Markets & Industries
Chinese economy gets a head start in Q1 - 04/22/2019
Unexpectedly, the second economy of the planet has surpassed economists' forecasts and added 6.4% in the first quarter, mainly due to a sharp increase in industrial production in March. In recent months, the Chinese economy has been slowing down. However, measures of the Chinese authorities to stimulate the economy have already brought the first results. The State Council (government) of China...
Top 10 largest financial hubs of the world - 04/19/2019
According to the 25th annual report of the Global Financial Centers Index, New York has become the largest financial hub in the world. The index ranks cities by parameters such as the business climate, human capital, infrastructure, financial sector development and reputation. 10. Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main is the fifth largest city in Germany with a population of 732 thousand...
Revival of Irish whiskey: "Water of life" is growing in price - 04/17/2019
Dublin was once the world capital of whiskey. In its heyday in the 19th century, Irish whiskey accounted for about 60 percent of global whiskey consumption. Almost all production was located in Dublin with its world's largest factories. But then the decline began. By the beginning of the 60s of the 20th century, several whiskey enterprises were still operating in Ireland, but soon they were...
Is is possible to invest in space? - 04/16/2019
Over the past six decades, the space industry has been actively developing in different directions. The space technology has been improved, and numerous scientific experiments were carried out. And eventually, there was the time to speak about commerce in the new industry. During the years of space exploration, a number of companies specializing in space tourism have appeared. Is it possible to...
Analysts: Wine production jumped in 2018 - 04/12/2019
In 2018, the world produced a record volume of wine in 15 years: according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV). Compared with the previous year, the figure jumped by 17%. A total of 292.3 million hectoliters were produced, or 39 billion bottles. The indicator was better than the October OIV forecast. It assumed a growth of 12% compared with 2017, when it had the worst harvest...
IEA: Oil market is regaining balance - 04/12/2019
Global supply of oil in the world decreased in December by 340 thousand barrels per day (bpd), the International Energy Agency (IEA) calculated. By November last year, the figure fell by 3.1 million bpd (to 99.2 million bpd). However, year-on-year growth was still positive (plus 530 thousand bpd). According to the agency’s forecast, in 2019 an increase in production by non-cartel countries will...
IMF: Global economic growth is slowing down - 04/10/2019
A cyclical slowdown in developed countries will lead to a slowdown in the global economy in the coming years. In 2019 its growth will be only 3.3%, predicts the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The fund lowered the growth expectations both in the US and in major European economies. In China, it will also slow down, but the IMF does not expect Washington to raise tariffs on Chinese imports....
M&A growth prompts a surge in collective action in the US - 04/08/2019
In 2017–2018, the number of lawsuits that shareholders filed against their companies increased sharply in the United States. There were an average of 200 collective claims from shareholders from 1997 to 2017, but in 2017 and 2018 there were more than 400 of them. Experts point out that the growth could be prompted by claims about violation of rights of shareholders during mergers and acquisitions...
Saudi Arabia to stop selling oil in dollars - 04/05/2019
Saudi Arabia threatens the US with selling its oil in currencies other than the dollar if Washington adopts a bill exposing OPEC members to antitrust lawsuits in the US, Reuters reports, citing three sources familiar with the situation. According to the agency interlocutors, this option has been discussed in recent months by high-ranking Saudi officials in the energy sector. Two sources said the...
US watchdogs warns synthetic diamonds manufacturers against false advertizing - 04/04/2019
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned manufacturers of synthetic diamonds about the need to disclose full information about the process of growing the gems in the laboratory so that users do not have a false impression of the product’s natural origin. The FTC, which is responsible for investigating allegations of dishonest advertising, has sent such notifications to eight companies in the...