Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio is no longer the political leader of the Five Star movement, but retains at the ministerial post. He explained his decision by saying "that the time for change has come." At the same time, the politician added that "the real enemies of the movement are inside it." Mr. Di Maio’s decision casts doubt on the future of both the Five Stars and the Italian...

US President Donald Trump was the main newsmaker on the second day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. He announced negotiations on WTO reform, which had come to a standstill primarily because of the position of the US itself. At the same time, he threatened to sharply increase duties on the import of European cars into the country if the US and the EU fail to reach a...

The United States has allowed several international organizations to carry out transactions with the Central Bank of Venezuela and government officials subject to sanctions. This follows from the general license published on the website of the American Ministry of Finance. The list of organizations that were allowed to carry out transactions includes the World Bank and its divisions,...

Following a two-day meeting, the Bank of Japan left the monetary policy unchanged and improved forecasts for economic growth. As expected, the interest rate on deposits of commercial banks with the Central Bank was maintained at minus 0.1%. The target yield of 10-year government bonds in Japan remained at about 0%. The Central Bank also reiterated its promise to maintain rates at current low...

81% of Australian business leaders believe that climate change will harm their company, a survey by Deloitte showed. This is the highest figure among 19 countries covered by the study, Reuters reports. The proportion of business leaders fearing the effects of climate change in Australia is significantly higher than the global average (48%). “Companies must demonstrate to investors that they are...

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on imports of European cars unless Britain, France and Germany formally accused Iran of violating the 2015 nuclear deal, The Washington Post reports citing unnamed European officials. On Tuesday, these three European countries launched a dispute settlement mechanism in accordance with the agreement. This is...

On Tuesday, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced the date of early parliamentary elections: they will be held on February 8. The elections will largely become a vote of confidence in government policy. Among other things, the event aims to bring the two parts of Ireland closer together. An important step in this direction was taken last week: on January 11, the Parliament of Northern...

Direct losses of the Australian economy after forest fires, which have been unceasing since last fall, will amount to $ 3.5 billion, or from 0.2-0.5% of the country's economic growth, Westpac Bank, one of the largest in Australia, said. Australia expects a drop in GDP in 2020 due to fires and lower iron ore prices. Westpac expects the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut rates twice this year, but...

A new government was sworn in Austria this week. Its head, 33-year-old Sebastian Kurz, has once again become the youngest prime minister in the world. At the same time, he is the most experienced politician in his office. Journalists speak of the new Austrian government as unique and unprecedented for several reasons. First, Chancellor Sebastian Kurtz, 33, is the youngest head of government in...