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JK Rowling: Inspiring Words Matched to an Inspiring Life
When the first edition of a book published in 1997 already fetches upward of twenty-thousand pounds, it is sure to have represented a literary milestone. Such is indeed the case with JK Rowling’s peerless masterwork Harry Potter and Philosopher’s Stone
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Working Together to Boost Innovation in Central Europe and the Baltics
Innovation is a critical driver of long-term economic growth and the right public policies are crucial to boost innovation. Through lending projects and advisory services, the Bank is assisting new European Union member states and candidate countries to unlock their
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Executives: Smart Carbon Pricing Policies Can Drive Investment in a Cleaner Future
The IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Synthesis Report warns of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 70 percent by 2050, on pace for carbon neutrality by the end of the century. Businesses know how to cut emissions and
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Set Up for Failure: UK Prime-Minister Approaching Point of No Return
Be careful what you wish for. As UK Prime-Minister David Cameron bravely insists on pushing through far-reaching reforms of the EU labour market – doublespeak for introducing checks on the free movement of people across the union – his yet-to-be
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Elif Shafak: Exposing the Moralising Slappers
Born in 1971 to a diplomat mother and philosopher father, Elif Shafak was destined for intellectual greatness. She did not fail to heed the call and today is Turkey’s most widely read and celebrated female author with thirteen books to
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Forbidden Pleasures: France Flouting EU Budget Rules
“A budget proposal written by poets and alchemists.” That’s how a visibly annoyed EU diplomat in Brussels described the 60-page draft budget for 2015 France submitted last week to the European Commission. While the document speaks of “substantial efforts at
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Frans Timmermans: A Knowledgeable Pragmatist
He is rather unassuming and speaks softly without carrying a big stick. Dutch foreign affairs minister Frans Timmermans, however, has put his small country back on the world map after his predecessors beat a retreat to behind the dikes and
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World Investment Forum: Seeking Ways to Unlock the Idle Trillions
As the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, business and government leaders from across the world gathered this week in Geneva for the biennial World Investment Forum (WIF). The UNCTAD-sponsored four-day event brought together
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Sustainable Stock Exchanges: Urgent Need for Simple Metrics
The 4th biennial Global Dialogue on the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, concluded yesterday (10/14) at the United Nations Geneva headquarters, unveiled the urgent need for all stakeholders – stock exchanges, regulators, investors, and businesses – to adopt simple, yet
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Sustainable Stock Exchanges: The Relevance of Green Indices
At the fourth Global Dialogue of Sustainable Stock Exchange (SSE) Initiative, last Tuesday in Geneva, Nasdaq OMX vice-chairman Meyer “Sandy” Frucher livened up discussions by spelling out a few hard-hitting truths. Though delivered in way that elicited chuckles from the
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