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What Really Spurred the Great Recession?

Based on the research of Ravi Jagannathan, Mudit Kapoor and Ernst Schaumburg Globalization and the U.S. dollar are as much to blame as banks Many people would no doubt like to forget all about the great recession. The blame has

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World Bank Initiative for a Low Carbon Future

The World Bank has announced a new Low-Carbon Liveable Cities (LC2) Initiative to support developing country cities around the world in their efforts to plan low-carbon, climate-smart development and get finance flowing. The initiative – which aims to reach 300

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IPPC Report on Global Warming: Formidable Effort in Juggling with Fuzzy Numbers

In about 25 years the world will have used up its remaining “carbon credit” for the current century. Additional emissions will contribute to global warming beyond the tipping point of two degrees (C), the safety threshold used by most scientists

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UN Condemns Terrorist Outrage in Nairobi

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday 22nd September condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack at a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and urged the perpetrators to be brought to justice as soon as possible. In a televised

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An Actor Out of His Depth: Clooney Keeps an Eye on Sudan

US heartthrob George Clooney – according People Magazine the Sexiest Man Alive – has found a new calling: Spying. The actor has earmarked the proceeds of his Nespresso coffee endorsement to finance an eye in the sky which is to

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The War on Tax Evasion: How a Good Pursuit Gets Ugly

At first glance, the showdown between the US government and the Swiss banks seems to have produced a satisfactory outcome: Tax dodgers can no longer park their undeclared monies in Switzerland without fear of discovery. Under a new bilateral deal,

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Barking Up the Wrong Tree in St. Petersburg: G20 Hijacked by Syria Conflict

The world leaders gathered today in St. Petersburg for the G20 summit were supposed to discuss the slowdown of global economic growth and ways to combat tax evasion. This agenda has now been largely supplanted by developments in Syria and

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Christopher Colford, World Bank: Competitive Cities Can Meet the Challenge of Job Creation

Focusing policies on competitive industries can provide jobs for the impoverished, hungry, restive urban millions As magnets for talent and crucibles of creativity, dynamic cities are the pacesetters for innovation in this era of relentless global competition. Vibrant metropolitan regions

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Looking for a Fig Leaf: US & UK Mull Punitive Action against Syria

Here we go again. The US and Britain are whipping themselves once more into a frenzy over the actions of an evil strongman in the Middle East. This time around the recipient of American and British ire is Syrian president

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Empty Threats: Little to Fear from the Chattering Classes

Western intelligence services are sounding the alarm over a possible terrorist attack soon to strike Yemen or another country in the Middle East. Spying agencies noted a significant increase of “chatter” prompting the US government to close its embassy in

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