China has filed an official complaint with the World Trade Organisation over alleged subsidies provided by some EU members towards the solar panel industry, reported the New York Times on Monday, in retaliation to an anti-dumping investigation by the EU against China earlier this year.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has defended his nation’s decision to sell arms to the Syrian government, reported Reuters, after claiming that the Russian government was obliged to do so under Soviet-era commitments, while asserting that the weapons were meant for defence against external threats only.
Former French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has warned President Francois Hollande to rein in his “clumsy” attacks on German Chancellor Angela Merkel, adding that the economic policy divergence between both countries is now so wide that it risks damaging the previously close relationship forged by Sarkozy and Merkel.
Global rating agency Standard & Poor’s has been found guilty of “misleading” Australian investors over the ratings of two constant proportion debt obligation (CPDO) notes created by banking giant ABN AMRO prior to the 2008 financial crisis, reported Bloomberg on Monday, in a landmark case that may set precedent for future litigation around the world.
Two of the world’s largest economies will witness a change in their political leadership this week: The US presidential election sees Democratic President Barack Obama standing for a second and final term, with recent opinion polls suggesting that Obama is leading by a small margin. In China, the fifth-generation leadership will be appointed at the 18th Party Congress.
Monday, November 5
G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meet in Mexico.
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA), a team set up by the government to draft new safety standards for nuclear reactors following the Fukushima disaster last year, has had its neutrality called into question by the public, reported the Associated Press on Sunday, after four out of the six-member team were revealed to have received research grants from utility companies and atomic industry manufacturers in the past.
In light of recent rogue trading and rate-rigging scandals, banks will be required to hold extra capital reserves to protect the financial system, as well as taxpayers, against unforeseeable operational risks, said global regulators.
A statement released by the Financial Stability Board, a body that coordinates international bank regulations, yesterday said banks that are deemed too-big-to-fail should hold more capital reserves to absorb any potential losses.
The FSB said:
Qatar’s powerful movers and shakers have emerged fully into the spotlight following the release of Construction Week Qatar (CWQ) magazine’s ‘Power 50’ list. Not only does the list make fascinating reading in its own right, but it also confirms the incredible wealth generated by a country which only a few decades ago stood on the edge of ruin. Little wonder companies right across the globe look in awe at Qatar, with some of them no doubt wrestling with the problem of how to claim even a tiny piece of the action.
Peru, the world’s top fishmeal exporter, has cut its commercial fishing quota for anchovy by 68 percent this year, reported Reuters on Thursday, amid concerns that warmer water temperatures and controversial fishing practices were causing a dramatic reduction of the nation’s anchovy stock, which is about a-fifth of the world’s total.
The World Bank has promised up to $245 million in credit and grant funding to Myanmar over the next 18 months, reported Reuters, under a new interim strategy focused on accelerating poverty reduction by bolstering reforms in the nation’s budget, regulatory and private sector.
