Kenya capital market authority appoint team to market kenya

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has appointed a 16-member team to design a blueprint that will guide the regulatorin making Kenya an international financial centreand achieving other Vision 2030 projects. The Capital Markets Master Plan (CMMP) is a 5-year planthat will act as a guide book for the CMA and board members have already signed term of reference. The CMA appointed the steering team which will have up to one year to drawup the CMMP which will include a report on where the market is, where it is going and how it will get there. The steering committee is a hybrid of bankers, brokers and technocrats. Capital Markets Steering Committee Membership 1.Paul Kavuma (Mr) - (Chairperson) 2.Gituro Wainaina (Dr)Treasury Representative 3.Chairperson, Technical & Policy Committee - Capital Markets Authority Board 4.Chief Executive - Capital Markets Authority 5.Gerald Nyaoma (Mr) – Nominee of the Central Bank of Kenya 6.Amish Gupta (Mr.) – Nominee of KASIB 7.Donald Ouma (Mr) – Nominee of NSE 8.James Muratha (Mr) - Nominee of FMA 9.Victor Nkiiri- Nominee of KBA 10.Wanjiku Mugane (Ms) 11.Mutuma Marangu (Mr) 12.Nathif Adam (Mr) 13.Anne Aliker (Ms) 14.Freshia Waweru (Dr) 15.Fahima Zein (Ms), CFA 16.Caroline Musyoka (Ms)

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) has appointed a 16-member team to design a blueprint that will guide the regulatorin making Kenya an international financial centreand achieving other Vision 2030 projects. The Capital Markets Master Plan (CMMP) is a 5-year planthat will act as a guide book for the CMA and board members have already signed term of reference. The CMA appointed the steering team which will have up to one year to drawup the CMMP which will include a report on where the market is, where it is going and how it will get there. The steering committee is a hybrid of bankers, brokers and technocrats. Capital Markets Steering Committee Membership 1.Paul Kavuma (Mr) - (Chairperson) 2.Gituro Wainaina (Dr)Treasury Representative 3.Chairperson, Technical & Policy Committee - Capital Markets Authority Board 4.Chief Executive - Capital Markets Authority 5.Gerald Nyaoma (Mr) – Nominee of the Central Bank of Kenya 6.Amish Gupta (Mr.) – Nominee of KASIB 7.Donald Ouma (Mr) – Nominee of NSE 8.James Muratha (Mr) - Nominee of FMA 9.Victor Nkiiri- Nominee of KBA 10.Wanjiku Mugane (Ms) 11.Mutuma Marangu (Mr) 12.Nathif Adam (Mr) 13.Anne Aliker (Ms) 14.Freshia Waweru (Dr) 15.Fahima Zein (Ms), CFA 16.Caroline Musyoka (Ms)

iPad mini models, pricing leaks online

A leaked inventory system screenshot has purportedly leaked the pricing scheme behind Apple's upcoming 7-inch tablet, dubbed the iPad mini. The base price of the iPad mini (8GB storage, Wi-Fi only) is set at €249, or $320 at the current exchange rate, according to German site MobileGeeks (via GigaOm ). The leaked screenshot is reportedly froma widely used inventory system in Europe and Asia used by mobile firms and cellular networks. Here's the pricing scheme as it's being reported:

A week after the U.S. Congress slapped ZTE with a 'do not trust' allegation , the Chinese company gets another bitter dose of bad news. It's about to report a net loss of between 1.65 billion and 1.75 billion yuan (US $263 million to$279 million) for the first nine months of 2012, which pales in comparisonto the 1 billion yuan profitit reported during the same period in 2011. This has resulted in a sharp 15.8 percent drop in ZTE'sshare price on the Hong Kong stock exchange, where it now sits at HK$10.56. The financial hitcame exclusively in the third quarter (that's July through September), where revenues are reported to be 13 percent lower than the same period in 2011 -- 18.23 billion yuan ($2.9 billion) versus 20.95 billion yuan ($3.34 billion). The equipment vendor blamesglobal trends, low-margincontracts, project delays and procurement changesfor the downward turn, and hopes to implement some cost-cutting measures to ensure better margins. However, it says it won't stop its current deals in North America and Europe, and will continue to invest in China's LTE market. In an analyst call, executives said they hope to break even this year, and that it has

worlds economy could slow down warns IMF

IMF warns recovery could be derailed The International Monetary Fund on Saturday sounded a note of cautious optimism on the global economy, but warned that recovery will be derailed if officials relenton policy commitments. In a communiqué to mark the conclusion of the IMF's annual meetings in Tokyo this week, members of the fund said: "Key policy steps have been announced, but effectiveand timely implementation is criticalto rebuild confidence." Christine Lagarde said ata press conference following the release of the communiqué that members had shown at meetings over recent days a "very strong commitment" to act. "Wemight not always agree on everything, but thereis consensus that collective action is going to produce results," the managing director said. The communiqué praised recent efforts of European policy makers, but called on officials in the bloc to ensure that the Europe Central Bank's Outright Monetary Transactions programme is tapped."The ECB's decision on OMT and the launch of the European Stability Mechanism are welcome.But further steps are necessary," the communiqué said. The fund shares the ECB's concerns that, if the OMT remains unused, markets will view the programme as lacking credibility and yields on peripheral debt will rise. These concerns are not shared by German officials. The communiqué also called on the United States to resolve the Congressional dispute over the fiscal cliff and urged Japan to make further progress towardsfiscal consolidation in themedium term. The communiqué signalled that emerging markets and developing economies must step up their policy response if global growth deteriorated. The tone of cautious optimism in the communiqué jars with the conclusions of the fund's World Economic Outlook and Global Financial Stability Report. The WEO downgraded forecasts for global growth and the GFSR warned of a dramatic contraction in European banks' balance sheets, especially those of lenders in peripheral Europe. Some European officials have queried the validity of some of the research contained in the reports, such as the WEO's analysis of fiscal multipliers, which suggests that the austerity does far more damage to growth than governments had assumed. In a press briefing on Saturday, Mario Draghi, ECB president, indicatedthat he viewed the GFSR's conclusions on European banks' deleveraging as misleading. "European banks are now pretty resilient. Recapitalisation has made progress. Leverage ratios have gone down," Mr Draghi said. "Our figures for deleveraging are different from the GFSRs-and not for the first time."

worlds economy could slow down warns IMF

IMF warns recovery could be derailed The International Monetary Fund on Saturday sounded a note of cautious optimism on the global economy, but warned that recovery will be derailed if officials relenton policy commitments. In a communiqué to mark the conclusion of the IMF's annual meetings in Tokyo this week, members of the fund said: "Key policy steps have been announced, but effectiveand timely implementation is criticalto rebuild confidence." Christine Lagarde said ata press conference following the release of the communiqué that members had shown at meetings over recent days a "very strong commitment" to act. "Wemight not always agree on everything, but thereis consensus that collective action is going to produce results," the managing director said. The communiqué praised recent efforts of European policy makers, but called on officials in the bloc to ensure that the Europe Central Bank's Outright Monetary Transactions programme is tapped."The ECB's decision on OMT and the launch of the European Stability Mechanism are welcome.But further steps are necessary," the communiqué said. The fund shares the ECB's concerns that, if the OMT remains unused, markets will view the programme as lacking credibility and yields on peripheral debt will rise. These concerns are not shared by German officials. The communiqué also called on the United States to resolve the Congressional dispute over the fiscal cliff and urged Japan to make further progress towardsfiscal consolidation in themedium term. The communiqué signalled that emerging markets and developing economies must step up their policy response if global growth deteriorated. The tone of cautious optimism in the communiqué jars with the conclusions of the fund's World Economic Outlook and Global Financial Stability Report. The WEO downgraded forecasts for global growth and the GFSR warned of a dramatic contraction in European banks' balance sheets, especially those of lenders in peripheral Europe. Some European officials have queried the validity of some of the research contained in the reports, such as the WEO's analysis of fiscal multipliers, which suggests that the austerity does far more damage to growth than governments had assumed. In a press briefing on Saturday, Mario Draghi, ECB president, indicatedthat he viewed the GFSR's conclusions on European banks' deleveraging as misleading. "European banks are now pretty resilient. Recapitalisation has made progress. Leverage ratios have gone down," Mr Draghi said. "Our figures for deleveraging are different from the GFSRs-and not for the first time."

Ethics for banking sector

ethics in banking is of supreme importance for the economyand the society. In my judgment, ethics in bankingmust be firmly anchored onfour pillars. First, banks must comply with all laws, rules and regulations that are usually framed in any country to ensure soundness of operations and to enhance confidence of the society. These laws, rules and regulations may relate to, among others, capital adequacy, maximum shareholding by members of a family, qualifications and tenure of members of the Board of Directors and Managing Directors, representation of depositorson the Boards, credit rating requirements, maximum limits on single party exposure, liquidity and credit/deposit ratios etc. Banks are additionally subject to provisions of company law, tax laws and securities laws. Any attempt to circumvent any legal provisions must be considered unethical. The universe of law and the universe of ethics are not necessarily coterminous, butviolation of law is rarely, if ever, ethical. Second, banks must ensure fair and equitable treatmentof all stakeholders. The interests of various stakeholders such as shareholders, depositors, borrowers and employees do not necessarily coincide. For example, banks may be inclined towards offering low returns to depositors and charging high interest rates from the borrowers in order to maximize profits and dividend for the shareholders. Such conflict of interest must be ethically balanced keeping in view the greatest good of the greatest number. Third, the banks must ensure full, truthful and transparent disclosure of their financial health. As noted before, many of the assets which turned out to be toxic were treated as off-balance sheet items. Theconcerned stakeholders were thus deprived of the right to get a transparent picture of the true financial health and the risks that were being assumed. Fourth, banks must behave as socially responsible corporate citizens. Milton Friedman, a nobel-laureate economist and an ardent proponent of free market economy wrote in 1970 thatthere is one and only one social responsibility of business to use its resourcesand engage in activities designed to increase its profit so long as it stays within the rules of the game. One may interpret this statement to mean that business is simply about maximizing profit without violating laws and regulations. This is obviously an untenable position. It may be observed here that banks did not apparently violate any prevailing laws and regulations, yet their activities inflicted severe negative externalities upon the society, as noted earlier.In this context, it may be mentioned that many of ourcorporate entities, includingbanks, gloat with satisfactionabout fulfillment of social responsibility by offering a few scholarships, making donation to some clinics or offering some support for some charitable activities. While such initiatives are welcome, these touch only the fringe. Social responsibility must be viewed from a wider perspective, taking into account the impact of banks' activities on growth, employment and emphatically in our case, poverty alleviation as well. With the above hindsight, I would suggest a few do's and don'ts for banks to meet ethical standards. This list is by no means exhaustive. Do's: * Ensure a fair return to the depositors and safety of deposits. * Minimize spread between cost of funds and lending rates. * Engage in transparent accounting practices. * Comply with all laws, rules and regulations promulgated by relevant regulatory authorities. * Develop effective risk management systems. * Treat clients with courtesy. * Offer services promptly. * Make proper use of information and communications technologyto enhance efficiency in providing services. * Protect minority shareholders' interest. * Set up management systems which clearly specify the functions of the Board, key management personnel such as the Managing Director, Chief Financial Officer, Company Secretary, Heads of Divisions and Departments etc. * Treat employees fairly andcompassionately. * Arrange for requisite employee training. * Ensure non-discriminationin personnel practices and support employees' and their family members' access to basic health, education and housing needs. * Finance activities which contribute to environmentalprotection, employment creation, poverty alleviation and women's empowerment. * Devise innovative products without assumption of undue risk. * Arrange flexible mortgagepayments for poor people's housing. * Try to expand operations to unbanked or underbanked sectors, regions and population groups. * Emphasize recovery, but with a human face. * Develop an internal code of ethics and set up an institutional arrangement to monitor compliance and suggest remedial actions, where needed. Don'ts: * Don't prove Mark Twain's statement “banks will lend you money if you can proveyou don't need it.”

Different Types of Banks and How Do They Differ We all know that a bank is a place which takes care of its customer’s money, regulates it among the government and general public levels and financially assists its customers. However,it is only a lay man’s knowledge about a bank. Banks are of several types and they differ according to their dealings which are definitely about thefinancial matters. The banking principles and regulations diverge from country to country as well. The different customs and the demand of time also affect and change the legal technicalities. Different types of bankshave different domainsin which they perform their specified functions. Usually, banking is a business initself, and banks are profitable entities but some of the banks operated by government are non-profitable. The various basic types of banks are: - Retail Banks: These banks work with the individuals and small business owners. They deal in the mortgage loans, credit cards and saving accounts. - Business Banks: They deal with the middle scale industrialists and business owners. - Private Banks: The wealth management service, to elite class and large scale businessowners, is provided by private banks. - Investment Banks: Investment banks are engaged in the deals with the economic market. - Central Banks :Last but not the least is the central bank. All the central banks are usually under the government directly and they are responsible to have a check on the rest of the banks and also to control and manage the interest rates. They also offer help to the businesses and corporations but only ifthere is no other choice. Out of all the previously described types of banks, retail banks are sub-divided according to their functions. Following is a short briefing about the kinds of retail banks: - Commercial bank: Commercial bank is to deal with the loans, mortgages, and the credits of high level industries and businesses. In fact, the investment banks were limited to the investment market by the US Congress only after the Great Depression. - Community banks: The locally working corporation that makesthe financial decisions for its customers and partners. - Community Development Bank: The banks that financially serve the neglected population or market of the community. - Private Banks: We alsoconsider the privates banks under retail banks as they deal withthe general public individually too. There was a time when you had to deposit at least a million dollars to open an account in a private bank. However, this opening amount due to growing business has been reduced to quarter of amillion US dollars. - Offshore Banks: The banks with the least laws and low taxation are called offshore. They are usually under the private banks. - Ethical Banks: Ethical banks function on the honest and clear policies and believe in socially responsible financing only.

34% quarterly profit for JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase on Friday reported a third-quarter profit of$5.7 billion, up 34 percent from a year ago, as the bank showed signs of strength in consumer and corporate lending. The bank surpassed expectations with earnings of $1.40 a share, compared with$1.02 a year earlier. JPMorgan's revenue rose to $25.9 billion, up 6 percent from 2011. As the nation's largest bank, JPMorgan is often considered a barometer of how rivalinstitutions and the greater economy will fare. With growth across virtually all the bank's core businesses, the earnings could bode well for the rest of the industry. In particular, JPMorgan's earnings were buoyed by the mortgage business, which is benefiting from a variety of government initiatives.The company originated $47 billion of new home loans and refinancing, up 29percent from the sameperiod a year earlier. Earnings in the mortgage unit increased by 57 percent."We believe the housing market has turned the corner," said Jamie Dimon, the bank's chief executive, in a release. Still, Mr. Dimon tempered expectations for the market. While emphasizing the growth in the bank's mortgage business, he warned that defaults could continue, along with foreclosures. Mr. Dimon, who has been an outspoken critic of overreachingregulation from Washington, also noted that the housing market could rebound more quickly if lawmakers made certain moves. "I would hope for America's sake we start to fix the things that make the mortgage underwriting too tight," Mr. Dimon said on a conference call with reporters.

Sprint nextel and softbank nears a deal

Sprint Nextel confirmed on Thursday that it was intalks with Softbank of Japan over a"potential substantial investment." A deal would give the struggling American cellphone service provider a deep-pocketed backerto help finance its turnaround effort. Talks are at an advanced stage, and a transaction may be announced soon, a person briefed on the matter said on Thursday. But the person cautioned that details were still being negotiated and a transaction may not transpire. In a brief statement, Sprint said: "Although there can be no assurances that these discussions will result in any transaction or on what terms any transaction may occur,such a transaction could involve a change of control of Sprint. Sprint does not intend to comment further unless and untilan agreement is reached."If a deal is completed, Sprint would gain substantial financial heft. SoftBank, one ofJapan's biggest cellphone service providers, could provide additional resources for Sprint build out its next-generation network. Sprint has long labored in the shadow of its bigger rivals, Verizon Wireless and AT&T, and in recent years has sought to compete primarily on price. But the company risked being overshadowed by T-Mobile USA's plan to merge with MetroPCS, a deal thatcould create a tougher competitor in the lower end of the cellphone market. Sprint currently has 56 million customers,while the newly enlarged T-Mobile would have 42.5 million subscribers.