The Economist explains… How did the global poverty rate halve in 20 years? Poverty is easy to spot but hard to define. America sets its poverty line at $11,490 of income per year for a one-person household, or just over $30 a day. Any income below that amount is judged inadequate for the provision of fundamental wants. Other rich countries set their poverty lines in relative terms, so an inc...Read More
The Fed and Inequality … Is the Federal Reserve a driving force behind the post-recession growth in inequality? It's a provocative idea, voiced by writers including Neil Irwin and Robert Frank. It is certainly true that inequality, in terms of both income and wealth, has widened since the recession. A study by the lauded economist Emmanuel Saez of the University of California, Berkeley,...Read More
'Tuned Out' Investors Under Spell of QE: BIS … Equity markets shrugged off weak economic data and uncertainty in recent weeks and continued to extend their "relentless" gains fueled by the prospect of further stimulus, leaving them more vulnerable to shocks, the Bank of International Settlements (BIS) said on Monday. – CNBCDominant Social Theme: The BIS is very worrie...Read More
The Economist explains… How did the global poverty rate halve in 20 years? Poverty is easy to spot but hard to define. America sets its poverty line at $11,490 of income per year for a one-person household, or just over $30 a day. Any income below that amount is judged inadequate for the provision of fundamental wants. Other rich countries set their poverty lines in relative terms, so an inc...Read More
Retirement at 70 will be 'new norm' … Retiring at 70 will soon be the "new norm", as the number of Britons saving enough for old age reaches an all-time low. Less than half of Britons are saving enough for their twilight years, according to Scottish Widows. – UK TelegraphDominant Social Theme: Save more. Spend less. Simple.Free-Market Analysis: Is it an idle question...Read More
IRS woes grow with report of conference spending … The Internal Revenue Service, already under fire after officials disclosed that the agency targeted conservative groups, faces increased scrutiny because of an inspector general's report that it spent about $50 million to hold at least 220 conferences for employees between 2010 and 2012. The report by the Treasury Department's inspec...Read More
Enough shale gas to change UK energy balance, says IGas UK shale gas explorer … IGas says its licence area in northwest England could hold enough gas to meet the country's entire consumption for over five years, dwarfing a previous forecast and national proven reserves. IGas chief Andrew Austin said only some of the vast shale gas reserves would be recoverable but still had the potential...Read More
Abe Offers $32 Billion to Africa as Japan Seeks Resources … Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged 3.2 trillion yen ($32 billion) to Africa as his government seeks to catch up with China in pursuing resources, markets and influence on the continent. Abe announced the five-year commitment of public and private support in a speech today at the Tokyo International Conference on African Deve...Read More
Retirement at 70 will be 'new norm' … Retiring at 70 will soon be the "new norm", as the number of Britons saving enough for old age reaches an all-time low. Less than half of Britons are saving enough for their twilight years, according to Scottish Widows. – UK TelegraphDominant Social Theme: Save more. Spend less. Simple.Free-Market Analysis: Is it an idle question...Read More
IRS woes grow with report of conference spending … The Internal Revenue Service, already under fire after officials disclosed that the agency targeted conservative groups, faces increased scrutiny because of an inspector general's report that it spent about $50 million to hold at least 220 conferences for employees between 2010 and 2012. The report by the Treasury Department's inspec...Read More
Enough shale gas to change UK energy balance, says IGas UK shale gas explorer … IGas says its licence area in northwest England could hold enough gas to meet the country's entire consumption for over five years, dwarfing a previous forecast and national proven reserves. IGas chief Andrew Austin said only some of the vast shale gas reserves would be recoverable but still had the potential...Read More
Abe Offers $32 Billion to Africa as Japan Seeks Resources … Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged 3.2 trillion yen ($32 billion) to Africa as his government seeks to catch up with China in pursuing resources, markets and influence on the continent. Abe announced the five-year commitment of public and private support in a speech today at the Tokyo International Conference on African Deve...Read More
European countries to be allowed to ease austerity… The European Commission has said it will allow some EU member states to slow their pace of austerity cuts, amid concerns over growth. France, Spain, Poland, Portugal, the Netherlands and Slovenia are all being given more time to complete their austerity plans. France will get two more years to bring its budget deficit below 3% of GDP. Commi...Read More
Eurozone unemployment reaches new record … The seasonally-adjusted rate for April was 12.2%, up from 12.1% the month before. An extra 95,000 people were out of work in the 17 countries that use the euro, taking the total to 19.38 million. Both Greece and Spain have jobless rates above 25%. The lowest unemployment rate is in Austria at 4.9%. The European Commission's statistics office, Eu...Read More
Households Still Haven't Rebuilt Lost Wealth … Americans have recovered only 45% of the wealth they lost during the recession, adjusted for inflation, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis estimated. The findings were released as part of the St. Louis Fed's 2012 annual report, which was made public on Thursday. In the report, the Midwestern bank announced the launch of a new Center f...Read More
Tiananmen group condemns Chinese leader Xi Jinping … Relatives of victims of the 1989 Tiananmen killings have criticised Chinese President Xi Jinping for failing to initiate political reform. The open letter, from the Tiananmen Mothers group, came ahead of the 4 June anniversary of the crackdown. It also came as Mr Xi departed for a tour of Latin America and the Caribbean that will culminate...Read More
European countries to be allowed to ease austerity… The European Commission has said it will allow some EU member states to slow their pace of austerity cuts, amid concerns over growth. France, Spain, Poland, Portugal, the Netherlands and Slovenia are all being given more time to complete their austerity plans. France will get two more years to bring its budget deficit below 3% of GDP. Commi...Read More
Eurozone unemployment reaches new record … The seasonally-adjusted rate for April was 12.2%, up from 12.1% the month before. An extra 95,000 people were out of work in the 17 countries that use the euro, taking the total to 19.38 million. Both Greece and Spain have jobless rates above 25%. The lowest unemployment rate is in Austria at 4.9%. The European Commission's statistics office, Eu...Read More
Households Still Haven't Rebuilt Lost Wealth … Americans have recovered only 45% of the wealth they lost during the recession, adjusted for inflation, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis estimated. The findings were released as part of the St. Louis Fed's 2012 annual report, which was made public on Thursday. In the report, the Midwestern bank announced the launch of a new Center f...Read More
Tiananmen group condemns Chinese leader Xi Jinping … Relatives of victims of the 1989 Tiananmen killings have criticised Chinese President Xi Jinping for failing to initiate political reform. The open letter, from the Tiananmen Mothers group, came ahead of the 4 June anniversary of the crackdown. It also came as Mr Xi departed for a tour of Latin America and the Caribbean that will culminate...Read More