The Chinese government is set to install GPS tracking systems in all state-bought vehicles, reported local state media last weekend, seeking to crack down on officials who use government cars for their own private purposes.
M23 militants in eastern Congo have infiltrated several lucrative gold mines in order to bankroll their rebellion by smuggling out nearly $500 million of the precious metal a year, claimed a Washington-based human rights group on Thursday, accusing four African gold exporters for enabling the militia group, which has had a history of human rights violations.
The People’s Bank of China and the European Central Bank on Thursday have a signed currency swap agreement to boost trade between the two regions, marking China’s largest such deal outside Asia to date and representing a huge step towards the yuan’s internationalisation.
The three-year swap line will have a maximum value of 350 billion yuan ($57 billion) and will allow more trade and investment between the regions to be conducted in euros and yuan, without first having to convert into another currency such as the U.S. dollar.
Forget the Michelin guide, the Philippines government has created a new and unique ratings directory for dining at restaurants – ranking eateries by the taxes they pay rather than their menu in order to shame those cheating the state out of revenues.
Global wealth has risen by 68 percent over the past 10 years, according to the 2013 Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report released on Wednesday, but the level of inequality remains high as the richest 1 percent still own 46 percent of global wealth, with the top 10 percent claiming 86 percent.
Colombian companies and individuals will now have to pay a 33 percent fee when they transfer funds to countries listed by the government as a tax haven, announced Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas on Tuesday, after tax authorities estimated that up to 20 trillion pesos ($10.6 billion) in potential tax revenue were being lost due to funds sent abroad.
A Communist Party village official in a Beijing suburb has been sacked by the party’s discipline inspection commission after reports of his son’s three-day wedding emerged in local media outlets, prompting public criticism over the lavish affair, reported Xinhua News on Tuesday.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has earned more than $10 billion – and counting – from lending cash to blue-chip companies during the global financial crisis, reported the Wall Street Journal on Monday, highlighting the potential profits a strategic investor can make even as others race for the exits.
China, the world’s largest holder of U.S. foreign debt, has called on U.S. politicians to end their debt ceiling standoff ahead of the October 17th deadline, warning that a possible U.S. default would have huge global ramifications and severely affect “the safety of Chinese investments” in the country.
As the U.S. government shutdown enters into its second week, officials from the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office have postponed plans to hold a second round of negotiations with the European Union this week on a free trade pact, claiming that financial and staffing constraints made it impossible to send a full negotiating team to Brussels.
