British taxpayers are unlikely to ever recoup the £66 billion ($105 billion) spent on bailing out the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group during the height of the credit crunch back in 2008, warned a group of lawmakers on Thursday, lambasting the U.K. Treasury for a “monumental collective failure” in understanding and reacting to the financial crisis.
All three major credit rating agencies have warned that the United States could lose its stellar AAA-rating next year if it fails to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff and urged politicians to act in the interest of the economy instead of engaging in excessive political posturing.
François Hollande’s rise to power in France was supposed to herald the re-emergence of Left-wing politics in Europe. But with the French Socialist Party now falling in line with the neoliberal austerity agenda, other ‘Genuine Left’ parties across Europe have begun to gain greater prominence, particularly in Greece where austerity policies remain deeply unpopular.
It seems that Americans are not the only ones who are beginning to shun Chinese-made products for those made in the U-S-of-A.
According to a study by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), as cited by Reuters on Wednesday, consumers in China are now willing to pay more for products with “Made in USA” labels, compared to those produced domestically, as they perceive American-made goods to be more durable and of higher quality.
China’s top trade and investment officials have lambasted what they call a rising tide of global protectionism, threatening that it would not invest its massive wealth of $482 billion in countries “that do not welcome us”.
Speaking at the sidelines of the Communist Party Congress in Beijing, Chinese officials warned that protectionism is on the rise on a global scale, not limited only to the epicentres of the economic slowdown.
At least $2 billion worth of diamonds have been stolen from Zimbabwe’s eastern diamond fields over the last four years through a network of government ministers and military officials aligned with President Robert Mugabe, claimed a diamond industry watchdog on Monday, with concern growing that the stolen diamonds may be used to finance Mugabe’s elections campaign expected for next year.
Asia, as a whole, has witnessed tremendous growth in the past decades and city-states such as Hong Kong and Singapore have since joined the ranks of advanced economies. Asian giants are not only home to the largest number of millionaires in the world; Asian millionaires are also becoming increasingly wealthier. With US and European economics stuck in doldrums, could it be Asia’s turn to shine now?
Presidential elections have never cheap but the cost of running a campaign has been increasing steadily. With budgets bordering a mega-corporation’s, it is no surprise that presidential campaigns spend their haul in as many places with the most impact as possible. This infographic shows you how where all the money ended up.
Running for President is much like running a business: It is expensive, it is time-consuming and it involves the employment of people, money management, public relations and advertising.
China has hit back at critics and Western media outlets that exaggerate and “distort” the reality of copyright piracy in the Mainland.
Speaking at the sidelines of the Communist Party Congress, Tian Lipu, the top official at the State Intellectual Property Office, slammed what he said was a deliberate distortion of the piracy issue by Western media caused by the country’s poor global image.
The Obama Administration has made major shifts towards Asia. During his first term, Obama’s foreign policy understood that the best way to manage a fast-growing China is not to contain it, but to ensure that the United States remains aligned with the other Asia-Pacific nations.
