According to the Central Bank of Cyprus, the once offshore paradise lost out on Russian accounts, as investors pulled their money as they sensed the banking crisis looming.In Luxembourg, Russian investments grew by $7 billion, in the British Virgin Islands by $4.7 billion, in Ireland by $4.6 billion, and in the Netherlands by $2.8 billion, the Russian newspaper Izvestia reported.Head of Investments at the ‘Solid’ Investment and Financial Company, Michael Koroljuk explains the decline in market attractiveness in Cyprus since the crisis broke out.“The emergence of this ‘stigma’ of Cyprus is perceived as a bad tax authority and business partner,” Korljuk told Izvestia.Offshore oligarchs, trying to minimize their losses in Cyprus, didn’t bring their money to back Russia, but have reinvested their capital in other, more feasible, offshore zones.“Instead of Russia, it is rushing off to other offshore areas,” Maxim Osadchiy, head analyst at BKF Bank, told Izvestia.Because they provide more financial security than Cyprus, other offshore zones are a little more expensive, but the figures show Moscow’s millionaires are happy to pay extra for peace of mind.The more ‘respectable’ offshore destinations still offer similar tax breaks, and offer more protection for businessmenThough the financial crisis sent many investors into a slight hysteria and prompted them to abandon ship, the actual losses incurred as a result of crisis appear to be fractional.Russia’s largest commercial bank, VTB, which had assets up to $1.8 billion in Cyprus, reported to be virtually unaffected by the collapse.Strengthening ties between Moscow and LuxembourgBy increasing their holdings in Luxembourg, Russians are reciprocating the small European financial hub’s long standing tradition of Russian investment. Luxembourg is the third largest country in total investments in the Russian economy, and has invested 28 billion euros in Russian projects.Russian investment only accounts for 4.4 billion euros of Luxembourg’s 43 billion euro economy.Luxembourg may be Russia’s new window to Europe, the Minister for Economy and Foreign Trade, Etienne Schneider, has stated.”To develop serious business contacts and create new joint projects, we need to look ahead and prepare professionals who are familiar with economic realities of our countries,” said Schneider. … Read More
OECD paints grim picture in new inequality report
In an update to its 2011 report ‘Divided We Stand’, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has been describing a widening gap between the developed world’s rich and poor in the thirty years until 2008. But in this latest report it claims the process has accelerated in the three years since 2007. The paper explains that many countries had already been in a dire state of economic inequality – their highest in decades – and all the economic crisis did was exacerbate that to the extent that the already existing economic gaps were multiplied by the crisis between the years 2007-10.The report reveals an increase in the difference of how much the wealthy were able to increase their wealth compared to the poor. This means that if in 2007, the rich were becoming richer 9 times faster than the lowest 10 per cent, the difference in what they accumulated in 2010 compared to the poor was already 9.5 times. Of the 34 OECD countries, it appears that “the top 10 percent has done better than the poorest 10 percent in 21 countries,” with the widest gaps seen in the United States, Turkey, Chile and Mexico. In the three years described above, their income status had been continuously plunging by 2 per cent every year. A majority of the countries experiencing the harshest rise of inequality were in Europe, where tough EU austerity policies took hold. Italy and Spain were hit worst. However, a 5 per cent decrease was seen annually in Iceland, Ireland, Estonia and impoverished Greece – which still remains on the verge of economic collapse.One factor shared by all 34 countries surveyed by the OECD is children and young people. Whether it is due to unemployment or poor family living standards, they appear to have it have the worst. “Households with children were hit hard during the crisis. Since 2007, child poverty increased in 16 OECD countries, with increases exceeding 2 points in Turkey, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia and Hungary.”What makes the news grimmer is that cash injections into the world’s financial elite, via banks and markets, as well as Wall Street, essentially only helped the uppermost 10 per cent multiply their wealth. In the years since 2007, their financial portfolios are said to have grown by a large margin. But OECD’s data also explains that the economic crisis could not have been the sole factor in the widening gap between segments of society and in their redistribution of wealth. There has been a process that has been exploiting these economic conditions since 2008, via the bankrupting and impoverishment taking place in the developed world, most likely for the purpose of competing with the developing world’s working classes and their cheap labor. So there is a widening base of severely underpaid working class workers across the entire world. But they don’t get nearly the kind of social, economic or healthcare benefits the upper layers of society do.In the end, it will not get better – the report says. The only reason that 2010 seemed like the worst year is because the growth of the conditions of inequality was somewhat halted by many social state provisions, mostly across Europe. Without them, the report says the real trouble we are in would be more evident, and so would its growth in the years to come. What we are seeing now is only the beginning. … Read More
50 Ways to Build Resilient Wealth Before and After a Collapse
Conventional prepper wisdom tells us to get our beans, bullets, and Band Aids in order. This strategy, which I embrace, begs the question(s): What then? … Read More
10 Amazing Charts That Demonstrate The Slow, Agonizing Death Of The American Worker
The middle class American worker is in danger of becoming an endangered species. … Read More
An Even Bigger Scandal: Why Are IRS Audits Being Used To Punish Obama’s Political Enemies?
The IRS has been doing all sorts of things that they should not be doing. They are a rogue agency that is completely out of control.
In fact, one new lawsuit alleges that the IRS stole the health records of approximately 10 million Americans… … Read More
H&M backs Bangladesh building safety accord
Sweden’s retail giant H&M has decided to sign up to a building safety agreement in the wake of the factory collapse that killed more than 1,000 garment workers in Bangladesh. … Read More
US approves new pesticides linked to mass bee deaths as EU enacts ban
The continuing mass death of honeybees, known scientifically as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and a “pollinator crisis,” could well strain production of over 100 crops in the US including apples, zucchinis, avocados and plums. The agriculture value of these products is estimated at over $200 billion globally per year.As RT recently reported, a new USDA report has taken a broad look at the decline of bee colonies in the country, highlighting a dire situation as the number of colonies has plummeted from 3 million in 1990 to 2.5 million this year. Demonstrating that the decline is a long-term issue, that same report points to the existence of 6 million honey bee colonies in 1947. Though dire, the report does not offer any immediate solutions, as scientists continue to examine the potential causes for the mass colony collapses, during which adult bees abandon their hives, along with the queen, brood and food supplies. The USDA cites “multiple factors… including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure,” while also citing last summer’s drought as a contributing factor.Many environmental groups seem convinced that pesticides are a main factor in the continuing colony collapse situation. One group, Beyond Pesticides, has called the EPA’s recent green light for use of a new insecticide known as sulfoxaflor irresponsible in light of its “highly toxic” classification for honey bees.In late April, the European Union voted to enact a two-year moratorium on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides (sulfoxaflor included) in light of scientific studies that indicate their harm to bees. As in the US, a number of European countries have also been monitoring declining health and colony collapses in their bee populations, including France, the Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain.Groups such as the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) have praised the continent-wide ban.“The EU vote comes after significant findings by the European Food Safety Agency that these pesticides pose an unacceptable risk to bees and their use should be restricted. Along with habitat loss and pathogens, a growing body of science points to neonicotinoid pesticides as a key factor in drastically declining bee populations,” said a statement by PAN.Meanwhile, major pesticide manufacturers scoff at the two-year European ban.“As a science-based company, Bayer CropScience is disappointed that clear scientific evidence has taken a backseat in the decisionmaking process. This disproportionate decision is a missed opportunity to reach a solution that takes into consideration all of the existing product-stewardship measures and broad stakeholder concerns.”Unlike the straight-cut decision taken by the EU, the same USDA report highlighting plummeting bee colony numbers in the US seems to undermine the possibility of even a temporary ban on potentially harmful pesticides. According to one veteran environmental reporter, Bryan Walsh of Time Magazine, the USDA report in introducing several “potential” factors in CCD skirts the issue of pesticides altogether. “The USDA report mostly withholds judgment on neonicotinoids, citing the need for more research, and the Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a very slow review of the evidence,” says Walsh. The review cited by the agency is slated to take an additional five years. Meanwhile, the domesticated bee population in the US has reached a 50-year low. According to Walsh, in a normal year the commercial bee industry would expect to lose 10 to 15 per cent of its colonies, but over the past five years mortality rates have increased dramatically, ranging from 28 to 33 per cent. Unlike in the EU, where at least in terms of policy lawmakers were not willing to take a chance on pesticides, the USDA’s report points to various possible causes for the massive colony collapse, including: A parasitic mite called Varroa destructor; a bacterial disease called European foulbrood; and the use of pesticides, including neonicotinoids, a neuroactive chemical.Yet, almost paradoxically, the USDA seems to lend further study a time frame which seems glacial compared to its own dire estimates of mass bee die offs. “Currently, the survivorship of honeybee colonies is too low for us to be confident in our ability to meet the pollination demands of US agricultural crops,” the USDA report said. … Read More
