Posted in Economic Commentary on Apr 3rd, 2013 Comments Off on Islamic Finance as an alternative to contemporary finance?
A look at the financial products available in an Interest-free banking system Written by Mashud Abukari ABSTRACT This paper highlights Islamic Finance as a viable alternative or a sustainable substitute to the current conventional model of finance. This paper attempts to examine the current interest based products and compares it with the alternative […]
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Posted in Economic Commentary on Jan 9th, 2012 Comments Off on Financial Crisis (Subprime mortgage crisis): Big Players and Big Victims
Written by Mashud Abukari The recent financial crisis and the downturn in the U.S. economy which began during late 2007, traces its roots back to the early 2000s. In 2001, the U.S. economy experienced a mild, short-lived recession due to the dotcom bubble burst, the impending September 11 terrorist attacks and the infamous accounting scandals. […]
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Posted in Economic Commentary on Dec 1st, 2011 Comments Off on Federal Open Market Committee- November Statement, ‘nothing new, no change in fed action’
Written by Mashud Abukari During the meeting, the Committee discussed and reviewed data on the state of the current economic condition then voted on a policy action. The Committee decided to maintain the policies that were initiated at previous meetings. The Committee announced its decision to keep the target range for the federal funds rate […]
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Posted in Economic Commentary on Nov 11th, 2011 Comments Off on September Employment Report- ‘Better than expect’
Written by Mashud Abukari The recent September Employment Report was released on Friday, October 7, 2011, the report was better than economist previously expected: private employment rose more than expected, average hourly earnings increased, and the workweek lengthened. The unemployment rate still remains at 9.1% but the economy added 103,000 net new jobs, August employment […]
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Written by Mashud Abukari On Friday, August 5, 2011, the rating agency, Standard and Poor’s downgraded the United States long-term credit rating from AAA to AA+. This downgrade comes as a surprise because it’s the first time the U.S. has ever lost the triple-A rating in the past 94 years. The reason for S&P’s downgrade […]
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Posted in Economic Commentary on Sep 14th, 2011 Comments Off on Commentary of FOMC Statement from August- ‘Sluggish Economy’
Written by Mashud Abukari On August 9, 2011, members of the Federal Open Market Committee which includes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve met for their fifth scheduled meeting this year. During this meeting, the committee reviewed some economic and financial conditions and voted on maintaining the target range for the federal funds […]
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