The Chinese government has set aside up to 2.37 trillion yuan ($373 billion) for investment into energy conservation and anti-pollution projects over the next three-and-a-half years, claimed a report by Reuters on Wednesday, with $155 billion of the money already earmarked for energy efficient projects that could reduce the nation’s reliance on coal.
The cost of tuition is soaring, outpacing the cost of living in most countries. Last year, tuition and fees at US public universities soared 8.3 percent, twice the rate of national inflation. With total student debt estimated at $1 trillion, we wonder: Is a college degree still worth it?
Last year, two-thirds of graduates left college with an average of $25,000 in debt while 9.1 percent of fresh graduates struggled to find jobs.
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras as called on international lenders for “more time” and “breathing room” as it struggles to meet its bailout obligations. However, he insisted that Greece is not looking for additional bailout money.
His comments were published by Bild, Germany’s most-read newspaper, who had recently accused Greece of “making our euro kaput” and had only a few days ago referred to the country as a “bottomless pit.”
Over the next six months market volatility will likely taper off as investors, coming to terms with a recessionary Europe and a tepid US economy, hunt for value across various asset classes.
Stefan Keitel, Global Chief Investment Officer for Asset Management and Private Banking at Credit Suisse, expects markets to stay volatile, but gradually stabilize later this year. “Sluggish global growth and Eurozone concerns will continue to weigh on investor sentiment,” he says. “But these worries have, to a visible extent, already been priced into the markets.”
Russia officially joins the World Trade Organisation today, after a 19-year wait, as the group’s 156th member. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a leading G8 country, Russia is the last major economy to join the global trade body.
After 19 years of negotiation and waiting, Russia today joins the ranks of the World Trade Organisation, a status that is expected to lower trade barriers and increase the level of foreign investment in Russia.
A study by the Natural Resources Defense Council has found that Americans throw away nearly half of their food each year with the waste worth approximately $165 billion annually – equivalent the size of Ukraine’s GDP.
In the report, the NRDC estimates that Americans squander 40 percent of the food supply every year, and the average American family of four ends up throwing away an equivalent of up to $2,275 annually in food.
Collectively, the Council says it is equivalent to throwing out $165 billion each year.
Let’s face it: Although every job bears its own health and personal risks, some jobs are just far more dangerous than others. While many of us enjoy cushy jobs where we sit in an office all day and face a computer screen, others risk life and limb to make a living.
Check out this infographic, which uses data from the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics to explore injuries and fatalities in the work place; and find out what is the most deadliest job in America.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is planning to hire more workers to monitor the eurozone crisis, reported the Associated Press on Wednesday, after Bank President Mario Draghi admitted that his 1,600-strong full-time staff were “overworked” and at risk of burning out.
A leading member of the European Central Bank has said a Greek exit from the common currency would eventually be manageable. However, the official cautioned that it is not the preferred outcome for the eurozone debt crisis as the process could be chaotic and extremely costly.
The comments by ECB executive board member Joerg Asmussen came at the start of a crucial week for Greece as it aims to persuade partners to release more bailout aid to keep the economy afloat.
An attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities by Israel’s military could cost the Jewish state nearly 167 billion shekels ($42 billion) in economic damage over five years, said business information firm BDI-Coface on Monday, with an estimated 10 percent of all small new businesses expected to collapse due to the inevitable economic slowdown.
