German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has slammed recent comments made by the United States as “silly”, while telling the United States to stop blaming Europe for its economic woes and focus on its own problems at home instead.
China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile phone operator, is sitting on more cash than Apple. However, with that excess amount of cash, China Mobile seems to be missing out on cashing in on the phone industry’s cheapest stock valuations in two years.
The Japanese government is willing to buy more rescue bonds from the European Financial Security Facility (EFSF) to aid Greece’s recovery, as long as the European community comes up with a rational plan to stabilise international markets, said Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi on Tuesday.
Azumi told reporters in Tokyo that Japan was dedicated to contributing to any global bailout, though he warned eurozone members that a workable plan was needed in order to alleviate the current global fears.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is under immense pressure as public uproar over the country’s new poverty benchmark intensifies. With the new poverty threshold guidelines, millions of Indians stand to lose their food and welfare benefits.
As part of a new food security legislation, the Planning Commission proposes a daily income threshold of Rs 32 ($0.64) for urban areas like Delhi and Mumbai and Rs 26 ($0.52) for rural areas. The World Bank’s poverty line is $1.25 per day.
In August, American Banks Wells Fargo and Chase announced pilot plans to implement a $3 monthly fee for their debit card usage. In November, banks like SunTrust and Regions will follow suit by charging a $5 for a monthly debit card usage fee.
However, many other leading American banks such as J.P. Morgan and the Bank of America have already begun enforcing similar charges on their customers.
The MIT Media Lab has been widely regarded as one of the most innovative research labs in the world that focuses on how design, multimedia and technology can converge to create projects of the future. During the 1990s, the Media Lab was renowned for its inventions in the field of wireless networks, field sensing, web browsers and the World Wide Web, though recently it has redirected its efforts towards addressing social causes.
Influential Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has departed his post after he went head-to-head with President Dmitri Medvedev during a televised broadcast of a meeting of Russian officials where Medvedev questioned the Finance Minister’s decision to “announce with great pomp” in public recently that he did not intend to work in the new government.
A quick preview of the key economic events for the upcoming week:
Monday, 26 September
EU trade ministers meet in Brussels to discuss Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation, Indian and Ukrainian Free Trade Agreements and the Doha Development Agenda
The United Automobile Workers will begin a series of negotiations with Ford Motor on a new contract.
Boeing delivers its first 787 Dreamliner to Japan’s All Nippon Airways. The fuel-efficient jet is expected to be flown into Tokyo on September 27.
Firms are employing more mathematicians on their trading desks, replacing the last bastion of traders and dealers.
According to a report by the BBC, fundamental research and human experience are quickly being replaced by algorithmic formulae. In what is fast becoming a trend, PhD mathematicians, and their complex computer programs, are increasingly sought after for their skill set and expertise in risk management.
Foreign diplomats visiting or residing in New York City owe the city’s administration nearly US$17.2 million in unpaid parking tickets and fines, a sum that may have grown last week in the aftermath of the United Nations General Assembly.
According to the New York City Department of Finance, $16.03 million worth of parking offences occurred before 2002, with $1.17 million having took place between 2002 and July 2011.
