United Nations chief urged to offset UN's carbon footprint … The United Nations' portal on Climate Change is impressive … The problem? Neither the United Nations nor its 38 Partners on Climate Change practice what they preach. – EcoGreen editorialDominant Social Theme: The United Nations is at the forefront of green environmental responsibility and is an inspiration to us...Read More
U.S. Government Wins Appeal in Kim Dotcom Extradition Battle … Kim Dotcom and his associates have lost a key battle in their extradition fight against the United States. On two earlier occasions, including once in the High Court, Dotcom's legal team successfully argued they were entitled to examine mountains of evidence held by U.S. authorities. But those rulings were overturned this mor...Read More
Stalling for Time: Greek Reform Effort Slows to a Crawl … The troika is back in Athens this week and with all eyes on Italy, Greece feels it has little to fear. But important reforms have stalled and the government's belt-tightening efforts seem paralyzed. Politicians are playing for time and hoping for fresh money. The troika mission has returned to Greece, but this time things are diff...Read More
'Smart borders': enhancing mobility and security … The EU is moving towards a more modern and efficient border management by using state-of-the-art technology. Today, the Commission proposed a 'smart border package' to speed-up, facilitate and reinforce border check procedures for foreigners travelling to the EU. The package consists of a Registered Traveller Programme (RTP)...Read More
INCOMES DROP MOST IN 20 YEARS … Consumer spending in the U.S. rose in January even as incomes dropped by the most in 20 years, showing households were weathering the payroll-tax increase by socking away less money in the bank. Household purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the economy, climbed 0.2 percent after a 0.1 percent gain the prior month, a Commerce Department report show...Read More
Stalling for Time: Greek Reform Effort Slows to a Crawl … The troika is back in Athens this week and with all eyes on Italy, Greece feels it has little to fear. But important reforms have stalled and the government's belt-tightening efforts seem paralyzed. Politicians are playing for time and hoping for fresh money. The troika mission has returned to Greece, but this time things are diff...Read More
'Smart borders': enhancing mobility and security … The EU is moving towards a more modern and efficient border management by using state-of-the-art technology. Today, the Commission proposed a 'smart border package' to speed-up, facilitate and reinforce border check procedures for foreigners travelling to the EU. The package consists of a Registered Traveller Programme (RTP)...Read More
INCOMES DROP MOST IN 20 YEARS … Consumer spending in the U.S. rose in January even as incomes dropped by the most in 20 years, showing households were weathering the payroll-tax increase by socking away less money in the bank. Household purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the economy, climbed 0.2 percent after a 0.1 percent gain the prior month, a Commerce Department report show...Read More
Europe's Green Recovery … BRUSSELS – The need for clean energy has returned to the top of the global economic agenda … In his second inaugural address, US President Barack Obama discussed climate change more than any other issue, saying, "We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries." At the World Economic Forum in Davos...Read More
IMF is regaining trust … The International Monetary Fund has improved its image since the global financial crisis and should address member countries' long-standing criticism to build on the regained trust, according to an internal audit. With a call for temporary fiscal stimulus to avoid a collapse of the world economy in 2008-09, the Washington-based IMF was seen as breaking away from...Read More
U2 rocker Bono gave a TED talk in California this week addressing global poverty. But has the wealthy TED audience found what it's looking for? … If you want a living demonstration of American inequality, the details of this week's TED conference in Long Beach, California, might do the trick. TED is a non-profit which aims to spread good ideas, through conferences, projects and a vid...Read More
Europe's Green Recovery … BRUSSELS – The need for clean energy has returned to the top of the global economic agenda … In his second inaugural address, US President Barack Obama discussed climate change more than any other issue, saying, "We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries." At the World Economic Forum in Davos...Read More
IMF is regaining trust … The International Monetary Fund has improved its image since the global financial crisis and should address member countries' long-standing criticism to build on the regained trust, according to an internal audit. With a call for temporary fiscal stimulus to avoid a collapse of the world economy in 2008-09, the Washington-based IMF was seen as breaking away from...Read More
U2 rocker Bono gave a TED talk in California this week addressing global poverty. But has the wealthy TED audience found what it's looking for? … If you want a living demonstration of American inequality, the details of this week's TED conference in Long Beach, California, might do the trick. TED is a non-profit which aims to spread good ideas, through conferences, projects and a vid...Read More
5 Reasons the World Is Catching on to the Financial Transaction Tax … It has been more than 70 years since John Maynard Keynes wrote about the value of a financial transaction tax in "mitigating the predominance of speculation over enterprise in the United States." A financial transaction tax works by levying a miniscule fee on the estimated $2.9 trillion of daily financial activit...Read More
Deathbed of Keynesian Economics Will Be in U.K … The U.K. has produced notable economists over the years, but John Maynard Keynes, the guru of government intervention, was one of truly global significance. So it may be fitting that the U.K. will also become the deathbed of Keynesian economics. Britain has been following the mainstream prescriptions of his followers more than any developed na...Read More
Canadian Economy Tumble … Given the historical relationship between cross-border trade and global economic activity, report from the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis that world trade volumes seem to be consolidating but are within a hair's breadth of turning negative on a year-over-year basis suggests that another global downturn is on the cards. Weak economic data from Eu...Read More
CASH GRAB: Inactive bank accounts to be seized … The government will from May 31 be able to transfer all money from accounts that have not been used for three years into their own revenues. Households face losing up to $109 million from their family savings as the Federal government moves to seize cash from inactive bank accounts. After legislation was rushed through parliament, the governme...Read More
5 Reasons the World Is Catching on to the Financial Transaction Tax … It has been more than 70 years since John Maynard Keynes wrote about the value of a financial transaction tax in "mitigating the predominance of speculation over enterprise in the United States." A financial transaction tax works by levying a miniscule fee on the estimated $2.9 trillion of daily financial activit...Read More
Deathbed of Keynesian Economics Will Be in U.K … The U.K. has produced notable economists over the years, but John Maynard Keynes, the guru of government intervention, was one of truly global significance. So it may be fitting that the U.K. will also become the deathbed of Keynesian economics. Britain has been following the mainstream prescriptions of his followers more than any developed na...Read More