Islamic Finance

  In what the New York Times declared as a “dark day for the rule of law” on December 11, 2012, HSBC, the world’s second largest bank, failed to be indicted for extensive criminal activities in laundering money to and from regimes under sanctions, Mexican drug cartels, and terrorist organizations (including al-Qaeda). While admitting culpability, and with guilt assured, state and federal authorities …

Gold: $750   Over the past 30 years now, I’ve used known economic and demographic trends to predict major economy and market shifts with uncanny accuracy. If you know my work – and that of my firm, HS Dent – you know we’ve helped a lot of investors save money and become wealthy by accurately forecasting major economic events over the years. We …

  Is HSBC's $1.9bn (£1.2bn) fine enormous or a drop in the ocean? Well, it's a record for the offence of money laundering and breaking sanctions, which could be said to underline the gravity of the bank's actions. On the other hand, the sum represents about four weeks' earnings given the bank's pre-tax profits of $21.9bn last year. The financial pain is …

US breeds a Chinese-style inmate labor scheme on its own soil. Both state and some of the biggest private companies are now enjoying the fruits of a cheap and readily available work force, with tens of millions of dollars spent by private prisons to keep their jails full. Posted December 09, 2012 Mumia Abu-Jamal interview on prisons  Mumia Abu-Jamal is an …

  The historic transition towards an Asian Century is generating a treasure trove of both symbolic and real images of the shift from swords-to-plowshares. One of the most thought-provoking is the conversion of Sri Lanka’s former military headquarters in a prime location on the Colombo seafront into an area for mega-projects. Once dotted with grim, heavily-fortified garrisons and gun barrels …