Shrinking

Banks’ market cap…

Professional Accreditations

I was surprised to find out so many accreditations for financial professionals…

ACA – Chartered Accountant [UK, Australia, & New Zealand]
ACCA – Diploma in Financial Management, Chartered Certified Accountant
ASA – Accredited Senior Appraiser
ASA – Associate Society of Actuaries
ASIP formerly, AIIMR [UK]
CA – Chartered Accountant [Australia]
CA – Chartered Accountant [Canada]
CA – Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants [Scotland]
CA – Chartered Accountant [South Africa]
CAIA – Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst
CBV – Chartered Business Valuator [Canada]
CCA – Chartered Certified Accountant [UK]
CCM – Certified Cash Manager [US]
CEFA – Chartered European Financial Analyst
CFI – Certificate in Finance & Investment of the Institute of Actuaries [UK]

Isle of Man Financial Centre

The Isle of Man is a long established and modern international financial centre, conveniently located in Europe and offering a wide range of financial services in a well regulated environment.

Government

Financial Supervision Commission

Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme

Isle of Man Finance

Insurance and Pensions Authority

Fund Management

Isle of Man Fund Management Association

Database of Fund Managers and Fund Administrators

Banks

Association of Licensed Banks

Database of Banks

Insurance

Manx Insurance Managers Association

Manx Insurance Association

Corporate Services

Association of Corporate Service Providers

Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners

Isle of Man Law Society

The Wealth and Inequality

Income inequality between the wealthiest U.S. taxpayers and the rest of the country continued to climb for the third straight year, according to the latest tax return statistics.

Statistics of Income (SOI) released by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in March 2007 shows that $1.4 trillion in income received by the richest 828,323 taxpayers is roughly equal to the combined reported income of the poorest 81 million. IRS stats showed that the wealthiest 1 percent — those with at least $328,000 in adjusted gross income — took in 21 percent of income in 2005, the largest proportion in recent history. The top 50 percent of earners accounted for nine out of 10 dollars in income, another record.

In contrast, the bottom half of all individual taxpayers earned less than 15 percent of total income, the lowest level since 2000 and the latest in a three-year decline in their portion. Detailed analysis is available from IRS and third parties.

New York Times created an interactive graphic showing the 30 all-time richest Americans ever and how they amassed their wealth. Number one on the list is John D. Rockefeller with $193 billion. Bill Gates with $83 billion and Warren Buffet with a $46 billion are the only living Americans on the list.

Merrill Lynch-Capgemini World Wealth Report 2007 provides some statistics on the financial wealth of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) worldwide. In 2006, it grew from U.S. $33.3 trillion in 2005 to U.S. $37.2 trillion in 2006, a growth rate of 11.4%. For the same period, the total number of HNWIs increase 8.3%, from 8.7 million individuals in 2005 to 9.5 million in 2006. There is also edition of Wealth Report focused on Asia-Pacific region. Report reveals that China and Japan account for more than 60% of region’s High Net Worth wealth and Singapore, India and Indonesia are fastest-growing HNWI populations.

Earnings only become meaningful in relation to prices, i.e., what can be bought with the money earned.

Oslo, London, Copenhagen, Zurich and Tokyo are the world’s most expensive cities in relation to a standardized basket of 122 goods and services. The UBS study “Prices and Earnings” shows that life is particularly expensive in London and New York if the cost of housing is included. The basket of goods and services costs the least in Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Delhi and Buenos Aires.

Analysis of Prices and Earnings report is available at business news center Finfacts.com.

Business and Financial News

United States

The are 17 business magazines in USA: Barron’s, Black Enterprise, Business 2.0, BusinessWeek, Conde Nast Portfolio, The Economist, Entrepreneur, Fast Company, Forbes, Fortune, Fortune Small Business, Inc., Kiplinger’s, Money, PC Magazine, Smart Money and Wired. Magazine Publishers of America publishes detailed statistics on Ad Revenues by Magazine Titles.

Also worth checking are the following resources:

The Wall Street Journal

New York Times – Business

Harvard Business Review

United Kingdom

Most prominent business newspapers and magazines in UK are listed below:

Financial Times

Economist

Guardian

International Herald Tribune

Tax Analysts Offshore Project

Martin A. Sullivan, an economist and Tax Analysts’ contributing editor, tries to quantify the amount of offshore tax evasion by individuals by examining financial data in tax haven jurisdictions.

He recently added new jurisdictions:

1. Guernsey
2. Jersey
3. Isle of Man
4. Switzerland
5. Caribbean Hedge Funds, Part 1
6. Caribbean Hedge Funds, Part 2

Hong Kong Financial Centre

Hong Kong is a thriving international financial centre. It has a strong regulatory environment and performs well in all of the key competitiveness areas. As with the other leading centres, costs are high but this does not seem to detract from overall competitiveness. If any Asian centre is to join London and New York as a global financial centre, Hong Kong is the strongest contender.

Hong Kong International Rankings

Hong Kong 2006 – Financial and Monetary Affairs

Associations

Hong Kong Association of Banks

List of banks in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Investment Funds Association

Hong Kong Federation of Insurers

Securities and Futures Commission

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited

Hong Kong Association of Financial Engineer (HKAFE)

Hong Kong Association of Business and Professional Women

Government

Hong Kong Monetary Authority – Banking System

Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau

Office of the Commissioner of Insurance

Insider Dealing Tribunal

Liechtenstein Publications

Liechtenstein in Figures 2006

The Liechtenstein Banking Sector 2006

Liechtenstein – Financial center

Offshore Financial Centers

1. Hong Kong
2. Isle of Man
3. Channel Islands
4. Cayman Islands
5. Bermuda
6. British Virgin Islands

Three Territories, (Bermuda, Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands) are of major importance in the global financial system. Cayman Islands are home to 80 per cent of the world’s hedge funds. More details are available in National Audit Office Report on the Crown Protectorates. Marty Sullivan at TaxAnalysts is also doing a new project on offshore.

Subprime Losses and Writedowns

Losses and writedowns at the world’s biggest banks and securities firms total $97 billion this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Merrill Lynch & Co. may write down an additional $34 billion in securities linked to the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Analyst William Tanona estimates an additional Q4 writedown for Citi of $18.7bn.