World & Politics
After-Brexit Britain: Win or Fail? - 12/05/2016
The UK Government has published an investment plan for a number of projects, according to which development of infrastructure in the next few years will receive allocated a record amount of 500 million pounds ($ 634 billion), writes Bloomberg. To implement all the plans into practice, Treasury announced creation of the National Investment Fund of 23 billion pounds. Projects to be financed by the...
Renzi steps down, Eurosceptics cheer - 12/05/2016
On Monday night, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi announced his resignation after defeat of his initiative constitutional reform in the referendum. Mr. Renzi’s proposition was to reduce role of upper house of the parliament, and strengthen centralization of political power. This, in his view, would help to enact laws without unnecessary bureaucratic procedures. Basically, the referendum was...
15 countries with the happiest employees - 12/02/2016
Universum has published its annual Happiness Index, which measures level of employee satisfaction in different countries throughout the world. The company surveyed more than 200 thousand young professionals in 57 countries and comprised the rating. Universum used a system of points awarded for three main factors: level of employee satisfaction, their willingness to recommend their current...
US authorities now can request information on Bitcoin accounts and transactions - 12/01/2016
US court authorized the Federal Tax Service to request data on Bitcoin transactions and accounts, if they are related to US citizens. In particular, the authorities refer to Bitcoin wallets in Coinbase service. Watchdogs suspect that some people could use the service to dodge taxes. On Wednesday, the Federal Court for the Northern District of California ruled that the US Internal Revenue Service...
EU may impose sanctions against eight countries of the unit - 11/30/2016
Brussels named countries – violators of EU fiscal discipline. The worst performance is observed in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Slovenia. Finland, Cyprus, Lithuania and Belgium also have problems. If the budget plan for 2017 is approved with violations, the disturbers may fall under sanctions. The European Commission has issued a warning to eight countries that do not comply with budgetary...
Tech giants lure AI professionals - 11/29/2016
Experts in artificial intelligence are fleeing from American universities to technology companies. Google, Microsoft, Facebook are enticing scientists by offering them better conditions for funding and research. According to experts, this trend can lead to depletion of research base of universities, and problems with training of new specialists. Leading technology companies, including Google,...
OECD factors Donald Trump's fiscal plan into new macroeconomic forecast - 11/29/2016
Possible tax cuts and increased spending of the new US administration of President Donald Trump will have a global effect, says Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In its updated macroeconomic forecast, analysts expect an increase in global GDP thanks to US fiscal policy easing to 0.1% in 2017 and 0.3% in 2018. OECD has introduced an updated macroeconomic forecast with...
Will Saudi Arabia wean itself from oil dependence? - 11/28/2016
So far, Saudi Arabia has been getting through the drop in oil prices. The country’s national currency, riyal, is quite stable against the dollar, while currencies of many oil exporting countries have experienced extensive devaluation in 2014-2016. Riyal - dollar exchange rate was fixed at SAR 3,75/$ 1 in 1986, and has remained unchanged since then. The rate is backed by the central bank’s...
Will Trump's presidency break the Iran nuclear deal? - 11/25/2016
The Iranian leadership has confirmed their willingness not to violate nuclear deal with six international mediators, and fulfill requirements of the IAEA to get rid of surplus of heavy water. Removal of "a certain amount of heavy water" water in Oman was a response to criticism from the agency. Recall that the latter has accused Tehran of exceeding limits on heavy water. The IAEA’s warning came...
South Korean prosecutors raid Lotte Group and SK Group - 11/24/2016
Several state institutions and corporate offices of Lotte Group and SK Group were searched in South Korea within investigation of cases of corruption in the country’s higher echelons. Investigators believe the companies transferred large sums to two non-profit foundations, controlled by a close friend President of South Korea, Choi Soon-sil. She, in turn, influenced decisions of the government...
