Western politicians, business leaders and commentators seem paranoid about state-owned sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), particularly those from the Middle East and China. They fear that SWFs follow strategic political objectives — investing in Western companies and banks to secure control of strategically important industries such as telecommunications, energy and banking – rather than commercial interests.

A protectionist backlash against sovereign wealth funds is fast emerging: the US, Canada, Australia and Germany have introduced substantial legislative changes to screen and restrict…

During the last two decades, private equity became an integral component of the world’s financial system at a time when financial markets overshadowed the productive economy. Private equity was invariably behind the multi-billion buyout deals, and mergers and acquisitions that swept across the US and Europe, creating a new type of corporate conglomerate that is reshaping the way business is conducted.

Insofar as it constitutes a new form of corporate ownership, private equity poses new challenges to labour unions, NGOs…