The picture shows Opel’s production plant in Ruesselsheim, Germany. A new poll shows German firms doing business in Russia are suffering from the Western sanctions against Moscow, with hundreds of the companies suspending or cancelling projects. The survey published on Friday by the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce showed 58 percent of the German firms polled said they had been affected by... 

Thousands of recently highly paid workers have been laid off after the oil price plummeted 50 percent in 2014. At least four American oil-producing states are already facing budget problems due to decreasing oil revenues. The price plunge has affected petroleum production in all oil-extracting countries, including the US. Currently cheap fuel is still believed to be providing an overall boost to the... 

The Ukrainian national flag waves in front of the country’s central bank building. Head of Ukraine’s central bank says the country’s economy has shrunk by 7.5 percent as inflation soared in 2014, making it the worst year in over half a century. Valeria Gontareva said on Tuesday that the annual inflation rate hit 21 percent by the end of last month and the country’s currency was devalued by... 

France’s Labor Ministry has announced that the unemployment rate in the country has hit a new high in November. According to official statistics released on Wednesday, 3.488 million people claimed jobless benefits last month, with figures showing an increase of 27,400 people joining job-seekers ranks compared to October. The new numbers for the end of November also indicated a 0.8-percent rise over... 

Newly-elected Romanian President Klaus Iohannis Shortly after being sworn in as Romania’s new president, Klaus Iohannis has called on politicians to make efforts to uproot corruption in the country. Iohannis made the remarks on Sunday while addressing the Romanian parliament after his swearing-in ceremony. The new president said there is no path for Romania other than becoming a nation “rid of... 

A fresh opinion poll shows more British people now demand that the UK abandon its membership in the European Union. According to the French Opinion Way, the British appeared most certain of all that they want to leave the union, with only 37% against breaking ties. The poll showed that 42 percent of British respondents want to leave the EU, while 21 percent are not sure of the answer. Now Paolo Raffone,... 

Howard Marks believes the plunge in oil prices may usher in a new era for investing in distressed debt. For more than three years, the billionaire investor and Oaktree Capital Group LLC (OAK) co-founder urged his deal makers to be cautious, warning of loose credit standards and high prices for distressed assets. That may change as the price of oil plummets, Marks said in a letter to clients yesterday. “With... 

A chilling report published today by the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) is warning of potentially “catastrophic unknown consequences” relating to President Putin’s issuance to the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) of orders to initiate what is commonly known within the Kremlin as the “Samson Defense” designed to crash the Russian ruble, while at the same time insuring the economic collapse... 

The $1.1 trillion spending bill approved by the Senate Saturday night is over six times larger than the estimated number of galaxies in the observable universe. $1.1 trillion is a little over a thousand billions and astronomers estimate there’s only around 170 billion galaxies in known existence, stretching nearly 14 billion light-years away in every direction. Additionally, one study estimates... 

Hungarians gather in front of the parliament building during an anti-government demonstration in the capital Budapest on November 17, 2014. Hundreds of Hungarians have taken to the streets of the capital Budapest to protest against alleged government corruption, austerity measures, and worsening social welfare. Some 2,500 people staged a rally outside the Hungarian Parliament building on Sunday. The... 

Thousands of British families will be dependent on handouts and charity this Christmas as rates of poverty in the UK continue to soar. At a time when real wages remain stagnant for most of the UK’s lowest paid, it is estimated more than 2,000 working families will find themselves in need of assistance from voluntary organizations for food and other necessities. According to a feature report published... 

The head of the Church of England has expressed shock over the scale of hunger in the UK, calling for reforms aimed at providing support for the have-nots. Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said he was more appalled by the plight of poor British families relying on food charity than starvation in Africa because the phenomenon is unexpected. Welby warned that hunger... 

A British pastor has called for more government action against the UK’s hunger crisis. Stephen Sizer, pastor of the Christ Church of England, has told Press TV’s UK Desk that “the government needs to do more, but I suggest that needs to be done at the local level, where people live by those who have responsibility for them, local government, local council.” Sizer also pointed to the underlying... 

Argentinean state workers have gathered in the capital, Buenos Aires, in protest against low pay, Press TV reports. The demonstrators have also been demanding an end to labor taxes and an emergency year-end bonus. “Federal workers from all Argentinean provinces, we are the pride of this country as we defended it in the darkest time … in the 90s. We are still standing and we will continue our fight... 

Britain’s National Health Service workers have staged a mass walkout over a pay dispute with the government. Over 400,000 NHS workers, including midwives, nurses, radiographers and psychiatric staff, have taken action as part of an ongoing battle with the government over pay. The strikes follow a government decision to reject a proposed 1 percent pay rise. Four hours of industrial action began at...