COMESA Summit ends, new chair appointed

[Gregory Gondwe] The 15th COMESA (Common Market for East and Southern Africa) Summit of Heads of State and Governments came to an end on Saturday 15 October 2011 with the announcement of the newly appointed chairman of COMESA, Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika. 17 Oct 2011 12:19

Revive IMF program or no assistance, donors tell Malawi

[Gregory Gondwe: @Kalipochi] Malawi's donors under the Common Approach to Budget Support (CABS) have asked the country to revive its International Monetary Fund (IMF) program or forget their financial assistance. 8 Dec 2011 13:33

Online banking on the rise in Southeast Asia

SINGAPORE: comScore, Inc has released the latest results from a study of Internet usage in Southeast Asia. The report found that an increasing number of consumers across the region turned to online banking throughout 2010. 9 Mar 2011 06:56

The new savvy British consumer

LONDON, UK: There's a change taking place in the UK as consumers start taking control of when, how and where they shop. Power is shifting from retailers to consumers and retailers need to adapt to survive. The retail space is ever changing and evolving- the role of social media, mobile & TV continues to grow, as will innovation in the sector. 21 Apr 2011 07:47

Being retired is a time for relaxing, right? Wrong!

That's if you are in Zimbabwe, that is... Following the land grab, agriculture collapsed and the Zimbabwean economy also collapsed - and hyperinflation wiped out savings. 30 Dec 2011 08:47

Growth of mass affluent population to return across all markets

LONDON, UK: Datamonitor predicts that the number of mass affluent consumers (those with more than US$50 000* in onshore liquid assets) will return to growth in established markets** after declining during the recession. The client base will continue to rise in emerging markets, with particularly strong growth for countries such as Singapore. 5 Apr 2011 08:55

Western Union offers no-fee money transfers to Japan

ENGLEWOOD, US: Western Union Company, a leader in global payment services, in cooperation with its agents, has activated a limited-time "No Transfer Fee"* program for money-transfers sent to Japan from participating agent locations around the world. 18 Mar 2011 07:16

Private sector deals send positive signal to financial services sector despite falling values

LONDON, UK: While deal values in the financial services sector dropped off in the final quarter of last year, PwC experts believe that this decline will not change the positive trend of increasing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. 4 Feb 2011 06:09

Stalemate on lending: Consumers scale back borrowing; banks keep capital

LONDON, UK: Figures released recently by the British Bankers' Association (BBA) showed that demand for unsecured credit continues to wane, with net lending falling by £2 billion (about R22 billion) last year as households scale back their debt. 31 Jan 2011 09:21

2010 US online property insurance report

RESTON, US: comScore, Inc. has released its 2010 Online Property Insurance Report, based on behavioural data from comScore's 1 million person US panel and a survey of more than 2 000 US Internet users aimed at understanding attitudes and intentions with regard to conducting insurance transactions online. 24 Nov 2010 07:28

International banks eye former soviet countries

MOSCOW, RUSSIA: International banks can cash in on the increasing number of rich individuals in former soviet countries if they take the time to understand local characteristics, finds Datamonitor. 15 Nov 2010 10:44

Cuts in the wrong place will leave public sector open to fraud

LONDON, UK: PwC is warning its public sector clients that spending constraints and staff cuts in the wrong places may leave the public sector open to fraud, as employees affected by redundancy (and suppliers faced with contract termination) seek to maximise their benefit on the way out. The report, Navigating Your Way Through Stormy Waters, focuses on increasing risks in this area. 12 Nov 2010 07:59

SPS first processor of Street Savings mobile marketing

ORANGE, US: Secure Payments Systems (SPS), a national leader of value-added payment services and transaction processing in the US and Canada, has announced that it has become the first direct processor of Street Savings mobile marketing products. 20 Oct 2010 12:35