Next year’s budget is nearly finalized. The outgoing cabinet is allocating 2 billion euros to primarily support the lowest incomes. According to outgoing Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag, it constitutes a “balanced package.” This year’s budget focuses on the increasing poverty. Without additional measures, almost a million people would fall below the poverty line next year...
Hong Kong’s economy is suffering damage from a decline in exports. Official statistics showed a decrease in exports by 9.1% in July compared to last year. Bloomberg experts’ forecasts were for a decline of 8.8%. The decline has been going on for more than a year. Imports also decreased by 7.9% (the expectation was minus 5.9%). The trade deficit amounted to 3.8 billion US dollars. The...
The Turkish central bank has raised the interest rate in the country from 8.5 to 15 percent to combat soaring inflation. The almost doubling of the rate may seem significant, but economists had expected an increase to 21 percent. The hike represents a remarkable policy shift by the Turkish central bank and the government. The rate hike is a 180-degree turn in Turkey’s monetary policy, which...
Renewable energy consumption continues to increase, especially from solar and wind sources. According to preliminary figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics, 15 percent of the energy used in the Netherlands last year was generated from sustainable sources. This is an increase from 13 percent the previous year. Solar and wind energy, in particular, saw higher consumption. In 2022, a...
The UK government will unveil a plan on Friday to invest £1 billion ($1.15 billion) in the semiconductor industry over the next ten years. The goal is to stimulate the growth of the sector in the United Kingdom, reduce supply chain risks, and protect national security. An investment of up to £200 million ($230 million) is planned for 2023-2025 to boost research and development and facilitate...
Inflation would have been less extreme last year if companies had not increased the prices of their products further than necessary. This is shown by research by the economic Office of Rabobank into surreptitiously driving up prices in times of crisis. The bank’s economists calculated that consumer products would have risen 2.2 percent less last year if prices had only been raised to what...
Consumer potatoes and fiber hemp are definitely not designated as winter crops. The crops must be harvested on sand and loess soil before October 1, so as not to receive a discount on manure space. This is evidenced by the list of winter crops published by the Ministry of Agriculture. Winter squash, wax squash, chicory and winter onions, winter flax, chicory and celery were added to the list...
Russia, despite international sanctions, has managed to import more than $ 1 billion in technology products such as high-end processors. Some of the contraband was said to have been sent by a UK-based company. According to The Register, The Financial Times ‘ report on illegal exports is based, among other things, on an analysis by Maxim Mironov, a professor at the IE Business School in...
The Japanese government has announced export restrictions on advanced chip production machines. The restrictions do not mention China, but in practice they are intended to complicate exports to this country. The restrictions were already expected. The Japanese government is expanding existing export restrictions with 23 products, including euv production machines and etching equipment for 3D...
The European Commission imposed a ban on the use of TikTok on devices of the government organization on Thursday morning, Politico reports. That measure has been taken because of growing concerns about espionage by China. TikTok is a social network owned by the Chinese tech company Bytedance. In Western countries, there are increasing concerns about Chinese tech companies helping intelligence...