Skip to main content

Home/ Jacob Solomon's group - M2015(B)/ Group items tagged Free-trade

Rss Feed Group items tagged

Haydn W

BBC News - US and EU 'make progress' in free trade area talks - 2 views

  • US and EU 'make progress' in free trade area talks
  • Officials from the United States and the European Union say they have made progress as they seek to sweep away trade barriers.
  • If successful an agreement would create the world's biggest free trade zone.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • They are trying to do that by eliminating tariffs (taxes on imported goods) and removing what Mr Mullaney called "non-tariff obstacles".
  • Mullaney said they have "progressed from discussing general approaches to the spadework of reviewing the many proposals that each side has put on the table."
  • The planned agreement is known as the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership or TTIP.
  • But while trade officials get on with detail, some of the general principles continue to generate vocal opposition.
  • Perhaps the most controversial area is the provision for foreign investors to go to an international tribunal for compensation if a government breaks the rules in a way that harms the company's interests.
  • he opposition to this idea has been taken up by the German government, so it remains uncertain whether it would appear in any final agreement.
  • Other critics are concerned that an agreement will drive down standards of consumer protection and food safety and will cost jobs.
  • They also complain that the texts that negotiators are working on are not made public.
  •  
    Talks are taking place between the EU and the USA to create the worlds biggest free trade area. In many goods the US is seen to have an absolute advantage in producing many goods but they also rely on European countries to provide many components to US businesses. This trade deal, although opposed by Unions and other activitists is seen by many to be vastly beneficial to the two parties.
Amanda Anna G

Ukraine, EU to Launch Free Trade Zone if Russia Violates Brussels Agreements | Politics... - 1 views

  • KIEV, October 14 (RIA Novosti) - Kiev and Brussels will launch a free trade zone if Russia violates the Brussels agreements on implementation of the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement, the acting Ukrainian economic development and trade minister said Tuesday.
  • Earlier, the Russian side also said it would have to introduce measures to protect its market should Kiev or Brussels begin openly or secretly implementing the economic part of the Association Agreement, thus breaking the agreements reached in Brussels mid-September.
  •  
    This article is about free trade, as Kiev and Brussels will launch a free trade zone, only if Russia violated the Brussels agreements on implementation of the Ukraine- European Union Association Agreement. 
Yassine G

China to push creation of APEC-wide free trade zone by 2025 | The Japan Times - 1 views

  • China will be calling for a commitment by the leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum toward the creation of a Pacific-rim free trade area by 2025, when they meet in November, according to a draft of a post-summit leaders’ declaration
  • Referring to a “Beijing Road Map” for APEC’s contribution to the realization of a free trade area covering the Asia-Pacific region, the draft declaration says, “We affirm our commitment to the eventual realization of an FTAAP by 2025.”
  • The vision of the APEC-wide, ambitious free trade zone emerged in 2006. APEC leaders agreed in 2010 to eventually achieve it on the basis of other preceding frameworks such as the TPP, but little has been decided so far.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • ific” and will “eliminate all barriers that hinder women’s economic participation”
  •  
    This article talks about the initiative of china to create a free trade zone in the Asia Pacific region by 2025. The article talks about how this will be done and what 's in the draft. 
John B

Troubled TTIP isn't the only 'trade' takeover busting our sovereignty | openDemocracy - 0 views

  •  
    This article deals with a potential agreement between US and EU where completely free trade is supposed to be the main aim. This agreement would mean that the free trade between US and EU would be the largest free trade zone.
Daniel Soto Aggard

Gateway City: Weighing the impacts of free trade agreements - 2 views

  •  
    The Impacts of Free Trade This article concerns the weight of the USA on their free trade agreements (such as: NAFTA). This article s specifically concerning the area of Southern Florida. It also mentions how the USA has been under performing in the trading field compared to all its trading partners.
Hardy Hewson

WikiLeaks' free trade documents reveal 'drastic' Australian concessions - 0 views

  •  
    Secret negotiations over the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement have apparently been breached by another leak of material which shows Australian consumers could pay more for cancer medicines and face criminal penalties for non-commercial copyright breaches.
  •  
    The article concerns the recent reveal by WikiLeaks of free-trade agreements between the nations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (members include the United States, Japan, Australia and Singapore). The article states that Australia has made considerable concessions to nations such as Japan and the US by permitting increases in regulation over intellectual property, specifically for cancer related drugs. The new regulation could mean that government permitted monopolies could be extended, meaning patients may be forced to pay more for treatment for longer periods of time.
Mariam P

EU, Singapore wrap up free-trade talks - 0 views

  •  
    This article is about a free-trade agreement between European Union and Singapore. The two sides reported that even the controversial chapter on investment protection had been sorted out.
Clemence Lafeuille

Africa's Free Trade Hangover - 2 views

  •  
    After 30 years in which the virtues of the free market went largely unchallenged, a quiet revolution is making its way across Africa. Many governments are increasingly ready to toss out the orthodoxy and rethink the importance of the role of the state in national development. The article also discusses the negatives of free trade
Clemente F

In An Increasingly Globalized Economy, Free Trade Is More Important Than Ever - 1 views

  •  
    This article discusses the importance of free market in the current economy.
Pip Dop

US-Japan Free Trade deal - 2 views

  •  
    There is currently a stalemate between Washington and Tokyo: the US is urging Japan to lower tariffs on agricultural imports. Japan claims it must protect some sensitive agricultural products but the tariffs are kept high to protect politically important farmers.
Haydn W

What are multinationals doing to champion rights of millions trapped in modern-day slav... - 0 views

  • What are multinationals doing to champion rights of millions trapped in modern-day slavery?
  • With almost 21 million people working in forced labour conditions in the global economy, companies are being made to clean up their act
  • In a world of complex supply chains, migrant workers, sub-suppliers and a constant squeeze on costs, corporate leaders and their stakeholders are keenly aware of the risk of labour exploitation.
  • ...18 more annotations...
  • No industry or region is fully insulated from the social deficit which has emerged from the rise of the modern global economy.
  • Given the influence and impact that multinational corporations have, there is significant scope for corporate leaders to champion reform and action in this area.
  • However, the ILO estimates that 44% of those working in forced labour are also victims of trafficking (pdf).
  • The fight to eradicate the scourge of forced and child labour, sometimes referred to as modern-day slavery, has re-emerged as a defining issue in this century
  • The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour, with 14.2 million in economic activities such as agriculture, construction, domestic work or manufacturing (pdf).
  • Beginning in California in 2012, following effective campaigning and lobbying to then-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, mandatory corporate disclosure of a company’s non-financial activities has been on the rise.
  • From US President Obama’s executive order on trafficking and federal procurement, to the UK Modern Slavery Bill’s recent amendment to include supply chain disclosure provisions, to the EU’s adoption of a non-financial reporting directive, compulsory transparency around global corporate practices – including human rights, labour and social impacts and policies – is the latest tool being employed by legislators to place social expectations on corporations.
  • multinational corporations have grown significantly in terms of size, assets, resource control and revenue, not to mention societal influence.
  • This growth has been accompanied by growing expectations by society and government.
  • It is, of course, critical to recognise that the global corporate supply chain can be a force for good.
  • However, with their multiple levels of subcontracting, particularly throughout impoverished regions where labour laws are non-existent or not enforced, global labour and product supply chains also provide fertile ground for inhumane practices and working conditions.
  • The United States Department of Labor, for example, has produced a list of 136 goods produced in 74 countries using forced labour, child labour, or both.
  • Many leading companies already understand that their strategies shape the lives of millions. The most forward-thinking believe that business is an integral pillar of society and recognise that the people they rely on at home and abroad are central to building sustainable and lasting businesses.
  • And since mandatory disclosure requires all multinationals to take notice and action rather than just the industry leaders, this ultimately helps level the playing field.
  • Some believe supply chain transparency laws do not constitute any real change from the prevailing corporate-driven model for CSR, while others oppose increased regulation and oversight as unnecessary state intervention, believing that industry led efforts have the best chance of success.
  • it is a combination of corporate leadership and regulation in this area which will help ensure all market participants rise to acceptable standards.
  • The trend away from voluntary reports towards mandatory social reporting for global corporations is here to stay and may represent a first step towards increased legislative requirements
  • No matter where one believes the solutions lie, the ultimate goal is a global economy free from forced labour, trafficking and other abuses. For the millions of victims who go out into the world seeking work in the hope of building better lives, we must commit to seeking the best path forward.
Haydn W

Royal Mail shares soar 38% as Labour complains of knockdown price | UK news | The Guardian - 0 views

  • Royal Mail shares soar 38% as Labour complains of knockdown price
  • Ed Miliband blames government for underpricing in 'fire-sale of a great British insititution' as investors make £284 paper profit
  • The government has been accused of shortchanging taxpayers by selling off Royal Mail at a knockdown price after shares in the privatised postal service rose by 38%
  • ...14 more annotations...
  • Miliband, the Labour leader, said the jump in the share price – which made an immediate £284 paper profit for almost 700,000 Royal Mail investors – showed that the privatisation was a "fire sale of a great British institution"
  • Royal Mail stock, which the government sold at 330p, leapt to 455p
  • Royal Mail's market value rose by £1bn to £4.3bn – confirming that it will join the FTSE 100 list of Britain's biggest companies.
  • The government had valued Royal Mail at a maximum of £3.3bn, and had attacked analysts' valuation of £4.5bn as "way out".
  • Frances O'Grady, general secretary of the TUC, tweeted: "Privatising #RoyalMail has become little different from selling five pound notes for four quid."
  • George Osborne said the privatisation had been a huge success.
  • Asked whether the shares had been sold too cheaply, the chancellor said: "All privatisations are done at a discount.
  • The National Audit Office, the public spending watchdog, will investigate the pricing of the float, but Cable dismissed the huge share price rise – which was bigger than that experienced on the 1980s flotation of BT and British Gas – as "froth and speculation" and said "what matters is where the price eventually settles".
  • The stockbrokers Peel Hunt said: "This is not 'froth'; it's real people buying, selling."
  • Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital, described the share price surge as a "dazzling stock market debut".
  • Private investors who bought their shares directly from the government will have to wait until at least Tuesday if they want to sell. About 690,000 people were granted 227 Royal Mail shares worth £749.10 (at the 330p float price) following overwhelming public demand for the shares.
  • The public applied for more than seven times the number of shares available to them, which meant nearly everyone did not get as many shares as they had asked for.
  • More than 36,000 people who applied for more than £10,000 worth of shares were prevented from buying any at all. About 40 people applied for shares worth £1m or more.
  • It is understood that about 20% of the shares available have gone to sovereign wealth funds – including those of Kuwait, Norway and Singapore – and other foreign funds. Royal Mail's 150,000 employees collected 10% of the shares free of charge, worth about £2,200 each at the flotation price and now worth £2,900. Employees were also allowed to buy a further £10,000 worth, but are not allowed to sell for three years
  •  
    This article shows how demand for shares in the newly floated UK postal service Royal Mail has pushed the price up from 330p a share to 450p. This is the price in which demand is seen to be equal to supply, something the UK Government are being criticised for failing to notice as they believed 450p was a far to high price. The move itself if highly controversial and has been a hotly debated topic ever since it's proposal with many employees fearing that jobs will be lost.
  •  
    I think this is really normal. Simply because private companies tend to have higher efficiency rates and therefore make more profits, this is the business part of the reason. Now if we consider the economical reason, I think that higher profits (deviants) will attract a lot more shareholders, this means higher demand. from the other side, shareholders will be willing to keep their shares as the company is making more and more profits, therefore less shares supply. So in short, more demand, less supply of shares could not lead to anything else except hiher prices and greater value of the company.
John B

Hästens år gynnar exporten - dt.se - 1 views

  •  
    This article is about a Swedish symbol called "Dalahästen" and its relations to Asia. This year, in some countries of Asia, is the year of the horse, and the material is wood. This is the optimal opportunity for the production to increase as the demand will be much higher as the proportion of people having a demand for them is larger than before.
Amanda Anna G

Foreign exchange fines: banks handed £2.6bn in penalties for market rigging |... - 3 views

  • The corruption of the world’s biggest currency dealers was laid bare on Wednesday when regulators imposed £2.6bn of fines on six major banks for rigging the £3.5tn-a-day foreign exchange markets.
  • Two UK and US regulators said they had found a “free for all culture” rife on trading floors which allowed the markets to be rigged for five years, from January 2008 to October 2013.
  • The chancellor, George Osborne, said: “Today we take tough action to clean up corruption by a few so that we have a financial system that works for everyone. It’s part of a long-term plan that is fixing what went wrong in Britain’s banks and our economy.”
  •  
    Regulators have imposed fines on six major banks for rigging foreign exchange markets. George Osborne argues that action have been taken in order to clean up corruption so there will be a financial system that works for everyone. 
1 - 15 of 15
Showing 20 items per page