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Category: Economy (Page 4 of 21)

BRICS welcome six emerging countries » including Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt » into the club of large and populous emerging economies

2023-08-24 /

At the summit in Johannesburg, BRICS » Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa » agreed to make Argentina, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates full members from January 1, growing the blocs role as a geopolitical alternative to Western-led world order.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping stated the world was undergoing major shifts and had entered a new period of “turbulence and transformation.” Ironically, Xi blamed countries that form “exclusive blocs” for the problems.

Can, will BRICS dethrone the US dollar? » The world’s reserve currency is facing increasing challenges from countries who want options beyond the greenback.

The leaders of Brazil, India, and China are all in South Africa — which is hosting the annual event this year — while Russian President Vladimir Putin is participating virtually to avoid arrest under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant over war crimes in Ukraine.

The Guardian | Le Monde | DW | NY Times | RFi | Al Monitor | Al Jazeera


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Chinese President Xi Jinping failed to attend a business forum in South Africa where he was expected to deliver a speech defending China’s economy and its support for emerging markets

2023-08-23 /

This seems is rather significant.

BRICS is Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

Bloomberg »

According to a public schedule, the Chinese leader was set to address the BRICS Business Forum on Tuesday, after meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier that day. Instead, delegates were greeted on stage by Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, who read the speech without giving an explanation for Xi’s absence.

 

Eight nations of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization are meeting in Belém to discuss the joint goals for rain forest protection

2023-08-08 /

AP »

The Amazon stretches across an area twice the size of India, and two-thirds of it lies in Brazil. Seven other countries and one territory share the remaining third — Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, Ecuador and French Guiana. Presidents from all but Ecuador, Suriname and Venezuela are attending.

Massive destruction of the Amazon forest is a climate disaster and all the countries at the summit have ratified the Paris climate accord which requires signatories to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But that’s about as far as their shared policy goes.

Reuters »

On Wednesday, Amazon countries will meet with leaders of the Congo, the DRC and Indonesia, looking to issue a joint statement from the world’s three major rainforest basins. Norway and Germany, which have funded Amazon preservation, and France, which controls the Amazon territory of French Guiana, will also participate.

Italy is looking for the exit ramp off China’s Belt and Road

2023-08-07 /

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government says joining China’s Belt and Road program four years ago under a previous government had done little to boost Italian exports, while Chinese exports to Italy had soared.

Rome is the only major Western power to join Belt and Road initiative.

Critics have long claimed it’s a tool for China to spread its geopolitical and economic influence.

DW »


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U.S. companies are buying less from China

2023-08-07 /

Washington Post »

Through the first five months of this year, U.S. imports from China were down 24 percent from the same period one year ago, according to the Census Bureau. Companies such as HP, Stanley Black & Decker and Lego are among those that have been repositioning their supply lines for American consumers, either to avoid the risk of being pinched between rival superpowers or as part of a longer term strategy to produce goods closer to customers.

Related »

Poverty in the UK » Why are 1 in 4 Britons, some 15 million people, living below the proverty line?

2023-08-04 /

Britain has a historically low unemployment rate of 3.6 percent. Yet poverty levels are breaking all records. It’s a paradoxical situation where almost 15 million Britons are considered poor these days, although there’s almost full employment. The reason » record corporate profits driving inflation, and and high energy costs.

The DW Documentary profiles people who have a job but can still afford nothing » from Blackpool in the west, to Ashton-under-Lyne and Cumbria, on the border with Scotland.


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Galloping inflation and a dramatic spike in energy costs in recent months are forcing millions of Britons into poverty. Wages fluctuate in an “uberized” working world of precarious employment conditions.

Over the past 10 years, beginning with David Cameron, the government has scaled back its support to vulnerable members of society. The result: reduced life expectancy.

Disadvantaged Britons are dying 10 years sooner than their wealthier compatriots – victims of what’s become known as the “shit life syndrome” – a life marked by poor living conditions, disease and addiction.

 

1 in 4 new cars sold in California last quarter were EVs

2023-08-03 /

LA Times »

More than 25% of all new vehicles sold in the last quarter were EVs, according to the California Energy Commission, with sales for the three-month period totaling 125,939.

California has sold more than 1.6 million electric vehicles to date and accounts for 34% of all EV sales in the country, according to a market report by the nonprofit Veloz, which raises awareness about electric vehicles.

California leads the nation in promoting electric vehicle sales, having invested more than $5 billion to transition the state away from gas-powered vehicles.

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