Why investors bypass developing economies and prefer to inflate bubbles in developed ones. Over the past three years, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which measures investment returns in emerging markets, has lost about 17%. Investors who bought the stock at its 2007 peak are still down 25%. Over the same time, the S&P500 index gained 43%, forcing the entire investment world to once again talk about a “bubble” in the American market.

Grandmaster Alexandra Kosteniuk learned chess through play. Classes at her chess school are based on the same principle. “The music started playing, we close our eyes. We flew to chess country. Who is in charge in this kingdom? That's right, King." This is how classes begin at the Alexandra children's chess studio, which was founded by grandmaster and world champion Alexandra Kosteniuk. The studio has been in existence for eight years; children from three to seven years old study here.

Filaret Galchev, Russia $6.7 billion, #234 $40 billion The world's largest cement producers, the Swiss Holcim Ltd and the French Lafarge SA are discussing the possibility of a merger, as a result of which a company with annual revenues of $40 billion will be formed. Among the shareholders of the companies are five members of the world list of billionaires, including the owner of the Eurocement group, Filaret Galchev, who owns 10.8% Holcim.

The current summer collections demonstrate the amazing resourcefulness of the designer's mind in the field of creating a variety of denim clothes. We need to make a strategic decision about what exactly we will wear this summer. Fashion expert Evelina Khromchenko will make this choice easy.

The agency of basketball player Irina Ryukhina has filled a vacant niche - we still have few sports psychologists St. Petersburg resident Irina Ryukhina became interested in basketball at the age of 10. She became an international master of sports, a two-time European champion among youth, and a player of the Russian national team. In 2010, the 24-year-old basketball player had to end her career: back injuries (spinal herniation) prevented her from playing at the same level.

The worse it is today, the better it will be tomorrow. Lately it has become fashionable to declare that the “end of times” (fin de siecle) has arrived and that very soon everything will collapse into tartar. The versions differ in details and timing, but are similar in that the final seizure of everything by lake cooperators, economic collapse and the capture of Russia by the Chinese are inevitable. In general, national suicide is on the march, the point of no return has been passed.

Is it possible to dress doctors and schoolchildren beautifully? Elizaveta Kutis Owner of 4doctors (medical uniform) and Beverly Hills Uniform (school uniform) Age 40 years (Julia), 44 years (Vera) Founded 2008 Launch budget $10,000 Revenue over $1.4 million Few people take into account narrow business niches, unless they themselves are interested in them. And the most unexpected opportunities arise here.

King Juan Carlos I of Bourbon of Spain decided to abdicate the throne in favor of his son, Crown Prince Felipe. We remember in which countries the institution of monarchy is still preserved The 76-year-old King of Spain, Juan Carlos I de Bourbon, who has recently experienced health problems, decided to abdicate the throne, which will now be occupied by his son, Prince Felipe of Asturias.

Novikov Max for Forbes The new version of the law on controlled foreign companies contains a number of concessions to business, but the policy of tightening tax regulation remains unchanged Just a few days ago, many private consultants were doing their best to reassure their clients, saying that tightening anti-offshore legislation was a long way off; the process was being slowed down due to serious disagreements between business and the government.

Photo by Reuters Why Asian universities are ahead of European and American ones in world rankings Asia is the fastest growing region in all areas, from tourism to business. Education occupies not the least place in this development: the compilers of prestigious university rankings separately rank Asian educational institutions. In mid-May, the British company Quacquarelli Symonds presented another ranking of Asian universities, which was topped by the National University of Singapore.

photo by Artem Holoshchapov for Forbes Why doing business in the capital of Armenia is both easy and difficult. It is difficult for an outsider to get into the Yerevan “Mafia”: entry is only by invitation or with a club member card. At tables arranged in the letter “P”, covered with burgundy cloth, in the red room of the Armenian Cinema House on Vardanants Street, 10 players regularly gather - local and visiting businessmen, officials, politicians.

photo by Maria Pleshkova for Forbes Why the Dnepropetrovsk region, the “business center” of Ukraine, turned out to be the quietest Russian-speaking region. The head of the government apparatus of the Dnepropetrovsk region, Ukrainian patriot Gennady Olegovich Korban and another Ukrainian patriot and vice-governor Boris Albertovich Filatov are bending over sheet A3: they are trying to figure out the Ukrainian names of different departments on the diagram of powers of the regional government.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed on Monday, June 2, a decree to tighten the responsibility of officials for disrupting the state defense order, Interfax reports . Medvedev announced this at a meeting with deputy prime ministers.

Photo by Diomedia Professor Robert West, consultant to the British Department of Health and founder of NHS Stop Smoking Services, advises on how to celebrate No Smoking Day. The world's leading expert on nicotine addiction, consultant to the British Ministry of Health, founder of NHS Stop Smoking Services, Professor Robert West, knows how to quit smoking.

How a Russian woman with an education as a radiophysics engineer became the general director of a Spanish jewelry company. Last spring, the famous Spanish jewelry house Carrera y Carrera was headed by Svetlana Kupriyanova. For the first time in the luxury market, a Russian woman became the CEO of a jewelry company with an international distribution network.