Microcredit is not a profitable business model – nor does it aid long-term development, argues Thomas Dichter.

The EU’s Transparency Directive is not functioning properly because most states have failed to implement it, and where it is in force it has been gold-plated to varying degrees.

The establishment of a school for financial regulation in London should attract students from around the world eager to learn about the UK’s principles-based oversight model, says Mervyn Davies.

Since 1999, the EU has been working on its plan for an integrated market system. MiFID, a key part of the Financial Services Action Plan, is another step in the right direction.

The spread of mobile phone use across the globe has given new impetus to the world of mobile payments. Service providers in the vanguard of this movement stand to make a fortune but will banks rise to the challenge, asks Stephen Timewell.

IIF suggests Asian growth has peaked while an EFMA report assesses the international domination of the CEE region.

The US government wants to impose cost basis reporting on the investment industry to make it easier to determine how much capital gains tax investors owe on their securities. Michael Imeson reports.

Thailand seemed to be ushering in a golden age of financial security, until high-level political scandal and terrorist attacks sent its fragile economy crashing back down to earth. Simon Montlake reports.

Shamshad Akhtar, governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, talks to Jules Stewart about the influence of the US macroeconomy on Pakistan’s economic landscape and the importance for the developing world in keeping open this window to the West.

Structured products are a result of investors becoming moresophisticated and demanding. Now banks are happy to tailor investments to meet a client’s every wish. Joanne Hart reports.