New rankings show that Delaware is a better place to hide money than Switzerland. While this may come as a surprise to most Americans, financial sector analyst Heather Lowe says that it is not a surprise to the world’s criminals. Question: would that be in, uh, Dollars?? Spin, spin, spin… Watch the video

The greatest transfer of wealth in history is old news – but now that baby Boomer recipients are beginning to retire, on the heels of the meltdown, how will this affect the industry?

Changing client investment parameters are leaving some firms scrambling to adapt. The aftershocks of the Financial crisis are reverberating in portfolio allocation, and sweeping changes may result for the industry, from a service provider perspective (and then of course there will be regulatory reform, but that’s another horse entirely) . With more than a trillion dollars lost by those about to retire, many would be retirees are reportedly allocating an increasing portion of assets out of growth oriented products like equities, an into income producing products and managed accounts, according to a recent report released by consulting firm Deloitte LLP. (more…)

Small brokers are reporting marked gains in client share as well higher quality Brokers. This comes as a surprise to many in financial services, since bailouts and government loans have bolstered the positions of the Big Firms.

Ironically, it may be the very fact of government intervention – combined with the failures at virtually all big firms – that has contributed to the trend. (more…)

Despite rumors of oversupply and demand dampened by rising construction costs consistently filling newspaper columns, the market in Dubai continues to defy expectations. The reasons are simple: a growing economy, a rising population, and a progressive and focused central government.The Dubai economy has been the envy of the Middle East for the past decade. GDP has been growing steadily at 10% per year, with 2004 and 2005 being bonanza years for the Emirate with growth of 14% and 15% respectively, due to sky-rocketing oil prices in the world markets. In addition to the petroleum sector, trade activity has been a major contributor to the Dubai economy, accounting for 20% of the economy. (more…)