Markets Archives - Page 573 of 782

China Bans Potentially Weapons-Related Exports To North Korea

China’s Commerce Ministry on Tuesday issued a 236-page list of goods banned for exports to North Korea, fearing that the items could be used as components to make weapons of mass destruction.

In a statement to the press, Hong Lei, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that China’s decision came as part of a joint U.N. Security Council resolution on North Korea, underscoring China’s “strict attitude” in enforcing sanctions.

Global Progress Towards Gender Equality Has Stalled: IMF

While women now represent 40 percent of the world’s labour force, female labour force participation rate globally have been stuck around the 50 percent mark for the past two decades, warned a new IMF study released on Monday, further highlighting that women were still holding fewer salaried jobs and receiving lower wages than men.

The US Shale “Boom”: A Fantasy Concocted By Politicians & Industry Bigwigs?

The numbers don’t lie—but politicians and industry bigwigs do. While pundits still wax poetic about an era of American energy independence, Bill Powers, author of the book “Cold, Hungry and in the Dark: Exploding the Natural Gas Supply Myth,” sees productivity plummeting in almost every major shale play.

China Pours On State Support For Milk Powder Industry

The Chinese government is set to provide nearly 30 billion yuan ($4.90 billion) in state funding to domestic milk powder makers, in order to support sector consolidation and increase the ability of companies to compete with international competition, according to local media reports over the weekend.

Are Global Agricultural Trade Policies Only Protecting The Developed World?

The agriculture sector is a large part of the developing world and supports the livelihoods of a significant portion of its population. But since the last WTO Doha Round, the developing world have been concerned that ambitious tariff reduction proposals will leave their domestic agriculture sector, and by extension their economies more generally, vulnerable.

The Agreement on Agriculture negotiated in the Uruguay Round was expected to bring about a structural change in the global agricultural trade and lead to efficient agricultural producers.

Lessons From Japan: Why Economies Take Longer To Recover From Banking Crises

Since the 2008 financial crisis, economic recovery in the U.S. and Europe has been slow – sparking fears of long-term stagnation. Significantly, the experience of Japan in the 1990s have shown how even developed economies, which most would assume have significant policy tools to tackle any banking crisis, can struggle to avoid a prolonged recession.

How The UK Government ‘Secretly’ Influenced Its Citizens’ Behaviours

Can governments influence the decisions and actions of their citizens without the public’s conscious knowledge? Since 2010, the U.K. government has had a taskforce, nicknamed the “Nudge Unit”, which utilises behavioural economics to come up with policies that can “encourage and enable people to make better choices for themselves.”

Infographic: A History Of Government Tax Scandals In The US

In May this year, the U.S. Internal Service (IRS) was accused of misusing its audit powers after the agency revealed that it had targeted conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status for closer scrutiny based on their names or political themes.

The controversy subsequently led to both political and public condemnation of the agency, while the Federal Bureau of Investigation began investigating the IRS’s actions as part of a criminal probe ordered by United States Attorney General Eric Holder.

EU “Ready” To Discuss Free Trade Pact With China: Official

The European Union is set to hold talks with China either late this year or early 2014 on improving market access for its members in the world’s second largest economy, said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht on Tuesday, describing the current relationship between the two markets as “a fundamental source of mutual benefit”, which could still do with further strengthening.

The Real Bo Xilai Story: How One Man Came To Symbolise China’s Ongoing Struggles

In the United States, Bo Xilai’s “trial of the century” was reported as a spicy cocktail of sex, power and violence. The real story however is about the pitfalls of rapid economic development, generational change in politics, and the progress of the rule of law in China.