Disturbing as we, and you, find the latest Middle East crisis, we regard it as our duty to retain a sense of perspective and keep readers informed of the exciting business developments taking place in troubled parts of the world, even when the fires are burning and the fabled “blood is flowing in the streets”.
In this month’s issue, technology editor Dan Barnes reports on an anti-bank fraud operation that is run out of Tel Aviv (see Under lock and key, page 89). Paid by international banking clients to eavesdrop on internet transactions, this branch of RSA Security is expert at spotting criminal activity across the world. No doubt it will be business as usual throughout the current crisis.
Sometimes bad headlines can deter the competition, leaving the way free for those who read the political risks differently. At times, the unwitting victims of an anti-Middle East backlash in the US (witness the blocking of Dubai Ports World from owning US ports), the Gulf Co-operation Council states are now firmly playing a regional game – and their region includes Syria, Egypt and Pakistan (see GCC supplement, page 55), all markets that some Western investors find too hot to handle.
Things do change on the political front, even when they look hopeless. Our cover story on South Africa, written by James Eedes, is about the challenges of international bank Barclays buying into a fast-growing market. Such a story in a South African context would have be unimaginable a decade or so ago. Other countries reported on in this issue include Sweden, Finland, Macedonia, Serbia, Singapore, Taiwan, Peru and Argentina.
In retail strategy, editor-in-chief Stephen Timewell reports on how two Australian-owned banks in the UK are returning to the client-service style of the 1970s to gain an edge.
This month’s capital markets section looks at declining lending standards, the team of the month is Lehman Brothers for its work on BASF’s takeover of Engelhard, and agenda is an interview with Robin Houldsworth, CEO of interdealer broker Tradition.
Elsewhere, we explore automated FX trading and the likely impact of Target2 on European cross-border payments.
Karina’s Kolumn is a fascinating look into the life of the London Metal Exchange and its chairman Donald Brydon. Former Argentine minister of economy Roberto Lavagna pens Viewpoint (page 10) and the Equator Principles come under attack in our Bracken column (page 8). A lot of food for thought, even after digesting the headlines.
