With the financial crisis engulfing the Greek economy, the leaders of the country’s state owned financial institutions might be expected to show solidarity with struggling citizens by keeping their money in the country. However, it has been revealed that the former chief of struggling ATEbank has been transferring his personal savings abroad. Theodore Pantalakis admitted…
The World Bank is about to resume lending to Burma for the first time since 1987. Together with its investment branch the International Finance Corporation and the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank has opened its first offices in the former capital, Rangoon (now Yangon). The ADB has also set up shop in the capital…
As Facebook shares dropped around four percent to a record low on Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune took a $423m hit. The 28-year-old is now worth only about $10.2bn, over $400m behind James Goodnight, co-founder of the SAS Institute, and tech’s tenth wealthiest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This Thursday Facebook shares were 47…
Does your business require the use of company-owned vehicles? While you can never recover your entire investment in business cars, vans or trucks, you have ways to ensure that you get the most from them — and the most value when you’re ready to replace them.Lease or buy?Start by asking your accountant whether it makes…
A sharp rise in grain prices is reverberating around the world as nations face food inflation. There has been a 30-50 percent gain in the benchmark price of corn, wheat and soyabeans, are echoing the 2007/8 food crisis. Countries likely to face the biggest repercussions are those dependant on agricultural imports. The Indonesian tofu industry…
If you have a flair for the exotic and love of the sun, Mexico may be the ideal place for you to set down roots or purchase a second home to which to escape on vacation. By buying real estate in Mexico, you can immerse yourself in the culture and lifestyle that make this country…
Taiwan’s economy has contracted in the second quarter by 0.16 percent, according to official data. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected it to grow by as much as 0.5 percent. “With deteriorating of European debt crisis and slowdown in major economies, the global demand is expected to decelerate and the outlook of world trade in…
Lending by German banks to weaker parts of the eurozone has dropped to nearly 20 percent since the beginning of the year and is currently at its lowest level since 2005, according to central bank data. A total of €55bn less in net loans were granted to Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain by German…
Spain’s unemployment rate has risen once again to 24.6 percent in the three months to June, despite a small decline at the beginning of the summer attributed to temporary positions linked to the holiday trade, according to the National Statistic Institute. Half of those under the age of 26 and available for work are unemployed,…
Brazilian iron ore giant Vale has reported a quarterly drop in net income of 59 percent as slow growth in China has affected iron ore prices. Further foreign exchange losses were triggered by a weak Brazilian real. The world’s largest iron ore miner has recorded a second quarter net income of $2.66bn, equivalent to 52…
