THE GLOBE INVEST

                                              At present, there is a great deal of work being carried out by both national and international parties in a bid to achieve a more sustainable European economy. The EU has undertaken much of this work, with the commission’s High-Level Expert Group on Sustainable Finance (HLEG) being key in developing more sustainable financial markets in the region. Sweden, France and the Netherlands are early adopters of the development, but market stakeholders from various countries have been quick to catch on too. There is no conflict between achieving higher-than-average returns and investing in a sustainable pension system In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of sustainable investments being carried out. In 2015, the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment Initiative announced that its signatory...

                                                    Even when limited to just one country, systems of taxation are complicated and difficult to navigate. When multiple countries and the spread of misinformation are factored in, it can be truly overwhelming. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that businesses and individuals often turn to professional tax advisors to make sense of the complex systems they are faced with. Given that tax is defined as a compulsory contribution without consideration, it is understandable that taxpayers try to reduce this financial burden The media’s reaction to the release of the Paradise Papers in November 2017 demonstrated that taxation is clearly an emotive issue, but not one that is always properly understood. There are, for example, various methods of reducing tax bills that are completely legal, whether they...

                                             The Pakistani property market has seen growing interest in recent years, largely due to close international ties between China and Pakistan. In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a $62bn project to develop Pakistani infrastructure and energy.  With better access to cities across Pakistan, investors are seeing more opportunities to build on the land near these new developments. CPEC projects include the $2.8bn Peshawar-Karachi Motorway, set to open in August 2019, and the construction of the East Bay Expressway in Gwadar Port in the south, due to be completed later this year. Both will dramatically help to facilitate real estate developments on previously barren land. With a population of almost 200 million people, Pakistan is suffering a shortage of 12 million ...

                                      The forex industry has advanced rapidly in recent years, as the online trading of currencies and commodities continues to grow in popularity. As such, the market’s structure has changed due to broadening participation in the industry, which is highlighted by the increasing number of forex brokers in the space. Execution within the market has likewise changed, as traditionally the forex market was dominated by trading between dealers. The oversight of regulated forex brokers and the role of compliance has also evolved in parallel with this growth. In the past few months alone, there have been various regulatory changes, particularly from European bodies, which have implemented tougher guidelines, stricter enforcement and heftier fines across the board.  Ultimately, forex brokers are now obliged to guarantee the safety of client funds, follow s...

Argentina, the world’s largest exporter of soy meal , is suffering its worst drought in at least a decade. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, South Africa has declared a national disaster as extreme drought ravages the Western Cape region. The effects of water scarcity on a country’s agricultural sector can send ripples across domestic economies, and are reflected in national economic indicators. In the case of a major agricultural exporter like Argentina, a drought can also reverberate across international markets as global commodity prices react to changes in production. According to Christopher Decker, a research fellow specializing  in economics and law at the University of Oxford, the economic effects of drought can depend on a number of factors, including: how much of the country’s GDP is composed of water-intensive industries; the amount of stored water that can be tapped into in times of scarcity; and how water users adapt their behavior  in response to...

The US and South Korea agreed to a revised trading relationship on March 26, in a deal that has been welcomed by both countries. Notably, the proposed changes to the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) will grant South Korea an indefinite exemption from President Trump’s recently announced steel and aluminium tariffs. Although the renegotiated trade deal favors  the US, South Korea will be delighted to become the first US ally to avoid Trump’s newly enforced tariffs The concessions have come at a price, however, with the US imposing new quotas on South Korean steel exports. Shipments from the Asian country will now be limited to 2.68 million tons, a figure equivalent to 70 percent of the average annual Korean steel exports between 2015 and 2017. US tariffs on South Korean pickup trucks have also been extended by 20 years until 2041, while US car makers  have had their export quotas relaxed. Although the renegotiated trade deal appears to heavily favour the ...

Thirteen Japanese cult members may be sent to the gallows any day now for a deadly 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subway system and other crimes. When is uncertain, such is the secrecy that surrounds Japan’s death penalty system. Tuesday marks 23 years since members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult punctured plastic bags to release sarin nerve gas inside subway cars, sickening thousands and killing 13. Cult leader Shoko Asahara and a dozen followers have been sentenced to death for that and other crimes that killed 27 in all. The relocation of seven of them to five detention centres outside of Tokyo last week has sparked speculation that executions could be imminent. In Japan, accomplices in a crime are customarily hanged on the same day. Ten of those on death row were convicted for the subway attack, a number beyond the Tokyo detention centre’s daily capacity. As with all executions in Japan, when and where they will be killed is not being released, even to family members an...