Full Redemption of First Digital Sukuk Malaysia (Sukuk Prihatin)

Sukuk Prihatin won numerous awards, including 'Overall Deal of the Year 2020, Most Innovative Deal of the Year 2020 and Malaysia Deal of the Year 2020' by Islamic Finance News. An excerpt below:

"According to Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, the Sukuk Prihatin issuance, launched on Sept 22, 2020, had to be upsized by RM166.42 million due to an overwhelming response.

It was subscribed by 2,436 individuals and corporate holders with a final total subscription value of RM666.42 million."

Note: So proud to say that I am one of the 2, 436 numbers. I was overjoyed that day. Felt so patriotic. Thank you Malaysia.

Source: The Edge Market. 

A Strong Dollar

Three ways a strong dollar impacts emerging market according to World Bank Blog.:

1. Debt worries.

2. Growth concerns.

3. Trade troubles.

Solutions? Manage fiscal position through sustainable borrowings. I think Sukuk will do the job. 

Image source: CartoonStock

Power Distance Index

I came across Hofstede's Power Distance Index (PDI) while reading a Malay article on 'Food Basket for Undergraduates' initiative in Malaysia. Hofstede is an engineer who worked for IBM. He studied the differences in work culture  and  created PDI to study dimensions of culture for each country. The short video below (1.58 min.) on high and low power distance explanation. Hugh Fox III blog has more on this.

Source: Internet

Source: Huge Fox III

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Another visit to econlifeblog on the economics of pumpkin spice latte.  Interesting post. 

Source: starbmag

Source: Bloomberg

Real Economy Discount Window

An excerpt from the Byte Size Economics: 

"In a 2020 Harvard Business Review article, multiple economists and members of the private financial industry discuss the economic fallout of COVID-19 while also providing some potential solutions to these issues, writing that, naturally “a vaccine would reduce the need for social distancing and thus relax the policy’s chokehold on the global economy” while noting that, from an economic perspective, “policy innovation also will have to occur. For example, central banks operate so-called “discount windows” that provide unlimited short-term finance to ensure liquidity problems don’t break the banking system. What is needed now, today, is a “real economy discount window” that can also deliver unlimited liquidity to sound households and firms. The emerging policy landscape includes many worthwhile ideas. Among those are “bridge loans” that offer zero-interest loans to households and firms for the duration of the crisis and a generous repayment period; a moratorium on mortgage payments for residential and commercial borrowers; or using bank regulators to lean on banks to provide finance and to rework terms on existing loans.”

Image: Harvard Business Review

Covid-19: Lessons From China

The recent article in the IMF Blog covering how China is fighting the coronavirus pandemic.  Excerpt:

• "China shows that we can stop coronavirus through containment - but at a significant economic cost.
• Globally, the coronavirus shock is severe even compared to the Great Financial Crisis in 2007–08.
• Policymakers must support vulnerable households and smaller businesses to mitigate the impact of this severe shock."

Source: IMF Blog

'A Love Letter to Aviation'

Have you watched 'Top Gun: Maverick' and 'Fall?' 

I came across one blog reviewing 'Maverick.' In the review, the blogger quoted the French novelist Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin (her pen name is George Sand):

"Simplicity is the most difficult thing to secure in this world; it is the last limit of experience and the last effort of genius." 

Do watch both movies. For Maverick, the general theme of the movie is 'a love letter to aviation.' I used to read Bigglesworth novels (Malay translation) because my father was a parachuter. 

Source: Pinterest

Source: Flickr

Medicine That's Worse Than the Disease

Inflation or Unemployment?  Recently, global food prices are soaring. Inflation hurts, but cooling inflation would most likely involve a rise in unemployment. The economic discomfort, arising from both inflation and unemployment, is called Misery Index. The Insider has the full full story.

Source: Mjasiriamali-The Entrepreneur

iPhone14: Emergency SOS via Satellite Feature

The Emergency SOS via Satellite is only available for users in USA and Canada at present. It is free for the first 2 years. Always read the fine line...

The video below is the guided tour on iPhone14 (9.04 min). Creative advertisement. Fits Apple's philosophy: "Invisible Technology."

Source: Internet.

"Next to Nothing." Photo Apple.

Cartier's Hidden Debt to Islamic Art

An interesting discovery from the Bloomberg Asia Edition in October 2021. The full story here. An excerpt below:

"The Louvre’s acquisition of two exquisite, ivory pen boxes in 2018 has sparked an entire exhibition on the hidden connections between the house of Cartier and the world of Islamic art.

...The two boxes, originally made for the court of Shah Abbas (1587-1629), the ruler of present-day Iran, had made their way into the collection of Louis Cartier by 1912."

A proposal for a Cartier powder box, using an architectural fragment from around 1920. Photographer: PICTO NUM. Source: Bloomberg.

Fast and Furios Business Cycle

I am borrowing Dr. Ed's Blog posting in light of the recent inflation hike. Below is a short excerpt:

"...That’s all great until it isn’t—because, as we all know, booms are followed by bananas. Economist Alfred Kahn, an economic adviser to former President Jimmy Carter, warned lawmakers in the ’70s that if they didn’t get inflation under control, the nation was heading for a recession or a depression. To avoid scaring the public during his testimony at the Capitol, instead of saying “recession” or “depression,” he simply said “banana.”

Source: Internet. 

Brexit and Inflation

Brexit is driving the inflation to be higher in the UK as compared to other European countries. The full story here.

Source: PIIE/OECD

Fog of War

Chart of the Week from the IMF Blog. You can also read the compilation of top 10 by readership illustrating what's happening in the world's economies.

Source: IMF Blog