Dwindling numbers in the financial industry

- A + A (Aug 9): China’s top auditor is conducting a review of the US$3 trillion trust industry, paving the way for a potential overhaul of a key shadow banking sector where losses on property loans are mounting. In an unscheduled move, the National Audit Office — which previously led an examination of bank exposures to Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co — has for the past month been inspecting the books of at least 20 trust firms, including the top five, to gauge the risks they pose to financial stability, according to people familiar with the matter. The firms are being asked to report on their risky loans to developers and any plans to dispose of them, the people said, asking not to be named as they’re not authorised to speak publicly. The audit office is expected to submit its conclusions to policy makers in Beijing, who may decide on the future reforms of the sector, the people said. While it is unclear what regulatory action the scrutiny will spur, the move illustrates … [Read more...] about China orders surprise audit of US$3 trillion trust industry

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Both oil and gas exported from Russia bring in significant revenue that can be used to support the Russian war in Ukraine. But the export revenue from oil sales is much greate r than export revenue from gas sales. If the West stops buying oil this really hurts Russia – more than if the West stopped buying gas. Back in May, the EU agreed to ban all Russian oil imports by the end of 2022, at least those that are delivered by sea. That was a good move. Russia threatens to cut gas supplies to the European Union. Russia has realized that cutting natural gas doesn’t affect their export revenue (like oil does) but it affects the economies of EU countries a lot more. Russia supplied the EU with 40% of its gas last year , with Germany, Italy, and Netherlands the top three importers in actual volumes of gas. Germany had imported more than 50% of its gas from Russia via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. By the end of June, … [Read more...] about Russia Threatens, EU Reduces, US Industry Helps To Untangle The Natural Gas War In Europe.

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Genetic testing once was offered only to people with rare genetic conditions, or strong family histories of disease that spanned generations. But genetic testing is now being offered to healthy people, to detect if they carry a genetic change (often referred to as a “variant” or “mutation”) that may place them at high risk to develop preventable conditions, including some cancers and cardiac conditions. In theory, population genetic testing makes sense. Instead of waiting for a person to die of a heart attack at a young age, we can learn of some of those risks ahead of time and mitigate them. This approach works not only for the person having testing and their family members – who may also be at risk – but also for our medical system, employers, and overarching health care costs that we, as a society, want to minimize. But in practice, are we there yet? Cristi’s story illustrates that we still have a long way to go to … [Read more...] about Population Genetic Testing: Save Lives And Money, While Avoiding Financial Toxicity

Sri Lanka, a popular destination for holidaymakers, should be teeming with tourists at this time of year. Instead, an unprecedented economic crisis and political turmoil have all but wreaked its tourism with about 40 per cent of the pre-bookings being cancelled recently. Tourism accounts for about 5 per cent of Sri Lanka’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with Britain, India and China being the main markets. Sri Lanka is facing its worst foreign exchange crisis after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the island nation’s earnings from tourism and remittances. According to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), the number of tourist arrivals decreased by 60 per cent in June. Director General of SLTDA Dhammika Wijesinghe said the situation had arisen due to the unprecedented economic crisis. As per SLTDA data, 106,500 tourists arrived in March 2022, but the number dwindled to 32,856 in June. Wijesinghe said July and August are the best months for tourism in Sri Lanka. … [Read more...] about Sri Lanka’s spiralling economic crisis dents its lucrative tourism industry

JUNE DELIVERS DECENT JOBS REPORT, WHICH MEANS THE FED IS GOING TO TRY HARDER TO DESTROY THOSE JOBS TO FIGHT INFLATION… CNBC HEADLINE AT 9:06 AM… Dow futures slide 200 points after strong jobs report likely to keep Fed in hiking mode Stock futures fell Friday after the July jobs report was much better than expected, showing a strong labor market that will likely mean more interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 222 points or 0.68%. S&P 500 futures lost 1.05% and Nasdaq 100 futures shed 1.43%. The labor market added 528,000 jobs in July, easily beating a Dow Jones estimate of a 258,000 increase. The unemployment rate also ticked down to 3.5%, below the 3.6% estimate. Wage growth also ticked up more than estimated, up 0.5% for the month and 5.2% higher than a year ago, signaling that high inflation is likely still a problem. FLASHBACK… JUNE 13… WSJ: Higher Unemployment Rate Looms as the Fed Fights Inflation … [Read more...] about Editor Daily Rundown: EXCLUSIVE: Early Analysis Of June Jobs Numbers From EJ Antoni

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Head of Technology Banking at Bank of the West / BNP Paribas , overseeing the delivery of financial services to U.S. technology companies. As the industry known for "thinking different" and innovating our future, technology has been a long-time leader in corporate America's embrace of sustainability. But the time has come for the industry to more deeply embed environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles into their businesses. Why? Two reasons: ESG is at a critical inflection point due to 2022's fast-evolving regulatory landscape, the momentous shift toward remote and hybrid work and the maturing of sustainable finance. And after two decades in the industry, I'm convinced there are outsized opportunities for tech companies willing to capitalize on the industry's leadership. Here are three ideas: 1. Support strong standards, reporting and regulation. ESG fund inflows hit milestone highs … [Read more...] about How The Tech Industry Can Shape ESG 2.0

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Mike Tuchen, CEO, Onfido . As the world emerges from the global fight against Covid-19, industries are beginning to determine what a return to “normal” will look like. For some, it’s a question of who will return to the office and who will continue remote. For the financial services industry, it’s a question of how to embrace the new “digital-by-default” landscape. While other consumer-facing industries had long since realized the importance of a seamless digital experience—in many cases, forced by technology leaders like Amazon or Google to move online—financial services had been slower in adopting digital tools. An early perception that the risk of fraud was greater and the ability to upsell new services was severely diminished without in-person interaction delayed widespread adoption. In addition, most banks didn’t have a way of verifying someone’s digital identity digitally without the in-person … [Read more...] about How Digital Identity Can ‘Amazonify’ The Financial Services Industry

This article first appeared in Capital, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on August 1, 2022 - August 07, 2022. - A + A CONSUMERS’ purchasing power is being hurt by high inflation, which could lead to lower investable income. As unit trust funds form the largest component of the Malaysian collective investment scheme industry, we take a look at the potential effect on investments and returns of unit trust funds. The Federation of Investment Managers Malaysia (FIMM) sees an impact on household income as well as savings and investment ability amid the rising inflation environment. In June, the Consumer Price Index expanded 3.4% year on year, mainly because of the 6.1% rise in food prices. “As with any inflation, the rise of cost-of-living expenses will naturally erode investor’s investable income in general,” FIMM tells The Edge in an emailed reply. It is interesting to note, however, that there was little correlation between the returns of unit trusts based on … [Read more...] about Implications of soaring inflation on unit trust fund industry

This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on July 25, 2022 - July 31, 2022. - A + A To future-proof a property, there must be sustainable financial management for long-term maintenance, according to ­Architect Centre Sdn Bhd accredited architect, building inspector and trainer Anthony Lee. He added that future-proofing a property should not be an afterthought and that it has to be financially sustainable. Therefore, it would be important to ensure a property has enough residents, and that everyone is paying maintenance fees and towards the sinking fund. “It [a future-proofed property] is planned, designed and executed beyond aesthetics and features by responsible developers and team … Don’t let features and aesthetics fool you because these will let you down if the property doesn’t collect enough funds,” he reiterated in his session entitled “Future-Proofing Your Investment” at The Edge Malaysia RealTalk 2022 … [Read more...] about Sustainable financial management key to future-proofing properties

As per SEBI data, the number of demat accounts in India has increased by 63% in FY22 clocking to a total 89.7 million demat accounts as of March 2022. While every year millions of neophytes enter the stock market, majority of them fail in their trading journey because of lack of basic skills. As it is said “knowledge is power”, if one lays a strong foundation by learning the basics and undergoing stock market training courses, they can definitely increase their odds of success. “A good mentor could be the missing piece you need for trading to click”. If you really want to make a successful career in trading and learn the nitty-gritty of the market from the experts, join Get Together Finance (GTF), one of the best share market institutes in India providing education to novice as well as professional traders regarding trading in financial markets. Growth journey of Get Together Finance (GTF) GTF, the one-of-a-kind trading institute is the brainchild of Mr. Sooraj Singh … [Read more...] about Two young passionate traders on a mission to make every Indian financially independent with GTF