Two former Chinese state officials have been sent to jail by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, China’s top prosecuting authority, after it was discovered that they had divulged classified economic data to securities brokerages in the highest profile crackdown on selective disclosure linked to insider trading in China.
The Vatican has called for the overhaul of the global financial system and a “central world bank” for a global authority to police the market.
The authors of the Vatican proposal have hammered the values of the financial world, arguing that “the crisis has revealed behaviors like selfishness, collective greed and the hoarding of goods on a great scale.” At fault, they say, is “an economic liberalism that spurns rules and controls.”
Despite the need for strong and sustained fiscal stimulus in many countries, today’s political leaders seem to be held hostage by financial interests and associated media, ideologists, and oligarchs. As a result, the main threat that now confronts us is not public debt or inflation but rather a downward economic spiral.
The Turkish government has turned down an offer for “any aid they might need” from its former ally Israel, after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck the eastern part of Turkey early Sunday afternoon – killing between 500 to 1000 people, with many more believed to be injured or missing.
A quick preview of the key economic events for the upcoming week:
Monday, 24 October
Les Hinton, the former executive chairman of News International, is due to give evidence to the UK Commons culture media and sport committee as part of its investigation into phone hacking.
Tuesday, 25 October
The United States will lose its top AAA credit rating status from another major credit rating agency by the end of this year if Congress fails to agree upon a credible long-term plan that addresses the US deficit problem, forecasted Bank of America Merrill Lynch economists in a research note published on Friday.
Argentine president Cristina Fernandez has been re-elected in a landslide victory Sunday, after her government achieved strong economic results and shared the wealth of a booming economy.
“Count on me to continue pursuing the project,” Fernandez vowed in her victory speech. “All I want is to keep collaborating … to keep Argentina growing. I want to keep changing history.”
Poverty rates continue to rise in the United States, with the Southern States most badly affected. According to the United States Census Bureau, the number of people living in poverty increased from 42.9 million in 2009 to 46.2 million during the same period in 2010.
At least 32 states experienced an increase in the number and percentage of people in poverty between 2009 and 2010, with 20 states experiencing a second consecutive annual increase.
Divisions between France and Germany over Europe’s rescue strategy means the eurozone will make scant progress over the strengthening of the European Financial Stability Facility at the EU Summit scheduled to take place this Sunday.
Europe’s efforts to deliver a comprehensive plan to resolve the euro-zone debt crisis were in danger of unraveling Thursday as disagreement between Germany and France over virtually every point forced the 27-nation bloc to concede a much-anticipated summit of European Union leaders on Sunday won’t produce an agreement.
The European Union could impose regulations that would prevent credit rating agencies from judging the credit worthiness of countries undergoing bailouts, said the European Commission’s internal market commissioner Michel Barnier on Thursday.
