Business
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Russia reportedly confiscated watches of Swiss watch maker Audemars Piguet
Russia seized luxury watches from Audemars Piguet which is perceived by Swiss authorities as a retaliation on economic sanctions.
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Germany activates the first level of a gas emergency plan ‘as a precaution’. What it means
Germany has activated the early warning level of a gas emergency plan in case Russia decides to interrupt its supply of gas. Authorities assure there is no shortage of gas supply.
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Germany announces a significant pension raise for 2022
German pensioners will experience a significant raise in 2022. Such an increase was not seen in almost 40 years in western Germany.
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Lithuania forecasts its economy for 2022 and Ukraine war impact
The Bank of Lithuania forecasts its economy could grow by 2.7% but also decline by 1.2% in 2022. Inflation rate would be above 10%, twice December's forecast.
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Cooking oil in Indonesia: swings between shortage, price hike and an alleged mafia
Indonesia has been trying to regulate its domestic market of cooking oil, leading to shifts between shortage and price hikes. Trade Minister alleged a "cooking oil mafia" was responsible for speculation.
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Shortage of sugar on Russian store shelves
Since the start of Russia's war in Ukraine, Russians have been experiencing shortage of some goods, and especially sugar. As the ruble value falls, some organizations prefer indexing their price on the dollar.
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Malaysia allows further pension fund withdrawals to cover pressing needs
Malaysians struggling to make ends meet will be allowed to withdraw money from their pension fund, at the expense of their future retirement plans.
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Egypt will control the price of unsubsidized bread for 3 months
In the context of food price increases, Egypt will control the price of bread to limit inflation on a particularly essential food commodity for Egyptians.
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Cooking oil becomes scarce in some German stores
Shelves of some German retailers are short of cooking oil, especially sunflower oil, as a consequence of the war in Ukraine.
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Argentina stops exports of soybean oil and soybean meal ‘until further notice’
Argentina has banned exports of soybean meal and soybean oil "until further notice", despite what the government said two weeks ago.
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Drug cartels increasingly use Bitcoin to launder money
Mexican and Colombian drug cartels increasingly use cryptocurrencies enjoying the anonymity and speed of transaction they provide.
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Buying cooking oil limited in some Portuguese and Spanish stores because of increased demand
Some supermarkets in Portugal and Spain limit the sale of cooking oil because of an increased demand on sunflower oil coming from Ukraine.
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U.S. online university fined for misleading value of its degree to students
The Ashford University was fined because it mislead students on the real cost of its courses and downplayed financial debt they would incur.
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Lego in 2021 again increased profit as people stayed at home
Lego again recorded significant growth in profit for the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic that forced families to stay at home.
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IEA’s plan to decrease EU reliance on Russia’s natural gas
The European Union may be able to decrease its dependency on Russian gas by 30% within a year with a various set of measures.
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U.A.E. on ‘gray list’ by anti money-laundering body
The U.A.E. is considered to have made efforts against money-laundering but that more needed to be done.
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Sony to help Honda produce new electric cars in an uncommon move for Japanese businesses
Sony and Honda will join forces to produce innovative electric vehicle. An uncommon move in Japanese business.
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Costa Rica legalized therapeutic marijuana
Costa Rica legalized therapeutic use of marijuana, considering it is part of citizens' "fundamental right to health".
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Swiss lower house approved a ban on foie gras imports
After several unsuccessful attempts, Switzerland will probably ban the import of foie gras.
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South Africa releases a plan limiting employment of foreign workers
South Africa released a framework that would set quotas on the number of foreign workers. The country is struggling with extremely high unemployment rates and a xenophobic trend blames migrants.
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Sberbank difficulties in Europe and consequences for account holders
As one of the first consequences of financial sanctions on Russia, European branches of Sberbank face failure after customers withdrew their money. Several countries restrict financial operations from account holders.
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Brazil lower house approves bill legalizing gambling and casinos despite dissension
Brazil lower house approved the main text of a bill legalizing gambling. But lawmakers disagreed about the law even among political parties.
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Sri Lanka needs to organize power outages to save cash
Sri Lanka needs to impose temporary power cuts because the island faces shortages of fuel which disrupts its power grid.
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Adapting to a new economy and recycling passenger planes into cargo jets
As air travel are been severely hit with the COVID-19 pandemic and online shopping soared, converting passenger planes into cargo jets has become an opportunity.
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When beekeepers try to prevent their hives from being stolen in California
Beekeepers install GPS trackers and surveillance cameras to protect their beehives from being stolen in California.
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Russia Minister of Finance wants people to pass a test before investing in cryptocurrency
The Minister of Finance of Russia proposed a law regulating cryptocurrency in the country where investors would be clearly identified and would need to pass a test before investing.
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A businessman suspected of fraud wins the right to privacy against news media
The U.K. Supreme Court ruled that Bloomberg News didn't respect a "reasonable expectation of privacy" by publicly revealing that an American businessman was under investigation by U.K. law enforcement for suspicions of fraud, bribery and corruption.
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Foreign barbers are prohibited from working in Thailand, government recalls
Thailand recalled that foreign barbers are strictly prohibited to work in the country, as well as 26 other jobs.
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Board of Japanese brewer Kirin decides to withdraw from Myanmar
Kirin Holding was unhappy with last year's military coup, the board officially decided to withdraw from a joint venture shared with a military-affiliated company by June 2022.
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The United States banned imports of avocados from Mexico’s state of Michoacán
The United States issued a ban on avocados imported from Mexico after one of its agents carrying out inspections in Michoacán received a threatening message.
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When global companies celebrate a national day politically controversial in another market
Some local branches of global companies celebrated a Pakistani national day, the Kashmir Solidarity Day, that India sees as disrespectful to its sovereignty. Several brands published apologies.
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Vegetable prices increased in Hong-Kong with quarantined cross-border truckers
Hong-Kong faces a surge of COVID-19 cases. And with the city's zero-COVID policy, its tight restrictions affect the food supply chain.
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Proposed Mexican energy reforms power domestic debate and make the U.S. concerned
The president of Mexico wants a constitutional reform on electricity but the private sector and the United States are concerned.
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Slovenia restructures consumer loans made in Swiss francs up until 17 years ago
Slovenia restructured consumer loans contracted in Swiss francs up until 17 years ago. Slovenes contracted loans in the Swiss currency but they became more difficult to reimburse since the francogeddon in 2015.
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Latvia introduced a nationwide deposit system for bottles to improve waste management
Latvian residents will pay an extra 10 cents their bottles and will get a voucher or a refund when they hand over their beverage containers to the deposit system.
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Twitter claims Germany’s anti-hate speech law may force sharing personal data unnecessarily
Twitter filed a lawsuit against the German anti-hate speech law because it is concerned it would be asked to share personal user data before there is anything illegal.
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A controversy on public spending for street lighting in Sofia
An opposition council member of Bulgaria's capital denounces public spending related to street lighting contracts. Bulgaria Prime Minister orders a review of the allegations.
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European companies and expats may leave Hong Kong because of its Covid-19 restrictions
European expats and foreign companies may leave Hong Kong because of the stringent Covid-19 rules according to a draft report from the European Chamber of Commerce.
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Norway is torn between exporting offshore wind power or keeping it for the Norwegians
As Norway invests in offshore wind farms to increase its renewable energy supply, projects are stalled between the opportunity to make profits exporting power and fears electricity prices increase for the population.
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When a prime minister’s WeChat account is sold to a Chinese company
The WeChat account of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been bought by a Chinese company. The account holder rejects allegations of political interference.
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