India’s Planning Commission, a government entity responsible for plotting the country’s economic future, came under fire from opposition leaders and the public on Wednesday, after reports emerged that they had spent over 3.5 million rupees ($63, 146) to renovate two toilets in its office, which are believed to be reserved for just 60 “very high dignitaries”.
America’s federal debt could be double the size of its GDP by 2037, said a report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Tuesday, with debt figures already set to reach 70 percent of the nation’s GDP by end of the year.
According to the CBO, America’s budget deficit is presently the highest it has been since 1945, with lower tax revenues and increased federal spending to blame for the nation’s soaring debt.
Italian companies will be required to appoint more women in their boardroom by 2015, reported the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, after the government passed a new “pink quota” that aims to address one of the lowest gender representation ratios across Europe.
Presently, just 6 percent of all corporate board members in Italy are women, though the government has targeted for this figure to rise to one-third starting from 2015.
As the economic-policy debate in Europe and around the world shifts from fiscal austerity towards measures aimed at stimulating growth, smarter taxation will be essential to getting the balance right. That means focusing on energy and carbon taxes, which have a much less negative impact on economic activity.
China’s online community buzzed with excitement and conspiracy theories yesterday as the country’s leading stock exchange, the Shanghai Composite Index, opened with an ominous numerological sign linked to the 23rd anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown.
In an unlikely coincidence unwelcomed by China’s ruling communist party and government censors, the Shanghai stock benchmark fell 64.89 points on Monday – a number that bears uncanny relevance to the June 4, 1989 pro-democracy crackdown that took place in Beijing.
South Sudanese government officials should return nearly $4 billion in “stolen” public money back to the government, said president Salva Kiir in a letter obtained by Reuters on Monday, with the country struggling to rebuild its public infrastructure following the separation from Sudan last year.
Billionaire investor George Soros has warned that European leaders have a “three-month window” to save the euro, or risk the destruction of the eurozone and a “lost decade”. Describing the crisis as a banking problem and a problem of competitiveness, rather than a fiscal or debt crisis, Soros added that European leaders have failed to truly understand the nature of its economic woes.
The US Defense Department consumes more energy than any other department or sector in the country, spending around $20 billion annually by some estimates; but ambitious plans to make it the nation’s green leader have been swept under the rug over budgetary concerns that smack of campaign politics.
China will push for greater economic and security ties with Afghanistan during a joint conference this week, claimed a report by Reuters on Sunday, with officials from both governments keen to deepen their relationship amidst an ongoing military pull-out by Western forces.
A quick preview of the key economic events happening this week: Aside from the European debt drama, this week will see an interesting line up of Islamic banking events hosted in South East Asia. Singapore plays host to World Islamic Banking Conference as well as the Asia-Middle East Investment Summit. This week also, Istanbul hosts the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, as well as the Turkish-Arab Economic Forum.
Monday, June 4
