Malaysia’s Near-Term Outlook still Favorable; Smart Natural Resource Management Ensures Smooth Path to High Income Economy
Resilient domestic demand will allow the Malaysian economy to recover from a slow first quarter in 2013, says a new World Bank report. GDP is expected to grow by 5.1% for both 2013 and 2014, driven by higher consumer and business spending.
Additional Financing for an Energy Efficiency Project in Belarus
The Republic of Belarus and the World Bank signed the Loan Agreement for a USD90 million additional financing for an Energy Efficiency Project, following the loan’s approval by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on June 6, 2013. The Loan...
Massive boost to British industry in biggest ever petrochemical project
In a massive boost to British businesses, the UK’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance (UKEF), has announced that it will guarantee $700 million (£450 million) of finance to British companies bidding for contracts on a new $19 billion (£12 billion...
Iran Gives Syria an Economic Boost
Iran is stepping in to help Syria stabilize the value of its currency, which has been dropping sharply since U.S. President Barack Obama decided to start giving weapons to the anti-government rebels.
Poland needs strategy to meet growing risk of foreign bribery
The current Polish framework for fighting foreign bribery is still inadequate to fully meet foreign bribery risks resulting from Poland’s growing economy, says a new OECD report.
US-EU Set to Pursue Trade Deal, Possibly World’s Biggest
At the G8 Summit in Britain, President Barack Obama and European leaders announced the start of an effort to reach what is being called the biggest trade deal in history. Officials are focusing on regional trade agreements because the long effort to...
New World Bank Report Foresees Fragile Recovery for Six Countries in South East Europe
Signaling the end of the double-dip recession of 2012, the group of six South East European (SEE6) countries is now making a fragile recovery: its combined real GDP is projected to grow 1.7 percent in 2013 after a 0.6 percent decline in 2012,...
OECD reports to G8 on global system of automatic exchange of tax information
A new OECD report, A Step Change in Tax Transparency, prepared at the request of the G8 for the Lough Erne Summit, outlines four concrete steps needed to put in place a global, secure and cost effective model of automatic exchange of information.
We must take better care of the elderly, say OECD and the European Commission
The number of people over 80 will double by 2050 rising from 3.9% of the population to 9.1% in 2050 across OECD countries and from 4.7% to 11.3% across 27 EU members. Estimates are that up to half of them will need help to cope with their daily needs...
Mergers: European Commission approves acquisition of Central European Media Enterprises by Time Warner
The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Central European Media Enterprises ("CME"), based in Bermuda, by Time Warner of the United States. The Commission's investigation confirmed that the...
