Scrapping the 2008 constitution and drafting a new charter based on a federal concept is the only viable way ahead to resolving Myanmar’s seemingly endless ethnic problems, ethnic group representatives argue. But judging from the government’s response to such demands and the relentless offensive in Kachin State, that is not likely to happen any time soon. And with Suu Kyi now seemingly on the side of the military, the gap between majority Burmans and ethnic minorities has never been wider.

Juncker backs French woman to head new bank supervisor

The head of the European Union’s new banking regulator should be a woman and in this first instance, come from France, according to outgoing eurozone head Jean-Claude Juncker…
… on Thursday also revealed that the job to lead the eurozone’s new bank supervision body would go to a French woman. “I am totally in favor of having a female representative,” he said. “It will be done, and (she) will be French.”
He did not elaborate but French media reports pointed to Daniele Nouya top official at the Banque de France…article

The President is not known for the depth of his understanding of economics or finance.  Neither is the new Secretary of the Treasury.   Remarks by the President in Nomination of Secretary of the Treasury

Top executives have warned U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron that he could damage Britain’s economy if he seeks to renegotiate the terms of its membership of the 27-country European Union. In a letter published in the Financial Times Wednesday, Virgin Group’s Richard Branson, London Stock Exchange head Chris Gibson-Smith, WPP chief executive Martin Sorrell and seven other business leaders challenged Cameron’s plan to renegotiate the U.K.’s membership terms of the 27-country EU and put the matter to a referendum.  The executives warn that such a plan could fail, pushing the U.K. out of the EU and hurting business in the process.  Article

Well, it just got even tougher for women on Wall Street. According to a new study by the American Economic Association, connections help men get ahead on Wall Street but they don’t help women in finance. Investors simply don’t trust women as much as they do men — right off the bat at least. Add this to the double-standard trunk…article

Where politics and money collide.  Political stability invites investment.  Chaos does not.  Article

Dubai is more than a story of skyscrapers built on sand with borrowed cash. Because the emirate’s oil reserves were limited, its rulers decided decades ago to diversify. Emirates Airline is the best-known result of this strategy: it started in 1985 and now ranks among the world’s leading carriers. The Jebel Ali Free Zone is one of the world’s biggest transit ports and the Dubai International Financial Centre the Middle East’s financial hub.

This role as a regional hub—and a policy of being open to almost any kind of business—explains why Dubai has been, at least economically, the main beneficiary of the Arab spring. Instability in the rest of the region has diverted capital, commerce and people to the emirate. When neighbouring Saudi Arabia upped its social spending to pre-empt protests, for instance, much of the cash ended up in Dubai’s shopping malls. More important, the emirate has clearly established itself as the region’s safe haven. “Dubai has created an environment where companies and expatriates want to be based,” says Monica Malik of EFG Hermes, an investment bank.  Article

Compliance deadlines extended to 2019 and nature of assets also changed.  Article

Rousseff, a left-leaning economist who likes to make key financial policy decisions herself, is boldly wagering that Brazil is ready to turn the page.This year she plans to loosen decade-old rules on public spending; ensure that benchmark rates stay at their current record low of 7.25 percent, even if the economy accelerates; pressure banks into lending more; and force investors to accept lower returns on infrastructure projects and other investments.  Read