China will send nearly 10 million yuan ($1.64 million) worth of aid to the Philippines for the Typhoon Haiyan disaster relief effort, reported the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, after the government changed its mind of pledging just $100,000 initially.
The United States will surpass Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world’s top oil producer by 2015, said the International Energy Agency on Tuesday, however diminishing returns in shale formations could see it lose its top spot in another 15 years.
According to the IEA’s annual World Energy Outlook report, the U.S. could produce as much as 11.6 million barrels of oil per day by 2020, up from 9.2 million bpd last year; yet output is set to plateau after 2020 as the largest shale plays yield less oil.
China’s Communist Party ended its Third Plenum on Tuesday by promising a “decisive role” for markets in the economy, as they push for reforms to deliver results by 2020.
In a communiqué released by state news agency Xinhua, the Chinese leaders pledged to promote market forces for allocating resources; though state-owned companies would still remain the “leading” factor in the economy.
Shale projects in Eastern Europe are being challenged by delaying tactics of industry majors. Media coverage of shale gas development is positive; but in Lithuania and Poland, global oil & gas companies are one by one dropping bids to explore for unconventional. Lack of business awareness and overdependence on preliminary estimates of shale reserves may also lead to the same result in Ukraine.
India will need a whole host of domestic and international reforms to re-boost the economy. However in a democracy that is going into an election year, only politically friendly reforms are likely to be undertaken. Can politicians persuade their constituents to accept reform?
The Indian economy is suffering from the effects of the government’s high-risk development policy, which relied on volatile capital inflows from US quantitative easing to finance consumption and inclusion.
The global black market is believed to generate almost $10 trillion annually – equivalent to the size of Japan and China’s GDP.
From body parts to drugs to even crude oil, there is no shortage of demand or supply for what the black market can offer.
Check out this infographic by Finance Degree Center, which explores the most popular ‘goods’ available on the black market and their costs.
As Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares for Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee this weekend, he will know that his country has now reached the end of an economic super-cycle first set in motion by Deng Xiaoping some 35 years ago. The challenges Xi face today may be completely different to those once faced by Deng; yet both could turn out to be equally vital for China’s future.
The scale of China’s military build-up has raised flags among Western alarmists. Yet the focus of the military spending appears to be oriented more towards defending China’s periphery, rather than any expansionist plans. In fact, one common argument is that China’s growing military power is only meant to counter the force of the U.S., which has been increasing its presence in the region.
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will seek out public opinion before proposing new rules targeting the end of intimidating tactics used by debt collectors, Reuters reported on Wednesday, with about one in 10 Americans going into debt of some sort after the financial crisis.
Approximately 6.6 billion euros ($8.9 billion) in European Union funds were misallocated or lost to inefficient expenditure schemes last year, according to the bloc’s official auditors on Tuesday, marking a 0.9 percentage point rise from the previous year and the third year in a row that inefficient spending have rose.
The European Court of Auditors, which is responsible for checking the finances of the EU’s institutions, said it found irregularities affecting 4.8 percent of total spending last year, up from 3.9 percent in 2011.
