The collapse of a large eight-story garment factory in Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka a few days ago has resulted in numerous images, stories and reports. The loss of more that 300 lives, most of them young parents, alongside the countless number that have suffered serious injuries, has resulted...

One stream of the analysis of the January retail numbers focused concretely on the impact that the reinstatement of the payroll tax had on the paychecks of more than 160 million U.S. workers and therefore on their spending habits. At the stroke of midnight on Dec. 31 the temporary rolling...

We were greeted in early January with yet another announcement about a settlement between regulators at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve and 10 major U.S. banks concerning charges of abusive and faulty practices in the home foreclosure process. This time the amount...

The year-end transition is again replete with the consideration of resolutions concerning possible changes in behavior, activities or other patterns of action. Little seems to be known or reported about how many of these benchmarks or objectives are fulfilled or about how contented those who made resolutions are as the...

Squeezed between the news reports of Black Friday weekend, when U.S. consumers spent more than $59 billion dollars, and a Cyber Monday that was the busiest online shopping day ever, came the tragic news of yet another horrible fire in a garment factory just outside Dhaka, Bangladesh. Watching and listening...

The incessant and distracting noises and images of political advertisements have been stilled and disappeared for another cycle. One has to wonder when the next cycle will begin or has it already started without our noticing?

In the post-election interlude it seems like everyone is waiting or asking or even...

A recent trip to the Peruvian Amazon served to remind me of the vast expanse of the region and the great diversity that lives within its boundaries. While I was ready for the heat and humidity that Iquitos is known for, I was hardly prepared for the great network of...

The conventions of the two dominant political parties at the end of the summer have unleashed a torrent of mass media, social media and traditional coverage of the major personalities and agendas at both events. Every moment, every movement and every image is tightly planned and carefully choreographed. Missteps and...

Following the most recent scandal about inter-bank lending from London provides both a level of candor and immediacy that is often not found in Washington. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is that London combines centers of political, commercial and media power that are not competing for turf in...

Summer months here in Washington, D.C. are generally characterized by the slower pace that is associated with southern cities and the rush of Congress and government employees to get in some vacationing with their families before Labor Day. Even the traffic reporters usually sprinkle their reports with comments about the...

The mainstream media seems to be in a rush of late to promote a popularity contest between Jamie Dimon and Lloyd Blankfein. After the president referred to Jamie Dimon as one of the "smartest bankers," they must have seen an opening for such a contest. Reporters have actually called to...

One of the Earth Day events that I was invited to participate in was an Interfaith Conference on Care of Creation in Roanoke, Va. In the brochure that was prepared for the event, the organizers articulated their vision in the following way: "Conscious of the opportunities afforded by our region...

The relationship between faith-consistent (FCI) and socially responsible investing (SRI) was on the agenda of the Tenth Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance and is a question that surfaces frequently. As both sectors continue to increase in size and therefore influence it may be instructive to consider a few of...

On the Feast of St. Patrick, there may be no better way to honor the patron of Ireland, who according to legend drove out snakes from the country, than by protecting the Irish people from bailing out a nonexistent reckless speculation bank.

Anglo-Irish Bank (Anglo) financed some of Ireland's worst...

You would think by now that banks and other financial institutions would have been chastened some by the scrutiny and criticism that they received during the near meltdown of the financial system in September 2008 and its aftermath. Judging by the aggressive path that some have adopted in the payday...

The beginning of a New Year usually finds millions of people both evaluating the year that has passed into history and pondering what awaits them around the corner.This includes revisiting old resolutions and revising appropriate benchmarks for the year ahead.

In the stock exchange Dow Jones and the S&P...

A new important framework and tool has been added to the human rights tool kit as we celebrate Human Rights Day in 2011. In June this year the U.N. Human Rights Council, in Geneva, formally endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This represented the conclusion...

It is difficult to imagine that anyone enters political life with the aspiration to be in the driver's seat when budget cuts are the name of the game. They have accepted leadership at a time when their respective legislative bodies have adopted austerity plans that will create friction between citizens...

Every week brings new accounts of citizens across the world occupying plazas, squares, parks and streets to stage yet another protest. The latest "occupy" venue was a pasture in Nebraska with the protesters' grievance centering on the impact of large agribusiness on the quality and safety of our food supply....