Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Profiles

Profiles

Random

The case for offshore

Andrew P. Morriss -

The world’s financial infrastructure remains in flux. The United States’ FATCA, Britain’s “son of FATCA,” France’s “mini-FATCA,” the dozens of intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) being entered into by governments around the world with the U.S., and calls by many EU member states for IGA-like agreements of their own are changing the rules of international financial transactions.

 

The way forward for anti-corruption measures

Contributor -
OFCs need to exert more influence toward the global adoption of cost-effective anti-corruption measures.

Long attention span needed

Theo Bullmore -
A popular TV show in the early nineties was “Short Attention Span Theater”. The title itself neatly parodied the growing culture of clips and sound bites to convey both news and entertainment and, sadly, this trend has continued. One result is that today many people obtain nearly all their financial information from television and internet sources, which deal with complex economic issues in a thirty second burst or a couple of pithy headlines.

Is Cayman committing economic suicide?

Richard W. Rahn -
 The proposed tax, since dropped, would have been a 10 per cent payroll tax on expatriates making more than $36,000 per year. Cayman had never had a direct income tax, and officials have always previously insisted that Cayman would never have one.  

FINANCIAL IMPERIALISM: International challenges to the offshore financial services industry

Tcr -

We are in probably the most turbulent times the offshore financial industry has ever seen. Almost daily, new events come to light and new initiatives are unveiled. The pen is no sooner dry, than the commentary is out of date, so I apologise if that is the case here. I hope not, as I have tried to look over the horizon. 

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication

Conor O'Dea -
Crystal ball gazing is precarious at the best of times, but especially so in the current world economic environment. This does not stop people predicting the timing of the global economic recovery.

How offshore financial centres will save countries

Richard W. Rahn -

The great curse of democracies is that eventually a majority of the people become addicted to and demand ever more government benefits that cannot be funded by the diminishing numbers of taxpayers or through borrowing.

 

Wealth creation vs control?

Andrew P. Morriss -

The apocryphal Chinese proverb, “May you live in an interesting age”, describes the current international financial environment – from the US FATCA to the various “me too” versions being hastily put forward by European governments, the world’s financial plumbing is being reworked.

 

Night of the Living Dead

Morriss -
In many ways, some of our states are like General Motors before its bankruptcy, suffering from falling revenue, borrowing money to cover operating expenses and operating under crushing legacy health and pension liabilities. 

A new paradigm for economic sustainability

Pilar Bush -
 Governments the world over are faced with the challenge of a growing imbalance between public spending and revenues.   

Changing direction on bank regulation

Warren Coats -

The quality and cost of payment services from M-Pesa in Kenya to Apple Pay in the U.S. are steadily improving. However, the channeling of saving to investors is lagging behind.   

 

The view from 1963

Andrew P. Morriss -
The global financial crisis, Cayman’s struggles to balance its budget, the sequential financial meltdowns among Europe’s PIIGS, and the turmoil in the Middle East’s impact on energy prices (let alone the question of whether countries like Egypt will end up better off or not) could all make one gloomy about the future. 

Converging economic crime

Lisa M. Bowyer -

At age 19 there was no doubt in my mind that I did not want a career in criminal law. I chose the much more objective (and enjoyable) commercial law. So much for that!   

 

The growing threat of wealth taxation

Daniel J. Mitchell -

We need a tax system which asks the billionaire class to pay its fair share of taxes and which reduces the obscene degree of wealth inequality in America.

 

Capital Mobility

Warren Coats -

An explosion of prosperity around the world has followed the increasing liberalisation (globalisation) of trade and investment.

 

There is good news

Richard W. Rahn -
The last couple of years have left people in a depressed mood. But if one looks at the world as a glass half full rather than half empty, there is reason for optimism. The fact is the world economy is growing and in some important places, China, India, Brazil, Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia, Chile, etc, at very substantial rates.

Whither the Cayman Dollar?

Warren Coats -
The Swiss franc, the currency of a country that has a few things in common with the Cayman Islands, shot up from $1.082 (USD/CHF) on 5 April of this year to $1.375 on 10 August, an increase of 27 per cent in four months.

Circumventing government

Julian Morris -

Cayman has taken just such a permissive approach to certain forms of financial regulation and has reaped the benefits. Extending that approach into other areas might well enable the island to become a hub for other entrepreneurial activities, to the benefit of islanders and to the world.

 

Entering a year of uncertainty and opportunity

Pilar Bush -
The year 2009 delivered a surprisingly strong recovery as equity markets rebounded from the historic financial crisis seen in the second half 2008. The remarkable levels of government investment into the global financial system seem to have rescued the world’s economy from a potential disaster that could have taken decades to recover from.  

A future of wealth confiscation?

Daniel J. Mitchell -

Warren Buffett famously explained to his shareholders in 2004 that investors “should try to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful". 

 

12Page 1 of 2
© Copyright Pinnacle Media Group Ltd.