Cisco® today announced a venture capital initiative targeting the technology industry in Central and Eastern Europe 1 . Cisco will pursue investment opportunities in technology-related start-ups in the region, both directly as well as indirectly through a regional venture fund.

Emote Games a specialist Production Company established to take advantage of the immense opportunities in cross platform games development has received an investment of £4 million from venture Capital firm, Electra Quoted Management Limited (Electra Quoted).

ValGold (TSX.V:VAL), is a Vancouver-based international mining development company focused on the exploration of high-value targets in a portfolio of properties in the Guiana Shield of South America.

Despite the strong influences of globalization, diversity in welfare regimes remains.

Investment by the Ugandan government in physical infrastructure will pay itself back says Dutch-sponsored researcher Aldret Albert Musisi. Each shilling that the government invests in infrastructure will yield a return of 1.2 to 3.6 shillings.

The Uzbek authorities are looking into how to improve conditions for foreign investors so as to reverse the downward investment trend, but NBCentralAsia observers say increasing political interference in business has tainted its reputation.

UBS Securities LLC, the investment- banking division of Switzerland-based UBS AG, was accused by Massachusetts regulators of “dishonest and unethical'' practices in dealings with hedge-fund advisers, Bloomberg News reported.

Grenville Gold Corp. (TSX.V:GVG) is sounding the bugles about progress at its Silveria Project in Peru. In the last 30 days the company has obtained mine plans, production records and reserve calculations for the Millotingo Mine.

An astute investor once said, "If it's not grown, it has to be mined." It's a phrase of gigantic proportions and far-reaching consequences, when you think about it. From the knob on your television to the zipper in your trousers, most of what we possess was first explored for, extracted from the earth, smelted and finally manufactured. As such, mining is, next to agriculture, the oldest of mankind's industries.

Imagine for a moment that you're single and have recently met an attractive new woman, or man, as the case may be. You've taken them out for dinner. Perhaps she's ridden in your car. Maybe you've met his friends. And then you start wondering, who is this person really? What's their relationship track record like? How about their sexual history? What kind of risks am I taking? Are they financially secure?

Fitch Ratings Agency upgraded the outlook on Armenia's foreign and local currency issuer default ratings to "Positive" from "Stable" and affirmed the ratings at "BB-" (BB minus).

The political or "above-ground" risks that concerned multinational corporations in the past usually involved expropriation and nationalization, currency inconvertibility and war or civil unrest. While it is true that these risks still necessitate concern, relative to other types of above-ground risk they are occurring less frequently.