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The financial performance of banks across the globe is of utmost importance to its shareholders, managers, investors, regulators, and the general public. This study therefore investigates the impact of credit risk with focus on non-performing loans on the financial performance of commercial banks in Ghana. Return on asset and economic value-added are used as measures of financial performance. Internal bank factors such as the age and size of the bank are also considered. Macroeconomic factors such as gross domestic product, inflation, and monetary policy rate are included in the analysis. Panel data spanning the period 2013 to 2018 on 15 commercial banks in Ghana is used for the analysis. The results from the random effect estimation technique show that non-performing loans have a negative impact on both measures of financial performance. Also, monetary policy rate has a negative impact on both measures of financial performance, albeit insignificant for economic value-added measure. It is further revealed that the size of bank, age of bank, and gross domestic product have a significant positive effect on both measures of financial performance although significant for return on asset. Based on the negative relationship between non-performing loans and financial performance, it is suggested that commercial banks should adopt stringent credit risk management policies, which should also be updated regularly to guide actions and processes to granting of loans and monitoring credit risk. Furthermore, it is suggested that the value of depreciable assets pledged as collaterals to the banks should be reviewed frequently (probably annually) to reflect a decline in their value. The novelty of the present study pertains to the use of economic value-added as a financial performance measure, which previous studies have virtually ignored in the analysis of credit risk and financial performance nexus.

This paper analyzes the global value chains (GVC) of the coffee industry, particularly in the emerging economies of Vietnam, Colombia, and Brazil, which are the largest producers and exporters of unprocessed coffee in the world. However, valueadded or processed coffee exports are equally dominated by advanced countries, such as Switzerland, Germany, and Italy. Thus, to upgrade the coffee sector and the GVC, the challenges for latecomers not only lie in strengthening their productive structures via technological upgrading but also in changing the governance structure, including the asymmetry in global value distribution and the tariffs and no-tariffs barriers, in international coffee trade. This paper discusses the structural and artificial barriers associated with monopoly in brand power and marketing channels as well as the protectionist tariff and non-tariff barriers in advanced country markets. Overcoming such barriers requires targeted interventions in the form of industrial policies, including capability building and export taxes against unprocessed coffee in emerging countries, countermeasures against trade barriers, and even M&A of foreign brand incumbents. Another radical option is to form a coffee cartel, similar to the OPEC for crude oil, that unites the top three or five coffee-producing countries. A pre-condition to form such cartel is consolidating the coffee industries of emerging countries into several large procuring companies in order to gain certain market power. Even without a cartel, imposing common and coordinated export taxes on unprocessed coffee would increase the amount of coffee beans remaining in the domestic market and processed by domestic firms in order to be exported as processed coffee.

This is a review of literature published in 2016 related to the prevention of water pollution by or recovery of beneficial materials from wastewater produced in the pulp and paper industry. This review includes the following sections: pulp and paper wastewater management, pollution avoidance, process modelling, physical and chemical treatment, biological treatment, phytoremediation and value added materials.

Main objective of the research is to identify role and position of marketing in business practice in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) in the Republic of Serbia. Since cheese is a value-added product, cheesemaking takes a significant position in country's food chain and represents a significant revenue generator for every participant in the production cycle. Lack or insufficient usage of marketing decreases the possibilities of efficient and effective use of resources and minimizes cheesemakers' competitive advantage. The research has been conducted in the form of a questionnaire by using a random sample of 39 business entities in the territory of the Republic of Serbia. Research results indicate that marketing is at a peripheral position in the business practice of the analysed business entities. Main precondition for marketing concept implementation is introduction of marketing function and formalized process of marketing planning integrated into corporate planning system and supported by each level of management structure.

Recent research has indicated that livestock producers who want to manage risk and diversify their operations should invest in the stock market. This research evaluates whether or not a portfolio of publicly held companies that are first handlers of pork products would provide pork producers with a means of enhancing annual returns and reducing the volatility in the annual returns. Ex ante results suggest producers can gain from investment in valueadded stocks. Ex post results, however, imply producers must choose active management of their portfolio to receive the same type of benefits as the ex ante portfolio.

After 19 years in a major commercial bank, complete with mergers and restructuring, the move to a much smaller financial services company was a culture shock—in a good way. This paper describes the transition and how the author addressed the challenges that followed, especially the 2007—09 financial crisis and how she functioned to add value to the services offered to clients by Mesirow Financial. It emphasizes the importance of becoming known, establishing professional networks, and reacting quickly in a fast-changing economic environment.

In the coming decades, East Asian economies must face the challenges of an increasingly globalized marketplace. This book explores the changing parameters of competition in East Asia, and argues that success ultimately will depend on the ability of the region’s firms to harness the potential of global production networks and to build their own innovative capability. Presenting the latest findings on global production networks and the evolution of technological capabilities, it provides researchers, students, and policymakers with in-depth information and analysis on key issues related to growth and development in East Asia. East Asian firms must not only achieve greater efficiency but also become more innovative, offering differentiated products in order to vie with other first-tier suppliers of multinational corporations. These firms will also need to develop a technological edge if they are to compete with corporations from the leading OECD countries and form their own global production networks. Global Production Networking and Technological Change in East Asia argues that a development strategy linked to technological advance will be necessary to foster the growth of innovative national firms that can remain competitive in global markets.

The new millennium has already presented the Facility Manager with more challenges than the last decade. Fiscal survival, global dominance and, of late, total enterprise security will become the critical issues managed by the Facility Manager in 2002. Global outsourcing represents a powerful option to the Facility Manager. This article aims to help the Facility Manager hold existing outsource providers accountable to measurable results and forecasted outcomes, presents a compelling story for new outsource ventures and even addresses outsourcing relationships that need to be strengthened and renewed to allow the Facility Managers to deal with the multiplicity of their position. Lowering the total costs against outsourcing budgets while exceeding the expectations of the enterprise can be achieved with strategic global partners if the reader follows the recommendations of this paper.