author - oman observer

Is making lending decisions easy for bankers? On the surface, lending appears to be a structured, formula-driven process supported by credit policies, risk models and regulatory guidelines. Yet, in...

“See, here is the new note of one rial,” my sister said, extending her hand with a faint smile of surprise.I paused. My ten fingers froze mid-air above the keyboard of my aging Huawei laptop. I...

Whenever I sit down to write about banks and bankers, one uncomfortable question returns with force: are bankers guardians of the global economy, or its most sophisticated saboteurs? History, when...

In an interconnected global economy, no individual — whether a small entrepreneur, a salaried employee, or a policymaker — can remain indifferent to the political direction of the United States....

Money and politics are not enemies of development. In theory, they are among the most powerful tools a nation can possess. Money, when mobilised wisely, fuels growth, innovation and welfare. Politics,...

Let me begin with a scene that still weighs on me. A man sat beside me in Maktab Sanad, just a few steps away from the courthouse — barely twenty metres from where justice is meant to be delivered....

Being closely involved with economic subjects — both in practice and in teaching — my interest in how economies develop and how they collapse has grown steadily over the years. Economics is not an...

One has to be extremely careful with facts, sources, and interpretations when writing about towering historical figures. Intellectual carelessness does not merely distort history; it diminishes the...

During a short break in the 'Design Thinking' course I was conducting for bankers at the College of Banking and Financial Studies, I wandered into the college library — as I often do...

Around 1,200 pages of Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged is not something a busy person can digest in three to seven days, especially someone balancing work, teaching, family, and writing. But reading...

Banking is often described as the bloodstream of the economy, a system in which money flows quietly and continuously, moving from hand to hand, account to account, and sector to sector. Banks stand at...

A fundamental question that every society must confront is this; where do different economic systems ultimately lead us—toward collective well-being or toward engineered inequality and silent...

I still remember, as a child, when my father used to buy the monthly household ration for about RO 70 — and that was enough to sustain a family of six. His monthly income then was roughly RO 365,...

In my quiet evenings, when the world outside falls into its usual rhythm, I find immense joy in reading novels. Fiction has always been my window into reality — because sometimes, truth hides better...

Do stakeholders of the company truly understand the root causes behind a firm’s bankruptcy or declining profitability? This question has been debated for decades in boardrooms, classrooms, and case...

In every age, humanity has been guided by three invisible forces — money, power, and intellect. These are not merely instruments of life; they are the architecture of civilization itself. The...

How do economists measure the import and export process for their nation? The answer lies in macroeconomics, under what we call foreign trade policy. Every country faces a fundamental question, should...

What if bank CEOs spend a day each month serving customers directly, listening, observing, and experiencing what their clients go through? Would it change the culture of banking? Would it bring a new...

What is there in leaders’ minds? Do leaders think the way ordinary people think? What motivates them to think differently, to stand out, and to lead nations or organisations? Are they driven by a...

War is not merely the clash of armies on the ground or the roar of fighter jets in the sky. War runs deeper than maps, tanks, and battlefields. It is etched into the faces of people who have been...