In the wake of the infamous “Panama Papers,” nations around the world have felt extraordinary political pressure, both from within and from international economic organizations, to reform tax laws. These reforms are generally aimed at providing better transparency while closing loopholes that allow foreign organizations and individuals to funnel cash in an effort to avoid taxes in their home nations.
New data suggests home prices in America will keep climbing, despite continued weakness in the labor market causing unemployment to rise. Builders are increasingly confident about the single-family home market, according to a new study by the National Association of Homebuilders. The NAHB’s Housing Market Index rose by 2 points in June because of more buying activity and a limitation on places to build new homes.
Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) are on the rise as new forms of security cooperation in the Asia Pacific. The Japanese government has recognised the importance of HA/DR capacity building for a stable regional security environment through relevant legislation initiated under the former Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) government and continued by the current Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) government under its banner of ‘proactive contribution to peace’.
The slowdown in growth in China is a familiar story. Annual GDP growth has fallen from an average of 10 percent to less than 7 percent. While Chinese growth is still significant in absolute terms, slower growth combined with rising income inequality is becoming a big concern for the Chinese public.
In trying to associate herself with her husband Bill Clinton’s economic legacy, Hillary Clinton is in danger of making herself look vulnerable and weak. With opinion polls showing a clear lead for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump, especially among female and ethnic minority voters, it is highly likely the US will have its first female President In November.
There are numerous studies showing the economic costs of Brexit and the weight of academic opinion backs these estimates. However, the Vote Leave campaign does have a small group of economists who claim that the UK can be better off if it leaves the EU.
On the night of 14 April 2016, five years after the devastating 3/11 triple disaster, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck the Kumamoto region on the Japanese island of Kyushu. It was caused by a vertical strike-slip fault that runs underneath the area — a vertical rupture where, during an earthquake, two blocks of rock strata slide past each other.
According to a report by the World Bank, in 2015 India hit a decade low level of investment in public infrastructure from sources both public and private, foreign and domestic. The reduction appears akin to similar contractions in investments seen in other distressed emerging economies, like China and Brazil.
India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and the services sector is the largest contributor to the country’s GDP. In 2015–16, the services sector accounted for 53.3 percent of India’s gross value added at current prices. It is predicted to grow at 9.2 percent a year at constant prices. However, is this growth sustainable?
Australians will go to a federal election on 2 July 2016. At first glance the 19 seats in the House of Representatives that the Labor Party — the current Opposition — needs to win to take government seems a heroic undertaking. Yet, if the early polls are any indication, this may not be too far beyond its reach.
