Global Trade

There is no denying the fact that, though the Private Sector Development as envisaged in modern concept with regard to the concept of private sector development covers a wide range of guiding principle, instruction, models and ethical importance for existence; privatisation constitutes the fundamentally imperative factors in the midst of all the factors including the creation of markets. Predominantly, from a third world perspective, most of which contribute to a colonial legacy and an euphoric experiment with all-encompassing private sector during the post colonial period, this policy prescription holds the theoretical magic stick. Nevertheless, the track record is somewhat glowing and its...

Though the growth of the private organization covers a wide range of guiding principles, instruction, models and ethical importance for existence; privatization constitutes the fundamentally imperative factors in the midst of all the factors including the creation of markets. Predominantly, from a third world perspective, most of which contribute to a colonial legacy and an euphoric experiment with all-encompassing during the post colonial period, this policy prescription holds the theoretical magic stick. Nevertheless, the track record is somewhat glowing and it's proclaimed universal applicability has even been updated by its own underlying principle. Despite the fact that in the analysis of...

Many of China's top thinkers have been trying to figure out how to get China over her growing pains, as she climbs up in the ranks of World Power eventually perhaps, attaining Super Power Status like the United States. There is great debate over such discussions. And some in the US believe that the reason China is not working right now is that their country has learned much from Western Culture, except the value of "Win-Win" negotiations. They say that China takes, and then demands things, then runs off with "BRIC" making accusations and threatening to develop a non-US based currency for world trade. The New York analysts say "go ahead" because the US will pay back all those treasury notes at the...

Many world economists see a time in the not so distant future when National Currencies are merged into one or a few. It makes sense considering the massive electronic flows of the money. Of course some nations are very concerned with this as no one wants to be on the losing end of the stick and get trapped with mass devaluation or hyper inflation after the switch-over. When talking about One World Currency or the move closer towards that there are many things to consider indeed. Sure that makes sense eventually to have only a few or one currency in the long-term. For instance; maybe an Asian Dollar, Euro w/Australia/Japan/England joining in, US Dollar used throughout Western Hemisphere, Middle East...

Since 1995, Dubai seems to have been growing in stature and importance in a variety of spheres, from tourism to architecture. Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, is the most populous of the regions, and the second largest emirate after Abu Dhabi. While Dubai's old reserves are currently less than one twentieth of that possessed by Abu Dhabi, oil has been one of Dubai's main exports, and built up its importance as a vital trade route during the 1970s and 1980s. However, since 1995, a series of ambitious building and construction projects have made Dubai one of the most intriguing centres of architecture in the world, undergoing a property boom that has turned it...

The American War of Independence ended in 1776 with the birth of the United States of America. The date of birth was 4th July 1776. My esteemed Guru Mr. K. N. Rao has taken the birth time of USA as 10:21:30 AM on 4th July 1776 (Philadelphia) in his article in the Journal of Astrology. The horoscope of America has been drawn on the basis of the same information. The placements of planets in the horoscope of the United States of America are as follows:- - The "lagna" (ascendant) rising is Leo. - Saturn is placed in the 2nd house. - "Ketu" is placed in the 6th house. - Moon is placed in the 7th house. - Sun, Venus, Mars and Jupiter are placed in the 11th house. - Retrograde Mercury and "Rahu" are...

I was not born in the United States, and I tend to maintain a personal policy of "Not my country, not my business" when it comes to internal U.S. affairs. Unless, of course, the issue is one that concerns the city in which I live and, more importantly, U.S. commentators have done such a poor job of covering the issue that they clearly require an outsider to shed some light on the matter. On one side, you have the racists and the xenophobes. Though it may not be my place to point out the rampant ignorance within which they wallow, I'll point it out all the same. With the racists and xenophobes, unfortunately, there are also some sensible people who are raising legitimate concerns: Why did the members...

Are Muslims our enemies? Most Americans believe either 1. The United States is a Christian nation or 2. The country and the U.S. Constitution is based on Christian principles. And as a result of the World Trade Center tragedy on September 11, 2001, many U.S. citizens believe that Muslims are our enemies. And many who practice the Islam religion and follow the radical, violent teaching of the Quran and Sharia Law, are also our enemies. Most terrorists around the world are Islamic. Americans want to protect themselves from another terrorist attack. Now a Moslem group is planning to build a mosque near the World Trade Center site. What should Americans think? What's the main argument against the...

The CIA and the Pentagon have both noted that this global financial crisis is taking its toll on World Economies and that is a real problem for world peace. In fact, as economies crumble so do societies, and civil unrest can lead to revolutionary over throw with already weak governments. In the Middle East Oil prices are way down causing huge economic problems. With China's factories shut down many former farmers are going back to rural communities, where droughts are causing wheat crop failures. In Argentina soybean commodities have collapsed. Rice commodities are way up and 3.5 Billion people eat rice every day, especially the poor. Nations like Nigeria, Iran, Mexico, Venezuela, and Russia are in...

The flower industry works like a simple value chain: growers grow flowers, suppliers obtain them, then the flowers are sold to retailers or to wholesalers before consumers buy them in bunches or bouquets. It sounds really simple, except the people involved come from all over the world. Most of the produce in the flower industry are grown in Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia, with Netherlands as the biggest trade center and Germany as the primary market for imports. Exported cut flowers from the Netherlands to Germany are the primary component of the international flower industry and as well as a significant part of the European trade, which by itself accounts for a big part of the world trade...

Profound. Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin should take a bow. One of my favourite authors, Frank McCourt, has described this work 'a symphony of a novel'. I agree with this description whole-heartedly. I felt like applauding when I reached the final page. McCann presents New York City in 1974, at the time of the Vietnam War as a single living breathing organism and then deconstructs that into disparate parts through the intertwining stories of its inhabitants. At the epicentre is a single man, a tightrope walker, between the twin towers of the World Trade Centre. The character development achieved by McCann in less than 400 pages is impressive to say the least. These characters are...

China has beat Japan as the second-largest economy in the world. With an average GDP growth of 10% for the last 30 years, a population of 1.4 billion, first place in the world's and consumption and production of coal, steel and energy, and the world's largest exporter and second-largest importer of good, the country stands a chance at becoming number one soon. (It is also ranks first-place in the world in coal production). Other news in China is the country's allowing foreign investors to invest in the Chinese market. A pilot program will allow foreign investors to buy bonds in the Chinese market using Chinese currency. Shanghai is set to become a world leader in finance by 2020. As a result, they...

"Why is it, that the subprime loan crisis has such a rippling effect on many sectors of the economy?" "Why are even companies outside the USA also affected by the U.S. mortgage crisis?" In the last 7 days I received lots of emails from my subscribers asking me questions like these, and I'd like to take the opportunity to explain what this housing, mortgage, subprime loan, credit crisis - whatever you want to call it - and the presentsituation is all about. Between 2002 and 2004 the interest rates in the United States were as low as never before. At least as far as I can remember. I'm not that old yet! The effect of such low interest rates was a real-estate boom in the U.S. often financed with so...

Recently, the city of dreams Mita Bedding Co., Ltd. has developed an indoor warm duck down shoes, popular with consumers. It is learned that, beginning in 2007, the Urban Dream Bedding Co., Ltd Mita product and market structure adjustment, and actively develop new products and achieved good economic results. January-November the company completed sales of 25 million yuan, taxes of 150 million yuan.     Urban Dream Bedding Co., Ltd., formerly Mita gorgeous ocean city Textile Co., Ltd., is a product of foreign trade enterprises, foreign trade business has been good in previous years, but faces increasing competition. In order to better seize the domestic market, the company decided to adjust the...

   While all those who visit Halong Bay are charmed by the archipelago's beauty, few visitors are aware that the three-thousand islands that dot this bay are home to many rare plants, including species found nowhere else in the world. We chose our cruises names: Halong Heritage Cruises, Ha Long Amigo Cruise , Ha Long Poseidon Cruise, Ha Long Dolphin Cruise ,  Ha Long Royal Heritage Cruise ,Ha Long Eclipse Sail , because like the plants they were named after, our junks are perfectly suited the environment. With its golden sails, polished woodwork and refined Asian decor, private dock & waiting lounge, and longer cruising loops, Cruise Halong truly offers an unforgettable ambiance of...

Who are they? They're regular people like you and me. Many years ago they where only the elite. The Foreign trade exchange as we know it today established back in nineteen seventy one. It was only for the elite. Banks, Large Companies and Royalty participated in the exchange. The internet developed during the early nineteen nineties and forged a way for common people. The computer wasn't as common in homes as it is today. Today traders operate in the early hours of the morning, until when ever they feel like stopping. The Foreign exchange market is open twenty four hours per day and night. The average person with out any royalty or degree can be a trader. The first thing you must do, if you're...

South Korea has a straightforward process when it comes to importing goods into the country. The start of the process is the conclusion of a contract, and the culmination is the import payments. The import payments encompass a large number of activities, including the conclusion of import contracts, establishing import permission, clearance of customs regulations, and actual payment. There are other steps that are usually optional, on which the nature of the actual goods and the kind of transaction that was carried out has a direct consequence. Imported goods must enter through one of the established channels: the ports of entry. The duties that are then calculated by the customs officials need to...

in the financial markets in financial product sales of "vendors", as people always like analyst attention, but also not as smooth and slick speculators, fund managers did not do anything they want more energy, but this group comprised the financial transactions The most basic power of the financial transactions not only build the most fundamental part of the building, but also occupy the financial world and the value of investments, hedge funds and investment bank status equivalent position. Please note that I pen this point, is to dig out of these people through the basic idea of the scientific logic and its application to the nowadays common concern to the management of foreign exchange reserves...

In India the first Trademark legislation was Indian Merchandise Act, 1889 where the disputes or problems relating to the infringement of Trademark or passing off were decided under of s. 54 of the Specific Relief Act 1887 and registration problem was tackled under the Registration Act 1908. This act was repealed in the year 1940 and was followed by the enactment of Trademark Act 1940. In the year 1958, The Trade and Merchandise Marks Act was adopted which repealed the Indian Merchandise Act, 1889 and Trademark Act 1940 and was provided with s.129 for the registration of Trademarks. Further, in the year 1999, Trademark Act was adopted which came into force on 15th September, 2003 which repealed The...

Foreign Exchange Courses In Mumbai Despite many setbacks, the foreign exchange in India has been growing steadily and rapidly. Four hundred billion dollars is the annual turnover of the foreign currency exchange market in India. This sum does not include the transactions taken place between the banks, which are called as Inter-bank transactions. Despite many setbacks, the foreign exchange in India has been growing steadily and rapidly. Four hundred billion dollars is the annual turnover of the foreign currency market in India. This sum does not include the transactions taken place between the banks, which are called as Inter-bank transactions. According to the report submitted by the RBI the monthly...

They are not the rich and super rich, nor the politically powerful running the two-party plutocracy, nor the greedy heads of banking and finance companies, and certainly not the media moguls and bloviating pundits. The most powerful people are US, American consumers that account for over 70 percent of the economy. It is exactly now, when the economy is in the toilet, that consumers hold the maximum power. So why are we the people still deluding ourselves that the path to a better future rests on electing a new president? We are suckers, conditioned by decades of clever marketing and advertising to believe the lies of politicians, and worst of all to believe that elections and our votes provide us...

1. Company Values Should Reflect Staff Values Company values are more important that we think as they create the cultural context in which we work, define how we interact with other employees and the attitudes we adopt towards customers. Company values are often perceived as being imposed by the organisation but an effective organisational culture enables a two way process to occur where employees help to influence the direction of the corporate values system, through their individual beliefs and approaches they adopt. An organisation that doesn't adjust to reflect changing values will quickly become stagnant and obsolete. 2. Company Values Define How Employees Behave Company values are essential...

Nigeria's once-thriving palm oil industry is often cited as one of the most miserably failed economic opportunities in Africa.   Use of the oil palm fruit to extract edible oil has been in practice across the continent for centuries, and it remains an essential ingredient in much of West African cuisine. Farmers in the region, who inter-cropped palm oil with other food crops like yam and maize, started the first export trade early in the nineteenth century. Before its close, the industrial revolution in Britain had created a huge demand for palm oil, which by then had found its way to use in candle making and as an industrial lubricant. The economic importance of palm oil grew steadily because of...

Nfl jerseys supply store report: The Patriots have yet to report that the franchise Matt Cassel will be confirmed, but that does not mean it will happen, especially when recovering from Tom Brady really late. And while the organization has a history of handling personal data - no matter seriously - are as a matter of national security analyst for CBS and the sweater vest enthusiast Phil Simms absolutely sure, Cassel New England beat the franchise player tag. He heard their preferred source: Phil Simms.He acknowledges, however, that the first backup of the backup USC used to play in the Patriots 'offensive', but that does not mean it is not legitimate to start the fourth. He opened the eyes of the...

As we move into a more global society and the population base of the Unites States becomes more diverse it has become very important to learn a foreign language. In particular, Spanish is becoming the second language of the United States. Trade agreements like NAFTA and the growth of population in the southern states has created an explosion of population growth with the Spanish speaking Hispanic people in the United States. The Unites states accounted for one of the largest Hispanic population sin the world, with a population over 40 million. According to American Demographics, over 86% of those report that Spanish is still their language of choice. With almost a million people per state on average...

The Spanish speaking population is constantly rising in the world. At the end of the 19th century, 60 million people were Spanish speakers. Today, nearly 500 million people across the world speak Spanish! Spanish is the mother tongue of approximately 350 million people in 21 countries including: Argentina: 35 million Colombia: 36 million Mexico: 98 million Peru: 20 million Spain: 39 million USA: 39 million Venezuela: 22 million Spanish is the second most used language in international communication, and an official language of the UN and its organizations. There are 29 million U.S. residents above the age of 5 who speak Spanish at home. That's approximately 1 of every 10 U.S. residents, an enormous...

Jeans are comfy, unfussy and display tons of attitudes. But do you know what goes in to making that wonderful pair? It is denim fabric which snugly fits as jeans to withstand the rigors of day and night, for you! Over 50 percent of denim production is based in Asia with China, India, Turkey, Pakistan and Bangladesh leading in that order. Have huge domestic markets, China and India have easily displaced the USA, once a leader of this category of textiles. Even as trade agreements are being entered into to restrict low priced denims from Asia, this is not expected to change things much. World demand for denim fabric is expected to continue to grow at a rate of 3-4% per annum for some time to come. And...

As the USA continues to weather an economic downturn and those around the world watch as the Peoples' Republic of China becomes an increasingly assertive player in global economics there are those who wonder: What Will America's Role be in Southeast Asia? It seems increasingly self-evident that Southeast Asia is poised to reassert its role as a regional center in trade, finance, and communication. However, a Southeast Asian market represents an interesting geopolitical triangulation of Chinese and American economic and political interests. While some Americans fear a rising China, the socio-economic possibilities are enormous. This statement is especially true when one considers the economic...

The General Services Administration, or GSA, is a federal agency responsible for supplying goods and products to other federal agencies through contracts with commercial firms. The GSA negotiates contracts and purchases products in large quantities in order to save individual agencies time and resources. These contracts, in turn, must be in compliance with the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 to ensure the safety of the product and the secure relationship between the U.S. and the product's country of origin. However, sometimes commercial suppliers attempt to sell products to the GSA that do not comply with these standards. The Trade Agreements Act The Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (TAA) dictates trade...

DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY: When I entered senior high school I was never very much decided on what I would want to study in college or what I wanted to be in the next twenty or so years. I was still young and I loved to party almost every other day. I would miss lessons as if that was part of the curriculum, and I never cared whether I passed or not. My parents happened to have come from a rich background and I thought the money was all that would answer all of my problems, whether financial, social or emotional. During my final year of high school, I happened to have accompanied members of the chemistry class to a local science congress competition. I was not a member of the presenting team but while I was...

Introduction: This paper focuses on the exchange rate regime of Brazil during the 1960 to 1975 period and why the policy makers declined to change their exchange rate regime, in 1948 brazil introduced par value for the Cruzeiro, however in 1967 the crawling peg exchange rate regime was introduced, the crawling peg system was based on frequent and small adjustment in the exchange rate which was to signify the changes in inflation and prices in Brazil, this exchange rate regime led to long term stability in the Brazilian currency the real. In 1971 the US floated its currency and as a result the devaluation of the dollar would affect the exchange of the Brazilian currency with other major currencies...

Since the dawn of the 21st century very few nations have been recognized or emerged to have the largest economic stability in the world. Leading nations like the United States entered the 21st century with an economy that was bigger, and by all means more successful, than ever. Despite enduring two world wars and an everlasting depression in the first half of the 20th century, it faced challenges which ranged from a 40-year Cold War with the Soviet Union to the existence of sharp inflation, huge unemployment, and enormous government budget deficits in the second half of the century. Finally this great nation had the opportunity to relish a period of economic calm in the 1990s. Prices on goods were...

"Economics", can be easily defined as a particular area of study that basically relates to how society sets about or works in order to meet the demands for different things. The study basically looks at the making, use and sale of services and goods. It can be considered as the branch of social science that can help an individual in understanding the impact of developments in business and society. Today economics has produced some of the most attractive career fields. In fact, in recent times, career in economics has seen some sharp rise than any other career fields. These days, there are plenty of jobs for graduates in Economics. They can go for many entry-level jobs in stock markets, marketing...

> Property in Poland is attractingoverseas property investors for a number of reasons. This article explores the attraction of Poland for international real estate investors and takes a look at the buying process in Poland International Property investors are now looking towards Poland as a place to invest . Poland is attracting attention for a whole host of reasons Poland or Polska has a population of just under 40 million and can be viewed as an emerging economy with great potential. With European Union accession granted in May 2004 Poland is well position between Eastern and Western Europe to capitalize on the expanding EU trade. In summary overseas buyers are attracted to the following • Large...

a high level of freedom in business, trade and investment, Italy is a first class exporter of goods. In spite of problems such as slow growth, in comparison to many nations in recent years, it has managed to maintain its lead in many sectors. Italy had the world's 6th highest exports (US$ 546,900,000,000 in 2008) with their closest trade ties being with the other countries of the European Union, with whom it conducts about 60% of its total trade. Italy's largest EU trade partners, are Germany (13%), France (11%), and Spain (7%). There are no significant deposits of coal, iron or oil. Most raw materials needed for manufacturing and more than 80% of the country's energy sources are imported. Even...

Market Review - 16/07/2010 21:39 GMT Dollar falls to 7-month low against yen on worse-than-expected consumer sentiment The greenback remained under pressure against the Japanese yen in Asia following previous day's decline and fell to 86.97 due to the weakness in Asian stocks (Nikkei-225 fell by 2.86%). Although the pair briefly recovered to 87.37 in European morning, the greenback later tumbled to a 7-month low of 86.27 after the release of University of Michigan consumer sentiment which dropped to the lowest level since August 2009 at 66.5, this was worse than market forecast of 74.0. The figure suggested the U.S. economic recovery is stalling and the pair closed down on weekly basis at 86.55...

Xuezu Qing, Beijing Solar Energy Technology Co., Ltd. General Manager Platt, professor at Tsinghua University, the original rural China Energy Association Vice President. He is well-known vacuum and solar thermal electricity experts, China's all-glass vacuum tube Solar water heaters One of the main founders of the industry, "all-glass vacuum tube," one of the main drafters of national standard, Beijing Tsinghua Solar's founder, in 2007 won the "Chinese solar energy heat utilization industry to promote the formation and development of the National Top Ten Outstanding contribution to the character award. " Professor Xue Zuqing in the 20th century, the late 80's commitment to transfer scientific and...

> China is one of the oldest continuous civilizations and is considered as one of the largest and the most advanced civilizations in the world. Probably because China is a country where its citizens are united, its economy has boost into becoming the world's third largest in the world. Shortly trailing after Japan, the Gross Domestic Product of China is measured at $4.91 trillion. As such, China is considered as the world's fastest growing economy for the past thirty years. Aside from this, China is also the largest trading nation in the world. While it is also the world's largest exporter, it just ranks second largest importer of goods. One of the leading export...

Rely on domestic demand and ease pressure on exports take time General Administration of Customs released the latest data show that 1 in September China's total textile and apparel exports 136.94 billion yuan, an increase of 8.12% over last year, lower than the national export increase of nearly 14.2 percent, down 8 consecutive months. Although our effect from August 1 to improve garment export tax rebate rate, but the good news failed to realize 8,9 month clothing export growth, export growth is still a downward trend in garment exports from a different angle, the market downturn. Industry insiders say that if the combination of exchange rate changes, starting from June, China's textiles and...

As was written in 1986: 'The problem is not just the personal, corporate and bank leverage nor just the unprecedented national debt, current account and trade deficits but with the addition of the huge unfunded liabilities it takes only a small trigger to get the whole economy to collapse.' The leaders of both Parties in both Congress and the Administration and the Federal Reserve Bank failed to see this intellectually obvious, economic crisis coming. After the economic crisis hit them, they all recognized and now confirm that it was excessive leverage, i.e. the ratio of the debt relative to the equity, that was the problem. Indeed it took only a less than 20% reduction in housing values in...

The purpose of buying Noritake china goes far beyond just eating it. Although Noritake dinner set designed for use on a regular basis, a fine set of China is often used for display purposes. There are several types of Noritake china dinnerware sets with various designs in many colors. These sets of fine china are reliable for almost any occasion. However, how you use these sets really depends on your lifestyle i.e. it is formal. Many of these sets of dinner are elegantly designed with a large Asian style art that gives a kind of beautiful look. Even new technology's Noritake china dinner sets have a very ancient look for them. The best thing about these sets of dinner is that they can be used for...

At the time of writing the shipping and marine insurance industries are still trying to digest and understand the full ramifications of the US Presidential Order signed on April 13th 2010. Confusion reigns, which is unsurprising in the face of a lack of written clarification from the US State or Treasury Departments. The fact that a non-attributable, off the record briefing took place on Friday 16th April has been widely reported, but given that the criminal sanctions include a twenty year prison sentence and the civil sanctions a fine twice that of the value of the transaction, the industry (especially those with any type of US nexus) can be forgiven for approaching the payment of ransoms or the...

id="body"> Many people think of any type of dollar denominated bonds, whether they are U.S. corporate bonds or U.S. Treasury bonds as a safe place to park your money for reliable sources of income stream. In fact, the U.S. Treasury Department on their own website, even tout U.S. Treasury Securities as a "great way to invest and save for the future." Many people believe this nonsense because they are advised of this by a horde of financial consultants that have zero understanding of how the political-corporate-banking triumvirate operates, and how this financial triumvirate has produced a most unattractive likely scenario for dollar-denominated bonds going forward from 2007. Many people think of U.S...

The culture of business is changing as a result of the global economy. Countries and people that once seemed so remote are now the same people we communicate with and do business with on a daily basis. I am not so naive that I believe that all the jobs that have been lost to outsourcing will ever be returning here. But I do understand the laws of jungle regarding the need to adapt in order to survive. It is critical that the US continues to be a leader in innovation and creativity. If we can give rise to new technologies and industry we can secure our own future. There will always be those who want to lean towards protectionism but it is unrealistic to expect that we will ever go back to the way...

I. A new approach to Competition Policy: The august words of the Preamble and the directives embodied in Article 39 of the Indian Constitution in tandem with the strategy of planned economic development necessitated the promulgation of a conservative competition policy in the form of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969. The policies of that era were preordained to achieve state aspirations such as self reliance and social justice and were characterized by the scepter of government participation/regulation in virtually every vista of economic activity. Government intervention in the determination of prices, limiting the role of the private sector, in using industrial licensing...

After everyone went home on a Friday night and the news industry geared down for the weekend, the White House increased the tariff on tires, imported from China, by 35% on top of the existing 4% tariff. Why? The Steelworkers Union (the union for tire workers) convinced the White House that they needed to increase the tariff on tires to protect 5,000 jobs in the tire industry. China has 18% of the low-cost tire market. This may be good party politics (supporting your base) but it is poor economic policy and it is another roadblock the administration has put in the way of economic recovery. Lets look at who is helped by this policy and who is hurt by it. 1. The union is helped in the short-term. The...

What is Forex? Foreign Exchange popularly known as Forex or FX is a market for the buying and selling of different currencies and it is one of the fastest growing avenues to making money online. Transactions on the market are done through electronic means (internet and telephone) through an intermediary called the Forex broker. However, major trading 'centers' exists in London, New York, and Tokyo. Other trading 'centers' are: Singapore, Frankfurt, Geneva & Zurich, Paris and Hong Kong. Forex market is made up of different players: individual trader, institutional traders, banks, other financial institutions (investment firms, pension funds and hedge funds etc), and governments through their...

The global financial meltdown over the last two years has had its predictable share of consequences on the Nigerian economy, but nothing has been more unexpected than the impact on the banking sector. When CEOs of the country's top banks collectively appealed last year for government intervention to mitigate recessionary effects on the Nigerian financial environment, it was a moment of national shock. Up until then, the Nigerian Central Bank had been enthusiastically assuring of the sound health of this sector. While none of the country's 25 major banks have officially asked for help, there are apprehensions that Nigeria might be tempted to take the bailout cue from the US and end up partly owning...

In a recent pronouncement, the Nigerian Central Bank announced the establishment of a federally-assisted programme specifically aimed at promoting agricultural enterprises. The Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) is a unique initiative launched as part of Late President UM Yar'Adua's Seven Point Agenda for economic revival and accelerated growth. It will provide concessionary funding to small farmers through credit guarantees and interest draw-back support. Initial outlay for the scheme stands at a respectable $1.4 billion, to be disbursed through participating commercial banks. The Nigerian government is understandably optimistic about the programme and its potential to increase farmland...