‘No political obstacles’ to grant China 50% stake in Russian oil and gas fields – Deputy PM
Reuters / China Daily Russia may consider granting Chinese investors over 50 percent stakes in its strategic hydrocarbon fields, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich has said. “If there is a request from China, we will seriously consider it. And I see no political obstacles at the moment,” Dvorkovich said Friday at the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum, adding that fields on the Arctic continental shelf are an exception. Russia and China are on the verge of a major breakthrough in terms of investment, not just trade, and are ready to deepen their economic ties. A strategic partnership and a mutual interest in … [READ MORE...]
Highlights and Lowlights of the Show
A veteran host of other awards ceremonies, Neil Patrick Harris made his Oscar debut on the Dolby Theater stage and did a little bit of everything. There was a spectacle-packed opening number featuring the DeLorean time machine from “Back to the Future” and several Marilyn Monroes. And there was his parody of a scene from “Birdman,” in which Michael Keaton runs through Times Square in his underpants. Mr. Harris ran through backstage corridors and onto the stage in white briefs and black socks and shoes. The show itself was an awkward mix of socially charged commentary — like Patricia Arquette's call for gender equity and John Legend's plea to protect voting rights — and traditional segments like a tribute to “The Sound of Music.” After Laura Poitras collected the Oscar for her documentary … [READ MORE...]
Case Study: A Business Owner Seeks an Alternative to Seven-Day Workweeks
THE CHALLENGE Mr. Vega left a corporate job producing print publications for the financial industry to take over the pizzeria. He felt constrained by his business’s size and location: a small restaurant without a parking lot on the six-block main street of a blue-collar town. Even with his improvements, the business was bringing in only about $10,000 a week. It was profitable, but only because he was working long hours, typically seven days a week, to hold down labor costs. Mr. Vega knew he couldn’t continue like this. THE BACKGROUND His father was from Spain and his mother from Cuba, but Mr. Vega, who grew up with Italian friends in New Jersey, not only hung out in pizzerias but worked in one, starting during his sophomore year in high school. After getting a business degree from … [READ MORE...]
Latest News
Vote in Senate Starts Talks on Extending Unemployment Benefits
The three-month extension of benefits passed with no room to spare, on a vote of 60 to 37, and some of the six Republicans who voted yes made clear that they wanted the $6.4 billion cost paid for through cuts elsewhere in the budget. Still, even getting the Senate on to the bill was a victory for President Obama and Democratic leaders, who have tried for weeks to steer away from health care and budget wrangling and onto pocketbook issues, which they say they will use to try to frame the … [Read More...]
Tax Break as a Not-So-Secret Weapon
The tax break wars are heating up again, as New Jersey aggressively pushes a revamped program to encourage businesses to stay or move within its borders. The retooled tax credit is called Grow New Jersey, a consolidation and expansion of several previous programs. Some companies, even those already in the state, might be eligible for as much as $300 million in tax credits per project. The state’s neighbors, particularly New York and Pennsylvania, are not taking the … [Read More...]
Low Inflation Worries the Euro Zone
Prices in the 17 European Union member states that were using the euro in 2013 rose in December at an annual rate of only 0.8 percent, Eurostat, the European Union statistical agency, reported on Tuesday in a first estimate that will be subject to revision in the weeks ahead. The December figure, which did not include Latvia since it adopted the euro on Jan. 1, was slightly lower than the 0.9 percent annual inflation rate for November. The European Central Bank seeks to keep price growth … [Read More...]
In Jobless Youth, Nation Is Said to Pay High Price
“The key takeaway here is that it’s not just the individuals who are suffering as members of our generation,” said Rory O’Sullivan, the policy and research director of the Young Invincibles, a postrecession youth advocacy group, which did the study. “When you have an entire generation of people that are out of work, it’s going to create tremendous costs for taxpayers both now and in the future.” Fifteen percent of workers ages 16 to 24 are unemployed, compared with 7.3 percent of all … [Read More...]
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Small Business
Case Study: A Business Owner Seeks an Alternative to Seven-Day Workweeks
THE CHALLENGE Mr. Vega left a corporate job producing print publications for the financial industry to take over the pizzeria. He felt constrained by his business’s size and location: a small restaurant without a parking lot on the six-block main street of a blue-collar town. Even with his improvements, the business was bringing in only about $10,000 a week. It was profitable, but only because he … [Read More...]
Credit Score, by Multiple Choice
That’s the message being delivered to more than 70,000 small-business owners in developing countries where credit ratings are rare and many potential entrepreneurs keep their money in cash rather than bank accounts. Banks in 16 countries are using a psychometric test to predict future behavior — specifically, whether someone will pay back a loan. Originally a Harvard doctoral project, the … [Read More...]
Your Money
Faulty Websites Confront Needy in Search of Aid
Efforts at modernizing the systems for unemployment compensation in California, Massachusetts and Nevada have also largely backfired in recent months, causing enormous cost overruns and delays. While the nation’s attention was focused on the troubled rollout of the federal health care site under the Affordable Care Act, the problems with the unemployment sites have pointed to something … [Read More...]
In Jobless Youth, U.S. Is Said to Pay High Price
“The key takeaway here is that it’s not just the individuals who are suffering as members of our generation,” said Rory O’Sullivan, the policy and research director of the Young Invincibles, a postrecession youth advocacy group, which did the study. “When you have an entire generation of people that are out of work, it’s going to create tremendous costs for taxpayers both now and in the future.” … [Read More...]