World finance columbia

The COVID-19 pandemic has escalated a long-simmering conflict between the US and China, two of the main drivers of financial globalisation 


If truth is the first casualty when war is declared, then the same goes for capital mobility when pandemics strike. This became evident on May 11, when US President Donald Trump ordered the federal pension fund – the world’s fifth-largest pension fund – to stop investing in Chinese equities. The move came in response to what the US Government perceived as persistent Chinese aggression – COVID-19 just being the straw that broke the camel’s back. “The role of the Chinese Government in purposely not disclosing what was going on during the COVID-19 outbreak has fuelled a lot of [anti-Chinese-Government] sentiment,” Charles Calomiris, a professor of financial institutions at Columbia Business School, told
World Finance
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After a long period of integration, segmentation, driven by geopolitical turbulence, is becoming the norm


It was not the first time that the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, which represents the interests of around 5.5 million federal employees through its $600bn Thrift Savings Plan, had been pressed to ste


To the outside world, Kim Hyon Woo was a developer working for Chosun Expo Joint Venture, a China-based company that supplies freelancing software development and gambling-related products. But in reality, Kim didn’t exist. The person who controlled his email accounts – a man named Park Jin Hyok – was born and educated in North Korea.

Chosun Expo was also not what it seemed. As a matter of fact, it was a front company for Lab 110, a top-secret arm of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK’s) military intelligence agency. When Chosun Expo wasn’t carrying out normal business operations, it was facilitating some of the world’s highest-profile cyberattacks, including the Sony Pictures hack of 2014 and the WannaCry ransomware attack of 2017, the latter of which affected more than 200,000 systems across 150 countries and crippled hospitals in the UK, ultimately costing the National Health Service £92m ($117.3m).

It’s estimated that the value of attempted cyber heists conducted by Park and his co-conspirators between 2015 and 2018 amounted to $1bn. Eventually, connections to Kim’s email addresses revealed Park to the FBI. “The scope and damage of the computer intrusions pe

Lionsbridge Introduces Students to World of Finance




The Lionsbridge cohort with the program’s creator, Chris McGowan CC’92.



COURTESY CENTER FOR CAREER EDUCATION


In mid-January, as winter break was winding down, 52 students traded their last bit of time off for time spent learning about the world of finance, boot camp-style, thanks to the new career learning and exploration program Lionsbridge.

Anchored by a free, three-day, in-person workshop, Lionsbridge aims to equip students — primarily first- and second-years — with the basic skills required to enter the industry. Each day featured lectures and group exercises focused on a different topic: accounting; financial statement analysis and forecasting; and valuation. In the evening, the students went on alumni-hosted site visits to financial firms where they attended presentations, networked over dinners and got a feel for company culture.

“Finance boot camps have been around for a while, provided by third parties, at significant cost. The opportunity to offer Lionsbridge to undergraduates, in house, and leverage alumni expertise gave the program a uniquely Columbia feel,” says Kavita Sharma, dean of the Center for Care



The Santander Free Zone has become a regional centre of development in Colombia and the wider South American community 


Each day, in both the minds of citizens and in organisations of all kinds, the concept of sustainability is becoming more and more significant. This is being catalysed by younger generations, who appear far more concerned with ethical practices than their elders were.

At present, we know that the success of organisations, regardless of their industry or size, depends in large measure on how they treat the people affiliated with their business. This means the shareholders, customers, workers, suppliers, government and the community in which they operate. It has never been more important for organisations to ensure they can meet increasingly demanding corporate governance requirements. Fortunately, one way they can do this is through using free trade zones.


Free trade zones


The Santander Free Zone (SFZ) has become a regional centre of development in Colombia and the wider South American community. We have successfully promoted competitiveness in the region through attracting local investment, creating employment opportunities and driving sustainable p