Nations across the globe are facing a period of contracting GDP figures, though Australia has reported another quarter of continued growth. The latest Australian National Account release shows that the country's GDP figure rose by 0.2 percent during the previous quarter. On December 16th, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the country's National Account report for the September Quarter. The report figures show that the seasonally adjusted GDP figure rose by 0.2 percent compared to the June quarter, and 0.5 percent compared ... Read More

Increasing fiscal transparency was an important issue in the economic and political spectrum of the 2009 year. With only a few weeks remaining in 2009, December happened to be one of the most active month of the passing year, with Governments around the globe completing efforts made in negotiations of Double Taxation Agreements (DTA) and Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA). In an unprecedented step, Switzerland wishes to cease ratification of its DTA with France in protest at the French authorities' handling of account ... Read More

On December 15th, Chile was invited to become a member of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Chile will become the 31st member nation of the OECD, and only the second country in Latin America, after Mexico, being a member since 1994. In 2007 the OECD initiated accession negotiations with Chile, Estonia, Israel, the Russian Federation and Slovenia. So far, throughout the two years of negotiations and reviews by 20 OECD Committees, only Chile has fully met the organization's requirements ... Read More

The world is still suffering from an economic slump, but confidence and business outlook across the globe is beginning to see a marked improvement. According to research by international law firm Eversheds, published on December 14th, there is a resurgence in business confidence and future outlook across key global economic centres, and the Eastern markets are showing the most significant improvements. The report engaged 600 senior executives to show the effect of the economic downturn and its results on their confidence in London, ... Read More

The first opinions and reviews have begun to be voiced, both internationally and within the UK, discussing details of a new tax on banking sector bonuses. As previously reported, on December 9th the Chancellor Alistair Darling in his Pre-Budget Report revealed that a new levy of 50 percent, will be charged on discretionary bonuses exceeding £25,000. The extraordinary levels of bonuses in the banking industry, especially during times of financial turmoil has already been the subject of political and economical disputes for ... Read More

Based on an improvement in the financial sector of the world economy and increasing international fiscal pressure, the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu is forecasting GDP growth of 4.6 percent for 2010. On December 8th , Sela Molisa, Finance Minister of Vanuatu, in his speech presenting 2010 national budget, announced that his country will see continued economic growth in 2010. According to the latest statistics, GDP growth in Vanuatu in 2009 had slowed to 3.8 percent, compared to 6.3 percent of ... Read More

On December 9th, Alastair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer, gave the 2009 Pre-Budget Report (PBR), an economical forecast required to be delivered at the end of each year by the HM Treasury to the the country's Parliament. This year, cutting the country's budget deficit was the key priority, clearly indicated by the Chancellor and by debates raised by the PBR. Reduction of Government spending in select non-priority areas, and raising taxes on middle and high-income earners are the financial engines which stand ... Read More