The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Northern Iraq has accused the nation’s central government for creating “division and strife”, reported Bloomberg on Friday, after Baghdad announced plans this week to develop the Kirkuk oil fields alongside BP plc, despite an ongoing dispute over the area’s sovereignty.
A government-funded study in Italy has revealed that the country’s infamous organised crime networks take in just 10.5 billion ($14 billion) a year, a fraction of previous estimates of their turnover.
The study, Gli Investimenti delle Mafie, by the Catholic University of Sacred Heart found that mafia revenues amounted to just 0.7 percent of Italy’s gross domestic product – much lower than a study by Milan’s Bocconi University last year that said criminal activity was responsible for about 10.9 percent of Italy’s income.
The European Union’s ambassador to China has rejected reports of a trade war between the two economic heavyweights – which together make up the world’s largest trade relationship – and instead pointed out that the proportion of trade disputes between the EU and China is “actually very small”.
Officials from Syria and Iran have signed a $1 billion credit facility agreement that will allow Syrian importers to purchase Iranian supplies without the need for a direct cash transfer, reported the Financial Times on Wednesday, giving a much-needed boost to Bashar al-Assad’s regime, which remains beleaguered by economic and social unrest.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has announced up to HK$10 billion ($1.3 billion) in subsidies to replace and limit diesel-powered vehicles in the former British colony, reported the Financial Times on Wednesday, following growing concerns that the air quality in the Chinese territory was now mirroring those of the mainland.
Germany’s central bank will repatriate part of its $200 billion gold reserves stored in vaults in the United States and in France, according to reports by the German press.
According to Handelsblatt, a respected German publication, Germany’s central bank plans to retrieve some 1,500 tonnes of gold stored in the vaults of the Federal Reserve in New York as well as its 450 tonnes of gold with the Bank of France in Paris.
The World Bank has reduced its global growth forecast from 3 percent to 2.4 percent in 2013, projecting that the downturn in Europe and fiscal problems in the United States will continue to weigh on investment and spending.
Andrew Burns, lead author of the World Bank’s twice-yearly Global Economic Prospects report, said that a recovery the bank had previously anticipated will be delayed, beginning “closer to the end of the first quarter and into the second quarter of 2013, rather than beginning a little earlier.”
China’s food safety watchdog, the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), has offered cash rewards of up to 300,000 yuan ($48,200) to any individual willing to report on health safety violations, reported Xinhua News on Tuesday, following the revelation of yet another food-related scandal last month – adding to the nation’s already abysmal food safety record.
U.S. sporting goods giant Nike on Tuesday said that it would be launching an immediate investigation into its manufacturers in Indonesia, reported AFP, after reports emerged that Nike-contracted factories had hired military officers to intimidate workers into waiving their rights to the country’s newly enforced minimum wage.
There has been a heightened interest in gold, evidenced by its all-time high trading price. Precious metals like gold are a popular choice for investors because it is safe – particular when markets are volatile – but does that make it a good investment?
The price of gold is always a hot topic. It is a precious metal that is not only aesthetically desirable, but monetarily valuable – especially in recent years. But is it best to keep it stored away or to invest it? And how has it performed domestically and globally?
