, BANGKOK, THAILAND 2nd OECD-South East Asia Regional Forum: Enhancing Competitiveness through Regional Integration

Auditor-General presents his analysis of financial management in national and provincial government departments

2008-11-20T07:32:00.001+02:00

Auditor-General (AG), Terence Nombembe, briefed Parliament on the national and provincial government audit outcomes and trends for the 2007-08 financial year, and focused on the analysis of financial management status in government departments and related entities as well as constitutional institutions.

According to the information available at the time of the analysis, the Auditor-General’s coverage comprised of:

34 national departments, all of which had been included in the analysis
201 national related entities of which 195 (97%) is included in the analysis
9 constitutional institutions all included in the analysis
120 provincial departments, all except one included in the analysis and
122 provincial entities of which 106 (87%) have been included in this analysis.
Overall, out of the total of 486 departments, institutions and entities, the analysis covered 463 (95%).

Overall, the audit outcomes for the national and provincial government are as follows:

9 (2%) received adverse audit opinions
the reports of 21 (5%) had disclaimers
105 (23%) received qualified audit opinions
the reports of 216 (47%) departments and entities that received unqualified financial opinions had concerns raised on “other matters”
while 112 (23%) received an unqualified financial opinion without significant concerns on any other matters (referred to as clean audit opinions.

Read the whole press release here.

IASB and FASB create advisory group

2008-11-20T07:30:00.001+02:00

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today announced that they will create a global advisory group comprising regulators, preparers, auditors, investors and other users of financial statements.
The advisory group will help to ensure that reporting issues arising from the global economic crisis are considered in an internationally co-ordinated manner.

At their forthcoming joint meeting on 20 and 21 October, the boards will discuss the initial topics for the advisory group to consider. They will also discuss how they can appoint the group and schedule its first meeting expeditiously. The boards will report on the first meeting and will consider the group’s discussions immediately thereafter.
In developing their approaches on issues resulting from the discussions the boards will follow appropriate due process. In the interest of transparency, the advisory group will meet in public session with Webcasting facilities available to all interested parties.

To read the whole press release Download it now

IASB welcomes moves towards IFRSs in North America

2008-11-20T07:24:00.001+02:00

Sir David Tweedie, chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), welcomed last week’s actions by authorities in Mexico, Canada and the United States regarding their adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs).

Mexico
On 11 November the Mexican Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV), together with the Mexican Accounting Standards Board (CINIF), announced that Mexico would adopt IFRSs for all listed entities from 2012. Early adoption for some entities would be permitted from 2008 subject to requirements that will be established by the CNBV.

Canada
Also on 11 November the Canadian Accounting Standards Oversight Council (AcSOC) reconfirmed its support for plans to require Canada’s publicly accountable enterprises to follow IFRSs as issued by the IASB by 2011.

United States
On 14 November the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC) published for public comment a proposal, titled Roadmap for the Potential Use of Financial Statements Prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards by U.S. Issuers.
The publication of the roadmap followed a unanimous vote taken by the five SEC Commissioners in August. The proposed roadmap sets out milestones that, if achieved, could lead to the adoption of IFRSs in the United States in 2014. The roadmap also proposes to permit the early adoption of IFRSs from 2010 for some US entities.

Commenting on the announcements, Sir David Tweedie, chairman of the IASB , said:
The recent summit of G20 leaders reaffirmed the need for global accounting standards. This is a goal that the IASB strongly supports. The actions taken last week in Mexico, Canada and the United States are important steps towards achieving that objective.

IMF releases

2008-11-17T08:38:00.003+02:00

Here is the latest IMF releases:

Surveys

IMF Urges World Leaders to Counter Global Slowdown
IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn urges leaders of the G-20 industrialized and developing economies to take action to help counter the global economic slowdown as ministers from systemically important countries agreed on the need for a coordinated response.

Helping Ukraine Avoid a Hard Landing
A $16.4 billion loan for Ukraine approved by the IMF's Executive Board will help the government strengthen confidence and restore economic stability after the country became the latest victim of the financial crisis sweeping the global economy.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: On the Road to EU Accession
A new agreement signed by Bosnia and Herzegovina opens the door to membership of the European Union. But after years of solid growth and sound policies the country has to prepare for EU accession during a time of global economic turmoil.

IMF Outlines $7.6 Billion Loan for Pakistan
The IMF says it has reached an initial agreement with Pakistan on the key elements of an economic program supported by an $7.6 billion loan to meet the country's serious balance of payments difficulties.

World Leaders Launch Action Plan to Combat Financial Crisis
Leaders of the world's major economies draw up an action plan to combat the burgeoning financial crisis and pull the global economy back from one of the worst downturns in decades, giving the IMF a central role in crisis response and reform of the financial architecture.

Working Papers

StressTesting Household Debt in Korea
Author/Editor: Karasulu, Meral
Summary: Korean household debt has reached 148 percent of disposable income, high by emerging market standards. Most of this debt remains at variable rates, shifting the interest rate risk from better diversified financial institutions to households and increasing their sensitivity to macroeconomic shocks. This paper examines the sources of, and risks from, household debt by employing stress tests on household level panel data. Results suggest that a 100-300 bps increase in interest rates could increase distressed household debt household debt by 8½?17 percentage points (ppt). A drop in real estate prices by 10?30 percent could add another 4 ppt to distressed debt. Ongoing transition to amortizing mortgages in 2008?09 presents additional challenges as interest payments on debt are likely to increase further.

Sovereign Wealth Funds: Current Institutional and Operational Practices
Author/Editor: Hammer, Cornelia; Kunzel, Peter; Petrova, Iva
Summary: While SWFs as a group share broad common institutional and operational practices, these practices also differ considerably reflecting the diversity of these institutions. These differences derive from the nature of the SWF (i.e., their original intent) as well as its legal personality. Thus, while SWF practices will continue to evolve, the fundamental objectives of different types of SWFs will continue to shape their practices going forward.

Creating Sustainable Fiscal Space for Infrastructure: The Case of Tanzania
Author/Editor: Ter-Minassian, Teresa; Hughes, Richard; Hajdenberg, Alejandro
Summary: A common dilemma facing governments around the world is how to meet the sizeable fiscal costs of providing and maintaining infrastructure networks. Over the past decade, developed and developing countries have looked to fiscal rules, budgetary reforms, tax policy and administration measures, public-private partnerships and other innovative financial instruments to raise additional finance for infrastructure investment. This paper looks at the range of options for raising the financing to meet Tanzania's infrastructure needs. It begins with a brief survey of the evidence on the relationship between infrastructure, public investment, and economic growth, and then goes on to consider the case for additional infrastructure investment in Tanzania. The second part of the paper looks at five broad options for mobilizing additional resources to meet Tanzania's infrastructure needs: (i) direct private investment and PPPs, (ii) expenditure reprioritization and efficiency, (ii!
i) domestic revenue mobilization, (iv) external grants and concessional financing, and (v) sovereign borrowing on domestic or international credit markets. The paper concludes with some general recommendations on what combination of the above approaches might be suitable for Tanzania.

Policy Papers
A New Facility for Market Access Countries--The Short-Term Liquidity Facility
Summary: The ongoing financial market turmoil is remarkable for its severity but also for the speed with which shocks have spread across markets and economies. Disruptions in short-term funding in mature markets, deleveraging and contraction of bank balance sheets, and contagion from a systemic loss of confidence are leading rapidly to sharply reduced financial flows to economies far from the origins of the crisis. Market turbulence in advanced economies has thus led to the emergence of short-term external liquidity needs even in emerging market countries with strong underlying domestic policies.
In these circumstances, the Fund's traditional facilities may not always be the optimal means of addressing short-term balance of payments pressures. Stand-By Arrangements (SBAs) have been used flexibly to support members' economic programs where both policy adjustment and financing were needed to address underlying vulnerabilities, buttress market confidence, and facilitate a member's early return to market financing.
This paper proposes a special facility to complement existing instruments by filling a gap in the Fund's toolkit.

2008 Triennial Surveillance Review - Background Information and Statistical Appendix
Summary: Country surveillance constitutes an essential part of the IMF's mandate to oversee the international monetary system and to monitor the economic and financial policies of its 185 member countries. The IMF's Executive Board conducts regularly scheduled reviews of country surveillance (the Triennial Surveillance Review) to consider ways to improve its effectiveness. The 2008 review is the first such review since the Executive Board approved, in June 2007, a new Decision on Bilateral Surveillance. This Decision affirms that the focus of bilateral surveillance is on those policies of members that can significantly influence present or prospective external stability. The review focused on the implementation of country surveillance in the recent past, as presented in the following set of papers:

The overview paper presents the main findings and priority areas for further work.

The review finds that stakeholders hold the quality of IMF surveillance in high regard, but that improvements should focus on risk assessment, integration of macroeconomic and financial sector surveillance, multilateral perspectives (cross-border spillovers and cross-country analysis), and exchange rate assessments.
The priority areas identified in the review served as key background for the preparation of the IMF's Statement of Surveillance Priorities (SSP

The Thematic Findings (Supplement 1) provides supporting analysis on the implementation of bilateral surveillance in the recent past and, particularly, on the appropriateness of its focus and its analytical value added in particular areas, including the overall "health check", exchange rates, financial sector issues, cross-country analysis and cross-border spillover analysis (including a case study of surveillance in the run up to the subprime crisis), the degree of candor and evenhandedness in surveillance, and the effectiveness of its communication

The Background Information paper (Supplement 2) provides further information, including a description of review methodologies, and results including interview findings, surveys of various audiences, and supporting data on the quality of consultation documents

The External Consultant's Report provides an independent view of IMF surveillance in Europe.

Country Reports
Solomon Islands: 2008 Article IV Consultation-Staff Report; Staff Supplement; Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion
Solomon Islands: Tax Summary and Statistical Appendix
People's Republic of China-Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes--FATF Recommendations for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism

Statement by World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick on the Summit of G20 Leaders

2008-11-17T08:33:00.003+02:00

"This summit of G-20 leaders and the G-20 meeting of finance ministers last weekend have begun to lay a productive foundation of discussion, input, and agreement.

What matters now are the follow up actions. People are looking to leaders for a global, coordinated and fast response.
If September and October were about coordinated and cooperative monetary policies, then November and December will be increasingly about starting fiscal stimulus. China’s recent $580 billion stimulus package was well timed and shows leadership. Further decisive actions will be needed. Such actions must take into account the interests of the poor and most vulnerable in developing countries.

Last month I called for a reform of the G7 and for a modernized multilateralism to better reflect the realities of the 21st century. It is a positive step forward that leaders of developed economies are now meeting together with leaders from the rising economic powers. But the poorest developing countries must not be left out in the cold. We will not solve this crisis, or put in place sustainable long-term solutions by accepting a two-tier world.

I welcome the reaffirmation by the Heads of Government of the importance of the Millennium Development Goals and their commitment to honor their pledges of overseas aid. If we are going to avert a human crisis, we will have to do more. At $100 billion a year, the amount spent on overseas aid is a drop in the ocean compared to the trillions of dollars that are now being spent on financial rescues in the developed world."

Read the whole statement.

Chairs of High-level advisory group announced

2008-11-17T08:30:00.000+02:00

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) announced that Hans Hoogervorst, Chairman of theNetherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), the Dutch securities regulator and Harvey Goldschmid, former Commissioner of the United States Securities and ExchangeCommission (US SEC) have agreed to co-chair the high-level advisory group formed to consider financial reporting issues arising from the global economic crisis.

Mr. Hoogervorst also serves as Vice-Chairman of the Technical Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and is a former Minister of Finance in the Netherlands.

Mr. Goldschmid is the Dwight Professor of Law at Columbia University, United States. He served as an SEC Commissioner between 2002 and 2005.The advisory group will comprise of investors, regulators, preparers, auditors and other users of financial statements and will help to ensure that financial reporting issues arising from the crisis are considered in an internationally co-ordinated manner. Further details on the composition of the advisory group and scheduling of meetings will be announced shortly.

It is expected that the work of the advisory group will be completed within a four to six month period.

Recommendations from the advisory group will be jointly considered by the two boards. Any decisions to act upon the recommendations will be subject to appropriate and robust due process. In the interest of transparency, the advisory group will meet in public session with Web casting facilities available to all interested parties.

Europe To See Pension Reform Debate

2008-11-17T08:13:00.002+02:00

Policymakers to look at issues of pension fund governance and collective risk taking.

As was the case during the equities markets collapse in 2001, the current financial turmoil will reshape the political debate in Europe over public pension reform and the structure of pension provision.

While all privately funded pensions in Europe will suffer unavoidably in the short term from the general malaise in financial markets and the expected low growth in the real economy, the more important implication of the crisis is that debates will intensify among policymakers and practitioners over the broader issues of pension fund governance and collective risk sharing.

For more on the story, please refer to the original Forbes article.

University news from Africa

2008-11-17T07:52:00.001+02:00

WEST AFRICA: Universities agree on regional strategy
The University of Bamako, Ouagadougou University and University Cheikh Anta Diop of Dakar, together with the French Conference of University Presidents, have agreed on a coordinated strategy for higher education and research, to promote a regional partnership between African and French universities and contribute to development of West African scientific communities.

MEDITERRANEAN: Unimed elects Tunisia to presidency
The Mediterranean Universities Union (Unimed) has elected Abderraouf Mahbouli, head of the University of Tunis, as its President, reports La Presse of Tunis. It is the first time a country south of the Mediterranean has headed the union, which has 84 member establishments in 20 countries mostly in the Mediterranean basin.

GLOBAL: Nigerian students scoop award in 'world cup'
Clemence Manyukwe
Nigeria's Obafemi Awolowo University clinched second place in an international higher education competition aimed, among other things, at sharpening student skills by testing their understanding of market economics. More than 1,500 students, academics and business people from 41 countries converged in Singapore last month for the Students in Free Enterprise 'world Cup'.

ZIMBABWE: Student 'bonding' to stem brain drain
Clemence Manyukwe
The Zimbabwean government has introduced a student 'bonding' system in a desperate attempt to stem the brain drain as people flee the ruinous policies of President Robert Mugabe. Under the cadetship scheme, students will not receive a qualification on graduating but only after working for the state for a stipulated period.

EGYPT: Disqualifications, apathy mar student elections
Ashraf Khaled
Hassan Abbas, an arts student at Cairo University, did not know there were student union elections until he saw Islamist students staging a protest against their disqualification from candidate lists. In recent weeks the country's 18 public universities have held student polls marked by widespread apathy as well as fiery protests by ineligible students, particularly from the Muslim Brotherhood - said to be the largest opposition group on Egypt's campuses. Political or religious student groups have been banned from student leadership.

NIGERIA: UK seeks partnerships with local universities
Tunde Fatunde
The National Universities Commission recently ordered the immediate closure of the offshore campuses of foreign universities on Nigerian soil, as they are prohibited under law. The move left hundreds of students stranded, and unable to move to 'legal' institutions that are full - and indeed only able to accommodate 30% of qualified school-leavers. Now the British Council is seeking partnerships between UK and Nigerian universities, with a view to creating wider opportunities for youngsters desperately seeking higher education.

CAMEROON: Crowded start for new year
Jane Marshall
The academic year has started with record numbers of new students in Cameroon but several universities have experienced problems including overcrowding, lack of teachers and even cancellation of a new faculty of medicine just before it was due to open. Newspapers reported that some universities were coping better than others.

2008-11-13T15:28:00.000+02:00

To all the lecturers who took the time to write an email to Dr Anette van Vuren with comments (good or bad) regarding the Library's service:

Thank you very much!

It was extremely humbling to read the kind words and I highly appreciate it. All the comments from the various librarians will be compiled into an evidence report and submitted to Prof Habib on Monday.

ISI call for papers and posters

2008-11-13T14:18:00.002+02:00

The 57th Session of the International Statistics Institute (ISI) be hosted by South Africa at the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC) in August 2009.

This Session is historic, in that it will be the first to be held in sub-Saharan Africa since the inception of ISI sessions over 120 years ago. It presents Africa with an unprecedented opportunity to consolidate an agenda for an African Statistical Renaissance, placing statistics at the centre of informed and evidence-based decision-making .

The ISI Scientific Programme comprises four components:
Invited Paper Meetings (IPMs)

These meetings are largely finalised. The topics accepted are listed in the IPM Programme. For further information, including details and contact addresses of the organisers, please click on IPM.

Special Topic Contributed Paper Meetings (STCPMs) )
Each STCPM will be allocated a slot of two-and-a-quarter hours. The meeting may follow a standard format, but the format is flexible. An organsier may want to include a number of short presentations, or fewer more substantial papers, or may prefer to organise a panel discussion. There are still opportunities to organise an STCPM on a particular topic or aspect of statistics of one’s choice. We welcome innovation and look forward to your contributions! If you would like to discuss your ideas. For further details click on STCPM, and please contact Professor Tim Dunne, Chair, Local Programme Committee, by e-mail at: tim.dunne@uct.ac.za

Contributed Paper Meetings (CPMs)

Please consider submitting a contributed paper to the Durban conference. Contributors have until 13th April 2009 to submit or revise an abstract on any topic within the very broad field of statistical theory, methods, application or education. Contributed paper authors are typically offered 15 minutes for their presentation. We will attempt to group contributed papers together according to their content and this process will be assisted if each contributor can select one or more of the categories offered on the registration form which best suit the paper. Click on CPM to read more. We will aim to include as many of the contributed papers as possible, but when the CPMs slots are filled, contributors will be asked if they would be prepared to present a poster instead.

Posters

An alternative to offering a contributed paper is to submit an abstract for a poster, on a topic of one’s choice. Contributors of accepted submissions will be asked to bring the poster to Durban. Each poster will be allocated display space and a day of exhibition. A time slot will be allocated at which contributors can explain the research/work to interested participants and answer their questions. There will be several prizes for the best posters. We intend that this activity should be both a serious and a fun part of the conference. We particularly welcome contributions from students and other young statisticians. Click on Posters for more details
For Abstract Submissions click here

ERSA Training Workshops in early 2009

2008-11-13T14:09:00.002+02:00

Diarise the following ERSA workshop days:

1. Training Workshop on Financial Econometrics

ERSA is pleased to announce a three day training workshop on Financial Econometrics to take place at the University of Stellenbosch from the 20 – 22 January 2009 to be followed by a second workshop from the 7 – 9 April 2009 at the same venue.

These workshops will be led by Prof Stan Hurn, School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane.

Participants should have grounding in Econometrics. Eviews and Matlab software will be used in the courses.

Topics for the first workshop will include the following:
o Understanding financial data
o Modelling volatility
o Generalized method of moments estimation.

Proposed topics for the second workshop include:
o Review of Maximum likelihood: specification and estimation
o Quasi-maximum likelihood estimation
o Estimation by simulation
o Nonparametric estimation

ERSA will provide financial support to cover travel and accommodation expenses of participants. However, places are limited and access to the course is at the discretion of the course organizers.
Please email Tania Jacobs (tania.jacobs@uct.ac.za) if you would like to attend the January course.

The deadline for applications is Friday 14 November 2008.

The announcement for the April course will be sent out early in January 2009.

2. Training Workshop on Econometric Methods for Panel Data

ERSA is pleased to announce a five day training workshop on Firm Level Panel Datasets to take place at the University of Stellenbosch from the 12 January - 16 January 2009.

This workshop will be led by Dr Steven Bond at Oxford University and Dr Måns Söderbom at School of Economics at Göteborg University.

The broad outline of the course will be on econometric methods for panel data, with particular reference to firm-level panel datasets. Participants should have a grounding in Econometrics.

ERSA will provide financial support to cover travel and accommodation expenses of participants. However, places are limited and access to the course is at the discretion of the course organizers.
Please email Tania Jacobs (tania.jacobs@uct.ac.za) if you would like to attend the course. The deadline for applications is Friday 14 November 2008.

OECD forecasts a protracted economic slowdown in US, Japan and Euro area

2008-11-13T14:07:00.000+02:00

Economic activity is expected to fall by 0.9 percent in the US next year, by 0.5 percent in the Euro area and by 0.1 percent in Japan as OECD countries enter a protracted slowdown, according to latest projections.

Presenting OECD’s gross domestic product (GDP), inflation and unemployment forecasts for these three major economies ahead of the G20 summit on the financial crisis on 15 November. Jorgen Elmeskov, Director of Policy Studies in the OECD’s Economics Department, said a high degree of uncertainty surrounds the outlook. Much depends on the depth and duration of the financial crisis, the main driver of the current recession. And he added, “The ongoing adjustment in housing markets still has a long way to go.”

GDP for the OECD countries as a whole is expected to fall 0.3 percent year-on-year in 2009 before recovering slightly to grow by 1.5 percent in 2010. The average unemployment rate in the OECD area, estimated at 5.9 percent this year, is forecast to climb to 6.9 percent next year and reach 7.2 percent in 2010. Inflation should continue to ease as economic slack puts downward pressure on prices and if, as assumed, commodity prices maintain their recent lower levels. “Against this backdrop, additional macroeconomic stimulus is needed,” said Elmeskov.

The advance projections for the US, Euro area and Japan are available on the Economic Outlook homepage.

The full Economic Outlook containing detailed forecasts and analysis for all OECD countries and other major economies will be released on 25 November 2008.

World Bank Report Suggests Strategy For African Growth Based On Mapping Of Economic Geography

2008-11-13T14:01:00.003+02:00

History shows that severe crises can cause nations to become inward-looking, sometimes with negative consequences. The World Development Report 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography, released last week, argues that policies that facilitate geographic concentration and economic integration, both within and across countries as well as within the global economy, will promote long-term growth. This is key in Africa, where accelerated growth is critical for poverty reduction in the years ahead.

“Growth does not come to every place at once, with markets favoring some places over others,” said Indermit S. Gill, Director of the report. “To encourage prosperity, governments should facilitate the geographic concentration of production, rather than fight it. But they must also institute policies that make the provision of basic needs—schools, security, streets, and sanitation—more universal.”

The report notes that Sub-Saharan Africa today faces the triple challenges of low density or scarce and scattered populations; long distances between remote areas and centers of economic activity; and deep divisions in national, religious, and ethnic terms. These dimensions of economic geography reduce connectedness between economic agents within the region, as well as with the rest of the world.

“In Sub-Saharan Africa, we can reduce the disadvantages of our poor economic geography through better urbanization, more domestic specialization, and more regional integration,” said Shanta Devarajan, Chief economist of the World Bank’s Africa Region. “Regional cooperation, labor mobility, investments in trade, communication and transport infrastructure, and peace and stability need to remain high on our agenda, even as countries work to contain the spillover effects of the global financial crisis.”

It is commonly assumed that economic activities, within a country or region, must be spread geographically to benefit the poorest and most vulnerable. However, the WDR emphasizes that trying to spread out economic activity can hinder growth and is not effective in fighting poverty. For rapid, shared growth, governments must promote economic integration which, at its core, is about the mobility of people, products, and ideas.

IASB expert panel report available

2008-11-13T13:58:00.002+02:00

At its May 2008 meeting, the IASB announced its plans to form an expert advisory panel in response to the recommendations made by the Financial Stability Forum to assist the IASB in:

reviewing best practices in the area of valuation techniques, and
formulating any necessary additional guidance on valuation methods for financial instruments and related disclosures when markets are no longer active.

The discussions of the panel members have provided the Board insight into whether there is a need for additional guidance in this area.

The discussions of the panel will provide input for the IASB’s work on financial instruments and fair value measurement. The remit of the panel is how to measure the fair value of financial instruments when markets are no longer active. The panel did not discuss whether fair value is an appropriate measurement basis for a particular financial instrument or class of financial instruments.

The following documents of the panel are now available:

Meeting summaries (by date)

Trustee letter to G20 participants

2008-11-13T13:46:00.003+02:00

The Trustees of the IASC Foundation issued a letter earlier this week to participants of the upcoming G20 meeting on 15 November in Washington, D.C.

The letter is quite long, so I am only providing the first section, the whole letter can be read here.

Dear Mr President
On behalf of the Trustees of the IASC Foundation, the oversight body of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), I am writing to you as the host of the upcoming meeting of leaders of G20 countries on 15 November in Washington.
We respectfully request that the meeting secretariat circulates this letter to other participants in advance of the meeting.

The purpose of this letter is to inform the leaders of G20 countries of the role that the IASB, the independent body charged with developing a single set of high quality, global accounting standards, is playing in addressing issues emanating from the credit crisis.
The Trustees understand that the issues of accounting standards and the credit crisis and the governance of our organisation may be on the meeting’s agenda.

Accounting standards and the credit crisis

The need for a global response to the credit crisis, a global problem, is evident and has been emphasised by world leaders. International co-operation is already well advanced in the field of accounting standard-setting. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), set by the IASB, are now used in more than 100 countries.

Most of the world’s developed and emerging economies - including nearly all of the G20 members - have made commitments to IFRSs. The IASB has been actively engaged in promoting common standards over the world and in particular in ensuring convergence among major economies. The success so far achieved should not be compromised by actions that would weaken the independence of the standard-setting process.

The role of fair value accounting in the credit crisis has received much scrutiny. The Trustees support the IASB’s efforts to establish accounting standards aimed at providing transparent and comparable financial information. To respond to the crisis, the IASB has taken urgent action to improve the application of fair value principles, where necessary, and is committed to working with the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to ensure globally consistent solutions.
The use of fair values has received support from both banking supervisory and investor communities. Christian Noyer, President of the Banque de France, wrote in the Banque de France’s October 2008 Financial Stability Review, “In parallel, the move to mark-to-market accounting in financial reporting has fostered transparency and a more timely recognition of risk exposures, and has contributed to sharpening market discipline.”

Read the whole letter.

Finance & Construction - biggest contributor to growth in SA

2008-11-13T13:34:00.002+02:00

Image: LotusHead

The finance and construction industries have been identified as the most significant contributors to growth in South Africa's services sector - this according to BuaNews, the Government news portal.

Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, on Wednesday said in South Africa, service sectors contributed 74 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and 72 percent of employment."

Service sectors such as finance and construction have been particularly significant contributors to growth during the upswing which we experienced between 2001 and 2007," said Mr Davies, speaking at the Service Exporter Network Annual Meeting and Conference. He highlighted the importance of sectors such as the services sector to the growth of South Africa's economy.

Services and trade within the services sector is becoming increasing important to both developed and developing countries, Mr Davies said, adding that the sector had become inclusive of telecommunications, transportation, finance, insurance, distribution, information services and entertainment services.

The services sectors currently account for two thirds of global output, one third of global employment and nearly 20 percent of global trade, the deputy minister said.Between 2000 and 2007, global services sectors grew at an annual rate of 10.1 percent which was 1 percent more than the growth in trading goods.

The Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (AsgiSA) identified two important services sectors, namely Business Process Outsourcing and off-shoring (BPO&) and tourism.

IMF releases

2008-11-10T09:11:00.002+02:00

Here are the latest IMF releases:

Policy Papers

Mongolia-Assessment Letter for the Asian Development Bankr:
Summary: Assessment Letters or Statements may be prepared for member countries with Fund-supported programs; receiving Fund emergency assistance; with staff-monitored programs; or surveillance-only cases. They are typically produced for use by the country with multilateral or bilateral donors or creditors, in particular the World Bank and other International Financial Institutions.

Surveys

IMF Urges Stimulus as Global Growth Marked Down Sharply
The IMF urges countries to stimulate their economies in the face of a bigger-than-expected slowdown in the global economy triggered by recent financial turmoil. In its latest forecast for world economic growth, the IMF sharply revises its growth projections downward.

IMF Agrees $15.7 Billion Loan to Bolster Hungary's Finances
The IMF's Executive Board approves a $15.7 billion loan for Hungary as part of a program designed to ease financial market stress in the East European country while supporting longer-run economic goals of reforming government finances and the banking sector.

Working Papers

Fiscal Policy and Economic Cycles in Oil-Exporting Countries
Author/Editor: Husain, Aasim M.; Tazhibayeva, Kamilya; Ter-Martirosyan, Anna
Summary: This paper empirically assesses the impact of oil price shocks on the underlying non-oil economic cycle in oil-exporting countries. Panel VAR analysis and the associated impulse responses indicate that in countries where the oil sector is large in relation to the economy, oil price changes affect the economic cycle only through their impact on fiscal policy. Once fiscal policy changes are removed, oil price shocks do not have a significant independent effect on the economic cycle.

Country Reports

The Kingdom of Swaziland: 2008 Article IV Consultation-Staff Report; Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director

Grenada: First Review Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility Arrangement, Request for Waiver of Performance Criterion, Financing Assurance Review, Request for Rephasing and Extension of the Arrangement, and Request for Augmentation-Staff Report; Staff Supplement; and Press Release on the Executive Board Discussion

McKinsey Quarterly Newsletter available

2008-11-10T09:05:00.002+02:00

The McKinsey Quarterly newsletter is now available.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Google’s view on the future of business: An interview with CEO Eric Schmidt
In a compelling video interview, Google CEO Eric Schmidt reflects on the coming transformation of strategy, competition, business models, and management. This piece is just one example of the wide range of new content we are now posting on the reengineered mckinseyquarterly.com, including video, audio, and interactive exhibits, as well as more contributions from outside McKinsey, including letters from readers. Our redesigned site also makes it easier than ever to find content, particularly on specific regions and big ideas.

Also new this month
STRATEGY
Helping ‘green’ products grow
When customers reach the cash register, they often forget their eco-friendly attitudes. Businesses can do a lot more to help would-be green consumers walk their walk.

CORPORATE FINANCE
How climate change could affect corporate valuations
Efforts to reduce carbon emissions could profoundly affect the valuations of many companies, but executives don’t seem to be paying attention.

MARKETING
What’s new with the Chinese consumer
Ten million new ones enter the market eachyear, and the hundreds of millions already there are evolving rapidly. Ongoing McKinsey research examines these trends.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
How IT can cut carbon emissions
Information and communications technologies are becomingmajor emitters of greenhouse gases. But technology canalso help reduce emissions across many industries.

FINANCIAL SERVICES
The missed opportunity for US health insurers
Most health care payers now convert less than 10 percentof the customers who move to a new product class—for example, when they become eligible for Medicare. That’s not good enough.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
A fresh wind for offshoring infrastructure management
While other offshoring services have grown rapidly, the management and maintenance of core infrastructure from afar has been slow to gain traction. It may be about to take off.

SARS regulations

2008-11-10T09:03:00.001+02:00

The South African Revenue Service has released the Second Income Tax Draft Regulations in terms of section 75B of the Income Tax Act, 1962, for public comment.

Comments can be emailed to Ms Catinka Smit at csmit@sars.gov.za by 14 November 2008.

Due to time constraints, it will not be possible to respond individually to comments received. All comments will however be fully considered. The document is also available here: www.pmg.org.za/gazettes

CALL FOR PAPERS – International Journal of Emerging Markets

2008-11-10T08:52:00.002+02:00

The International Journal of Emerging Markets has a Special Issue on Changing Patterns of Global Growth .

The credit crunch, increases in food prices and the oil crisis have all led to great uncertainty in the global economy. However, some countries have achieved higher growth whereas standards of living have been predicted to plummet in other economies.

A special issue of International Journal of Emerging Markets sets out to analyse the following themes:

The role of India, China and other emerging markets in insulating world economic growth from US financial crisis
How the US financial crisis is affecting emerging markets
Strategies for companies from emerging markets on how to cope with the current crisis
Is there a role for China and India and other emerging economies in insulating the global economy?
Should policies be domestic or global?
How should emerging markets cope with the global financial crisis?

Types of paper
Both empirical as well as theory building papers will be considered. As the topic lies at the intersection of several scholarly domains, papers can draw from several different fields such as organisation theory, strategy, international business, technology and invasion management and business law. Aspects can also encompass other areas including entrepreneurship, operations research and organisational behaviour.

Submission guidelines and timeline
All manuscripts should be prepared according to the author guidelines located at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/ijoem.htm.

All papers will be double blind reviewed following the journal’s normal review procedure. (This journal is not accredited)

Submissions to International Journal of Emerging Markets must be made using the ScholarOne Manuscript Central system: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ijoem

Deadline for submissions: 31 January 2009

The guest editors for the special issue are John McManus and David Floyd. Please direct any enquiries to Dr McManus at jmcmanus@lincoln.ac.uk

Latest news from IASB

2008-11-10T08:46:00.001+02:00

Summary of IASC Foundation Trustees’ meeting – October 2008
The Trustees of the IASC Foundation today announced the conclusions of their meeting in Beijing, China, on 9 and 10 October 2008.

IASB Work Plan updated
The IASB today published an updated version of its Work Plan as approved during the June Board meeting. The updated plan shows the projected timetable for the publication of due process documents and final standards.

Annual Report 2006 now available
The IASC Foundation has published its Annual Report for 2006. The report provides a comprehensive account of the Foundation’s activities over the past year, and includes audited financial statements.

Library closing early on 12th December

2008-11-10T07:50:00.002+02:00

Image: salssa

Please note: All UJ Libraries will close at 13h00 on Friday 12 December 2008

New books

2008-11-06T16:14:00.002+02:00

The new titles that came during the last two weeks are:

1. Financial Econometrics by Peijie Wang

KINGSWAY BOOKS LEVEL 1 EEP WANG

2. Money and Monetary Stystems: selcted essays of Filippo Cesarano

KINGSWAY BOOKS LEVEL 1 EEC CESA

3. Main Economic Indicators, Vol 2008/8 August by the OECD

KINGSWAY BOOKS LEVEL 1 EE8 MAIN

If you would like me to put aside any of the above title, please let me know.

University news from the West

2008-11-06T12:10:00.007+02:00

From campus to Capitol and back againIn America, it is common for academics to play a prominent political role. Jon Marcus reports

Still no call from No 10?

In the UK, the gulf between the political and the academic worlds seems all but unbreachable while Americans flit easily between lecture halls and halls of power. Matthew Reisz examines why Whitehall seems so inhospitable to scholars, while Jon Marcus looks at why Washington is so accommodating...

FE colleges plan low-cost degrees at bachelor level Vocational university envisaged as a way to meet expansion targets

Teaching ‘unsuited’ to the third millennium Personal relationships are lost in modern university ‘maelstrom’, v-c warns

‘Come out of the woodwork now’: MP’s challenge to standards critics Commons committee chair calls for evidence on ‘dumbing down’ as inquiry starts work

To get ahead, watch brows and britches Etiquette guide for staff covers personal grooming, dress and fine dining

Pick ’n’ mix not so sweet Many years ago, Frank Burnet fought for modularisation and credit transfer. The war was won, but the victory was pyrrhic Property magnetMoving house is the perfect way to begin a new chapter of your life, says Mary Warnock, even if those around you think you’re mad Devil’s advocate Milton expert Stanley Fish refuses to demonise the administrator and warns against influencing the moral character of students

A closed book to outsiders
Japan and South Korea want their universities to attract overseas academic talent, but doubts persist about their readiness for the global market. Michael Fitzpatrick reports

No change in ranking for Poppleton
For three decades, Laurie Taylor's fictitious university and its characters have mocked the absurdities of campus life, writes Matthew Reisz

You can lead cattle to water but you can't make them think
A lesson in animal behaviour helped Bob Blaisdell improve classroom comforts and student learning

The world’s top 1,000 business schools: See our exclusive supplement for a report on the top business schools around the globe. Click here for more.

US: Obama and higher education: promises and problems
Arlene Cherwin
With a "Yes we can" attitude and a five point platform for higher education, President-elect Obama represents a changing face for higher education and Americans are hopeful. Obama's platform targets loan programmes, access to higher education, community colleges, science and technology, and affirmative action.

CANADA: Benefiting from Bologna
Philip Fine
The Bologna process, the initiative that tries to smooth the jagged edges off Europe's differing degree and credit structure, has caught the world's attention in a big way. From the Caribbean to Canada, from China to Australia, the plan designed to solve a European problem and that then brought in bordering countries now has nations far beyond those borders looking at some academic retooling.

IRAQ: Killing academics is a war crime
Brendan O'Malley
The international community should explicitly recognise crimes against educators as crimes against humanity or war crimes, a conference of 150 Iraqi ministers, MPs, university presidents and international experts was told last week. Hosted in Paris by Unesco, in collaboration with the Qatari Foundation, the conference heard that more than 250 academics had been killed in a "campaign of terror" since the fall of Saddam Hussein, in targeted attacks.

GLOBAL: Saudi Arabia pays academics best, China worst
Karen MacGregor
Academics in Saudi Arabia are the best paid on earth while scholars in China are the worst off, according to a pioneering just-published global study of salaries conducted by the Boston College Center for International Higher Education in the US. The average academic salary across 15 countries surveyed is US$4,050 a month in purchasing power parity dollars - and lecturers can expect to earn triple their country's per capita estimate - International Comparison of Academic Salaries: An exploratory study.

NEW ZEALAND: Final Maori institution claim settled
John Gerritsen
The New Zealand government has settled the last of the claims made against it by Maori tertiary institutions for capital funding that will put them on an equal footing with other public tertiary institutions. At $50.6 million (US$29.8 million), the figure agreed with Te Wananga o Raukawa last month adds to nearly $10 million already paid to the institution and brings the total value of settlements for the three public wananga to $169 million.

GLOBAL: IFC opens private education forum
The International Finance Corporation has established an online discussion on what it calls "the evolving regulatory context for private education in emerging economies". Dr Svava Bjarnason, a senior education specialist with the IFC, says the purpose is to provide a forum for stakeholders to discuss key questions relating to the evolving nature of regulation of private education.

GLOBAL: Education under attack
Brendan O'Malley
A noticeable rise in targeted attacks on education staff, students and institutions in a number of countries constitutes a highly damaging assault on the provision of and access to education in the places worst affected. The dramatic increase in deliberate attacks in recent years and the subsequent loss of life are the result of an abhorrent tactic of sacrificing the lives of innocent young people and those trying to help them develop their potential for the sake of political or ideological aims.

GREECE: Far-reaching European Court ruling
Makki Marseilles
A controversial decision by the European Court of Justice is likely to have far-reaching effects on higher education in Greece. The court's decision, based on the 89/48 EC directive, held that the Greek rules on recognition of diplomas are contrary to community legislation. Moreover, the court ruled that only member states where a diploma was awarded may verify its basis, thereby denying any form of control, academic or administrative, to the host member states.

HE RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
GLOBAL: Is internationalisation on the right track?
"As we progress into the 21st century, the international dimension of higher education is becoming increasingly important and at the same time, more and more complex. There are new actors, new rationales, new programmes, new regulations, and the new context of globalisation," writes respected internationalisation scholar Professor Jane Knight in the latest edition of the Canadian journal Academic Matters, titled The Global University.

GLOBAL: International graduate student challenges
Globalisation has embraced the university, as it has other sectors. Many academics appreciate the benefits that cross-cultural exchange allows as the ivory tower turns global. Knowledge now belongs to a worldwide arena in which we are all connected, writes Dr Fengying Xu in the latest edition of the Canadian journal Academic Matters. But "there are enormous challenges for teaching, studying and research inside this globally-interdependent context".

As Economy Wavers, Online Enrollments Climb
Annual study finds double-digit gains in online education, in part due to fuel costs, surprising some who predicted the rate would eventually flatten.

'Condescending Negativism' and Other Transgressions Against Students
Professors increasingly bemoan student "incivility" in the classroom. But provosts discuss the steps colleges should take to deal with faculty members who mistreat students.

Encouraging Interdisciplinarity
Consortium of research universities considers steps to support cross-departmental research by making changes at faculty and administrative levels.

Making Higher Ed Research Matter
Association of scholars who study academe contemplate ways to make their work more relevant to those who shape policy.

Online Courses Offer Physical And Financial Access To Higher Education steven bell
A convenient way for busy students to squeeze education into their packed schedules, online courses are offering the added benefit of spending less on transportation, making education a little more affordable in a time of record high gas prices. This fall, area colleges are reporting rapid growth in enrollment of online courses, and administrators say whether the institutes are offering computer-based lessons or setting up new learning sites in communities away from Springfield, it's all about making education more accessible -- physically and financially -- to students.

New ERSA working papers

2008-11-05T12:24:00.002+02:00

ERSA has released new working papers - and some are from UJ academics!

Revisiting independence and stochastic dominance for compound lotteries Alexander Zimper

We establish mathematical equivalence between independence of irrelevant alternatives and monotonicity with respect to first order stochastic dominance. This formal equivalence result between the two principles is obtained under two key conditions. Firstly, for all m E N, each principle is de.ned on the domain of compound lotteries with compoundness level m. Secondly, the standard concept of reduction of compound lotteries applies.

Modeling the Rand-Dollar Future Spot Rates: The Kalman Filter Approach Lumengo Bonga-Bonga

A number of studies have contended that it is challenging to explain exchange rate movement with macroeconomic fundamentals. A naive model such as a random walk forecasts exchange rate movements more reliably than existing structural models. This paper confirms that it is possible to improve the forecast of structural exchange rate models, by explicitly accounting for parameter instability when estimating these models. Making use of the Kalman filter as an estimation method that accounts for time-varying coefficients in the presence of parameter instability, this paper indicates that forward exchange rates with different maturities predict the future spot exchange rates more reliably than the random walk model for the Rand exchange rates.

Costly Tax Enforcement and Financial Repression Rangan Gupta and Emmanuel Ziramba

Using an overlapping generations production-economy model characterised by financial repression, purposeful government expenditures and tax collection costs, we analyse whether financial repression can be explained by the cost of raising taxes. We show that with public expenditures affecting utility of the agents, modest costs of tax collection tend to result in financial repression being pursued as an optimal policy by the consolidated government. However, when public expenditures are purposeless, the above result only holds for relatively higher costs of tax collection. But, more importantly, costs of tax collection cannot produce a monotonic increase in the reserve requirements. Of critical importance in this regard, are the weights the consumer assigns to the public good in the utility function and the size of the government.

Will availing credit incentives to Zimbabwean farmers trigger a maize output response? Sophia Musuna and Edwin Muchapondwa

This paper evaluates the impact of credit availability on communal and commercial sector maize output in Zimbabwe. This is important given the increased use of concessionary credit for agriculture as a policy strategy to increase agricultural output and food security, in response to the disruption caused by controversial land reform. The results show that communal sector maize output does not respond to credit availability. Neither does it respond to area under cultivation. Rainfall is the single most important driver of communal agriculture. The commercial sector responds to credit incentives albeit with a very low elasticity. Therefore, credit availability is a rather impotent device for enhancing maize output and, generally, agricultural output in Zimbabwe. Since most of the newly resettled farmers typically operate like communal farmers, both the land reform programme and concessionary credit for agriculture will not be likely to increase agricultural output. An urgent review of the beneficiaries of the controversial land reform programme is needed to ensure that only profit maximizing farmers will have their landownership confirmed, while unproductive farmers are replaced, if the agricultural sector is to help revive the Zimbabwean economy. Thus, commercialisation - rather than communalisation - of the agricultural sector is the appropriate strategy to trigger an increased agricultural output response.

Web presentation introducing the discussion paper on Financial Statement Presentation

2008-11-05T11:59:00.001+02:00

In September 2008 the IASB and FASB jointly published a discussion paper on Financial Statement Presentation. The document is open for public comment until 14 April 2009.

Stephen Cooper, Member of the Board, together with Denise Gomez, project manager, will introduce the discussion paper on Financial Statement Presentation on 13 November 2008.

During the presentation participants are welcome to submit questions via the Web presentation facilities only. You need to register to be able to access the Web presentation. You can do this now or any time before the presentation. If you have registered for the event you will be sent a reminder 30 minutes before the start of the presentation with a direct link.

The presentation inclusive of the Q&A sessions will be recorded and made available on the project Web pages shortly after.

Registration
For the convenience of our constituents in the different time zones we have scheduled two time slots for the Web presentation:
13 November 2008 at 10 am (London time) - Register or log in here
13 November 2008 at 3pm (London time) - Register or log in here

Dialling in
If you would like to listen to the presentation over the phone, please register via the appropriate link below. Please note that questions can only be submitted using the online facilities.
13 November 2008 at 10 am (London time) - Register or log in here
13 November 2008 at 3pm (London time) - Register or log in here

Technical issues
Your computer must allow pop-ups. In case of doubt, please contact your technical department for information.
To access the presentation your computer must have Windows Media Player or Real Player installed.
For technical questions, please contact Chris Samarakkody on +44 (0)20 7246 6444 .

Marketing Financial Services to the over 50's

2008-11-05T11:18:00.004+02:00

Thought that only "young people" or as some of my colleagues say, "the kids" use social networks?

Not true, Dick Stroud, an expert on using interactive channels to communicate with the over-50s market, posted a blog on his website that includes a link to his presentation on the subject of marketing financial services to the 50+ age group.

Why should it matter? Because 11-12% of SA is between 50 and 65, which represents a large portion of the population.

Here are some interesting snippets from his presentation.

Use of online banking is distributed evenly over the 25-55+ age demographic
More than 30% of 50+ Internet users search for brokerage information (this is significantly higher than any other age group)
The 50+ users have an average of 42% longer viewing time of web pages - this means they actually READ the information on the page.

Dick also gives five walk-aways:
"1. We spend lots of time talking about the 50+ market but most of the time we are really talking about the 60+ - probably the 65+ and in many instance the 70+ market. Certainly in the Finance Industry."
2. The consumer’s property is critical to so much of their future livelihood. I know that is an obvious thing to say but it really, really, really is."
3. How little we understand about the real reasons why older people behave the way they do. So much of the time we view the older market through the corporate window of generalisations and how we would like older consumers to behave"
4. There are large country differences, especially with regard to the post work finance available to people. But, there is a hell of lot in common between countries, certainly within Europe."
5. The impact of the credit crunch on consumer’s choice of channels to funnel their hard earned cash has probably changed forever. I don’t think the Financial Services industry has started to come to terms with that fact."

New StatsSA releases

2008-11-05T10:47:00.003+02:00

P0351 - Tourism and Migration, August 2008
The total number of foreign travellers who visited South Africa from Africa, overseas and unspecified countries, arriving through all ports of entry during August 2008 was 752 942.

The August 2008 figure represents an decline of 4,5% as compared with the August 2007 figure of 788 117. During August 2008, 326 075 arrivals were recorded for South African residents while the total number of those departing was 340 057.

P0043 - Statistics of Liquidations and insolvencies, September 2008
The total number of liquidations recorded for September 2008 decreased by 35,3% (from 507 to 328) when compared with September 2007, mainly due to the public-service strike in June 2007 which created a backlog resulting in more liquidations being processed during September 2007.

The total number of liquidations recorded for the nine months ended September 2008 decreased by 4,1% (from 2 465 to 2 365) when compared with the same period last year.
The total number of insolvencies recorded for August 2008 increased by 17,7% (from 198 to 233) when compared with August 2007.

The total number of insolvencies recorded for the eight months ended August 2008 increased by 47,8% (from 1 276 to 1 886) compared with the eight months ended August 2007.

Obama's victory and the impact on the economy

2008-11-05T10:41:00.002+02:00

Moneyweb has published an article outlining analysts' comments on Obama's election as president of the USA:

MARKETS

ALAN LANCZ, PRESIDENT, ALAN B. LANCZ & ASSOCIATES INC, AN INVESTMENT ADVISORY FIRM, TOLEDO, OHIO:
"A lot of this (Obama win) was already discounted in the market. You never know what's going to happen but basically I think any follow-through rally will be unsustainable. You might get a little euphoria with a big victory, but I don't think it's going to be a meter-changer."

WILLIAM LARKIN, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, CABOT MONEY MANAGEMENT, SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS:
"There is an uncertainty that is now behind us: worries about the election being too close or drawn out. People will be looking to see how Obama puts his cabinet together and the people he puts in place to deal with the housing problem. For Treasury Secretary, I am hoping he brings in a real heavy hitter."

EDDY CHEN, FUND MANAGER, PRUDENTIAL SECURITIES INVESTMENT TRUST, TAIWAN:
"The stock market has already factored in the results of the U.S. election to a certain extent, and so we should see much smaller rebounds in the coming days. The most important reaction we are looking at right now is still how Wall Street behaves in response to this Obama victory."

KIRBY DALEY, SENIOR STRATEGIST, NEWEDGE GROUP, HONG KONG:
"The knee-jerk complacency rally in Asia to an Obama win is likely creating an opportunity to sell. The bottom line is economic fundamentals in the U.S. are deteriorating faster than the market can keep up with. And there is very little an Obama administration can do to shield Asia from the effects of this downturn."

ROB HENDERSON, HEAD MARKET ECONOMICS, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK:
"Well, it can't be negative for markets. It's a vote for change and has to inject a degree of optimism that America can again reinvent itself. It's not a good time for anyone to be elected President given the problems there. An early guide will be who he picks for the major positions, particularly Treasury Secretary."

PETER KENNY, MANAGING DIRECTOR AT KNIGHT EQUITY MARKETS IN JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY:
"The market was putting in an Obama bounce earlier today, and we are seeing a continuation of that rally around the world.
"Clearly the market was anticipating a fairly substantial referendum on change and an Obama presidency and a different path. The market called it and the market was right.
"If you drill down where you found sector strength today it was in raw materials, alternative energy, infrastructure plays -- that shows the market predicted an Obama victory.
"This will be the first election in several cycles where there will likely not be any contestation by the losing party about vote count, voter fraud. This will mean less uncertainty and give Obama more of a mandate to move forward and to put in place a series of policies quickly, for it to be a smooth, accelerated transition."

HAAG SHERMAN, CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, SALIENT PARTNERS, HOUSTON, TEXAS:
"Ultimately fundamentals will dictate where the markets go. At least in the near term you will see a more ebullient mood as it relates to the worldwide geopolitical scene with Obama's election and a more optimistic view than what we have had over the past few years.
"I think the Treasury market is reflecting concern over one party controlling government and what the ramifications of that will be, but I think the equity markets will be cheered by Obama's election."

MARK FREEMAN, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND PORTFOLIO MANAGER, WESTWOOD HOLDINGS GROUP IN DALLAS, TEXAS:
"Ultimately, what the markets like is clarity, and that's what they are getting here. At the margin that's a positive and was reflected in today's price action."
"Over the longer term, issuance is what comes to bear on the Treasury market but shorter term the market will focus on the more political or non-fundamental factors and how successful all the plans that are being implemented are in terms of their impact on the credit markets."

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS, TRADE:

KIM YOON-GEE, CHIEF ECONOMIST, DAEISHIN ECONOMIC RESEARCH IN SEOUL:
"What we worry about is the Democrats tend to put their policy priority on protecting the U.S.'s own economy, which may spread protectionism around the world.
"In light of the current situation when global cooperation is highly required, I do not believe the United States would exercise as strong a protectionist position as before.
"Under Obama's leadership, the U.S. is expected to speed up restructuring, so that financial markets will stabilize sooner than expected."

LEE SANG-JAE, ECONOMIST, HYUNDAI SECURITIES IN SEOUL:
"Obama's victory is good news for export-dependent Asian countries. There are a lot of expectations that the global economy will turn better.
"The new U.S. government is expected to help ease geopolitical risks globally, which will further stabilize oil prices. As seen during the Clinton administration, the U.S. trade deficit could narrow again and help reduce concerns over the global economic imbalance.
"There are concerns that Obama's government will be less pro-free trade and the U.S.-South Korea FTA deal would hit a snag, but we'll have to see how it works out."

ABHEEK BARUA, CHIEF ECONOMIST AT HDFC BANK, NEW DELHI:
"I think there were some niggling worries on Obama's stance on offshoring given the current recessionary forces blowing over the U.S. and the stance he may take. But on balance, I think there is much more faith is his bringing about a comprehensive change in the global economic architecture which is the need of the hour in fighting this global crisis.
"Global markets and the world economy are taking a huge sentiment booster from Obama's win as can be seen from the price actions today."

U.S. ECONOMIC POLICY

MARK KONYN, CEO OF ALLIANZ RCM ASIA PACIFIC IN HONG KONG
"We expect to see fiscal spending. Obviously there's some fear that the raising of taxes under a Democratic outcome as opposed to Republican will be more severe. But I think overall there needs to be more fiscal stimulus. In terms of how we were looking at markets we were pretty neutral on the outcome of the election.
"Markets like to see a decisive outcome. It's another area of uncertainty eliminated. But I think markets were bottoming out in any event."

GLENN B. MAGUIRE, ASIA PACIFIC CHIEF ECONOMIST, SOCIETE GENERALE, HONG KONG:
"You are likely to see Congress announce a second stimulus package, somewhere between $300 billion and $500 billion. It will probably be more focused on injecting money directly into the economy via infrastructure projects or tax breaks. Though Obama has enormous challenges, a $1 trillion plus deficit to deal with, ultimately part of the jigsaw is stabilizing and bolstering U.S. consumer sentiment. And if that happens its a positive for Asia."

DARIUSZ KOWALCZYK, CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, CFC SEYMOUR, HONG KONG:
"The U.S. economy is still going into recession.
"There will continue to be monetary easing and fiscal loosening. This would happen under both presidents. The only difference is what the spending would go for ... but in terms of the budget position it would be pretty much similar, so I don't really think in the medium to long term it matters much for the markets."

TOMOMI YAMASHITA, FUND MANAGER, SHINKIN ASSET MANAGEMENT, TOKYO:
"His plan to tax higher income earners may dampen incentives a bit and this might limit U.S. competitiveness, and as far as the currency market is concerned a Republican victory might have been better."

ENERGY, COMMODITIES MARKETS

TOBIAS MERATH, HEAD OF COMMODITIES RESEARCH, CREDIT SUISSE, SINGAPORE:
"The victory for Obama will bring some certainty to the financial markets. And that's why currency analysts think that the dollar might rally for a slightly longer period. That could be negative for commodities in an indirect way. The direct impact of the Obama victory on commodities would be minimal."

JIM RITTERBUSCH, PRESIDENT OF RITTERBUSCH & ASSOCIATES IN THE UNITED STATES:
"I don't see any initial impact as far as energy trade is concerned. We already had a big rally in the oil market yesterday and it will take a few days to a few weeks before we get better clarity as to some of the policies that Obama plans to roll out.
"But by and large, this is a favorable longer-term development for the U.S. economy so with that in mind, this is basically a good thing."