Wal-Mart

According to the Associated Press, Rolando Rodriquez, a vice president and regional general manager for the company, sent the woman a letter saying that "I can assure you that the associate in question was disciplined in accordance with our employment policies as a result of the situation."

In addition, the store involved will hold sensitivity training sessions for its employees, with an emphasis on Islam-related issues.

It looks like Wal-Mart is handling this well, but I hope that the "discipline in accordance with employment policies" involved the immediate firing of the worker. If you need sensitivity training to know not to say stuff like that, you're probably too messed up to be working in retail.

Wal-Mart apologizes to Muslim woman over cashier's comment originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Kuwaiti investment firm starting Islam-friendly fund originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Oct 2007 18:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Investing based on the principles of Islam has gained a fair amount of notoriety of late. According to Amana Funds, the most prominent Islam-based mutual fund, Muslim investing consists of avoiding interest and investments in businesses such as liquor, pornography, gambling, and banks. Bonds and other fixed-income instruments are also off-limits.

In some cases, these policies can lead to superior performance. For instance, Amana Funds missed all of the turmoil that has taken place in the subprime lenders of late, and the fund has an extremely strong long-term track record. The Wall Street Journal reported today that Shariah Capital and Barclays have developed a trading platform to accommodate hedge fund operations based on the principles of Islam. Under Muslim law, it is not possible to short stocks because you can't sell what you don't own.

This marks the continuation of strong growth in Islam-based investing. Investors looking for an easy way to avoid exposure to the banking industry may do well to look at some of these funds.

An Islamic hedge fund? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Wall Street Journal recently featured a piece titled Financial Sector Is a Precarious State of Affairs. According to article: "If defaults by subprime borrowers begin to affect other parts of the economy noticeably, analysts say, financial stocks will suffer the brunt of it, bringing the market lower."

While some may see opportunity amid concerns about financials, particularly subprime lenders, others will want to steer clear of that sector. One interesting way to do that is with the Amana mutual funds, a group that invests based on the principles of Islam. One of the core tenets: not buying financial stocks, because lending money with interest (or borrowing) goes against Muslim law. The funds have an impressive track record to boot, and both the Amana Growth Fund and the Amana Income Fund are currently rated 5-stars by Morningstar.

So even if you're not Muslim, the Amana funds may be worth looking into as a way to avoid financial stocks. Log on to AmanaFunds.com to learn more.

Worried about financial sector? Consider a Muslim fund originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 24 Mar 2007 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.