Category: News Desk

Global Billionaire Population Hits New Record Thanks To Rapid Growth In Asia


 There are 2,170 billionaires in the world today, according to the inaugural Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2013, with their combined net worth estimated at over $6.5 trillion – a sum greater than the GDP of every country except the U.S. and China.

The Billionaire Census found that the total number of billionaires grew by 0.5 percent this year, while total wealth rose by 5.3 percent.

Asia saw the greatest growth in wealth and the number of billionaires – seeing a 3.7 percent jump in wealthy individuals, while combined fortune grew by 13 percent.

US Consumer Watchdog Seek To Crack Down On Aggressive Debt Collectors


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.

EU Misspent Nearly $9 Billion Of Budget In 2012: Auditors


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.

China Needs 7.2 Percent GDP Growth To Sustain Job Market: Premier


China’s economy must continue growing by at least 7.2 percent per year in order to sustain the unemployment rate from rising, said Premier Li Keqiang in remarks published on Monday.

In a national workers’ meeting two weeks ago, Li told the attendees that the government was hoping to cap the urban unemployment rate at 4 percent, requiring GDP growth to maintain at a medium-to-high speed in order to so.

UK MPs Call For Greater Scrutiny Into Prince Charles’s Tax Affairs


The heir to the British throne, Prince Charles, should face a Treasury inquiry into the amount of taxes he pay each year, said an influential committee of U.K. MPs on Monday, arguing that some of the tax exemptions that his estate enjoy had created an “unfair advantage” for several of his businesses.

Britons Eating Cheaper, But More Unhealthy Food After Financial Crisis: Study


Despite a sharp rise in food inflation, U.K. families are spending 8.5 percent less on food today than what they did before the financial crisis; but the savings had been mostly due to a switch in consumption to cheaper, less healthy choices, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) on Monday.

The IFS’s research found that food prices rose by 33 percent between 2007 and 2013; yet somehow the average household food expenditure fell to just $148.61 a month from 2010-2012, compared to $162.46 in the two years earlier.

Swiss Banks May Face Higher Leverage Ratio Requirements


Swiss banks could be forced to raise their minimum leverage ratios to as much as 10 percent, reported the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, in a move aimed at improving industry stability – yet could see banks have to cut down on their service offerings.

According to WSJ, Swiss politicians have been working on tighter regulations for the financial industry, with the proposed requirements set to face a vote in Parliament next year.

US Budget Deficit Drops By 37 Percent, Lowest In Five Years


The U.S. government saw a budget deficit of $680.3 billion for fiscal year 2013, showed Treasury Department data on Wednesday, a 37 percent drop from the fiscal 2012 deficit and marking the first time in five years that the figure has been below $1 trillion.

US Treasury Says Germany Is Hurting World Economy


Germany’s persistently high trade surplus and export-led growth model is preventing the eurozone from recovering quickly, harming the wider global economy in the process, said a U.S. Treasury report on Wednesday.

In its semi-annual report to Congress on international economic policies, the U.S. Treasury took a surprising swipe at German economic policies, blaming them for hindering economic rebalancing in Europe.

Beijing’s Divorce Rate Soar By 41% As Couples Exploit Tax Loophole


Nearly 40,000 Chinese couples living in Bejing have filed for during the first nine months of this year, according to the China Daily on Tuesday, a year-on-year increase of close to 41 percent – with experts speculating that couples had been deliberately avoiding a property tax imposed earlier this year.