SNS | Sagitarius News & Style Magazine » Economy

Bitter prospects for Dutch pensioners

The 300 News Daily — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 11:59:09 +0000

Starting next year, 15 company pension funds in the Netherlands will have to reduce the pensions they pay by around 14 percent because owing to the crisis they no longer have sufficient capital.

This is just a taste of what awaits pensioners and employees in the future, writes the left-liberal daily De Volkskrant:

“Structurally, the pension funds must above all find a solution to the problem of ageing populations. There is a growing imbalance in the ratio of pensioners to employees, and this will have major consequences. Contributions should really go up by 50 percent in the next 10 years.

… An impossible demand if employees are to retain their buying power and companies their competitiveness.

… In any case everyone must lower their expectations. The principle that pensions should amount to 70 percent of the average salary is probably no longer feasible. The trade unions in particular need to muster up the courage to tell their members these hard truths.”Popular Posts:

WTO reprimands Brussels

eurotopics — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:39:36 +0000

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has banned the EU from levying import duties on certain electrical products. In doing so the organisation upheld a complaint filed by the US, Japan and Taiwan.

This is a setback for the European Union, writes the business paper Il Sole 24 Ore:

“The EU denies that it violated the agreement in any way.

… Brussels now has 60 days to file an appeal. But whether it would be successful is far from certain, among other things because of the differences among the 27 member states. If the WTO’s decision is not respected there will be retaliation. The US, Japan and Taiwan are free to levy duties equal to the amount they consider they are being charged illegally on any EU product. For the European Union this is the second setback in just a month. Only a week ago Brussels was accused of levying arbitrary taxes on bolts and screws from China.”Popular Posts:

Romanian policy aids black marketeering

The 300 News Daily — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:55:10 +0000

According to estimates the Romanian state will lose 835 million euros in tax revenues this year alone as a result of the black market.

To blame are the government’s economic policies, writes the daily Jurnalul National:

“Just one example: cigarettes are now unaffordable for millions of smokers. Not to put too fine a point on it, the tax on tobacco was mysteriously raised not out of concern over public health, but to swill more money into the budget from nicotine dependency. But as was to be expected sales of the taxed cigarettes collapsed. Instead the black market became a mass phenomenon. If the demand is so great even an army of police officers, customs officials and inspectors won’t be able to curtail it. And how should they, when civil servants are paid less and less and increasingly subject to layoffs? When the salaries of state employees fall under the subsistence level, corruption is practically institutionalised.”Popular Posts:

Bulgaria: Building motorways can’t replace economic policy

eurotopics — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 13:11:04 +0000

The modernisation of Bulgaria’s dilapidated motorways is a top priority for Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

The daily 24 Chasa priases the prime minister’s enthusiasm but would welcome a more balanced economic policy:

“Why is the prime minister so focused on motorways? Because they’re highly visible. You can see them, touch them and drive on them. They have something permanent about them that will always be associated with the name Borisov. The prime minister loves clear, simple, visible results.

… As mayor, too, he would run from one building site to the next digging the first spade of soil and cutting ribbons to open new boulevards, subway stations and so on.

… [Borisov's] passion for construction can doubtless be seen as positive, but it’s worrying that all the state’s resources are being poured into motorways. Even if they will rake in billions for the state, they’re not his only concern.”Popular Posts:

Greek budget gives cause for optimism

eurotopics — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:29:12 +0000

The inspectors of the European Central Bank, the EU Commission and the International Monetary Fund have confirmed that Greece has fulfilled its goals so far regarding budget consolidation.

This gives the green light for the country to receive another international loan of nine billion euros. The left-liberal daily El País hopes the financial situation in Europe will now stabilise:

“Slowly but surely the financial solvency of the euro countries is stabilising.

… The case of Greece instils optimism even if this partial fulfilment of the programme of adjustment doesn’t guarantee a return to growth and a normal financial situation once the radical austerity programme is completed. In the case of Spain, with a level of solvency far superior to that of the Greeks, the stability can be detected in a reduction in the difference between the risk markup rate for Spain and for Germany and in the ease with which the treasury is able to issue securities at the moment.”Popular Posts:

Swiss tax agreement with USA is tolerable

The 300 News Daily — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:49:20 +0000

The Swiss National Council on Tuesday approved a controversial administrative assistance agreement with the US. The agreement will allow the names of 4,450 alleged tax evaders from the United States who have accounts with the Swiss bank UBS to be disclosed to the US tax authority.

The liberal daily Corriere del Ticino believes that this incursion into Swiss banking secrecy is tolerable and mocks the loss of face for the conservative Swiss people’s party the SVP:

“It had sworn to voters that it would do battle against the agreement, which will allegedly bury Swiss banking secrecy. But now it has had to give in. In view of the awkward situation in which the UBS management has put us, at least the country’s true interests have been salvaged. An administrative assistance agreement between the UBS and the US that provides for 4,450 names to be passed on is better than a dreadful court case against the UBS aimed at using any means to get at the data of 52,000 customers suspected of tax evasion in the US. Since there is no alternative, the agreement doubtless represents the lesser evil.”Popular Posts:

Austerity programme endangers Spain’s unity

The 300 News Daily — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 17:45:18 +0000

The EU Commission is urging Spain to introduce more austerity measures than the government has already approved.

This could threaten the country’s unity, the left-liberal daily Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

“Zapatero is supposed to economise and boost the economy at the same time – that’s practically impossible. Employers say the reforms don’t go far enough while the trade unions accuse him of betraying the working class. The EU is praising him but he’s becoming isolated at home.

… What will come after Zapatero? The centre-right People’s Party has put itself beyond the pale with its unpatriotic obstruction politics. The Spanish will take refuge in their regionalism even more than before; in times of need people cling to the local for support. In particular the parties of the wealthy Catalans and Basques, which so far have played only a minor role in the Madrid parliament, will become stronger. This doesn’t bode well for Spanish unity – a situation like that in Belgium looms over the country. Spain has well and truly arrived in the modern age.”Popular Posts:

Czechs sceptical about the euro

The 300 News Daily — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:52:32 +0000

According to a new survey the Czechs’ scepticism about the advantages of joining the Eurozone is still on the increase.

Currently only 54.2 percent of Czechs favour the introduction of the euro, down from 63.8 percent in February.

For the conservative daily Lidové noviny this is a “logical reaction at a time when the problems of the common currency have become patent. Paris and Berlin have not stopped bickering over the euro in recent times.

The unrelenting demands for budgetary discipline on the part of the ‘German’ bloc are seen as extremely unpleasant. However their major flaw is that they are not unpleasant enough. If budgetary irresponsibility were the sole problem, how could we explain that not only the devil-may-care Greek swindlers have been badly hit by the crisis, but also Spain and Ireland, which ran budget surplusses just a short while ago?

… The Czech economy is small, our currency is potentially vulnerable and we have little possibility of influencing the future of the Eurozone. Currently there is nothing else to do than get our economy in shape and carefully follow developments as they unfold.”Popular Posts:

Bulgaria’s arbitrariness scares off investors

The 300 News Daily — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:56:52 +0000

On Friday Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Boyko Borisov surprisingly announced a halt to the country’s two major energy projects: the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline and the new nuclear power plant in Belene.

Map of Bourgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline

The Internet portal e-vestnik criticises Borisov’s zigzag course:

“Those who approve of the decision shouldn’t celebrate too soon.

… Tomorrow Borisov could say in the same tone that the pipeline is environmentally compatible and will be constructed. The same goes for the Belene nuclear power plant – an investor had turned up and so on. That’s the way it was with VAT – first he said he wanted to lower it as a crisis measure. Then he said it would be raised and it was just a matter of time. In the end he didn’t raise it. The voters love their prime minister just the way he is but they don’t understand that his behaviour empties their pockets. No normal foreign investor will ever come to Bulgaria, where the prime minister first lowers then raises the taxes, starts projects and then stops them again.”Popular Posts:

High price of gold threatens euro

The 300 News Daily — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:32:35 +0000

The price of gold has reached a record high. On Tuesday the price for a troy ounce (31.1 grammes) was 1251,05 US dollars.

The left-liberal Süddeutsche Zeitung warns of the dangers of investing in gold:

“The more people do it, the greater the scepticism will be among those who don’t yet have any bars or coins. Experts estimate that between one and two percent of the population has gold investments. At the time of the 1929 stock market crash it was calculated to be seven percent. If it goes that way now it would trigger an explosion in prices. And the banks and politicians can’t afford that because every euro that is deposited in the metal is lost to the financial sector and the economy because it is not invested. Moreover there’s a danger of the drop in the euro’s value accelerating if the price of gold goes up even faster and the idea of a new precious metal standard, until now discussed only within small circles and in China, gains currency.

… A gold ban for private investors would be a last resort.”Popular Posts: