Qatar is one of the wealthiest nations of the world in terms of income per person, because the Qatar population is small (around 800,000) and the oil / natural gas resources of Qatar are huge. Oil provides around a third of Qatar's GDP and Qatar natural gas reserves are vast - around 5% of the entire world's total. The rest of the Qatar economy is supported by industries such as fertilizers, cement, banking, chemicals, iron and steel, and spin-offs from the petrochemical indust

Read more about Qatar's geography, population, tourism and future.

Future of online banking and financial services. Impact of web and mobile technology.

Video made in 1998 - ARCHIVE for interest only.

Future of Banking: Merger fever is hitting Europe. In November 1998 alone mergers and acquisitions reached a new record of $58.5 billion of which $38.5 billion was from operations exceeding $1 billion, according to a survey by JP Morgan Securities.

61% of US mergers destroy shareholder value - Business Week report October 2002. The AOL Time Warner merger cost shareholders about 80 percent of the value of the combined company on the day of the merger.

Archived article on mergers and acquisitions in EU - 1998. The process of consolidation of companies contiued in a frenzy for the following decade.

Future of banking and financial services in Europe? Rapid European consolidation - Huge reduction in bank branches - Huge growth in online financial services activity - Struggle to be key global finance players - Giants will partner with small players to develop new retail and wholesale financial products and services rapidly - Relationship and trust will always dominate top-end premium banking relationships - One-click bank account changes will be on the horizon - Credit / charge card use will grow as written cheques all but disappear.