Historic news this August, as Russia officially became a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) after 20 years of negotiations and debates over preferential treatment for domestic manufacturers. A spate of major deals involving its oil, petrochemical and metals industries no doubt greased its path to WTO accession. Putin has since done something of…
It may come as a surprise to find out that exchange rates between different banks and brokers can differ by as much as 4% on any given day. So to send a payment of €100,000, the cost could be as much as £3,200 more than you need to pay if you don’t take a few…
Rammed Earth ConstructionRammed earth construction is an eco-friendly construction technique that is gaining popularity. It’s green because it uses local dirt and materials to cut out the need for lumber, stone and brick from long-distance sources. Using local dirt and stone, a contractor will compress a mixture into an external frame to build walls that have slightly…
The original plan obliged all publicly traded companies to fill a quota of 40 percent of women by 2020 or risk incurring fines and sanctions, has now been scrapped. EU lawyers have ruled that mandatory gender quotas are not allowed under the region’s treaties. The EU justice commissioner, Viviane Reding, announced the suspension of the…
Not since the earthquake and tsunami in 2011 have Japanese exports declined so sharply as this past September, figures from the Ministry of Finance confirm. Overseas shipments from Japan have fallen 10.3 percent year-on-year. The drop in exports is being attributed to the difficult diplomatic relations between China and Japan following a tense stand-off over…
Australia’s government has announced AUS$16.4bn in new cuts in order to do good on its promise of budget surplus. The price of commodities in the global market is sliding fast, depriving Australia of billions of dollars worth of taxes. The cuts, to be implemented over four years, are meant to protect against any future economic…
An accidental email containing Google’s incomplete financial report was sent to the US stock market ahead of scheduled revealing that the internet giant missed growth forecasts. It caused a wave of stunned investors to rush to sell their Google stocks at up to eight percent lower prices, until trading was suspended on the stocks. Larry…
Data released by the US Department of Commerce has revealed that new home construction has surged in September, growing at its fastest in four years. Housing starts were up 15 percent from August, with a seasonably adjusted annual rate of 872,000. The figure is well above analysts’ expectations of 765,000 new units starting construction. Building…
Moody’s has confirmed it is keeping Spain’s credit rating at Baa3 with a negative outlook, the lowest level of investment grade, based partly on the prospect of the European Central Bank will make a move to buy Spanish bonds in order to contain the volatility afflicting the market. The agency opted against lowering the country’s…
A deal between Germany and Singapore will help Berlin track down potential tax evaders, using Singaporean banks to hide away assets. It was announced by Germany’s finance minister Wolgang Schäuble, who is visiting Singapore, and local authorities. The deal follows another announcement in early October by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) which plans to…
