World & Politics
Study: OECD countries beat unemployment with low productivity and underpaid jobs - 05/06/2019
The average level of employment in OECD countries exceeded 70%, which is a historical maximum, especially given stabilization of the number of working hours per employee. Employment growth provided a large share of GDP growth in this region after the 2008 economic crisis. New jobs, however, were created in sectors with low labor productivity, which led to a slowdown in its growth by half against...
Assange gets one year in prison in London - 05/02/2019
The London Court stated that Julian Assange should spend 50 weeks in prison for violating the conditions of release on bail in 2012. The court will further consider the issue of the extradition of the founder of WikiLeaks in the United States. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was sentenced to 50 weeks in prison for violating bail conditions. This decision was made by the Royal Court of Southwark,...
Japanese Emperor is leaving the throne - 05/01/2019
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe officially announced abdication of Emperor Akihito. This news is not a sensation as the monarch announced his desire to leave the throne soon in 2016. After that, the country's parliament drafted a special law allowing Akihito to retire at will. World leaders have already expressed their appreciation to Emperor and promised to develop mutually beneficial...
Swedish Central Bank admits the country risks completely losing paper money - 04/30/2019
The Central Bank of Sweden asked the parliament to clarify definition of the term “means of payment” “as soon as possible”, noting the rapid decline in cash use, as well as prospects for issuing digital currency in the future. The Central Bank of Sweden asked the parliament to clarify definition of the term “means of payment” “as soon as possible”, noting the rapid decline in cash use, as well as...
US-China trade negotiations are on the final lap - 04/29/2019
On Sunday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that trade negotiations between Washington and Beijing are entering the final stage, The New York Times reports. On Monday, Steven Mnuchin and Robert Lighthizer are going to China to try to resolve the remaining disputed issues between the countries. It is expected that the Chinese delegation headed by Vice Premier of the State Council of the...
Left-wing Unidas Podemos offers a coalition to Spanish socialists - 04/29/2019
Leader of the left-wing coalition Unidas Podemos Pablo Iglesias told the current Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, about his desire to form a left-wing coalition government together with the socialists. Iglesias noted that his party expected a better result, but that’s enough to “stop the Righties”. He believes that negotiations on the...
Europe keeps supporting Iran - 04/25/2019
The US State Department refused to extend permits for eight countries to buy oil from Iran. The United States has virtually nullified export of Iranian oil, which is the main source of replenishment of the country's budget. The Iranian economy and Iranians have experienced some difficulties during the last six months after introduction of a new package of sanctions against Tehran in early...
Analysts: Smaller proportion of middle class threatens global economy - 04/24/2019
The middle class share is decreasing in developed countries, and the standard of living of its representatives has been declining for many years, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 30 years ago, the middle class comprised 64% of the population of OECD countries, now it is 61%. These figures differ for each country: about 50% of the...
Sri Lankan authorities are looking for international trail in the terrorist attack - 04/23/2019
The Sri Lankan authorities are investigating circumstances of the largest terrorist attack in the history of the country, committed on Catholic Easter Sunday. After the first reports that the terrorist attacks were committed by a little-known local Islamist group, the authorities made it clear that there could be an international organization behind the attacks. Law enforcement agencies keep...
Housing crisis makes Berliners think about nationalization - 04/22/2019
There is a housing crisis brewing in the capital of the largest economy in the euro zone, Germany. In recent years, rental prices in Berlin began to rise sharply and have more than doubled in ten years. As a result, thousands of Berliners went to the streets. Some even began to demand nationalization of housing, which is owned by the largest management companies. In early April, many thousand...
