Brazil ‘Overtakes UK’s Economy’
BBC: Brazil has become the sixth-biggest economy in the world, the country's finance minister has said.

The Latin American nation's economy grew 2.7% last year, official figures show, more than the UK's 0.8% growth.

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) and other economic forecasters also said that Brazil had now overtaken the UK.

The Brazilian economy is now worth $2.5tn (£1.6tn), according to Finance Minister Guido Mantega. » | Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Fracking Could Ruin Ireland Warn Experts
The windswept hills of Ireland are believed to be sitting on a treasure trove of natural gas. One company wants to use a controversial drilling technique - called fracking - to get it out but critics says the process would damage the environment. Al Jazeera's Simon McGregor-Wood reports from Leitrim county in Ireland.

Millions Are Set to Flee Pension Poverty in UK
DAILY EXPRESS: THE pension crisis could force millions of older workers into a “grey flight” out of the UK because they cannot afford to retire at home.

With less than half the 24 million- strong workforce saving for old age, many will be hit by a huge slump in living standards when they stop earning.

They face high inflation, soaring energy bills and falling annuity payments. Many private sector workers have been locked out of generous final salary pensions in the run-up to retirement.

But instead of facing poverty in Britain, they will abandon family and friends and move abroad to make ends meet, pension experts warned yesterday.

Steve Wilkie, retirement specialist at Responsible Equity Release, said: “We are teetering on the edge of a retirement abyss. Forget the brain drain, this is the grey drain. Britain is not a Third World country but tell that to the millions approaching retirement with little or no savings, facing the rest of their lives on a paltry state pension. Read on and comment » | Sarah O’Grady | Saturday, March 03, 2012

Germany's Iron Lady behind the EU Bailout Plan
The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel has become the most powerful politician in Europe. Al Jazeera's Nick Spicer reports from Berlin.

The 0.01 Per Cent: The Rising Influence of Vested Interests in Australia
THE MONTHLY: The rising influence of vested interests is threatening Australia’s egalitarian social contract.

A decade ago, as I waited for my order outside a Maroochydore fish and chip shop, a tall, barefoot young man strolled past wearing a T-shirt that read: ‘Greed is good. Trample the weak. Hurdle the dead.’ Those brutal lines seemed to encapsulate what was then a growing sense of unease in Australia. The world of my Queensland childhood, governed by its implicit assumptions of equality and mutual care, was being driven from sight by a combination of ruthless individualism and unquestioning materialism. Looking out for number one was not only tolerated but encouraged by a government whose agenda, particularly in industrial relations, seemed very far from the social contract, based on a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work with a decent social safety net for the vulnerable, that had served our nation so well for so long.

Today, when a would-be US president, Mitt Romney, is wealthier than 99.9975% of his fellow Americans, and wealthier than the last eight presidents combined, there’s a global conversation raging about the rich, the poor, the gap between them, and the role of vested interests in the significant widening of that gap in advanced economies over the past three decades.

This is a debate Australia too must be part of. We’ve always prided ourselves on being a nation that’s more equal than most – a place where, if you work hard, you can create a better life for yourself and your family. Our egalitarian spirit is the product of our history and our national character, as well as the institutions and safeguards built up over more than a century. This spirit informed our stimulus response to the global financial crisis, and meant we avoided the kinds of immense social dislocation that occurred elsewhere in the developed world.

But Australia’s fair go is today under threat from a new source. To be blunt, the rising power of vested interests is undermining our equality and threatening our democracy. We see this most obviously in the ferocious and highly misleading campaigns waged in recent years against resource taxation reforms and the pricing of carbon pollution. The infamous billionaires’ protest against the mining tax would have been laughed out of town in the Australia I grew up in, and yet it received a wide and favourable reception two years ago. A handful of vested interests that have pocketed a disproportionate share of the nation’s economic success now feel they have a right to shape Australia’s future to satisfy their own self-interest.

So I write this essay to make a simple point: if we don’t grow together economically, our community will grow apart. Read on and comment » | Wayne Swan | The Monthly | The Monthly Essays | March 2012

Petrol Prices Hit Record High
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Petrol prices have reached a new record level today, hitting 137.44 pence a litre.

The latest increase has seen the price of unleaded rise by just over three pence since the start of the year addding £1.50 to the cost of filling a family car.

This time last year, unleaded was seven pence a litre cheaper and filling up £3.50 less.
The owner of an average family car with a 50-litre tank is now paying £68.72 to fill up; owners of some larger "Chelsea Tractors" will have to find more than £100.

Motorists are likely to face even higher prices within weeks the industry warned, with unleaded bursting past the 142 pence a litre barrier and diesel up to nearly 150 pence.

With the Chancellor set to increase fuel duty in August by around three pence, drivers could be having to find at least another £4 to fill up the tank of a family car by the end of the summer. » | David Millward, Transport Editor | Friday, March 02, 2012

My comment:

This is scandalous! But we shouldn't be surprised. Osborne has already told us that the government is skint; so he's looking for ways to increase the tax burden. He's shameless! I wouldn't trust that man further than I could throw him. – © Mark

This comment appears here, too.

Hollande will höhere Reichensteuer (Tagesschau, 1.3.2012)
Vor wenigen Tagen hat François Hollande für Aufsehen gesorgt: Der Präsidentschaftskandidat der französischen Sozialisten will die Steuern für Reiche auf 75 Prozent anheben. Für seinen Vorschlag erntet er von Konkurrent Sarkozy Häme. Und auch die Reichen sind nicht begeistert, wie die «Tagesschau» zeigt. Sie wandern ab – viele davon in die Schweiz.

Irish Leaving Country to Work Abroad
This year, more people will leave the Ireland to find work than at any time since the 1980s. Al Jazeera's Simon McGregor-Wood reports from County Donegal.

Pawnbrokers Prosper Amid Greece Crisis
As many people across Greece feel the effects of the global economic crisis, pawnbrokers, on the other hand, have been prospering financially in the country. An increasing number of Greeks have been forced to pawn many of their belongings to get by.

Happy St. David’s Day! | Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my Welsh visitors a very Happy St. David’s Day! Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant Hapus i chwi gyd!
WIKI: Saint David’s Day »

The Last Welsh Martyr »

GUARDIAN – WORD OF MOUTH BLOG: St David's Day: recipes for a feast »

Ben Bernanke Defends Low Interest Rates
In his semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress, the chairman of the US Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, defends his strategy to keep interest rates near a record low until 2014. Unemployment rates in the US have gone down from 9.1% in August 2011 to 8.3% in January 2012. Bernanke says the economy has to strengthen to ensure the unemployment rate keeps falling

Sir Mervyn King Launches Fierce Attack of Self-serving Banks and Weak Labour after Accusation of Complacency

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Sir Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, has launched a fierce attack on self-serving banks, the weakness of politicians in the face of the forceful bank lobby, and the Labour Government.

The Governor was angered by a comment from Andrew Large, a Labour MP on the Treasury Select Committee, who accused him of being “relaxed” about the current economic situation.

In a remarkable outburst in front of the committee he said he was "far from relaxed or complacent".

"I am actually rather concerned about it. I want to see something that makes sense economically, not something which is just a gesture."

Sir Mervyn said he had been "consistently and publicly" dissatisfied with what has been done.

"I said to the pervious government that the scale of the recapitalisation of the banks was inadequate and their actions in making sure banks lend to SMEs was also inadequate. I made that very clear."

The Governor then proceeded attack the current behaviour of banks – suggesting they are even trying to profit at taxpayers’ expense. » | Telegraph Staff | Wednesday, February 29, 2012

'Excessive Wealth': French Candidate Calls for Top Tax of 75 Percent

SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: If the Socialist Party's candidate wins the current presidential election in France, the country's highest earners may be faced with massive new taxes. Francois Hollande says he wants to introduce a wealth tax of 75 percent on income of over 1 million euros per year.

Francois Hollande, the Socialist Party frontrunner for the French presidency, announced a tax plan Monday that would see taxes on the wealthy rise dramatically if he is elected this spring.

Speaking on TF1 television, Hollande proposed a 75 percent tax on income over €1 million ($1.34 million), a huge jump from the current top rate of 40 percent.

"I can announce here that above €1 million (per year), the tax rate should be 75 percent, because it's not possible to have that level of income," said Hollande, who added that he did not accept "excessive wealth." » | Tuesday, February 28, 2012

China Removes Audis and BMW Cars from Official List
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: When driving in China, it is easy to spot government officials: they are the ones in the luxury German saloons, usually with blacked-out windows.

Each year, the Chinese government spends roughly £8 billion on buying cars, and owns more than five million, and until now Audis and BMWs have been the marques of choice for officials in all but the most remote villages.

Now, however, the government appears determined to stop the trend. A draft list of 412 car models permitted for procurement has no foreign cars on it at all. Most of the cars, indeed, are relatively small and cost under 180,000 yuan (£18,000), roughly half the price of an Audi A6.

In Beijing, Audi dealerships said they had not yet heard the news.

Audi, however, depends on the Chinese government for one-fifth of its sales in China.

The car has become so ubiquitous as a symbol of wealth and privilege in China that half of the world's Audi A6s are sold on the mainland. » | Malcolm Moore, Beijing | Tuesday, February 28, 2012

In Griechenland steigt die Armut
Weil die Wirtschaftslage in Griechenland immer schlechter wird, leben fast 30 Prozent der Griechen unterhalb der Armutsgrenze. Internationale Hilfsorganisationen müssen helfen.

Deutscher Innenminister ist für einen Austritt Griechenlands aus Eurozone
Deutscher Innenminister ist für einen Austritt Griechenlands aus Eurozone

£46 Million EuroMillions Jackpot Claimed
THE INDEPENDENT: A lottery winner has claimed the £46.4 million EuroMillions jackpot but chosen to remain anonymous, Camelot said today.

Just one ticket matched all seven numbers on Friday to take the prize of £46,432,285.20.
The ticket-holder claims sixth place in the National Lottery Rich List.

The winning numbers were 03, 07, 12, 26 and 34 and the lucky stars were 08 and 10. » | Katie Hodge | Monday, February 27, 2012

Osborne: UK Has Run Out of Money

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The Government 'has run out of money' and cannot afford debt-fuelled tax cuts or extra spending, George Osborne has admitted.

In a stark warning ahead of next month’s Budget, the Chancellor said there was little the Coalition could do to stimulate the economy.

Mr Osborne made it clear that due to the parlous state of the public finances the best hope for economic growth was to encourage businesses to flourish and hire more workers.

“The British Government has run out of money because all the money was spent in the good years,” the Chancellor said. “The money and the investment and the jobs need to come from the private sector.”

Mr Osborne’s bleak assessment echoes that of Liam Byrne, the former chief secretary to the Treasury, who bluntly joked that Labour had left Britain broke when he exited the Government in 2010.

He left David Laws, his successor, a one-line note saying: “Dear Chief Secretary, I’m afraid to tell you there’s no money left”. » | Rowena Mason, Political Correspondent | Sunday, February 26, 2012

My comment:

Time to start taxing the Non-Doms then! They've got lots of dosh. In fact, they're awash with it, Mr. Osborne. They can help you out. Remember: "We're all in this together." – © Mark

This comment can also be found here and here.

German Cabinet Minister Calls for Greek Euro Exit
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Germany’s interior minister called for Greece to leave the eurozone on Saturday as hopes that the world’s richest countries would stump up more cash to help the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fight Europe’s debt crisis faded.

Becoming the first member of Germany’s cabinet to openly call for a Greek exit, Hans-Peter Friedrich told Der Spiegel magazine that Greece’s chances of restoring its financial health would be greater outside the euro.

“I’m not saying that Greece should be thrown out but rather to create incentives that it can’t say ‘no’ to,” he added.

His comments came as eurozone leaders faced calls to increase their own efforts before any more money is made available from the IMF. Fresh from agreeing a second €130bn (£110bn) bail-out for Greece, there were hopes that this weekend’s gathering of G20 finance ministers in Mexico City would achieve a deal on how to ramp up the IMF’s own European war chest by as much as $600bn (£378bn).

UK Treasury officials made it clear that any new deal with the IMF was now likely to be delayed until meetings in April. Eurozone leaders have been negotiating with the US, China and Japan to contribute more to the IMF to build a “financial firewall” that would shield the likes of the Spanish and Italian economies from any intensification of the region’s crisis this year. » | Richard Blackden, in Mexico City | Saturday, February 25, 2012

US Election 2012: Mitt Romney Presents His Economic Plan in Detroit
Ahead of the Michigan primary on Tuesday, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney presents his economic plan to business leaders at a rally at in Detroit, the epicenter of the US auto industry.

here | Saturday, February 25, 2012

Why the Super-rich Love the UK
THE GUARDIAN: It's obviously not for the weather, so what is it about Britain that the obscenely wealthy find so attractive?

Here's something you definitely shouldn't do if you're even a tiny bit leftwing and suffer from high blood pressure: look at a document called the Forbes cost of living extremely well index. Forbes is an American business magazine, and it's cost of living extremely well index is an annual survey of price trends for things popular at the very, very top end of the income distribution. The riveting thing about the CLEWI isn't the headline attached, because that tends to be the same every year. The headline news is usually that very expensive things have gone up at a rate higher than the rate of inflation – often by as much as double. Common sense leads us not to be surprised at that, since people who don't care what stuff costs will logically not mind too much if the cost of that stuff goes up. What's gripping about the index – a basket of 40 goods and services targeting the super-rich – is the detail of what's on it.

In fact, that's always true for these indices. The fun is in the specifics. The UK Office for National Statistics publishes my favourite one. This measures inflation using a basket of goods in common use – a category that is constantly shifting, and at the moment includes mobile phone downloads, sparkling wine and long-sleeved cotton shirts. There is, in a wonky way, something moving about the close attention the resident stattos give to detailing the realities of ordinary lives; it's like a novel about British domestic life in 2012. Oven-ready joints of meat, for example, burst on to the index last year with this explanatory note: "Replaces pork shoulder joint reflecting a longer-term movement to prepared food and replacing an item which was sometimes difficult to collect since joints are sometimes only available towards the end of the week and on weekends." Someone has really thought hard about that. It's reassuring to contemplate a household that has managed to buy every single thing on the index, from hardback fiction to hair conditioner, from a provincial newspaper to women's high-heeled shoes to dried fruit (all those being new additions in 2011).

The super-rich index is made up of items that are, let's say, different. A Russian sable coat at $240,000, a facelift for $18,500, a thoroughbred yearling racehorse at $319,340, a Sikorsky helicopter at $14.8m, an arrangement of flowers changed weekly for six rooms at $98,100 or a year's tuition at Harvard at $56,652. It is, in a dark way, hilarious that a Harvard education counts as a luxury good. If all that starts getting too much, you can always decompress with a week at the Golden Door Spa in California, $6,750, or 45 minutes with an Upper East side shrink for $325. This, too, is like a novel, a novel about people whose lives are full of stuff you don't want to own and things you don't want to do. It's a novel, I find, that I don't particularly want to read. » | John Lanchester* | Friday, February 24, 2012

* John Lanchester's novel, Capital, is published on 1 March by Faber & Faber at £17.99. To order a copy for £14.39, including UK mainland p&p, visit the Guardian Bookshop.

The Ka-Ching Dynasty! - China

Obama Tax Revamp Seeks 28% Corporate Rate
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: WASHINGTON—The Obama administration Wednesday proposed an overhaul of U.S. corporate taxes that would lower the maximum rate companies pay while eliminating scores of loopholes that allow businesses to reduce their payments.

The Treasury Department said the plan would overhaul the corporate-tax code, including lowering the top income-tax rate for corporations to 28% from 35%, cutting the effective tax rate even further for manufacturers, and eliminating popular deductions.

The plan also maintains or makes permanent some credits, such as for research and development and production of renewable electricity, which aims to encourage investment in wind and solar power.

"A key test of any reform should be whether the net impact of the changes improves the incentives for investing in the United States," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told reporters.
Mr. Geithner said the overhaul should be fiscally responsible though the plan doesn't specify the amount it would raise.

Democrats and Republicans both endorse changes to the current U.S. tax code but are at odds on details. It's unlikely the two sides will strike a deal in a heated election year, though the administration says it hopes to lay the foundation for an eventual revamp of the system. » | Jeffrey Sparshott and Siobhan Hughes | Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Italian Austerity Government Full of Millionaires

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Ministers in Italy's technocrat government, which is implementing drastic spending cuts in an effort to haul the country out of the economic doldrums, earn millions of euros a year, newly released documents show.

A website on which the ministers' assets and earnings were voluntarily divulged received so many hits that it temporarily crashed, as Italians rushed to see details of the new government's startling levels of personal wealth.

Ministers were revealed to own multiple properties, including ski chalets in the Dolomites and apartments in New York.

They zip around in Jaguars, Porsches and Mercedes and – in the case of the foreign minister – on a Harley Davidson motorbike.

Details of their wealth were published as a gesture of transparency, but their extensive wealth surprised Italians at a time when the country is being asked to swallow cuts to salaries, pensions and services.

Topping the rich list was Paola Severino, the justice minister, who earned more than seven million euros (£5.9 million) last year. Read on and comment » | Nick Squires, Rome | Wednesday, February 22, 2012

'Unprecedented' 12.76 Carat Pink Diamond Worth £7 million Mined
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: An "unprecedented" 12.76 carat pink diamond has been discovered in a remote mine in Western Australia – the biggest ever unearthed in the country.

The huge rough stone, found by the resources giant Rio Tinto at its Argyle mine in the Kimberley region, has been named the Argyle Pink Jubilee and is worth at least £7 million. The Argyle Pink Jubilee will be polished and cut in Perth over the next ten days and then sold later this year after being shown around the world. » | Jonathan Pearlman, Sydney | Wednesday, February 22, 2012