China surpasses the US as the top destination for foreign direct investment. China has surpassed the United States as the top destination for foreign direct investment (FDI), a position held by the US for 11 years, a United Nations organization says. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) recently published a report showing China had attracted USD 127.6 billion in foreign investment... 

Almost 1.4 million Irish residents, or 30 percent of Ireland’s population, were forced to endure “enforced deprivation” throughout 2013, the state’s Central Statistics Office (CSO) says. New figures, published on Wednesday, offer a sobering insight into the socioeconomic impacts of Austerity Ireland. The CSO’s research analyzed Irish citizens’ income and living conditions throughout... 

The German government insists it wants Greece to stay in the eurozone and isn’t drafting any contingency plans in case of ‘Grexit’. This shows Germany is adamant about keeping Greece under the domination of the ‘troika’, journalist Ernst Wolff told RT. “The goal of the German government, the European Union and even the government in Athens itself is to keep Greece in the euro zone,”... 

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... 

The number one crude oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, has projected a $39 billion deficit in 2015. The impact of lower oil prices, along with the decision not to cut production, is putting pressure on the country’s finances. The figure was part of the endorsed 2015 budget, which was made public in a statement read out on state-run television on Thursday. The estimated trade deficit will be Saudi Arabia’s... 

The United States is backing a new offensive by the junta in Kiev as it is supporting its “puppet regime” in Ukraine and trying to push pro-Russian forces out of the struggle, says a political analyst. “I think Washington wants to strengthen the position of the Kiev junta without calling into question the fact that its origins was in a military civilian coup which overthrew the elected government... 

My exposure to resource stocks is as low as it has been in recent history and still, I’m nervous. Things are happening that shouldn’t be. The last time I said that was last July when I turned bearish and defensive on gold. And here in October I’m sensing the same thing. Let me repeat my thesis: that the world economy is moving toward deflation and recession and the realization of... 

China has surpassed the US in terms of GDP based on purchasing power parity (PPP), becoming the largest in the world by this measure, International Monetary Fund estimates show. In 2014 China reached $17.6 trillion or 16.48 percent of the world’s purchasing-power-adjusted GDP, while the US made slightly less, 16.28 percent or $17.4 trillion, the FT reported citing IMF data. PPP is recognized as... 

Italian police have used tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of anti-austerity protesters in Naples, where the European Central Bank (ECB) was holding a monthly policy meeting. An estimated 4,000 anti-austerity demonstrators took to the streets of Naples on Thursday, carrying placards with caricatures of German Chancellor Angela Merkel amid tight security in the whereabouts of the ECB... 

Ukraine’s bid for closer ties with the west could come at a cost. With the IMF set to loan the country $17 billion, the deal could also see GMO crops grown in some of the most fertile lands on the continent, warns Frederic Mousseau. Very few, not least the Ukrainian population are aware of these details, but according to Mousseau, who is a Policy Director at The Oakland Institute, in return for... 

The group of emerging economies signed the long-anticipated document to create the $100 bn BRICS Development Bank and a reserve currency pool worth over another $100 bn. Both will counter the influence of Western-based lending institutions and the dollar. The new bank will provide money for infrastructure and development projects in BRICS countries, and unlike the IMF or World Bank, each nation has... 

The International Monetary Fund has approved a two-year $17.1 billion loan package for Ukraine. The immediate disbursement of $3.2 billion will allow Ukraine to avoid a potential debt default. The IMF’s 24-member board agreed to the two-year program to aid Ukraine’s troubled economy on Wednesday. The approval gives the green light for the immediate release of $3.2 billion to Ukraine, which will... 

IMF boss recycles scary mantra used in 2008 to bailout too big too fail banksters. IMF boss Christine Lagarde has recycled the bankster mantra as the globalists push for a bailout of Ukraine. “Geopolitical tensions” in Ukraine “could cloud the global economic outlook” and “could have broader spill over implications,” she told an audience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced... 

Despite the fact that the weakening of the ruble has been predicted since late 2013, the rapid devaluation of the Russian currency is now associated with political instability in Ukraine. Pravda.Ru asked experts whether the Ukrainian revolution and instability adversely affected the ruble and whether we should fear further deterioration of the situation in Ukraine. Since the beginning of the year... 

Brazil has called an unscheduled meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over reports of the US National Security Agency (NSA) spying on the financial institution. ON Wednesday, Brazil’s IMF representative, Paulo Nogueira Batista, called on the IMF executive board to convene to ask for explanations on the reported NSA espionage. The official declined to divulge what was said at the meeting,...