The global financial crisis 10 years on: six charts that tell the story

Businessam StaffAugust 13, 2017

It is hard to believe but it is 10 years since the start of the global financial crisis. Triggered by a collapse in the US housing market it caused the deepest recession in living memory and the near-collapse of the financial system. Banks failed, government institutions were bailed out, stockmarkets crashed and countries had to […]

The FTSE in 2017: Six charts that tell the story so far

Businessam StaffAugust 13, 2017

The FTSE 100, 250 and All-Share indices have all made strong gains and reached record highs in the first half of 2017. The strong performance of London-listed shares is somewhat surprising given the backdrop – June’s snap general election arguably left the government in a weaker position going into Brexit negotiations, while household finances are […]

OPEC swings to panic stations

Businessam StaffAugust 12, 2017

OPEC’s job of rebalancing the oil market has just got a lot more difficult. Not only is there a lot more oil in storage than it previously thought, but the group will need to make deeper output cuts to drain the excess. A month ago OPEC oil ministers had probably read the International Energy Agency’s […]

Here’s what Goldman is telling big money clients about Bitcoin

Businessam StaffAugust 9, 2017

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is acknowledging that it’s getting harder for institutional investors to ignore the cryptocurrency market with total assets ballooning to $120 billion and Bitcoin soaring more than 200 percent this year. “Whether or not you believe in the merit of investing in cryptocurrencies (you know who you are), real dollars are at […]

Bureaus De Change automation, an imperative for customer verification

Businessam StaffAugust 9, 2017

Bureaus De Change (BDCs), as critical stakeholders in the Foreign Exchange (FOREX) Market, are known for the sale of small volumes of international currencies for Invisibles. Such include Personal Travelling Allowances (PTA), Business Travelling Allowances (BTA), overseas school fees and payment of medical fees abroad. Since the renewed onslaught of currency speculators on the Naira, […]

The great escape: How credit raters ducked reform

Businessam StaffAugust 2, 2017

After the subprime crisis, rules-tightening didn’t hit S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch as hard as the banks. There’s a revealing scene in the film version of Michael Lewis’s The Big Short. It’s 2007; the subprime mortgage crisis has yet to unfold. Two hedge fund managers visit a Standard & Poor’s executive in her office on Water […]

If you must invest in commodities, here is how

Businessam StaffJuly 31, 2017

I recently wrote about how commodities are good for traders, but bad for investors as a useful long-term buy-and-hold financial asset. A broad basket of commodities has given investors lower returns than cash equivalents with higher volatility than stocks. That higher volatility means there will be cyclical swings where commodities see huge gains as well […]

Blockchain use case: Addressing corruption, social problems in Africa

Businessam StaffJuly 31, 2017

Inadequate infrastructure is a major problem faced by Africa and other developing parts of the world. Besides the technical implications that have hindered the infrastructural development of the aforementioned parts of the world, human interference is also key in slowing down their rates of development. Afrikanus Kofi Akosah Adusei, acting Africa community manager of XinFin, […]

The significance of Google’s investment in Africa’s tech industry

Businessam StaffJuly 30, 2017

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that by 2035, Africa’s working age population (15-69) will exceed the rest of the world’s, reaching an estimated 1 billion. With an annual job creation rate of only 3 to 4 million, there is a crucial need to generate more opportunities. To maximise the economic dividends of its rising […]