Trade finance is booming across Asia. But SMEs and micro enterprises still struggle for attention, and complex rules hold back progress. Asian demand for trade finance is expected to remain robust this year, despite uncertainty surrounding US tariffs. Asian exporters and suppliers are increasingly looking to access supply chain finance (SCF), and technological advances including…
Most American Catholics were probably not expecting to spend the first week of Easter trying to figure out whether their government was threatening to overthrow the first American-born pope. Yet a handful of news reports this week raised that very strange possibility. They landed just as both the Roman Catholic Church and right-wing Christian influencers…
What’s Really Driving This Shift Outcome: UK house prices fell 0.5% in March, with the average dropping to £299,677. Mechanism: Rising inflation expectations pushed mortgage rates higher, disrupting buyer confidence. Implication: The housing market is no longer driven by demand — it is being dictated by borrowing cost volatility. This isn’t a housing slowdown. It’s…
By Aultrin Vijay and Prabhu Natrajan The International Color Quality Club (ICQC) 2026–2028, organised by the World Printers Forum, introduces changes to the contest format. The competition is open to publishers and printers worldwide and continues its focus on print quality, standardisation, and performance. A key update is the redesigned Cuboid test patch. The new…
This story appeared in The Logoff, a daily newsletter that helps you stay informed about the Trump administration without letting political news take over your life. Subscribe here. Welcome to The Logoff: The economic impact of the Iran war is becoming clearer. What’s happening? On Friday, we learned that inflation climbed to 3.3 percent in…
Thanks to the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, trade and economic cooperation between inland China and Southeast Asia are growing fast. China’s New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (New ILSTC) is a critical component of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), linking the western inland regions to global maritime routes and—it is hoped—enhancing connectivity with ASEAN…
Practical guidelines for driving UX impact in organizations with legacy systems and broken processes. Brought to you by Measuring UX Impact, friendly video course on UX and design patterns by Vitaly. Imagine that you need to improve the UX of a legacy system. A system that has been silently working in the background for almost…
From 4-7 October 2026, the World Trade Center (WTC) Rotterdam – a stunningly repurposed historic grain store – will become the global epicenter for showcasing print and distribution excellence. By bringing these two events together, WAN-IFRA is creating a “strength in numbers” environment, uniting the finest expertise in production and delivery under one roof. “By…
Many portfolios appear diversified at first glance. In practice, true diversification depends on asset allocation, correlation and continuous monitoring. Diversification is one of the most widely accepted principles in investing. From academic finance to institutional portfolio management, the idea of spreading capital across multiple assets is often presented as a fundamental strategy for managing risk….
The focus of the US-Iran war — and now the negotiations over the US-Iran ceasefire — has shifted to Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz, to such an extent that the main original justification for the war (destroying Iran’s nascent nuclear program) can sometimes feel like an afterthought. It’s not clear to what extent…