Financial Transparency Coalition

When it comes to policy change, what should come first: financial regulation or corporate responsibility? I have argued for corporate responsibility—morality, in fact—before. My conclusion was that corporations, like people, do have the duty to act morally. I argued that there is such a thing as moral behavior when it comes to business and when we, as consumers, should reflect our own brands of morality in our purchasing decisions. The same thing should be true of investing. And when it comes to these funds, some firms have already led the way with “socially responsible” investment firms. Members...

If you’ve been following the melodrama surrounding the Bank of Kabul unfold, you’ll already know that the situation has (somewhat) stabilized. If you haven’t, here’s what you missed. Last week panic struck when President Karzai approved the dismissal of the Bank’s CEO, Sherkhan Farnood, amid numerous allegations of large scale corruption. According to high-level reports, top executives of the bank had been lending millions of dollars to the political elite for purchases of high-end real estate in Dubai. In the face of United Arab Emirates’ alarming real estate bubble, these investments are looking frighteningly sour. If...