The World Bank is set to approve a controversial $3.75bn loan to help South African state utility Eskom develop a coal-fired power plant despite objections from the US and environmental groups. Eskom has argued it has no immediate alternative but to develop the 4,800-megawatt Medupi coal-fired plant in the northern Limpopo region to ease chronic…
The World Bank stepped up lending in July 2008 at the request of member countries as demand from developing countries increased in the face of a worsening world recession and sharp drop in global trade. The bulk of the lending since the onset of the crisis in 2008, about $60.3bn, was to middle-income countries, which…
The US should consider raising taxes to help bring deficits under control and may need to consider a European-style value-added tax, White House adviser Paul Volcker has announced. Volcker, answering a question from the audience at a New York Historical Society event, said the value-added tax “was not as toxic an idea” as it has…
Southeast Asian economies will grow up to 5.6 percent this year but the expansion could be jeopardised if economic stimulus is withdrawn too early, according to a report by a regional body. Nevertheless, the governments of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) need to design an orderly exit strategy to show that they…
Are we facing a double dip in real estate prices (most markets nationwide)? YES.Are there specific actions real estate investors can take to prepare for this risk? YES.The Argument for a Double DipIt is getting harder and harder for people to argue a sustainable recovery is in progress. Admittedly only time will tell, but there…
China’s increasing regional influence will keep Asian governments from pressuring the world’s fastest growing economy into letting its currency strengthen for fear of economic or political repurcussion. China has repeatedly said a decision on unshackling the yuan would depend on domestic conditions, after effectively pegging it to the US dollar for the past 20 months,…
Taiwan has leveraged its goal of a landmark trade deal with China to open talks with Japan, the US and other powers on free trade deals expected to boost the long-isolated island economy, officials have declared. Appealing to countries that have been barred by Taiwan’s political rival China from signing FTAs with the island, Taiwan…
Depreciation is a non-cash expense which has the ability to reduce the amount of tax payment due. We have likely all heard the term before, but how exactly does it work? How can it help us to reduce the amount of tax we pay each year?Let’s use an example. Say you purchase a rental property…
The Dubai government unveiled plans to recapitalise its indebted Dubai World flagship and repay Nakheel bonds in full, injecting what it said was $9.5bn in new funding, but without new aid from Abu Dhabi. In a statement, the government said $5.7bn in remaining funds from a loan made by Abu Dhabi would provide the lion’s…
Here and there around the world, governments are urging central banks to ease the pain of belt-tightening – and ward off the risk of an economic relapse – by taking their time to shrink balance sheets that have billowed during the financial crisis. The risk for markets is clear: if supine central banks are unwilling…
