Desperation gripped Philippine islands devastated by Typhoon Haiyan as looting turned deadly on Wednesday and survivors panicked over shortages of food, water and medicine, some digging up underground water pipes and smashing them open. Five days after one of the strongest storms ever recorded slammed into cities and towns in the central Philippines, anger and
More
MTN Cyprus, the island’s second biggest telco, is offering 60 free minutes for calls to the Philippines until the end of the month to existing customers as thousands of workers in Cyprus have families that may have been affected by the deadly Typhoon Haiyan that has devastated the country. MTN also said it was offering
More
A Spanish court on Wednesday found the crew and the government not guilty of criminal responsibility in the 2002 sinking of the Prestige oil tanker, Spain's worst ever environmental disaster. The sinking off the country's northwestern coast coated thousands of kilometres of coastline, mainly in Spain, with foul-smelling black fuel, and forcing the closure of
More
. Indian stars are aligning Marcuard's Market update by GaveKal Research Those investors who seek celestial alignment may have noticed that India’s maiden mission to Mars pretty much coincided with equities rocketing to an all-time high. The ‘Mangalyaan’ orbiter safely exited the launchpad last week, but the real test will come when the module exits
More
The Risk Watch Column Radical reform of Cyprus banking The Risk Watch Column: By Dr Alan Waring Much has been written and spoken already about the causes, processes and effects of the Cyprus banking crisis, especially since the collapse of Popular/Laiki Bank and near collapse of Bank of Cyprus in March 2013. Now at last
More
. Turkey is currently struggling with some of its most critical issues regarding its identity which is affecting all aspects of public life, the economy, its fragile social fabric and even aspirations of regional hegemony, and the government of Cyprus had better not risk losing what little it has by trying to reverse the flow
More
* Rising rates, regulation, bail-ins and default risk were medium or high concern. Peripheral Europe remains the biggest area of concern for investors, according to a new study conducted by DBRS of financial institutions investors. Most respondents signaled peripheral euro-zone members, in particular Italy, Spain and Greece, as the banking systems that worry them the
More
* A new equilibrium of capitalisers and laggards will emerge within the next two years, says PwC survey Wealth managers are struggling with the challenges posed by the economic environment and continuing regulatory pressures, according to a new PwC report, “Navigating to tomorrow: serving clients and creating value.” The report includes findings from PwC’s 2013
More
. Marcuard's Market update by GaveKal Research The three-year-old Chinese offshore renminbi bond market set a new milestone last Friday: the first AAA issue by a foreign government. The Canadian province of British Columbia issued a one-year, RMB2.5 bln (a little over US$400 mln) bond yielding 2.25%. This is big news, for many different reasons.
More
. With the national wealth fund years away from being established and eventually earning revenues from our share of future gas production, and with the Troika of international lenders (primarily the ECB) breathing down our necks for initial repayments some time after 2018, selling off state assets is not a bad thing after all. The
More