#Ruslena

[little-lynx]

even though I knew you are from russia- i had no idea you were following figure skating too!! but it totally make sense and if you ever do a painting on that please share it on tumblr too :D

also your paintings are amazing, basically the only reason I check tumblr some days!

Heeeey! ❤️ this post was in my drafts for foreeeeever 🙈

Well, yeah, THG and figure skating (ice dance in particular) are my main fandoms ;) actually my tumblr looked like ruslena’s fan page back in 2014 😅 (ruslena = elena ilinykh/ruslan zhiganshin, my forever favourite ice dance team, unfortunately not existing anymore). I was a little obsessed with them, haha. Ok, not “a little”. Ohhh…. My heart is forever broken because of them.

I try not to become very attached to any ice dance team anymore after ruslena’s split (that still hurts) but I do really like two teams right now.  Russian Aleksandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin (Sasha is extremely beautiful 😍)

And US team Madison Chock/Evan Bates (they are so sweet! And give me everlark feels all the time)

Gifs by @findthatsynchronicity​ , illustrations by me ;))

It’s Olympics now so if you have time please watch Stepanova/Bukin and Chock/Bates programs, especially free dances, both are amazing! 

[jennibeultimate]

From Elena Ilinykh Instagram @blackswanei She is great XD Looks like a lot of fun^^

[afanasyevas]

My 2015 Ruslena stan self watching me be happy for S/K's silver like👁👄👁

[ashowthatflopped]

She doesn’t seem to be a fan of Nikita’s antics.

[figureskatersetc]

Elena and Ruslan’s FD: Slumdog Millionaire (OST)/Ang Laga De by Aditi Paul. 2016 Trophée de France.

[vennomax]

Islamic finance is becoming so attractive to even non-Muslims

New Post has been published on http://www.vennomax.com/business/islamic-finance-is-becoming-so-attractive-to-even-non-muslims/

Islamic finance is becoming so attractive to even non-Muslims

Sovereign Islamic debt issuance by non-Muslim countries is set to hit a 3-year high in 2017

Islamic finance complies with Sharia, or Islamic law, which prohibits earning interest and bars funding activities involving alcohol, pork, pornography or gambling

The non-speculative nature of Islamic finance can help to ensure financial stability — a reason why it’s gaining traction globally, experts said

Islamic finance has traditionally been dominated by Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Now much of the rest of the world is getting in on it.

Buoyed by the perception of more tranquil market conditions and an improving regulatory backdrop, issuance of Islamic debt by non-Muslim countries is set to climb to a three-year high in 2017, according to Dealogic data.

Islamic financial products comply with Sharia, or Islamic law, and are based on the principles of risk and profit-sharing. Sharia prohibits earning interest on loans, and it bars funding activities involving alcohol, pork, pornography or gambling.

The value of sovereign sukuk, or Islamic bonds, issued outside the Middle East and Southeast Asia by non-Muslim countries reached $2.25 billion in the 11 months through November, data by Dealogic showed. That’s higher than 2016’s $2 billion and more than double the $1 billion recorded in 2015.

Islamic finance’s metamorphosis from a niche corner of global banking to a growing source of funding for rest of the world has been aided by a storied list of borrowers who have sold sukuk in recent years.

The government of Singapore was one of the earliest non-Muslim entrants into the space, followed by the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Hong Kong, which issued their first sukuk in 2014. More recently, African nations such as South Africa, Nigeria and Ivory Coast have made legal and tax changes to, among others, make it easier for borrowers to issue sukuk.

Companies haven’t been far behind, with the likes of Goldman Sachs and General Electric’s GE Capital also selling Islamic bonds in the past few years.

Chinese entities such as Country Garden and Beijing Enterprises Water Group have also issued Islamic bonds through their Malaysian subsidiaries in 2015 and 2017, respectively. The companies used those proceeds to finance projects in the Southeast Asian country.

“The crisis that took place was a result of excessive speculation, which is harmful. Islamic finance has avoided such pitfalls.” -Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak, secretary general, World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation

Experts said the global financial crisis spurred governments and companies to diversify their funding options. Islamic finance is seen as a more stable alternative to the conventional banking system and therefore appealed to borrowers still haunted by the gyrations in global bond and equity markets when the U.S. housing bubble burst, they added.

In addition, the asset class has also attracted the attention of investors taking a more ethical approach to managing their money.

“Heightened appeal for sustainable and responsible investing could also be driving the growth for Islamic finance due to the commonalities in values and shared principles,” Ruslena Ramli, head of Islamic finance at Malaysian credit rating agency RAM, said.

Variety of categories

There are several categories of Islamic financial products, according to the World Bank:

Mudaraba — a financial expert offers specialist investment advice to a customer and they share any profits at an agreed ratio.

Musharaka — an investment partnership in which two or more parties, such as the bank and its clients, share profits and losses from a pooled investment at an agreed ratio.

Murabaha— the financial institution buys the asset, such as a home or a car, and sells it to a client at a profit. Payment could be in a lump sum or in instalments.

Ijara— the financial institution buys the asset and leases it to a customer for a fixed rental payment. The bank retains the ownership but may transfer that to the client eventually.

Sukuk — similar to a bond but a sukuk buyer owns part of the underlying asset that is invested for returns.

Sharia principles, which prohibit “speculative-type of businesses,” ensured Islamic finance products were less volatile when global financial markets were rumbled during the debt crisis, said Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak, the secretary general of the World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation.

“The crisis that took place was a result of excessive speculation, which is harmful. Islamic finance has avoided such pitfalls,” he said.

Growing, but still small

Yet, the involvement by those outside the Muslim world is still “sporadic,” experts said. The Middle East and Southeast Asia still account for a large majority of Islamic financial assets. In the sovereign sukuk space, Middle Eastern countries raised $11.85 billion in the 11 months through November, followed by Southeast Asia at $3.96 billion, Dealogic data showed.

Total Islamic financial assets have grown by 10 to 12 percent annually over the past decade to hit $2 trillion. But at less than 1 percent, they remain only a small fraction of global financial assets, according to the International Monetary Fund.

One hurdle standing in the way is the lack of standardization, Fitch Ratings said. Currently, different jurisdictions interpret Sharia differently and there is also variation in how Islamic finance products are structured. Differences in how disputes are resolved and reporting standards are monitored add to the complexity.

“In some cases, there is still little standardization even at a local level, while in others, progress would be needed on a regional, or international, basis,” Fitch said in an October report.

Such divergence in interpretation can deter investors and the progress to resolve that issue will likely be “slow and patchy” given the scale of the challenge, Fitch added.

Experts said that notwithstanding the challenges, the Islamic finance sector is still poised for growth. The industry’s size is expected to expand further to $3.5 trillion by 2021 as countries and companies look for alternative funding sources, and tap a larger pool of investors.

As an example, Maybank’s head of global banking business, Arshad Ismail, said the sukuk market allows issuers to attract both Muslim and non-Muslim investors and therefore widen their sources of funds.

The financing costs for sukuk are also “generally similar” to conventional bonds as there is more expertise to execute such transactions now, which adds to the product’s appeal, he added.

CNBC

[tallshipandstar]

I think the blame in the fall of Ruslena depends on whether you stan Elena. There are plenty of rumors about Elena's poor training habits which her stans will naturally dismiss. But it's easy to believe the rumors when they show up at competitions looking unprepared. On the other hand, it's easy for stans to blame Ruslan bc it's his choice and because he looked miserable on the ice all year. And doesn't help he willingly does TV profiles w/ his girlfriend while he won't do photoshoots w/Elena.

I don’t think we’ll ever really now what went down. Kind of like trying to understand someone else’s marriage, I guess.

I don’t stan either tbh - in all honesty I hadn’t thought about them much in months - I just find (some) people insisting that 100% of the blame be put on Elena a bit off-putting. I suppose it’s possible that it is but there’s always a bit of it that just sounds like typical fannish misogyny.

[skatearoo]

Favorite European ice dance team? And favorite European pairs team?

Anna and Luca!!!! But I also really like Coomes/Buckland, Ruslena, Sørensen/Fournier Beaudry I have so many pairs I love I can’t pick 🙈 but my top are savchenko/massot, hotarek/marchei, Stolbova/Klimov, Volosozhar/Trankov. But I’ve also really been enjoy James/Cipres a lot more this season than the past

[contagiousrhythminmybrain]

Wishing luck to Anastasia and Kirill at Junior Worlds [x]

[jennibeultimate]

Hi, does anyone speak Russian? Can someone translate? The Google translation is not very good. :(

[ephemere-girl]

Happy 2017!

[graceandbeautywins]

Ilinykh/Zhiganshin gala details at the 2017 Russian Nationals

[matchtheminrenown]

Hey guys, remember when I/Z were national champions and their own federation didn’t hold them down? Good times.

[zosiasvalentines]

Ruslena FD

Twizzles were kinda slow and lost synchronicity on the third set. They were okay I guess?? Not a disaster but not anything to marvel at. Elena you're an Olympic gold and bronze medalist START SKATING LIKE ONE 105.06 (-1.00, don't know what the deduction was for??), into 1st but S/K are up now and we're ahead by 0.5 after the SD so looks like 4th place overall.

[delilahdavis]

Ruslan Zhiganshin and his serendipitously surnamed ballerina girlfriend Ksenia Zhiganshina out in Moscow (x)

[figureskatersetc]

Elena and Ruslan’s free dance: Slumdog Millionaire (OST)/Ang Laga De by Aditi Paul. 2016 Trophée de France.