Following the steep decline in 2020, when global trade was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, it recovered sharply to a record USD28.5tn in 2021. The growth momentum continued through 1H22 before it turned negative in 2H, due to growing uncertainties around geopolitical issues and worsening economic conditions. Nonetheless, global trade…

After a dismal 2022, fixed income investors have a lot to look forward to in 2023, as yields for almost all instruments are trading at historic highs Although the inflation trajectory seems to be reversing, the level is still too high for comfort, and history shows it takes much longer…

Finding opportunities in the SaaS industry — the top-down approach Software as a service (SaaS) allows users to connect to and use cloud-based apps via the internet. Customers usually pay a monthly or annual subscription fee to access the software, which is quite different from traditional on-premise software. The SaaS…

1. The need for electric vehicles Carbon neutrality has become a global consensus and entered a period of accelerated development. A significant amount of evidence and a number of studies show that since the Industrial Revolution, greenhouse gas emissions, mainly carbon dioxide, have caused global warming, and a series of…

One of the favourite strategies of private equity (PE) investors for exiting the market is an initial public offering (IPO). IPOs enable private investors to realise their invested money. Privately held companies often need to inject funds, which they could obtain by taking a company public. Sometimes, investors wish to…

UNFCCC: overview and key functions The annual gatherings termed the United Nations Climate Change Conferences are conducted under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They function as the official forum for the parties to the UNFCCC to assess the effectiveness of measures to address…

The US categorised cannabis, commonly known as marijuana, as a psychotropic drug and banned the plant in 1937 by introducing the Marihuana Tax Act that was later adopted by other countries. However, the medicinal use of cannabis cannot be ignored; many cultures have been using it to treat illnesses for…

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022. In July 2022, 28 of 30 NATO member countries had ratified Sweden’s and Finland’s membership applications except Hungary and Turkey. While Hungary’s prime minister has said Hungary will ratify the applications by early…

Banks often get complaints from clients that letters of credit (LC) are not workable, or their clauses are ambiguous, making it difficult to understand requirements fully or meet all the requirements; this has resulted in loss of USD50–100 as discrepancy charges each time documents are presented under LC. This not…