Archives for October 2021

“We call on the OECD-G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting to swiftly develop the model rules and multilateral instruments as agreed in the Detailed Implementation Plan, with a view to ensure that the new rules will come into effect at global level in 2023,” the draft conclusions of the two-day G20 summit underway in Rome said, as cited by Reuters.

Also on rt.com Biden’s corporate tax rate hike could kill millions of jobs, business group’s study finds

The move will set a minimum tax of 15% on multinational corporations across the globe, which experts say will grant governments extra revenue to fund social spending programs. G20 leaders also see the tax minimum as a means to offer stability to firms that operate internationally. The rate will only apply to corporations with more than $850 million in annual revenue. It is expected to raise around $150 billion in global tax revenue every year, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which initially proposed the move.

The tax deal also includes an overhaul of how multinational firms are taxed when earning profits in countries where they have no physical presence. This part of the deal is intended to address the inadequate taxes that US-based tech giants pay in European states despite making hefty profits. The deal proposes to transfer the payment of part of taxes from the states where the company’s headquarters are located to those countries where they operate and make profits.

Also on rt.com Ireland seeking ‘compromise’ with US on 15% global minimum tax push

Still, skeptics argue that the main beneficiaries of the tax, as well as its main enforcers, are rich nations, including the US, which charges a flat corporate tax of 21% and plans to hike it further to 28%. Some say that once implemented, the plan will make it more difficult for corporations to set up operations in states where tax rates are lower. Ireland, for instance, charges only 12.5% on corporations and has been opposed to the plan for years. However, it also succumbed to the accord earlier this month, along with two other low-tax economies, Hungary and Estonia.

The proposal has now been in the making for around a decade. It was already endorsed by the G20 finance ministers earlier this year, but its official approval by the heads of state is seen by experts as a lever that will help turn the vague agreement into actual legislation.

So far, nearly 140 countries representing more than 90% of total global economic output have endorsed the deal, however, each state now has to adjust tax standards at home in a process that could take months or even years.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/538943-g20-endorce-minimum-corporate-tax/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Apple’s shares fell 1.8% on Friday, ending the trading session at $149.80 apiece. The company’s market capitalization dropped to $2.48 trillion. Microsoft shares, however, showed 2.2% gains, reaching a record high of $331.62 per share, which propelled its market capitalization to roughly $2.49 trillion.

Also on rt.com Apple cutting iPhone Christmas production by 10 million units due to chip shortage – media

Despite posting relatively strong earnings for its fourth fiscal 2021 quarter this week, Apple sales still plunged some $6 billion in the reporting period amid persistent supply chain problems. The company said it took in revenue of $83.4 billion, a 29% increase year-over-year, but this earnings number came in below Wall Street expectations of $84.85 billion, which led to the drop in share prices. The company’s CEO Tim Cook told CNBC the impact from supply chain constraints may continue to plague Apple during the upcoming holiday sales.

“We had a very strong performance despite larger than expected supply constraints, [resulting from] the industry-wide chip shortages that have been talked about a lot and Covid-19-related manufacturing disruptions in Southeast Asia,” Cook stated. Market analysts say Cook’s warning of more pressure may further hinder Apple’s market performance during the holiday season.

Also on rt.com Global supply chains could face ‘catastrophic’ ransomware attacks, cyber security expert tells Boom Bust

Meanwhile, Windows software maker Microsoft sees a strong end to the calendar year, the company’s forecast published earlier this week states. Still, it also warns that supply chain disruptions may rub off on its performance, affecting Surface laptops and Xbox gaming consoles production.Overall, Microsoft’s shares gained 49% this year, brought about by increased demand for its cloud-based services during the pandemic. Apple’s shares gained only 13% so far.

Apple and Microsoft have been taking turns as Wall Street’s darlings ever since 2010, with Apple holding the title of Wall Street’s most valuable business since the middle of 2020.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/538938-microsoft-beats-apple-market-capitalization/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

“This is the first time the US Department of Commerce (DOC) is conducting an assessment procedure for the revocation of the country’s market status. The… decision will have to be studied in detail.
At the same time, it gives a positive signal that Russian exporters retain the entire arsenal of opportunities to protect their interests in American anti-dumping procedures, and that the United States does not intend to neglect its commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO),” Deputy Minister of Economic Development Vladimir Ilyichev told TASS.

Also on rt.com Washington slaps whopping duties on Russian pipe imports

Washington’s decision was based on the results of a probe conducted by the DOC following a statement filed earlier this year by American urea-ammonia mixture producers, who demanded a revocation of Russia’s status as a market economy. After a wave of interviews with stakeholders and public hearings in which Russian exporters and officials took part, the DOC confirmed Russia’s status in a memorandum published on October 29, stating that it didn’t find sufficient ground to withdraw Russia’s market economy status for the purposes of anti-dumping procedures.

“This decision implies that the US Department of Commerce will not return to the dumping calculation methods applied to exporters from the USSR and Russia before its accession to the WTO,” Ilyichev stated.

Also on rt.com US looks to revoke Russia’s status as market economy

Market status was initially granted to Russia by the DOC in 2002. Up to that point, Russia was considered a country with a ‘non-market’ economy, which allowed the US to provide a special method for determining dumping in which export prices were compared with the sum of the costs and profits associated with each export product in a third country whose economy is considered a market economy. The use of this method harms the ability of exporters to protect their interests, and often leads to excessive anti-dumping duties.

Market status, on the other hand, provides for the comparison of export prices with costs in the actual country of export, according to the standard methodology provided by the WTO, thus protecting exporters’ interests.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/538930-russia-to-assess-us-decision-market-economy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

“Firewood is, undoubtedly, an interesting commodity for exports, especially for the European Union’s market. In this heating season, they fall short by 70 billion cubic meters to cover their needs until the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline gets up and running,” Igor Chalenko told a press conference this week.

Also on rt.com Germans should change course on energy policy to avoid having to heat homes with firewood, as Putin once joked – Knorr-Bremse boss

While Ukraine is among the continent’s top 10 forest-rich states, “the EU is considering firewood as an energy product,” Chalenko said, adding that the current situation with forest felling in western Ukraine is dire, but that Kiev may nevertheless soon lift the ban on massive timber exports to Europe for additional profits.

“The moratorium’s removal is a condition for Ukraine to receive a 600-million-euro tranche from the European Commission. Accordingly, our export of timber in all positions can only increase,” Chalenko said. He added that the step could badly affect the country’s timber processing industry, which has shown significant growth in recent years.

Authorities in Kiev signaled that they intend to lift the current moratorium on timber exports to the EU earlier in October, calling it a “trade irritant.” However, in order to do so, Ukraine intends to create a transparent timber trade system, introducing fines for illegal forest felling and the purchase of illegal timber from Ukraine by European companies.

Also on rt.com Time to stock up on dung? Ukrainian MP tells citizens to collect store MANURE for energy as country awaits possible fuel crisis

Ukraine has experienced a shortage of firewood due to energy price hikes. Firewood prices in the country have jumped recently from 50% to 200%, Chalenko said.
Combined with the shortage of coal and gas, Ukraine itself might face serious problems in the current heating season, including sweeping blackouts and an increase in tariffs for both households and industry.

According to Mikhail Volynets, the head of the country’s miners’ union, there are 565,000 tons of coal in the warehouses of thermal power plants, which is 88,000 less than the country needs. Natural gas reserves in Ukraine’s storage facilities stand at 18.8 billion cubic meters, 9.4 billion cubic meters less than last year. And with Russia’s decision to stop deliveries of thermal coal to Ukraine from November 1, Volynets says the prospect is far from optimistic.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/538916-ukraine-offers-firewood-eu/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The country’s overall industrial output was down 5.4% from August, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a report this week. The indicator now represents only 89.5% of its 2015 level, the report states.

Also on rt.com IMF slashes Asia growth forecast, warns of ‘ravaging’ Covid spread supply-chain disruptions

Japan’s production in the automotive industry fell last month by a hefty 28.2%, to its lowest point since April 2020, when global vehicle demand plunged due to Covid-19 quarantine restrictions. The ministry links the current decline to the global shortage of semiconductors, which has plagued producers in spheres from household electronics to automobiles for several months.

Automakers worldwide have been reporting massive drops in earnings this year, with car manufacturing in Britain sliding by 27% year-on-year in August.

Also on rt.com The world will not shake off chip shortage for another 2 to 3 years – China’s Hisense

The situation in Japan is also worsened by supply chain issues with factories in Southeast Asia, driven by new outbreaks of Covid. Overall, Japan’s volume of car production has fallen for three consecutive months.

The ministry, however, predicts a recovery in industrial growth in October-November due to an improvement in the economic situation in Vietnam and Malaysia, where many of Japan’s parts factories and assembly lines are located, as the pandemic in those places subsides.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/538915-industrial-production-japan-drops/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS