Economy

The impact of the global coronavirus lockdown is set to plunge 100 million people into extreme poverty, warns a new report by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. The report appears to pin the blame on COVID-19 itself for the economic impact, yet the actual culprit is discovered to be …

Vladimir Putin’s quest to break Russia’s reliance on the U.S. dollar has set off a literal gold rush. Within the span of a decade, the country quadrupled its bullion reserves, and 2018 marked the most ambitious year yet. And the pace is keeping up so far this year. Data from …

Another country is betting on physical gold. Switzerland’s pension fund has boosted its investments in bullion, switching from the paper-backed securities in US dollars. “The Swiss government Pension System decided to change from paper gold in the amount of 700 million CHF into physical gold and store it in Switzerland. …

Jeff Bezos’ sprawling e-commerce giant Amazon reportedly raked in more than $5.6 billion in U.S. profits in 2017, but despite that, the company essentially paid $0 in federal income taxes. That’s largely attributable to “excess stock-based compensation deductions” and the effect of the 2017 Tax Act, according to the company’s …

Iran moved a step closer to a plan to ditch the dollar in its trade activities by announcing that purchase orders by merchants that are based on the greenback would no longer be allowed to go through import proceedings. Iran’s domestic media reported that the policy was in line with …

The value of the world’s largest cryptocurrency bitcoin has broken the $5,800 mark, hitting another all-time high before retreating to the $5,600-$5,700 level, still close to the maximum. Its market capitalization is approaching $97 billion. If bitcoin were a company, its market cap puts it in the same league as …

After a particularly devastating hurricane season, Puerto Rico has an uncertain future. Already mismanaged and saddled with debt, the island territory now faces the virtually insurmountable task of rebuilding its infrastructure and economy. But amidst the rubble and heartache lies one of the greatest opportunities in the modern era not …

China’s proven gold reserves reached 12,100 tonnes at the end of 2016, the state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday quoting an official with the national gold association. China has been the world’s biggest gold producer for 10 years and the largest consumer of the metal for four years, it …

President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, has made good on his promise to forsake the US dollar and publish their oil prices in yuan, which is the currency of China. This highly controversial move is likened to Venezuela giving the US “the middle finger”. Former Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez has threatened …

A new study shows 57% of Australia mortgage holders could not handle a $100 increase in their loan repayment. Stress has turned up in even the wealthiest cities. But who is truly wealthy? Paper profits on homes with enormous mortgages does not constitute wealth. Please consider $100 Tipping Point for 57% …