Cuba is unlikely to attain energy independence anytime over the next five years, said energy experts on Monday, after the nation’s latest attempt to drill for oil offshore proved to be a bust, while no further exploratory activity is expected in the short term.
Standard Chartered plc may be suspended from doing business on Wall Street indefinitely, reported the New York Times on Monday, after New York’s top banking regulator, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), accused the British bank of hiding nearly $250 billion in financial transactions to Iran that were in clear violation of U.S. law.
With most of the second-quarter central bank meetings and bank results reporting concluded, we are looking at a relatively slow week ahead. However, markets will be watching Spanish and Italian bond yields closely, as well as any comments from ECB chief Mario Draghi, who stoked speculation that the bank many resume its bond-buying activities to lower borrowing costs.
Related News: ECB Will Do “Whatever It Takes” To Save Euro… Just Not Now
From celebrities to companies to even countries, spectacular bankruptcies have often intrigued and astounded the public due to the massive amounts of money lost and the sometimes mind-boggling circumstances leading to a bankruptcy filing.
But be it individual or corporate bankruptcies, there are often some main factors that would lead to the suddenly loss of wealth, namely: lack of financial stability on markets worldwide, widespread consumerism, price fluctuation and irresponsibility.
In an interview with German weekly, Der Spiegel, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti declared that his country does not need German cash. Instead, he says Italy needs the moral support of his European friends, especially Germany.
Pointing out that while five eurozone economies have requested and received international bailouts, Monti said Italy has not received “a single euro” of bailout monies.
He told Der Spiegel:
Chinese consumers are far more familiar with foreign brand names compared to their own home-grown companies, reported the China Daily on Monday, after just three local brands managed to make it among the top twenty most recognised brands in a consumer awareness survey.
The latest Campaign Asia-Pacific 2012 Asia’s Top 1,000 Brands report showed that Apple Inc. was the most recognised brand in China for 2012, after piping Nestle, Chanel, Sony and Samsung for the top spot.
According to a Treasury audit, the Internal Revenue Service may have unwittingly handed out $21 billion to identity thieves who filed fraudulent tax returns for 2011.
While the IRS identified about 1 million false returns and blocked about $6.5 billion in fraudulent refunds in 2011, a new report by the Treasury inspector general for tax administration reveals that as many as 1.5 million additional returns claiming $5.2 billion in fraudulent refunds might have escaped detection.
When Mario Draghi, chief of the European Central Bank, vowed to defend the euro last week, analysts went as far as to speculate a lowering of interest rates and bond purchases by the bank. Yet the bank disappointed yesterday, offering nothing but inaction.
Expectations for bold actions had run high after ECB President Mario Draghi on Thursday last week vowed to do “whatever it takes” to preserve the euro.
Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is one the wealthiest investors and notable philanthropist of our generation. Famous for his value-investing philosophy and frugal living, this infographic presents 10 financial principles we can pick up from Buffett.
America is home to some of the world’s best hospitals and doctors, but it also has one of the most unaffordable healthcare systems. In fact, medical bankruptcies are on the rise and America desperately needs to fix its healthcare problems.
The cost of healthcare is rising, making it one of the fastest growing markets in the United States. But is that necessarily a good thing? To put things in perspective, Americans spend an average of $8,233 on healthcare annually, almost twice the amount its Canadian neighbours pay in a year. Is this acceptable? You decide.
