Turkish Lira Plunges, Loses Nearly 40% of Its Value This Year | DW News

Nov 24, 2021 • It's been an especially tough past few days for the Turkish lira. It remains near all-time lows against the dollar. The country recently cut interest rates at the insistence of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan despite the warnings of economists. The consequences are borne by normal Turks. Many are now angry.

Historian Alfred McCoy Predicts the US Empire Is Collapsing as China’s Power Grows

Nov 16, 2021 • President Joe Biden’s virtual summit Monday with Chinese President Xi Jinping follows the two countries’ announcement just days earlier they will work together to confront the climate emergency after Xi did not attend the U.N. climate summit in Glasgow. Tension has been mounting between the two superpowers, especially over Taiwan and Hong Kong, with some speculating that a new Cold War is developing. “The United States, in the immediate future, is faced with the possibility of fighting a war over Taiwan … that it would probably lose,” says Alfred McCoy, professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in an extended interview about U.S.-China relations. “China is also working to break the U.S. geopolitical hold over the Eurasian landmass.” McCoy is a prolific author and his newest book is out today: “To Govern the Globe: World Orders and Catastrophic Change.”

Auch Shell verlässt die Niederlande

BRISANTER KONZERN-UMZUG
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Der Konzern zieht nun ganz nach London um. Die Politik zeigt sich „unangenehm überrascht“. Dass die steuerliche Behandlung eine Rolle spielt, erscheint offensichtlich. Inzwischen ist auch das Meinungsklima zunehmend giftig.

Die Niederlande verlieren auch ihren zweiten binationalen Industrieriesen. Der niederländisch-britische Ölkonzern Shell will – ganz ähnlich wie vor einem Jahr Unilever – seine Doppelstruktur aufgeben und ganz nach London ziehen. Dorthin soll der Steuersitz wandern, dort sollen der Vorstandsvorsitzende Ben van Beurden und Finanzchefin Jessica Uhl angesiedelt sein. Der Sitz in Den Haag hat das Nachsehen. Die Politik zeigt sich überrumpelt: „Unangenehm überrascht“ sei das Kabinett, sagte der geschäftsführende Wirtschaftsminister Stef Blok von der rechtsliberalen Partei VVD des Ministerpräsidenten Mark Rutte.

Somit verlässt innerhalb kurzer Zeit ein international bekanntes Konzernduo das Land, das viele Jahre die Liste der schwersten Mitglieder im 25 Werte umfassenden niederländischen Leitindex AEX angeführt hatte. Shell argumentierte, eine einheitliche Aktienstruktur erleichtere dem Unternehmen Rückkäufe und seine Rolle in der Energiewende. Die Anteilseigner sollen am 10. Dezember über den Plan abstimmen. Aus dem offiziellen Namen „Royal Dutch Shell“ fallen sowohl das „Königliche“ als auch das „Niederländische“ weg: als „Shell“ firmiert das Unternehmen dann. » | Von Klaus Max Smolka | Montag, 15. November 2021

Ask Prof Wolff: Taxing Billionaires

Nov 12, 2021 • A Patron of Economic Update asks: "Now that Tesla is worth more than US $1 trillion, and Elon Musk is the wealthiest person in the world, there is more discussion of increasing the tax on billionaires specifically. Right-wingers are defending billionaires from taxation, arguing that unsold shares can't be taxed, and that billionaires, in their total pool of wealth, cannot fund the government for very long. Can you explain how taxation could work to include more progressive taxation of the billionaire class and refute some of the arguments from the right? Thanks." This is Professor Richard Wolff's video response.

Supply Chain Disruptions Continued to Fuel Price Increases in October

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Prices of clothes, lawn mowers and car parts surged in October, data released Wednesday showed, as supply chain disruptions continued to fuel shortages and raise transportation costs.

The increases drove the Consumer Price Index up 6.2 percent last month from the prior year, the fastest pace since 1990.

Factory shutdowns, clogged ports, a shortage of truckers and a surge in demand for imported products have combined to drive up shipping costs for food, furniture, automobiles and other products, which are being passed on in part to consumers. Major shipping companies like FedEx and UPS have announced rate increases. » | Ana Swanson | Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Bitcoin Price Surges to Record High of More Than $68,000

THE GUARDIAN: Other cryptocurrencies such as ethereum also reach records as investors hedge against inflation

Bitcoin’s price is predicted to rise further in the coming weeks. Photograph: Hollandse Hoogte/Rex/Shutterstock
The bitcoin price has reached a new record high, breaking through $68,000 (£50,000), and analysts predict that the world’s best-known cryptocurrency will rise further in the coming weeks.

This beats the previous record high set in late October, when bitcoin reached nearly $67,700 before falling back again when investors discovered a new cryptocurrency, shiba inu. Other cryptocurrencies have also risen to record highs, such as ethereum, which soared to $4,837.

Bitcoin has always been volatile but remains the world’s largest digital currency, with a market value of more than $1.1tn. Five years ago, a single bitcoin was worth about $700. Investors are buying it because they are worried about rising inflation – as an alternative to gold, a traditional inflation hedge – and as bond yields are falling. » | Julia Kollewe | Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Crypto Rally Lifts Ether to New Record, Bitcoin at Near 3-week High

THE GUARDIAN: Meanwhile in the cryptocurrency world, bitcoin rallied toward its all-time high on Monday and ether has climbed to a fresh record.

Bitcoin is over 6% overnight to reach $66,357, approaching the previous record around $67,000 set on October 20.

Ether - which underpins the ethereum network - has risen to a fresh record at a record top of $4,767.55 on Coindesk.

Reuters says that “momentum, flows, favourable news and inflation fears” are all lifting crypto assets: » | Graeme Wearden | Monday, November 8, 2021

«Bitcoin hat keinen Wert und keine Zukunft. Knappheit allein ist kein Argument»

NEUE ZÜRCHER ZEITUNG: Bitcoin und weitere Kryptowährungen sorgen für Schlagzeilen. Aber die meisten hätten keinen inneren Wert und keine Zukunft, so Eswar Prasad. Der Cornell-Professor ist stattdessen begeistert von den innovativen Möglichkeiten der Blockchain, und er fordert eine Diskussion über den Umgang mit der Privatsphäre.

Ein Kryptowährungs-Wechselbüro in Istanbul – doch Bitcoin ist laut Eswar Prasad nur ein spekulatives Phänomen. | Chris McGrath / Getty
INTERVIEW
Herr Prasad, Bitcoin und andere Kryptowährungen – die einen halten sie für das Geld der Zukunft, andere sehen pyramidenartige Spekulationsblasen. Und Sie?

Libertäre Idealisten wollten mit Bitcoin ein Zahlungsmittel schaffen, das ohne Zentralbanken und vertrauenswürdige Finanzinstitute funktioniert. Das ist nicht gelungen. Denn die Kursentwicklung ist sehr volatil, es sind keine grossen Transaktionsvolumina möglich, und das System ist sowohl langsam als auch teuer.

Gilt das auch für die Technologie im Hintergrund?

Die Blockchain-Technologie wird sehr wahrscheinlich nachhaltige Spuren hinterlassen. Immerhin lässt sie sich im Finanzbereich vielfältig verwenden.

Sie geben dem Bitcoin also keine Zukunft? Weiter lesen » | Christof Leisinger, New York | Freitag, 5. November 2021

Please Help End This Scandal and Help Our Pensioners Resident Abroad: 'Frozen Pensions Day 2021'

Nov 3, 2021 • The unfair frozen pensions policy is the result of historical reciprocal arrangements agreed between a select handful of countries and the UK to allow for state pension uprating.

Uprating means that pensions are adjusted every year to align with inflation - with the cost of living rising, pensions are indexed so pensioners can continue to get by. If a state pension is not increased, it is 'frozen' and therefore falls in value year on year.

500,000 UK pensioners, just under half of those living overseas, now live in countries where their state pensions are frozen. This includes British pensioners living in Overseas Territories such as the Falkland Islands. This arbitrary post-code lottery means that UK citizens in the USA, the European Union, Israel or Jamaica rightfully receive a full state pension. But those in other countries, such as Canada and Australia, do not.

Over 90% of affected pensioners live in Commonwealth nations with close cultural ties to the UK. Many moved overseas for employment opportunities, or to live near friends and family. Others are members of the Windrush generation, who were invited to live and work in Britain at the call of the UK Government and have now been punished for returning to their country of birth.

Half of frozen pensioners receive a state pension of just £65 per week, or less. Almost all were unaware that their state pensions would be frozen before they left the UK.

Now, they are victims of geography. The End Frozen Pensions campaign believes that all pensioners, no matter where they happen to live, should be paid equally. Find out more at endfrozenpensions.org


Please sign the petition End Frozen Pensions

And email Your MP or the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to help these people here