Europe

Emerging China, Brazil and India agree to increased United Nations dues

"China, Brazil, India and other emerging powers agreed to major increases in their United Nations payments as the global body hammered out a new budget deal this week to avoid its own fiscal cliff. The boom countries will pay more as economic crisis allows European nations, such as Britain, Germany and France and Japan to cut their contributions. UN contributions are worked out according to a country’s share of global gross national income (GNI). China will pay an extra 61 percent in UN fees, taking its share of the budget from 3.2 to 5.1 percent. It will overtake Canada and Italy to become the sixth biggest UN contributor." Continue reading →

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Rich Chinese and Russians Flock to Germany to Spend

"Travelers from non-EU countries can receive a refund for the value-added tax they've paid on items they buy, generally 19% of the purchase price. There are days when the customs officers are barely able to cope with the flood of heavily laden tourists. Long lines often form at the customs counters shortly before flights leave for Moscow, Beijing or Dubai. The same is true for incoming flights, when arriving passengers must declare cash amounts over €10,000. A golden age has also begun for businesses that specialize in refunding value-added tax. The companies pay tourists the bulk of the refund, but the company retains a percentage as a 'service charge.'" Continue reading →

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Poland bans genetically modified maize and potatoes

"Poland on Wednesday imposed new bans on the cultivation of certain genetically modified strains of maize and potatoes, a day after an EU required green light for GM crops took effect. The centre-right government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk imposed farming bans on German BASF’s Amflora strain of potato and US firm Monsanto’s MON 810 maize or corn, according to a government statement Wednesday. The ban on specific strains essentially uses a legal loophole to circumvent the EU’s acceptance of such products." Continue reading →

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Pharma firms paid East German state to test drugs on population

"Major Western pharmaceutical companies carried out tests of medications in the 1980s on patients in communist East Germany, in some cases without the subjects’ knowledge. A newspaper, which examined the documents, reported that more than 50 Western firms had contracts with East Germany’s Health Ministry to carry out a total of 165 medical tests between 1983 and 1989. In exchange, the communist authorities were paid up to 860,000 deutschmarks (around 430,000 euros today or $567,000), according to the report, at a time when East Germany was desperate for hard currency." Continue reading →

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French 75% income tax struck down by constitutional council

"France's constitutional council has struck down a top income tax rate of 75% introduced by Socialist President Francois Hollande. Raising taxes for those earning more than 1m euros (£817,400) has been a flagship policy for Mr Hollande. The policy angered France's business community and prompted some wealthy citizens to say they would emigrate. Mr Hollande's government said it would rework the tax, due to take effect in 2013, to meet the council's complaints." Continue reading →

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Evictions Become Focus of Spanish Crisis

"There are now 1.7 million Spanish households in which not a single family member still earns a salary. Nearly 4 million people have lost their jobs since late 2007, when the real estate bubble burst. More than half of those out of work in Spain are now considered to be long-term unemployed. The result is that an increasing number of them can no longer service the loans they took to purchase apartments, houses and commercial space during the boom years prior to the crisis. According to a forecast by the Spanish central bank, the number of foreclosures will increase by another 30 percent in the coming year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEvictions Become Focus of Spanish Crisis

Sweden’s War on Cash Runs Into a Wall–and a Heroic Bank

"The anti-cash movement has been vigorously promoted by major Swedish commercial banks as well as the Riksbank, the Swedish central bank. For three of the four major Swedish banks combined, 530 of their 780 office no longer accept or pay out cash. Fortunately, it seems that the Swedish people are not falling for the anti-cash propaganda spewed by bankers. It is reported that last year the value of cash transactions in Sweden were 99 billion krona, only a marginal decrease from ten years ago. Even more heartening is the fact that Handelsbanken, the largest bank in Sweden, is committed to serving consumers who demand cash." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSweden’s War on Cash Runs Into a Wall–and a Heroic Bank

Double-barrelled 50 kW German laser weapon shoots down drones and mortar rounds

"German defense contractor Rheinmetall has shown off a new two-part laser system with a combined output of 50 kW, capable of shooting down drones and intercepting mortar rounds in mid-flight. The high-energy laser (HEL) weapon consists of a 30 kW primary laser mounted on a rotating turret and a 20 kW secondary beam for targeting stationary objects. In tests conducted in late November, the beams combined to slice through a 15mm steel girder at a distance of roughly 1,000 yards, while the 30 kW laser on its own was able to intercept a drone moving at more than 110 mph." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDouble-barrelled 50 kW German laser weapon shoots down drones and mortar rounds

Tiny gold bars latest rage for jittery investors

"Private investors in Switzerland, Austria and Germany are lining up to buy gold bars the size of a credit card that can easily be broken into one gram pieces and used as payment in an emergency. Now Swiss refinery Valcambi, a unit of U.S. mining giant Newmont, wants to bring its 'CombiBar' to market in the United States and build up its sales presence India - the world's largest consumer of gold where the precious metal has long served as a parallel currency. The 'CombiBar' - which has been dubbed a 'chocolate bar' because pieces can be easily broken off by hand into one gram squares." Continue reading →

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Why the Poles keep coming: The British welfare trap

"If I was in a position of a British single mother I have not the slightest doubt that I would choose welfare. Why break your back on the minimum wage for longer than you have to, if it doesn’t pay? Some people do have the resolve to do it. I know I wouldn’t. Until our policymakers start to see things through the eyes of those ensnared in welfare traps, nothing will change. The Poles are not caught in this welfare trap. For then, the work premium is far higher. If you had designed a system to keep the poor down, in would not look much different to the above." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy the Poles keep coming: The British welfare trap