What do we need to do in order to live a good life, and why should we want to do this? John Moffatt SJ looks at different approaches to developing an ethical framework, and examines the relationship of religion to various ethical traditions.
Categories:
briefing
Tags: community, firm, global, individual, money, moral
This special report suggests the contract between society and banks will get stricter. Nothing highlights the scale of banking’s upheaval better than the intervention of governments. An industry that embodied the free market turns out to be pathetically dependent on the state for its survival… it is whistling in the wind to suggest that the state should withdraw from its commitment to support banks in times of trouble. “The body cannot survive without blood,” says Bo Lundgren, one of the architects of Sweden’s vaunted bank-rescue package of the early 1990s, “and the economy cannot survive without banks.” But now that this commitment has been called on so dramatically, three questions arise. The first is how long the state will remain so explicitly involved in the industry. The second is what immediate distortions that involvement creates. And the third is what additional charges governments will levy on the industry in future for providing banks with such a huge safety net today.
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briefing, commentary
Tags: firm, global, macro, money, united kingdom
http://voxeu.org/ Reported here by: SPMG, 4 August 2009
Bank bonuses have been blamed for contributing to the crisis, and regulators and politicians are now demanding changes in compensation arrangements. Most of these calls are based on a misconception of the nature of financial risk, an inflated view of the efficacy of risk models, and an incorrect view of the incentive issues facing financial institutions. This column proposes reforms that would discipline senior managers by exposing them to the dangers of junior managers’ risk taking.
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briefing, commentary
Tags: firm, global, individual, money, moral, united kingdom, united states
Diaspora bonds are financial instruments sold to members of the diaspora, often in small denominations, e.g. US$100. They are a simple means for governments to obtain hard currency, which can help boost central bank reserves, meet government financing gaps or fund infrastructure projects.Because diaspora investors have different risk perspectives on their home country than the average investor, they may be willing to purchase bonds at interest rates lower than those offered by international capital markets… Much of modern Israel was built with funds from bonds sold to the Jewish diaspora in the United States.
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briefing, commentary
Tags: community, firm, global, individual, macro, money
This World Bank paper describes how global trends taken for granted in recent decades—the big expansion in global financial assets compared with underlying economic activity, growing global financial integration, shrinking role of the state in financial systems, and rising share of cross-border ownership of financial institutions—may reverse over the foreseeable future. In addition, the structure of financial systems, particularly in developed countries, will likely become oriented less toward capital markets and more toward traditional (and simpler) banking activities. The impact on economic growth and overall welfare is likely to be negative—perhaps the price we have to pay for living in a brave new (and presumably safer) financial world.
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briefing, commentary
Tags: firm, global, macro, money
…In this enlightened day and age, whether times are good or bad, companies must be socially responsible. That’s a given. But tough economic conditions underscore a blunt reality. A company’s foremost responsibility is to do well. That may sound politically incorrect, but the reason is inexorable. Winning companies create jobs, pay taxes, and strengthen the economy. Winning companies, in other words, enable social responsibility, not the other way around. And so, right now—as always—companies should be putting profitability first. It’s the necessity that makes every other necessity possible. Now, before you go dash off a missive about our cruel capitalistic ways, please understand…
Categories:
commentary
Tags: community, firm, global, money, moral, united states
Here is the seed of a Christian theolgical reflection on The Financial Times series called ‘The Future of Capitalism.’ http://www.ft.com/indepth/capitalism-future
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commentary
Tags: community, firm, global, individual, money, moral
This article was originally written and published in German as “Christ und Wirtschaft,” Der Mennonit. Internationales mennonitisches Gemeindeblatt 26/11 (November 1973): 161-162. John Howard Yoder was invited by the “Union of German Mennonite Congregations” in June 1973 to stimulate reflection and discussion on the topic “The Christian and Economics.” The editor of Der Mennonit asked Yoder to write a brief article on the basis of his lecture notes. Almost 36 years later, this first English translation offers some helpful theological categories and economic options for missional churches in a post-Christendom context.—Arnold Neufeldt-Fast, translator.
Categories:
briefing
Tags: community, firm, global, individual, money, moral
Money will remain at the centre of human affairs, weaving its way into matters of love, death and social connectedness. But the return of a sense of scepticism about the innate moral worth of money may be the most valuable outcome of recent events.
Categories:
commentary
Tags: community, firm, global, individual, money, moral