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Zimbabwe replaces $10 trillion banknote

info@icom7.com [webmaster] — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:02:04 +0200

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has introduced a $1,000 note -- $10 trillion in the old value -- as the country battles to end cash shortages in the hyper-inflationary environment.

However, analysts said the new note -- which can only buy a loaf of bread -- will not ease pressure on cash shortages because of the ever-increasing prices.

"It will not make even a small impact. What we need in Zimbabwe is a clear change of policies, start production and then inflation will start easing up," said John Robertson, an economic consultant. "The zeros seem to be coming back no matter how often they slash them."

In August, Zimbabwe slashed ten zeroes[...]

ICC to hold arbitration workshop

info@icom7.com [Jacques Jules Guiffo Temgo] — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:05:13 +0200

The ICC Institute of World Business Law is holding a three-and-a-half day workshop at the Paris Secretariat on 13-16 October, to familiarize legal professionals with the very latest practices in international commercial arbitration.

This course is an annual fixture, and has been the springboard for many lawyers to ‘get their feet wet’ in international commercial arbitration,” said Serge Lazareff, Chairman of the ICC Institute of World Business Law.[...]

ICC jointly publishes ‘Business Case against Corruption’

info@icom7.com [webmaster] — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:05:14 +0200

To raise awareness of how companies can better counter corruption, ICC is publishing today “Clean Business Is Good Business: The Business Case against Corruption

ICC has teamed up with Transparency International, the United Nations Global Compact, and the World Economic Forum Partnering Against Corruption Initiative in the publication of this invaluable guide.
Corruption is not only the biggest obstacle to development and economic growth, but also a major risk to companies, as recent stories in the press have demonstrated. Many corporate leaders today have assumed responsibility and implemented effective programmes to address the issue within their own organizations, and in collaboration with others
The joint publication by[...]

China's huge market is biggest Olympic prize

info@icom7.com [Jacques Jules Guiffo Temgo] — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:22:44 +0200

More than 17 million people live in Beijing, China, the host city for the Summer Olympics that open Friday. That is more than the population of the past four host cities — Athens, Sydney, Atlanta and Barcelona — combined. China counts 1.3 billion residents, more than any country on Earth.

Never before has an Olympics been staged in a market so big — and so underserved. Though capitalism has been a fact of life[...]

How much is Olympic ideal -- or decoration?

info@icom7.com [Jacques Guiffo] — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:37:24 +0200

BEIJING -- The shirtless old man shuffled down the middle of the narrow street, teeth as brown as his socks, the decay spreading into a smile.

"People only look at the bad things in our country," Zhang Wen Bin said. "The Olympics will make them look at the good things." Under a sweltering, smoggy midday sun in this ancient neighborhood, it is difficult to find those good things.

The alleys are lined with soda bottles filled with freshly boiled water. Dirty windows open to the sound of noisy fans clattering over junk-filled rooms. A bare-bottomed child plays in a murky puddle.

Everyone, it seems, is hunched over against the sun and sweating through the heat.
But, like Zhang, it seems[...]

Google to launch service to view British streets online

info@icom7.com [Jacques Guiffo] — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:44:07 +0200

London, July 31 (IANS) Google has cleared the hurdle of an anti-privacy case to go ahead with the launch this year of its Street View service which will offer ground level pictures of every British street online.

Street View faced opposition from lawyers who said it infringes civil liberties. Some said it would help burglars select their targets in advance.

Privacy watchdog Information Commissioner's Office, however, brushed aside the objections. 'We are satisfied that Google is putting in place adequate safeguards to avoid any risk to the privacy or safety of individuals, including the blurring of vehicle registration marks and the faces of anyone included in Street View images.
'Although it is possible that in[...]

Cuil search engine takes on Google

info@icom7.com [webmaster] — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 08:24:26 +0200

A new search engine dubbed Cuil is hoping to offer a rival to the likes of Google, Yahoo and Ask.
Cuil is pronounced 'cool' and comes from an old Irish word meaning 'knowledge'.

The site has indexed 120 billion web pages, which it claims is three times more than any other search engine, and results are organised by ideas rather than just rankings. Cuil also boasts complete user privacy.

The new search engine will attempt to analyse the context of each page and the concepts behind each query, thereby grouping similar results together and sorting them by[...]

ICC updates bank-to-bank reimbursement rules

info@icom7.com [webmaster] — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:46:51 +0200

James Borel, Group Vice President of agricultural and chemicals multinational DuPont, represented ICC during the High-level Thematic Debate on Rural Development organized by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) here on 3 July 2008.

Mr Borel detailed a five-point plan for reforming the agricultural economy to UN members and other stakeholders. He also highlighted the importance of a successful agricultural economy, not only as short-term solution for poverty alleviation but also as a requirement for achieving sustainability.

“Agriculture must be a higher priority in a world of increasing food demand and limited resources,” Mr Borel said.

Buttressing his argument, Mr Borel cited a recent World[...]

ICC hails G8 pledge to halve emissions

info@icom7.com [Jacques Jules Guiffo Temgo] — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:08:29 +0200

ICC welcomed a historic statement by the G8 group of industrial nations today to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, and calling on all major economies to commit to meaningful mitigation actions in the international agreement to be negotiated by the end of next year.

“The nations of the G8 are leading by the example they are setting today. Business welcomes this commitment by the world’s largest economies towards an inclusive global agreement on climate change. Business will be by far the largest developer, user and investor in clean technology to address global warming. A global pact is necessary to give business the level of certainty it needs to make these major investments,” said ICC Secretary General Guy Sebban.[...]

Deutsche Bank appoints Amrit Singh as M&A chief

info@icom7.com [icom7 Team] — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:47:37 +0200

MUMBAI: Deutsche Bank on Thursday appointed Amrit Singh as the head of Merger & Acquisitions (M&A) India of its subsidiary Deutsche Equities India Pvt Ltd (DEIPL).
"His addition to the M&A team, he will help consolidate our position as the dominant player in investment banking in the country," Deutsche Bank India Managing Director Gunit Chadha said in a statement.
The company has built strong momentum based on structuring and execution capabilities and with the appointment it would further strengthen that process, he said.

IPhone at just over Rs 8,000? Well, may not be

info@icom7.com [icom7 Team] — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 14:43:58 +0200

Vodafone and Airtel started pre-registering customers for the iPhone 3G this week, and ever since, offices and blogs have been abuzz with discussions on what Apple’s much-awaited product will be priced at.
Many think it will be just a shade over Rs 8,000 — the rupee equivalent of the price in the US, which is $199. Now, that’s a fantastic price for the 8GB product, and will certainly have every competitor worried.
Nokia’s 8GB N95 smartphone , for instance, is priced at well over Rs 25,000, and its new N96 is expected to come at over Rs 36,000.
But we think the iPhone, expected to hit the Indian market in September, will be priced substantially higher than Rs 8,000.
The $199 price is[...]

ICC takes part in UN hearings on Financing for Development

info@icom7.com [Jacques Guiffo] — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:45:17 +0200

ICC participated in hearings on the review of the Monterrey Consensus on Financing for Development on 18 June at the UN headquarters in New York.
The hearings were organized in preparation for the Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus to be held in Doha, Qatar, from 29 November to 2 December 2008.
ICC’s presentation provided a world business perspective on the key contribution made by cross-border trade and investment to development financing, over the period since the Monterrey Consensus was adopted in 2002. The presentation also considered the implications of recent economic, trade and investment policy developments for the review process.
The[...]