Category: News Desk

Turkey’s New “Eastern Face” Attracts Muslim Markets


Well-heeled Syrians had already been coming to the ancient Turkish industrial city of Gaziantep, drawn here by Louis Vuitton purses and storefront signs in Arabic.

But local shop owners say Israel’s deadly raid on a Turkish-led flotilla to Gaza in May has solidified an already blossoming friendship between Syria and Turkey, the new hero of the Muslim world.

“People in Syria love Turkey because the country supports the Arab world, and they are fellow Muslims,”

World Shortage in Electronics Components Hurts Telecom Market Say Ericsson, Nokia


Ericsson, the world’s largest maker of telecom network equipment, said an industry-wide shortage of key components

had contributed to an 8 percent decline in sales in the second quarter, echoing concerns raised earlier by Nokia.

Sales at Ericsson, which is based in Stockholm, fell to 48 billion Swedish kroner, or $6.5 billion, from 52 billion kroner a year earlier.

Irish Woes Continue w Cut in Credit Rating


Just a few weeks ago, we did a Feature on how “well” – that is, poorly – the austerity program now being prescribed all over the “advanced” world was working out for Ireland.

Rampant Tax Evasion by Powerful Roils Pakistan


Much of Pakistan’s capital city Islamabad looks like a rich Los Angeles suburb.

Shiny sport utility vehicles purr down gated driveways. Elegant multistory homes are tended by servants.

Laundry is never hung out to dry.

But behind the opulence lurks a troubling fact.

Very few of these households pay income tax.

Million Euro Fine for Dumping Oil Sludge Off Ivory Coast


A Dutch court recently imposed the maximum fine of 1 million Euros, or $1.28 million,

on the oil trading company Trafigura for illegally exporting highly toxic sludge that ended up dumped in Ivory Coast.

The stinking waste was eventually linked to the deaths of 16 people and thousands of illnesses in 2006.

The court also found the company guilty of covering up the hazardous nature of the waste when it first tried to unload its unusually toxic slops,

Internet TV Becoming Major Force in China Media Scene


Internet TV has arrived in China.

Every month, about 300 million people in China are using a computer to watch Chinese TV dramas, Japanese and Korean sitcoms,

and even American films and television series like “Twilight” and “Gossip Girl.”

Live streaming of the recent World Cup also drew a huge online audience.

Analysts say young people in China are even starting to favor free laptop-viewing over TV sets,

Tough German Stance on Tax Evasion Brings Tensions with Switzerland, Other Neighbors


Of all the European Union member states, Germany has taken the toughest stance against tax evaders.

German officials have called on the bloc to adopt a strict policy

that would pressure Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein to give up their banking secrecy systems.

Berlin’s position led to serious tensions with Switzerland earlier this year.

Corporate Execs Hustle As Major Tax Loophole Closed


Corporate executives could be scrambling to raise billions of dollars in cash this year to pay personal tax bills on their stock options because of a recent United States Tax Court ruling.

The ruling, which involved the billionaire Philip F. Anschutz but applies to scores of executives,

says that a complex strategy routinely used to turn stock options into cash and defer the capital gains taxes is invalid for deferral.

“Reform” Lets SEC Keep Its Own Nasty Secrets Buried


Regular readers of our site know how dubious we have been about the “reform” aspect of the 2400-page behemoth passed recently by the US Congress.

And we found an item today – thank you Richard Martin 😉 – that only confirms our doubts about this “whatever” in particular, and President Obama in general.

Surprisingly enough, it came from Fox Business News – you’ll be able to tell from all the self-congratulation below, seemingly justified in this case –

Argentina / China Economic Tango: Railways, Soy, Oil …


Argentina and China signed a deal for Beijing to invest $10 billion in the South American nation’s railways during a visit by the Argentine president to Beijing,

but there was no sign of progress in a dispute over soy imports.

The agreements announced during the visit by President Cristina Fernandez earlier this month come

as Beijing expands its role in Latin America through investments in oil and other industries and closer financial ties with the region’s governments.