Search Results for: International business

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE ORGANISATION for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has called for international aid programmes to be better coordinated. Its Development Co-operation Report notes countries such as Nicaragua have about 40 different donors, adding “it is crucial that donors simplify and harmonise their efforts”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ORGANIC food production could help small farmers in developing countries escape poverty, said the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD). Chinese and Indian farmers switching to organic agriculture achieved higher earnings and a better standard of living last year said a report.…

BY LIZ HALL
SPAIN’S paint and coating industry has every right to be self-congratulatory at present: the widespread investment and business improvements of recent years have paid off with the sector securing a well-earned place alongside its counterparts elsewhere in the developed world.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Mobile Satellite Organisation (IMSO) and satellite operator Inmarsat have given around 1,000 digital land-mobile satellite communication terminals to the International Maritime Organisation to assist disaster response and relief projects, (starting with Tsunami reconstruction), where standard communications systems have been destroyed.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC), of the World Bank, has agreed to acquire a minority stake in a growing Turkey fleet management company to help cement its transformation into a key player in the Turkish market. The IFC will invest in Intercity, which grew from a single person operation in 1992 to a company with 20% market share, 90 employees and 6,000 cars under management today.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
IF you are looking for a smart way to launder money, the purchase and sale of precious metals ought to be as good as any around. Outlining its proposed rules for the sector in early 2003, the US Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) noted that precious metals (mainly gold, silver and platinum) were “easily transportable, highly concentrated forms of wealth” which could be converted into cash anywhere in the world, were actively traded and could be melted to obliterate refinery marks making them “virtually untraceable.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC) is to lend Bilgi University, Istanbul, Turkey, US$10 million, and has earmarked an additional US$5 million stand-by loan, to help it establish a business school and to expand enrolment generally. The money will also help create a new information technology centre and an adult distance learning system.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has agreed changes to The European Union’s (EU) rule-book on annual and consolidated accounts, toughening companies’ requirements to fight fraud and irregularities, while exempting a large number of smaller businesses from many demands. Its vote was welcomed by EU internal market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy: "We improve disclosure for the most complex listed and unlisted companies and at the same time allow member states much more scope for reducing burdens on small and medium-sized companies."…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AN INTERNATIONAL alliance of environmental and conservation organisations, led by the United Nations Environment Programme, is developing maps pinpointing lakes, marshes and other wetlands, where wild birds potentially infected with bird flu are likely to fly, helping health authorities prevent and plan for outbreaks.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE WORLD Health Organisation (WHO) is warning that around 100 million people fall into poverty every year because of medical care payments they cannot afford. It adds that an additional 150 million people spend nearly half their incomes on medical expenses.…