IAFM Articles

Dubai. Not a disaster zone, just normal (September 2009) | Economics
by IAFM Research

There has been much lament in the press recently about the global economic crisis, and some particular focus on Dubai as an economy. Dubai was the superstar of economic development in the last decade, where from the late 90s Dubai was hailed as the premier example of growth, entrepreneurism and capitalism. From a sleepy airline hub ‘somewhere in the Middle-East’ to arguably the most important financial and trading centre in the Gulf region, Dubai came from almost total obscurity to a global economic sensation overnight. ...[ Read More ]

In Gold We Trust (February 2009) | Economics
by Michael Preiss

On the back of the U.S. dollar it says:  “In God We Trust”.

For far-sighted and risk averse investors however, increasingly it is: "In Gold We Trust".

The inmates had taken over the asylum (October 2008) | Economics
by Prof. Brett King

With the recent collapse of Lehman Brothers, the bail-out and rescue package from the US government for AIG, the EU rescue package, Merrill’s sale and so forth, many are asking if the full impact of sub-prime is still to be felt. Learned commentators like George Soros have said that the worst may be yet to come depending on how quickly the central banks and governments stay ahead of the crisis. Whatever the case, no one is likely to deny that the impact of this financial disaster will be felt for a very long time, perhaps changing the future market participation model in a fundamental way. The real issue here is why did it happen, and have we learned something from the sub-prime crisis? ...[ Read More ]

Why the US dollar has fallen: Part 1 (June 2008) | Economics
by Martin Davies

If you want to boil a frog as the saying goes you put it into cold water and raise the temperature slowly for if you throw a cold frog into hot water it will leap out. The US dollar is such an animal and over the last few years there has been some speculation on the deprecating value of the dollar but such talk until lately seems to have been background noise.   Like our boiled frog, until the temperature raises too high no one notices, but in the last five years the US dollar has depreciated against the Euro by 35%. ...[ Read More ]

Enhancing Company Value By Telling A Better Tale (April 2007) | Economics
by Dr Richard Petty

For the average punter, ascertaining the “true” value of a company is still highly problematic. This is largely the result of information asymmetries that endure in spite of the progress that has been made in revisiting old accounting orthodoxy, and in controlling more vigorously certain types of interaction between actors in the capital markets. ...[ Read More ]