Category: News Desk

US Headed Towards Fiscal Abyss: Xinhua


The last minute U.S. budget deal may have spared millions of Americans the burden of higher taxes amid a weak economic climate, but if American politicians can come so close to falling off a fiscal cliff, they are unlikely to “reach a deal to help their country climb out of an abyss,” said China’s Xinhua, a state-owned news agency.

In an English commentary, Xinhua acknowledged the United States’ dominance as the world’s largest economy, but cautioned that the country “simply cannot live on borrowed prosperity forever.”

It wrote:

Portugal’s President & Prime Minister Clash Over Austerity Budget


Portugal’s President Aníbal Cavaco Silva has appealed to the nation’s highest court to rule on the legality of the country’s 2013 budget, after he expressed doubt over the budget’s fairness just a day after he personally signed the budget bill into law together with Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho.

Merkel Warns of Tough Times Ahead


German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned citizens to be prepared for a tough year ahead and urged patience as the eurozone sovereign debt crisis extends into its fourth year.

In her New Year message, the Chancellor warned that 2013 will be “even more difficult” even if the reform measures designed to address the roots of European sovereign debt crisis are beginning to bear fruit.

Russia Overtakes Saudi Arabia As World’s Largest Oil Producer


Heightened production activities among its state-owned oil companies helped push Russia’s crude oil output to a post-Soviet era record high of 10.37 million barrels per day (bpd) last year, according to data released by the country’s energy ministry on Wednesday, earning Russia the title of the world’s largest oil producer in 2012 ahead of traditional giants Saudi Arabia.

US Fiscal Cliff Avoided


The United States’ long-running fiscal cliff crisis was finally resolved when the House voted on Tuesday to approve a Senate bill aimed at averting huge tax hikes and budget cuts that would have pushed the world’s largest economy into recession.

Japan Sees Record Population Decline In 2012


Japan’s population shrank by an estimated 212,000 people in 2012, claimed the nation’s Health Ministry on Monday, as concerns continue to mount the nation’s rapidly aging population and low birth rates.

According to the ministry, as cited by the Japan Times, a record low of 1,033,000 babies were born in Japan last year, compared to 1,245,000 deaths in the country, which resulted in a net drop of 212,000 in the nation’s population of around 126 million people.

OPEC to Earn More than $1 trillion in 2012


The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, is expected to reap a record of more than $1 trillion in net oil revenues in 2012 as the annual average price of Brent crude closed at an all time high, rising 3.5 percent for the year.

Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose on Monday closing the year 2012 up for the fourth consecutive year.

North Korean Leader Calls For “Radical” Economic Shift, Improved Ties With South


In a rare New Year’s Day address broadcasted on state television, North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-Un vowed on Tuesday to make a “radical turnaround” for his country’s economic policies in 2013; pledging also to improve relations with their southern compatriots, as part of a longer term view towards reunification.

French Court Overturns 75% Income Tax on Rich


France’s Constitutional Council struck down on Saturday a plan to impose a 75 percent upper income tax rate, arguing that the so-called millionaire tax failed to “recognise equality before public burdens.”

The Constitutional Council’s decision is a political blow to President Francois Hollande, who had vowed in his election campaign to shift to the rich the burden of efforts to improve the country’s finances.

Key Economic News to Watch This Week: December 31


Global markets and headlines will remain focused on Washington this week, as US politicians scramble to strike a budget deal that would end the threat of massive spending cuts and automatic tax increases. But the budget talks have taken the spotlight away from another problem: The US government is approaching its legal debt ceiling, a dire situation that raises the threat of a default in the world’s largest economy.

Monday, December 31

WTO announces the director-general shortlist for successor to Pascal Lamy.