…Another interesting fact throws light on who controls the purse strings. In 2010, the number of accounts operated by females in all commercial banks was 153.18 crores compared to 487.37 crore accounts operated by males…article

A school of thought dubbed “open-book management” advocates sharing all or most of a firm’s financial data with employees on a monthly, weekly or even daily basis. Widely promoted since the mid-1990s by the likes of Jack Stack, then the boss of Springfield Remanufacturing Corporation, a firm that refurbished diesel engines, and John Case, a management writer, open-book management doesn’t just require bosses to shed their inhibitions when it comes to revealing numbers. It also involves teaching workers to read company accounts. Article

It is normal for a decade to pass between when an asset of someone charged with being part of an organised crime group is confiscated and the final court verdict that passes the assets definitively to the state. Often, as with the San Paolo [a hotel], it then takes many more years before the government finds a buyer, while businesses languish or fold, leading to job losses and social unrest…The more than 1,600 confiscated businesses in Italy include construction companies, healthcare providers, mines, castles, manufacturers, villas, vineyards, hotels and supermarkets.  ARTICLE

Catherine Livingstone can still remember her first board appointment — as a director of the federal government’s Export Finance and Insurance Corporation — when she was chief executive of bionic ear company Cochlear…article

On election Eve, many feel that the most significant choices that lie before us have not been raised by any of the presidential campaigns.

According to official government sources, the country could face a “significant recession” unless it finds a solution to its budget problem. The economy, which is predicted to grow by at least 2.5 percent next year, could shrink instead, leading to an unemployment rate of more than 9 percent. It’s a nightmare scenario that even the International Monetary Fund, normally a proponent of drastic austerity programs, warns against. Behind the fiscal cliff is a gaping abyss into which all hopes for America’s future could disappear. Article

We, the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, met to assess progress on the fulfillment  of the mandates given to us by our Leaders, to promote robust growth and job creation and to address ongoing economic and financial challenges. Communiqué

Main points of G20 draft communiqué

When the European Parliament turned Yves Mersch
down for a top central banking post, it wasn’t because he lacked the expertise or experience; they rejected him because he is a man…article

The Secretary of State has designated Haqqani Network chief of suicide operations Qari Zakir (also known as Abdul Rauf) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. As a result of the designation, all property subject to U.S. jurisdiction in which Zakir has any interest is blocked and U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with him or to his benefit.  Article

With women increasingly taking charge of financial decisions,
they can’t afford to be complacent consumers, says Kara Gammell in Telegraph Wonder Women’s new weekly money advice column..article