Worldcrunch
American protectionism has returned, with tariffs that vary by country, but are permanent. There will be exceptions and specific negotiations but, in Trump’s intentions, they become one of the foundations of the American economy. The world must respond with this reality in mind.
The Macron government says France needs to work more — and it has a point. The French people disagree — and they’re not wrong. Here’s why, and how to bridge the gap.
The biggest firms and richest people in the world have the money states need to invest in services that can improve the lives of billions of people. That could help stop a collective slide into acute social and political tensions.
Asia and above all China, have shown how the size of a market can drive state relations, and nowhere is this truer than in the Mercosur bloc’s increasing dependence on Asian exports. But regional integration in South America is stalling, as Argentina and Brazil are in another nasty spat.
Our Naples-based psychiatrist tries to relieve a patient of his anxiety over a very specific delusion of persecution.
The continuing heavy shelling of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities shows that Russia still has more missiles than Ukrainians would have hoped. The look through the web of Kremlin diktats and murky international commerce that keeps the Russian military churning out hardware that drives the war in Ukraine
Many of us have become accustomed to cheap flights, but as prices spiral, it’s time to ask about their true cost. And politicians’ plan to bring in cheap labor to keep down prices is doomed to fail.
Chalets in Courchevel, villas on the Cap d’Antibes peninsula, yachts and valuable paintings are in the sights of the Ministry of Economy’s task force. But in this game of cat and mouse through a maze of offshore companies, nominees and trusts, oligarchs are often one step ahead.
The provincial leadership structures in the two countries operate in very different ways, particularly when it comes to incentives.
It may seem like a pipe dream. And it would certainly cost a lot, especially in a large capital city like Bogotá. But providing fare-free public transport could also be transformative.
Chileans are fairly well off, but only in comparison to their Latin American neighbors. The country’s success has also bred greater expectations.
It used to be South America’s shining star. But these days, things seem to be a bit rotten in the state of Chile, where corruption scandals are eroding public confidence.
Protests in Nicaragua against a proposed tax hike to finance the social security system have revealed the people’s disgust with President Ortega’s regime. His brutal response does not bode well.
The “black market” accounts for a quarter of Mexico’s GDP and employs more than half its workforce. The numbers illustrate a failure of public policy and raise a red flag for the future.
Mexico seems to be returning to more regulations, paperwork and taxes, which fuels the underground economy and encourages the government to overspend.
GORODISH — In the streets around a village near Moscow, the stores don’t sell official, licensed vodka because they apparently have never obtained a license to. It’s just as well, as government levies on the official drink have caused its prices to surge. But on regular trips to my Gorodish country house, I’ve noticed that […]
HONG KONG — While migrating to Hong Kong has become trendy for certain Chinese middle-class families, a wavelet of Hong Kong’s own middle class seems to be moving off the wealthy island. According to data from Hong Kong’s Security Bureau, some 3,900 people emigrated in the first half of this year. Though this is still […]
Since January, more than $540 billion has passed through the tax shelters of the largely unknown island of Labuan. Here’s why the rich are increasingly hiding their money there.
Striking farmers in Colombia say free trade agreements are responsible for their woes. Better to look closer to home, including industrial cartels and all the contraband entering the country.
LE MONDE Worldcrunch PARIS – It seems France’s love affair with taxing its citizens has reached a new high: the French Treasury sought full income tax payments from a 37-year-old convicted drug dealer for the sum he’d earned selling cannabis. According to Le Monde, two weeks before Farid, a former drug-dealer, got out of prison […]
MOSCOW – Legal vodka production in Russia was down nearly 40% in June from the same month last year. Could this mean that Russians are suddenly less devoted to this nationally beloved libation? Do they have fewer sorrows to drown? Unlikely. Instead, tax hikes on alcohol have made it more difficult for legal producers to […]
After top tech companies were shown to be dodging taxes in several European countries, similar questions have now emerged in Israel. An exclusive from top Israeli business daily Calcalist.
Global Trade Alert has just published its 2013 report on international trade, and raised the alarm on “Protectionism’s Quiet Return.” In the cross-hairs of this free-trade advocacy group are the G20 countries, which have been taking more and more protectionist measures since the financial crisis broke out in 2008. From the anti-dumping EU measures on […]
RABAT – Like Asia did in the second half of the 20th century, Africa can move up to the economic big leagues only if it can manage to industrialize and learn to increase its productivity. The future of the continent as a whole, notes economist François Fadi Farra, will not depend on one single economic […]
BBC (UK), BOSTON GLOBE, NBC NEWS, NEW YORK TIMES, REUTERS (U.S.) Worldcrunch WASHINGTON D.C.– President Barack Obama announced Wednesday night that acting head of the Internal Revenus Service (IRS), the nation’s central tax-collecting agency, had been forced to resign after it emerged that the agency improperly targeted certain groups. A special report released on Tuesday […]
BEIJING – To stem surging housing prices and curb speculation, China has recently issued a new policy that enables local governments to impose a 20% tax on profits earned from the sale of a second home. This is a huge hike from the current 1-2% tax. The move immediately triggered panic among the affluent class […]
Most foreigners in Finland hail from the former Soviet Union, many hoping to find more greater (and cleaner) economic opportunities than back home.
THE IRISH TIMES (Ireland), LA STAMPA (Italy), THE NEW YORK TIMES (U.S.A.) Worldcrunch DUBLIN – It’s such a simple system. You buy something and it is sent to you. What you don’t know is that the transaction is done through a company in Luxembourg that pays very little to the Grand Duchy and almost nothing […]
Tuesday’s fiscal agreement defuses the fiscal cliff by deferring most tax hikes and pushing back the sequester. A deal has been made, a financial crash avoided, and near-term growth prospects look rosier. Markets have cheered news of the agreement. Is such cheer warranted? That depends on what happens next. By itself, the package raises little […]
MACAU DAILY TIMES (Macau), CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY (Taiwan) Worldcrunch MACAU – Not far from Hong Kong, a small island off the coast of southern China attracts 28 million visitors a year. The tourists, hailing mostly from Mainland China, come here to gamble. It is the only place in China where gambling is legal, and with […]
LISBON – Manuela, an animal rights activist, is standing outside the entrance to the Entrecampos train station in Lisbon, calling out to the occasional passersby, who pretend they don’t see her. The majority of the shops in the station’s arcade are empty, and even though the building is new, there is a feeling of neglect. […]