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

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

Fees could alienate online bill pay users

CHICAGO, US: Online banking continues to grow in popularity, and according to Mintel, 79% of consumers visit their banks' online website on a daily or weekly basis. However, it seems that loyalty to online banking would vanish if the service wasn't complimentary, as just less than 80% of consumers would stop using their banks online bill pay services if their financial institutions charged a monthly fee. 24 Feb 2011 08:22

Financial services CEOs look to emerging markets to feed growth aspirations

LONDON, UK: Financial services companies need to look far beyond their domestic markets if they are to achieve their ambitious growth aspirations. This is according to the 14th annual PwC Global CEO Survey, which shows CEOs of financial services companies believe emerging markets are more important than developed markets to their organisation's future. 16 Feb 2011 11:21

Deloitte Consumer Spending Index continues steady decline in January

NEW YORK, US: The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index (the Index) continued to decline in January, hitting its lowest level since August 2009. The Index attempts to track consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending. 15 Feb 2011 10:43

Anti-corruption Act scuppers deals

NEW YORK, US: According to results of Deloitte's annual Look Before You Leap survey of corporate executives, investment bankers, private equity executives and hedge fund managers, 63% of respondents reported that the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and anti-corruption issues caused their companies to renegotiate or pull out of planned business relationships, mergers or acquisitions over the last three years. 8 Feb 2011 11:48

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

Refugees can now own bank accounts

Refugees and asylum permit holders in South Africa will from now on be able apply for bank accounts in the country, the Home Affairs Department announced on Thursday, 11 November 2010. 12 Nov 2010 09:42

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

Chapter 11 bankruptcy: How it works

This article refers to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US, but the information and guidance it contains can be applied in any country, anywhere... Bankruptcy is bankruptcy - the trick is to avoid it in the first place, or, if you cannot, then take those actions that will ameliorate its affects as far as possible; hence, this article... 30 Mar 2012 06:28