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In 2005, Goldman sold to the National Bank of Greece an “interest rate swap,” one of the notorious derivatives that have come under scrutiny since the Wall Street implosion of 2008. Greek critics of such dubious debt-hiding transactions had warned their government of the mounting long-term liabilities to the likes of Goldman, but to no avail.

Dateline Greece: Goldman, Just Pay Up

By: The Globalist | Wednesday, March 3, 2010

As Greece teeters on the edge of sovereign default of around $300 billion and sends shudders of premonition throughout the global economy, the fingerprints of Goldman Sachs are once again to be found, as in so many crises beforehand.

John Kent Institute heralds new era in tourism research

By: EBR | Tuesday, March 2, 2010

During a gala in London to celebrate the formal launch of the new Institute Mr Kent , the creator and CEO of youtravel.com and Aquis Hotels and Resorts, announced that applications for the first four new PhD studentships are now invited with successful candidates set to join BU from this Autumn.

Creating a working mobile-money model will be complicated. It calls for coupling physical assets and capabilities from two distinct domains, telephony and banking, as well as for partnerships with a variety of players—some unfamiliar—to manage cash collections and disbursements and promote adoption.

Capturing the promise of mobile banking in emerging markets

By: McKinsey Quarterly | Monday, March 1, 2010

In emerging markets, formal banking reaches about 37 percent of the population, compared with a 50 percent penetration rate for mobile phones. For every 10,000 people, these countries have one bank branch and one ATM—but 5,100 mobile phones.

We are looking into a number of questions related to Goldman Sachs and other companies in their derivatives arrangements with Greece, Mr Bernanke said in response to a question from US Senate banking committee chairman Christopher Dodd.

Wall Street's Greece role probed

By: BBC News | Friday, February 26, 2010

The role of Wall Street firms in deals that may have helped Greece mask its debt woes are under scrutiny in the US, the Federal Reserve chief has said. Fed and the US financial watchdog were "looking into a number of questions" related to banks' derivatives arrangements with Greece.

Every year millions of tourists from all over the world visiting Antalya for it’s beauty also benefit from the Antalya Airport with it’s modern building , latest technology and service provided.

International Tourism & Media Symposium in Antalya, Turkey

By: Christos Trikoukis | Thursday, February 25, 2010

A meeting of over 100 journalists from every corner of the world, dealing with the tourism industry was succesfully held in the city of Antalya, the so called Turkish capital of Tourism, on February 19 - 20, 2010.

If the EU executive body and the ECB consider that the country has not made sufficient progress, they will start talks on imposing additional measures on the Greek Government and will make a formal proposal, which will be submitted to the Euro Group.

Europe gives Greece one month to show first results of adjustment programme

By: EC Press Room | Wednesday, February 17, 2010

The 16 countries of the Eurozone have set Greece a one-month deadline to show the first results of its public finances plan. If the situation is not satisfactory "additional measures" will have to be taken.

merging economies can, and should, unwind their stimulus and raise interest rates before inflation takes off. But in big, weak, rich economies it is still too soon to tighten.

New dangers for the World Economy

By: The Economist | Friday, February 12, 2010

Last year it was banks; this year it is countries. The economic crisis, which seemed to have eased off in the latter part of 2009, is once again in full swing as the threat of sovereign default looms. When the crisis started, governments helped save the world economy. Now they are the problem.

EU deal for Greece

By: EBR | Thursday, February 11, 2010

European leaders have reached a deal to provide aid to Greece, EU President Herman Van Rompuy said on Thursday (11 February), in an unprecedented move to stave off a broader crisis in the 16-nation bloc that shares the euro.

We consider the measures taken by the Papandreou government to be appropriate for dealing with the crisis. Above all, they are fair. We call on all political forces across Europe to rally behind the Greek government, show solidarity with it in managing the crisis and give it support and the necessary time for the difficult measures it must now put in place.

Progressive Euro MPs back Greek efforts to tackle the Crisis

By: Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats in the European Parliament | Thursday, February 11, 2010

The European Parliament's main progressive group, the 184-strong Socialists and Democrats, today gave strong backing to efforts by the Greek government to manage the current financial crisis. S&D leader Martin Schulz blamed the crisis on the current government's right-wing predecessors.

Lobbyists must create win-win situations with the legislators. EU policy makers are generalists and need information from companies to understand the reality of their business. There may be specific issues in hand but companies need to make sure they are seen to be long-term contributors to Europe so it may be necessary to look at unrelated areas of interest to the institutions to ensure the contribution is valued.

Brussels business: effective lobbying at the EU

By: Julia Harrison | Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Leading businesses recognize how involvement in the EU policy making process alongside other parts of civil society and other interests is crucial to shaping their operating environment, but it is still surprising how often businesses are unaware of legislation and how it can affect them.

Greece's debt woes have raised pressure on the rest of Europe's currency zone to prove it can force Athens to take the painful measures required to clean up its public finances.

EU to launch first eurozone rescue operation in Greece

By: Euractiv | Wednesday, February 10, 2010

The informal EU summit held on February 11, is expected to address the issue of helping Greece in what would be the first rescue of a eurozone member in the currency's history. But IMF insiders and analysts say that may not be enough to prevent investor concerns from spreading to other countries.

In display advertising, Google lags behind Yahoo!, which had revenue of $6.5 billion in 2009 that was generated largely from its display ads. Google has tried to catch up in part through acquisitions.

Google's Display-Ad Sales Should Top $1 Billion

By: Business Week | Monday, February 8, 2010

As analysts say rising demand for Internet display ads will begin paying off for Google in 2010, one asks: "Is this a $10 billion business?" Google CEO Eric Schmidt hinted in July that display advertising would probably be the next of his company's businesses to generate $1 billion in sales.

The unfavourable developments regarding the Greek spreads and the deteriorating macroeconomic environment are probably influencing the potential and cost of lending for Greek financial institutions.

The development of the Greek-German government bond spreads

By: Dr. Nikolaos Georgikopoulos & Dr. Tilemahos Efthimiadis | Thursday, February 4, 2010

During this tough period for Greek economy, it is reasonable and necessary to examine all plausible scenarios concerning its future, especially those regarding the fiscal situation.

The Commission shares the ambitious budget-deficit reduction targets that the Greek government has set itself as well as the fiscal measures and structural reforms announced in the stability programme.

Commission assesses Stability Programme of Greece

By: EBR | Wednesday, February 3, 2010

The programme contains a package of concrete fiscal consolidation measures for 2010, with an estimated quantification for each of the measures, as well as a timeframe for their adoption and implementation.

China can afford the extra spending as its public finances remain strong. Gross government debt amounted to only 21% of GDP in 2008. The stimulus measures, which nevertheless dwarfed those of other countries, are expected to increase this debt ratio by only 3% of GDP in 2010.

Strong Chinese growth resumes but increased social spending needed, says OECD report

By: EBR | Wednesday, February 3, 2010

With the help of massive government stimulus action, China is now leading the world economy out of recession, according to a new report. Already the world’s 2nd largest economy, China could well overtake the US to become the leading producer of manufactured goods in the next five to seven years.

New EU laws to target Facebook

By: EBR | Friday, January 29, 2010

Some weeks ago, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of social networking site Facebook, told the world to “just get over it - no one cares about privacy anymore”, provoking a storm of protest across cyberspace.

Apple is positioning the device, some versions of which will be available in March, as a pioneer in a new genre of computing, somewhere between a laptop and a smartphone. “The bar is pretty high,” Mr. Jobs acknowledged. “It has to be far better at doing some key things.”

Apple's iPad Blurs Line Between Devices

By: The New York Times | Thursday, January 28, 2010

After months of feverish speculation, Steven P. Jobs introduced Wednesday what Apple hopes will be the coolest device on the planet: a slender tablet computer called the iPad. Apple is positioning the device, as a pioneer in a new genre of computining, somewhere between a laptop and a smartphone.

In his address, Sarkozy also called for an examination of the nature of globalization and capitalism. “This is not a crisis in globalization; this is a crisis of globalization,” he said. “Finance, free trade and competition are only means and not ends in themselves.”

Sarkozy calls for a 'new Bretton Woods'

By: EBR | Thursday, January 28, 2010

In his opening address at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France said that it will not be possible to emerge from the global economic crisis and protect against future crises if the economic imbalances that are at the root of the problem are not addressed.

Unless it is one rule for the big and powerful and another for the small, the EU must stand behind Athens' new leadership

Joseph Stiglitz: A principled Europe would not leave Greece to bleed

By: The Guardian | Tuesday, January 26, 2010

For the sake of European solidarity and democracy, Europe should support Papandreou's efforts in every way they can, not turn their back on the people of Greece who must be convinced that supporting the government's austerity measures is in everyone's best interest.

The travel industry was substantially effected but the MICE sector was even able to post some increases due to the new highly competitive nature of business.

Russian MICE market confident of growth in 2010

By: EBR | Monday, January 25, 2010

The annual pre-Christmas survey of the Russian MICE sector reveals interesting growth, despite a difficult year. The 2009 brief survey was carried out through a representative cross-section of the Russian MICE sector, including MICE professionals and Corporate Buyers.