TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Hundreds took to the streets of Iran’s second city Mashhad and other towns on Thursday to protest high prices and unemployment, a reformist media group reported. The protests were mostly directed at President Hassan Rouhani’s government, the Nazar media network reported. “The demonstration was illegal yet the police confronted them with a lot of tolerance,” Mashhad governor Mohammad Rahim Norouzian said, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency. Videos on Nazar’s […]
Tag: economy
India likens crypto cash to Ponzi schemes
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India warned Friday against investing in cryptocurrencies including bitcoin, likening them to “Ponzi schemes”, as it became the latest country to urge caution. Despite a boom in trade that has seen prices soar, cryptocurrencies “don’t have intrinsic value and are not backed by any kind of assets,” the Indian finance ministry said in a statement. “There is a real and heightened risk of investment bubble of the type seen in Ponzi schemes […]
Cambodia sends maids to HK to plug gap after abuse scandals
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AFP) — Cambodia sent its first batch of maids to work in Hong Kong on Wednesday, December 27, as the Asian financial hub scrambles to meet growing demand for domestic helpers after a series of abuse scandals. Hong Kong is home to more than 300,000 foreign maids, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia. But high-profile cases of abuse and forced labor have seized global headlines in recent years and threatened to […]
Japan jobless rate lowest since 1993
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s unemployment rate in November dipped to its lowest level since November 1993, official data showed Tuesday, offering another sign that the world’s third-largest economy is on track to recovery even if the place is slow. Figures released by the government showed unemployment stoof at 2.7 percent last month while jobs-to-applicants ratio improved slighty, up 0.01 percent from the previous month to 1.56 in November — the highest level in almost […]
Bank of Japan holds rates as inflation remains low
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The Bank of Japan kept its ultra-loose monetary policy in place Thursday as inflation remains stubbornly low in the world’s third-biggest economy, bucking a trend of gradually tighter policy in major economies. The bank said it would purchase 10-year government bonds so that long-term interest rates would remain “at around zero percent.” The BoJ will also keep charging a negative interest rate on some accounts held by financial institutions at the […]
Japan trade surplus drops sharply on higher oil imports
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s trade surplus fell sharply in November, the government said Monday, as the rising cost of oil and smartphone imports outweighed strong exports of cars and steel. The world’s third-largest economy logged a surplus of 113.4 billion yen ($1.0 billion), a 22-percent drop from a 146.5-billion-yen surplus a year earlier, according to finance ministry data. Exports rose for the 12th consecutive month on sound exports of chip-making equipment, cars and steel. […]
Japanese business confidence hits 11-year high: survey
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Confidence among Japan’s biggest manufacturers is at an 11-year high, a key central bank survey showed Friday, as the world’s number-three economy picks up pace. The Bank of Japan’s Tankan report — a quarterly survey of more than 10,000 companies — showed a reading of 25 among major manufacturers in its December survey, the highest since its December 2006 poll. The report, the broadest indicator of how Japan Inc is faring, […]
More Filipinos expect better lives in 2018: SWS
QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) — Almost half or 47 percent of Filipino adults expect to lead better lives in 2018, according to the latest survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations. The results yielded a net personal optimism of +42, which the SWS classified as “excellent.” The figure was two points higher than the figure recorded in June. More than 40 percent—43 percent —of Filipino adults were also optimistic that the Philippine economy in […]
Berlin’s town hall takes techno scene under its wing
by Daphne Rousseau Agence France-Presse BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — It’s a familiar story across the Western world: a heated property market and complaints from the neighbours are squeezing nightlife in the big city. But in Berlin — known for its nightlife and understated cool — the town hall is stepping in to defend its legendary techno scene. “Techno culture has given so much to Berlin, using some taxpayer money to support it is the least […]
Dubai 2018 budget foresees $15.5 bn expenditure ahead of Expo
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Dubai on Sunday adopted its 2018 budget foreseing expenditure of 56.6 million dirhams (around $15.5 billion), a 19.5 percent increase over last year, as it prepares to host Expo 2020. But the 2018 budget of Dubai, one of seven emirates in the United Arab Emirates, also forecasts a deficit of $1.7 billion — the highest since the 2009 financial crisis, a government statement said. “Dubai’s commitment to Expo excellence, […]
Bicam say those earning P250k yearly won’t be taxed; 13th month pay,other bonuses up to P90k to be tax-free
QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) — The 13th month pay and other bonuses given to employees which would amount to P90,000 would not be taxed, nor will those with a a yearly earning of P250,000, according to the bilateral conference committee on the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) bill. “Napagkasunduan ng bicam na muling taasan ang halaga ng 13th month pay at iba pang bonuses na hindi na kakaltasan pa ng buwis,” Senator […]
Japan revises up Q3 quarterly growth to 0.6%
TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Japan posted an economic growth of 0.6 percent in the three months to September from the previous quarter, according to new data published Friday that showed the world’s third-largest economy expanding twice as fast as previously estimated. Robust capital spending boosted the new quarterly figure sharply higher than the preliminary 0.3 percent and beat market expectations that growth would be revised up only slightly. The data confirmed the economy grew for the […]
