You are here: Home » Archives for Economic News/Trends/Analysis

Denmark takes first place in second annual World Citizenship Report, global ‘powerhouses’ lose their lustre among the mass affluent

London, United Kingdom, April 20, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Denmark, Switzerland and Finland took the top three spots in the 2023 World Citizenship Report, which launched today. The World Citizenship Report ranks 188 countries across five key motivators defining citizenship for the global citizen.

Published by CS Global Partners, the world's leading government and investment migration advisory firm, the World Citizenship Report showcases the World Citizenship Index (WCI), an innovative tool that takes a holistic approach to rank the world's citizenships across multiple dimensions including the motivators of Safety and Security, Quality of Life, Economic Opportunity, Global Mobility and Financial Freedom.

The World Citizenship Index is the product of a research–driven approach that goes beyond ordinary concepts of passport strength by placing greater emphasis on the diverse attitudes regarding key facets of citizenship. Unlike other rating tools, the World Citizenship Index ranking is designed to reflect a citizenship's value through the lens of high–net–worth–individuals (HNWIs) and the newest generation of global citizens: the mass affluent population.

"This year, we looked beyond HNWIs and extended our survey to the new mass affluent, a globally mobile generation who is providing fresh impetus for a renewed drive towards global citizenship. As the world around continues to change at an exponential rate, bringing with it new crises and opportunities "" individuals across the globe are increasingly calling their own citizenships into question in terms of the safety, freedoms, and the prosperity they provide," said Micha Emmett, CEO of CS Global Partners.

"This Report stands apart from other reports in the industry because it examines which countries offer the most benefits for global citizens, particularly in a post–COVID world where those that have the means are consistently searching for greater opportunities.”

This year, Denmark kicked Switzerland out of the top spot and scored the highest points. Switzerland ranked in second place and Finland retained the third spot for a second year in a row.

Notably, global superpowers such as the United States and China did not rank in the top ten, symbolising a significant shift in what these economic giants can tangibly offer the global elite. HNWIs and mass affluent citizens are searching for a better quality of life, security and financial freedoms, all aspects which have been on shaky ground since the pandemic.

The surveyed cohort chose "Quality of Life' as the most important feature of citizenship, which ranked first across the World Citizenship Index's five pillars, eclipsing both Physical Safety and Financial Freedom.

The Report found that a competitive economy, public services, and environmental sustainability are the three areas mass affluent individuals feel most let down by their governments."

We are unfortunately living through a period where the standard of living is falling at the fastest rate in over a generation. At the end of 2022, the UK Office for Budget Responsibility reported that UK households are set to suffer a 7.1 per cent fall in living standards over the next two years, the largest decline in six decades. Furthermore, according to the latest United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report published in the same period, living conditions in 90 per cent of the world's countries deteriorated in 2021 "" something that hasn't been seen since the height of the previous global recession caused by the financial crisis in 2007. Moreover, the UNDP report marked the first consecutive year of decline in the 32–year history of the Human Development Index (HDI) "" these trends are reflected in the current World Citizenship Index scores. For example, the United States dropped to 29th position for the Quality–of–Life motivator from 20th position previously, which shows how living standards are coming under pressure even in the world's economic powerhouses.

“The World Citizenship Report aims to capture what truly concerns and affects a global citizen,” added Emmet. “When there are options to gain a second or third citizenship, the first question in a HNWIs mind is 'where is the next place to be associated with?'”

“High–net–worth individuals and the mass affluent must consider a myriad of factors when deciding something as monumental as where to obtain second citizenship and build a second home. While passport strength is, of course, an important component, it is also one that is subject to the greatest change as evidenced by pandemic related travel restrictions,” she added.

As many parts of the globe recover from COVID–19 and find means to bolster their economies, a new chain of threats has emerged. The conflict in the Ukraine has not only made many nations in the northern hemisphere realise just how fragile the concept of safety and freedom is but has severely impacted energy and food security across the world.

With so much change happening so rapidly around us, it can be challenging to keep up with how all these disparate factors coming to bear on the prevailing attitudes toward global citizenship. And this is where the value of the World Citizenship Report comes into the picture. The Report continues to build on its reputation as an ambitious product reflecting the evolving nature of these attitudes toward citizenship, and one that is in tune with the defining issues of our time with respect to global citizens, including health and wellbeing, environmental sustainability, and shifting investment priorities.

The World Citizenship Index's unique methodology relies on the experience gained through CS Global Partners unparalleled work in the citizenship solutions industry, as well as comprehensive research to evaluate 188 jurisdictions across the five motivators of citizenship out of a maximum attainable score of 100 points.

The Report's multidimensional approach ensured that the attitudes under investigation were captured as accurately and meaningfully as possible. Consequently, rather than relying exclusively on value judgments to construct and weight the World Citizenship Index, CS Global Partners also leveraged its unparalleled network of industry experts and access to global citizens to isolate the major motivations for attaining a second citizenship. These factors were then further explored and validated by surveying the global mass affluent population on the value of second citizenship.


GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 8812232)

Report on the Sustainability Governance Practices of the 30 Largest Global Banks Comes Up With Interesting Findings

LONDON, Jan. 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Morrow Sodali and Nestor Advisors – A Morrow Sodali Company, are pleased to announce the publication of "Governance of sustainability in the largest global banks: A study of the top 30 European and North American banks".

This Report examines the sustainability governance practices of the 30 largest European and North American banks. In preparing the Report, we reviewed various publicly available documentation and also interviewed representatives from fifteen leading banks, including nine board chairs, other board members and senior executives. Interviewees shed light on different practices, and why banks chose to pursue them. The resulting Report compares the banks across several data points and analyzes these findings against a double index of sustainability and financial performance.

Stilpon Nestor, the Report's leading author stated, "Sustainability is one of the big issues facing banks and their leadership. Shareholders and various stakeholders, including regulators, expect banks to be proactive in sustainability. On the strategy side, the "greening of the book" is the big challenge, especially in markets with big "brown" sectors. On the risk side, some regulators expect banks to integrate sustainability risk within the core risk management framework and its key categories. They also expect a clear sustainability perspective in the risk appetite framework. In order to deliver in these areas, global banks have reshaped existing governance and organizational arrangements and have developed some new ones. Our Report examines these arrangements and comes up with interesting, sometimes counterintuitive, findings."

Among these findings, the issue of board skills in relation to sustainability was highlighted. All of the banks we interviewed do not see having sustainability experts on the board as a priority. Their priority is to make their existing board members more cognizant in the sustainability area. In that sense, they emphasize the development of director skills.

How does a board structure itself to address sustainability? In many cases, this is done by setting up a new committee. However, structure often reflects the level of maturity of the issues in a bank. One interesting finding of the Report is that banks further advanced in the "maturity spectrum" have done away with special committees and discuss sustainability as part of the general strategy and risk appetite.

Another key finding relates to the role of management in ensuring all business functions strengthen their capabilities to understand sustainability. This is an issue that touches upon all business areas of a bank, whether it is a corporate, retail or private bank, as well as risk, finance and internal audit functions. That is why most global banks have created senior management committees to oversee this transversal work. The seniority of the members of this committee is key. In 50% of the banks, the CEOs themselves are heading this senior coordinating committee.

Most banks have also included sustainability parameters in their executive remuneration approach. The Report finds that in the best performing ones, sustainability considerations have a relatively significant "weight" among other factors in determining variable compensation.

We hope you find this study insightful, and that the findings will be helpful from the perspective of all stakeholders. Click here to request the Report in full.

ABOUT MORROW SODALI

Morrow Sodali is a leading provider of strategic advice and shareholder services to corporate clients around the world. The firm provides corporate boards and executives with strategic advice and services relating to corporate governance, ESG, shareholder and bondholder communication and engagement, capital markets intelligence, proxy solicitation, shareholder activism and mergers and acquisitions.

From headquarters in New York and London, and offices and partners in major capital markets, Morrow Sodali serves over 1,000 corporate clients in 80+ countries, including many of the world's largest multinational corporations. In addition to listed and private companies, its clients include financial institutions, mutual funds, ETFs, stock exchanges and membership associations.

For more information, please visit morrowsodali.com.

ABOUT NESTOR ADVISORS

Nestor Advisors is the specialized board and governance advisory subsidiary of Morrow Sodali. We are a global advisory firm specializing in corporate governance, sustainability and organizational design, and work with the boards and senior management of financial institutions, companies and not–for–profit organizations to improve decision making, organizational structures, controls and incentives.

Fully integrated with Morrow Sodali, the two companies provide the firm's global client base with a comprehensive suite of advisory services relating to corporate governance, ESG, sustainability and stakeholder engagement.

Our services span a broad spectrum including holistic assessments yielding a significant redesign of a company's governance system, board evaluations, group governance, board training, risk management, and the development of specific policies and controls. Whatever the scope, our services are always closely tailored to our clients' needs.

For more information, please visit nestoradvisors.com.

CONTACTS

Elena Cargnello
Corporate Director, Marketing
e.cargnello@morrowsodali.com
+44 (0)20 4513 6913


GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 8732968)

FXCM June Single Share & Stock Baskets Report

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Aug. 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FXCM Group, LLC ("FXCM Group' or "FXCM'), the leading international provider of online foreign exchange trading, CFD trading, cryptocurrencies and related services, is today releasing its data of most popular instruments for the month of June in its Single Share CFD and proprietary Stock Basket product lines.

FXCM offers fractional single share CFD trading with no commission fees** on leading companies from the US, UK, France, Germany and Hong Kong, whilst FXCM's stock basket products combine the shares of multiple companies from one sector into a single tradeable instrument. The company currently boasts a portfolio of 14 stock baskets. The list of companies and weightings is available on FXCM's stock basket website: https://www.fxcm.com/za/stock–baskets/

NVIDIA's climb towards $1000 a share saw it knock Apple down from the second most heavily traded share in June, as Amazon also retook its spot among the monthly leaders. Waning post–IPO interest in Coinbase saw it tumble out of the top 10 together with Google, which finds itself out of the top 10 for the very first time in over 12 months.

On the stock baskets side, there was not much change among the leaders, as China Tech, China Ecommerce and FAANG continued to hold the top three spots.

The Hong Kong based ATMX basket made its first appearance in the top 10 since being launched in May at the expense of the Work From Home basket, which saw the biggest decline as companies worldwide slowly try to return to pre–pandemic workspaces.

Volume
Rank		 Monthly Rank
Change		 Company Symbol
1 – Tesla Inc TSLA.us
2 '4 NVIDIA Corporation NVDA.us
3 "1 Apple Inc AAPL.us
4 '3 Amazon.com, Inc AMZN.us
5 New to Top 30 BP plc BP.uk
6 "2 Boeing Co BA.us
7 '18 Zoom Video Communications Inc ZM.us
8 – Baidu Inc ADR Class A BIDU.us
9 New to Top 30 Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR.us
10 New to Top 30 Airbnb Inc ABNB.us

Volume
Rank		 Monthly Rank
Change		 Sector Symbol
1 – Chinese Tech CHN.TECH
2 – Chinese E–Commerce CHN.ECOMM
3 – Big US Tech FAANG
4 '1 Airlines AIRLINES
5 "1 Cannabis CANNABIS
6 '3 Esports & Gaming ESPORTS
7 '3 Biotechnology BIOTECH
8 "1 US Banks US.BANKS
9 '4 Big China Tech ATMX
10 "2 Casinos CASINOS

Past performance and popularity are not indicators of future results.

Rank is derived from FXCM Client Volume.

**When executing customers' trades, FXCM can be compensated in several ways, which include, but are not limited to: spreads, charging fixed lot–based commissions at the open and close of a trade, adding a markup to the spreads it receives from its liquidity providers for certain account types, and adding a markup to rollover, etc.

About FXCM:
FXCM is a leading provider of online foreign exchange (FX) trading, CFD trading, and related services. Founded in 1999, the company's mission is to provide global traders with access to the world's largest and most liquid market by offering innovative trading tools, hiring excellent trading educators, meeting strict financial standards and striving for the best online trading experience in the market. Clients have the advantage of mobile trading, one–click order execution and trading from real–time charts. In addition, FXCM offers educational courses on FX trading and provides trading tools, proprietary data and premium resources. FXCM Pro provides retail brokers, small hedge funds and emerging market banks access to wholesale execution and liquidity, while providing high and medium frequency funds access to prime brokerage services via FXCM Prime. FXCM is a Leucadia Company.

Forex Capital Markets Limited: FCA registration number 217689 (www.fxcm.com/uk)

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.

70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

FXCM EU LTD: CySEC license number 392/20 (www.fxcm.com/eu)

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.

Between 74–89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.

You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

FXCM Australia Pty. Limited: AFSL 309763.You can sustain a total loss of your deposited funds. The products may not be suitable for all investors. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved. If you decide to trade products offered by FXCM AU, you must read and understand the Financial Services Guide, Product Disclosure Statement, and Terms of Business on www.fxcm.com/au.

FXCM South Africa (PTY) Ltd: FSP No 46534 (www.fxcm.com/za). Our service includes products that are traded on margin and carry a risk of losses in excess of your deposited funds. The products may not be suitable for all investors. Please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved.

FXCM Markets Limited: Losses can exceed deposited funds. (www.fxcm.com/markets).

Media contact:
Chatsworth Communications
+44 (0) 20 7440 9780
fxcm@chatsworthcommunications.com


GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 8288472)

Aptitude Research Examines Benefits of Programmatic Job Advertising

NEW YORK and HERZLIYA, Israel, March 17, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PandoLogic, the world's leading provider of programmatic recruitment advertising, shared findings from recent report conducted by Madeline Laurano, principal analyst at the talent acquisition industry firm Aptitude Research. Laurano presented the primary research, titled "Don't Get Left Behind: The Programmatic Revolution Starts Now," at this week's Spring HR Tech Conference.

Frustration abounds with traditional job advertising models, given its expensive, inefficient and, most times, ineffective results. These older approaches assume that already stretched recruiters have the time and skills to negotiate, purchase and monitor job advertising investments across a range of job sites, making it no surprise that the ROI is low. In sharp contrast, programmatic job advertising enables companies to re–direct their existing job advertising budgets to modern technology–driven models that provide immediate improvements.

Laurano commented, "In talent acquisition, every company is at a different stage in their advertising and recruitment marketing journey. Although some companies are using programmatic advertising to further their brands, they're not yet applying it as part of their recruiting strategy. Our findings include a maturity model that will help them determine how much of their job advertising budget is being wasted by not using programmatic."

Among the benefits of programmatic job advertising, the research identified the following key points:

  • Companies that leverage programmatic are twice as likely (60 percent versus 29 percent) to reduce time–to–fill
  • These companies are also nearly three times (56 percent versus 19 percent) likely to improve quality–of–hire compared to companies using traditional advertising
  • As opposed to traditional advertising, programmatic job advertising advances diversity hiring efforts (47 percent versus 27 percent)

The research was sponsored by the global programmatic job advertising market leader, PandoLogic.

Jennifer Ravalli, vice president, Marketing at PandoLogic, said, "We were proud to sponsor this much needed research with Aptitude. Programmatic job advertising as a category still has relatively low adoption, despite a strong track record for delivering amazing outcomes for clients. As we look toward job recovery over the next year, we believe programmatic job advertising can be a game changing tool for talent acquisition professionals. This research will help support growth of the category overall, by sharing quantitative data that illuminates the results early adopters are seeing."

Laurano concurred, "We've observed evidence of programmatic in action. For example, it was used by a restaurant company with high turnover. They were able to increase applicant volume by 472 percent, reduce cost–per–applicant by 533 percent plus reduce the monthly recruitment investment by 19 percent."

The Aptitude Research report is available for complimentary download. Please visit https://go.pandologic.com/state–of–programmatic–job–advertising–report to access your copy.

About PandoLogic

PandoLogic's pandoIQ platform enables employers, staffing firms and RPOs to source qualified applicants faster and more efficiently. pandoIQ maximizes job advertising spend through the use of data science, machine learning and proprietary campaign algorithms that fully automate and optimize the job advertising business process. Since 2007, over 125,000 employers and more than 700 digital publishers have benefited from PandoLogic's programmatic solutions resulting in over 5 billion programmatic job campaigns based on more than 200 billion historical job performance data points. To learn more, visit https://pandologic.com/


GLOBENEWSWIRE (Distribution ID 8191314)