An old Chinese proverb says: “The mountains are high and the emperor is far away.” Although the saying refers to a much earlier day when the reach of power in far-away Peking was extremely limited, it can be taken as an expression of how removed the runaway real estate sector in China – and most of Asia – seems from its depressed state in much of the western world

From all sides, bankers and executives have been
lambasted for failing to understand the risks inherent in
their businesses, or even to get involved in how they
were being managed. But what if the reasoning is simpler
still – do executives really understand what is actually
meant by “risk”?

When products are deemed hazardous and are banned from sale and use in the world’s most developed markets like the US and the EU, it does not necessarily mean that they are no longer produced. They are simply shipped to the developing world, which incorporates the largest chunk of the world’s population – and the lowest levels of safety enforcement

Despite the current propensity among global markets to struggle, many companies are thrashing out new discourses for the future of business. We mark some of those companies in the magazine’s Future 50 list

It is an ill wind that turns none to good, a poet wrote nearly 500 years ago. And the global shipping industry is already learning from the storms that ripped through it over the last eighteen months

Banks and charities are encouraging greater self-sufficiency in the developing world. But there are problems with some of the sector’s practices, writes Neil Hodge

Governments, regulators, professional associations and financial institutions have made bold statements and fine intentions to restore investor and consumer confidence in the global financial services sector. Are their efforts paying off?

Global M&A volume has recovered from 2009’s anaemic level. The trend will continue

With government debt spiralling out of control and an austerity package that perhaps only looks real on paper, Greece is either sliding towards the abyss ñ or being pushed there by currency speculators. Europe wants to act but needs international co-operation. It is unlikely to happen quickly

Investors are bound to feel shaky when major markets are downgraded and government interference increases

After the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, Switzerland’s largest bank was teetering. UBS, which was more than three times bigger than Lehman in terms of assets, had to write down some $50bn during that tumultuous period

After a slow year of investor interest and lacklustre performance on the stock exchanges for some of the sector’s smaller players, the pharmaceutical industry is expected to be one of the most appealing to investors this year

The Troubled Asset Relief Programme has been a bigger success than was expected – but its critics haven’t gone away

The families that manage together, keep the business together

Alternative energy sources is a hot topic. Oil prices are rising, so too is demand. One Australian company is leading the way to recover energy for the production of cleaner fuels and electricity