Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis has been hard at work promoting American-Latvian relations. In July, as part of a delegation of government officials, Prime Minister Dombrovskis visited the headquarters of investment firm NCH Capital Inc. He also spoke before an audience of investors, political and economic analysts, and he signaled an interest in creating stronger… Continue Reading
The headlines again tell us about Greek debt and the possibility that Greece will default on its loans. We have been hearing about Greece’s problems for over three years and the potential disaster that they may cause the western world. Perhaps it is because we are so used to the idea that we don’t even… Continue Reading
United States authorities are moving against Swiss banks that have helped Americans evade taxes. The crackdown began in 2007, when authorities investigated Switzerland’s largest Bank, UBS AG. In 2009, UBS paid a settlement of $780 million for criminal charges that it helped thousands of wealthy American hide over $20 billion. Dozens of U.S. tax evaders… Continue Reading
In an attempt to strengthen an ailing Euro, Nicholas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel decided to meet yesterday and hammer out a proposal that would in effect calm markets and boost growth. The proposal did anything but that and have sent European stocks downward this morning. The proposal recommended tightening the loose unity among the 17… Continue Reading
For a third consecutive day there was a drop in European stocks. This might have been due to the fact that earnings missed estimates from Clariant AC (CLN) (a Swiss chemical maker) to Merck KGA (MRK) (second largest drug manufacturer in Germany). The former plummeted 13 percent and the latter, 5.1 percent. Other dives were… Continue Reading
Libya’s Political Unrest A report from The Tripoli Post two days ago detailed the sorry situation in Libya as rebels attempt to get rid of the country’s leader, Muammar Al Qathafi. They are doing this following “a rule of 41 years.” The rebels have “appealed to Spanish corporates for financial aid to begin reconstruction of… Continue Reading
Western Australia Wins Based on last month’s CommSec State of the States quarterly report, it seems that hands down, out of the whole country, Western Australia’s economy is the strongest. The way the economic growth test was undertaken was to investigate the following issues: construction work; dwelling commencements; economic growth; equipment investment; housing finance; population… Continue Reading
Currently in the midst of negotiations for a $1bn deal is REDAN (Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria) and Shelter Afrique (a pan-African housing development finance organization). According to a news article on the subject, he deal – if it all goes through – will lead to the construction of 150,000 “low and medium housing… Continue Reading
The European Union has been heaping the criticism on Spain vis-à-vis the way it has been dealing with savings banks and tax policy. But Spain has not taken this lying down. Indeed, according to a Bloomberg article it has been “persuading the EU to water down judgments issued as part of a new economic-policing system.”… Continue Reading
The big wigs met yesterday in Paris with the goal of making peace with Euro authorities vis-à-vis how investors will participate in the Greek sovereign debt reconstruction. According to an article in The Financial Times, this is also meant to ease Greek’s burden as well as make the “banks’ original plan that would have seen… Continue Reading