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Jenny Hunnicutt poses in front of the Royal Caribbean Ultimate World Cruise, which she's been on for nearly nine months traveling the world. As a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you incur U.S. income taxes on "worldwide income," whether you're making money from a ship or another country. Gifts can become 'taxable income'For some self-employed cruise passengers, income could come in different forms. Joe Martucci, another passenger on the ship, is a certified public accountant who lived abroad for 16 years. Retired CPA Joe Martucci poses for a photo in Montenegro, a stop on the Royal Caribbean Ultimate World Cruise.

Persons: Jenny Hunnicutt, she's, Hunnicutt, Jane Mepham, Mepham, Joe Martucci, He's, Martucci Organizations: Royal, Financial Locations: Florida, Bahamas, Austin , Texas, Montenegro, Australia

☆ 'Get Britain building again': New UK finance chief restores housing targets
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-08 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON — Britain's new finance chief on Monday outlined a spate of measures to revitalize the U.K.'s languishing economic growth and address national housing shortages. "I have repeatedly warned that whoever won the general election would inherit the worst set of circumstances since the Second World War. A former Bank of England economist, Reeves was appointed as Britain's first female chancellor of the exchequer — equivalent to a finance minister — on Friday, when newly-invested Prime Minister Keir Starmer named his first cabinet. Ahead of her first speech, she championed economic growth as both a party priority and the "national mission." Housing and planning were center stage in Reeves' Monday speech:"First, we will reform the national planning policy framework, consulting on a new growth-focused approach to the planning system before the end of the month.

Persons: Rachel Reeves, Reeves, —, Keir Starmer, Housebuilding Organizations: Treasury, Labour Government, LONDON, Bank of England, Conservative, Labour Locations: London, England

☆ Wall Street banks name UK stocks to watch as Brits head to the polls
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-04 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

It would mark the second-highest pre-election performance since 1992, trailing only the 12.6% surge seen before the 1997 election, according to RBC's Fielding. "Overall, should a similar pattern to the 1997 election emerge in the future, the forward 1, 3, and 6-month periods could be notably strong." Genuit , Howden , and Travis Perkins were highlighted in the Building Materials sector, while Taylor Wimpey and Vistry were flagged in the homebuilders category. The bank specifically highlighted Barratt , Persimmon , and Taylor Wimpey as companies likely to benefit from these reforms. "Barratt and Taylor Wimpey remain our preferred Buy-rated names given the opportunities arising from potential planning reforms and relatively undemanding valuations."

Persons: Mark Fielding, RBC's Fielding, Fielding, Genuit, Travis Perkins, Taylor Wimpey, Ami Galla, Galla, —, Labour —, Barratt, Persimmon, " Barratt, AJ Bell Organizations: RBC Capital Markets, Conservative, Labour, RBC, FTSE, FTMC, Materials, AFC Energy, ITM Power, boohoo Locations: Howden, Germany, St, James's, London, Berkeley

☆ Kenyan government scraps elements of controversial tax bill amid protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-18 | by ( Caitlin Danaher | Larry Madowo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The Kenyan government has scrapped some tax increases that were initially included in its controversial finance bill after people took to the streets in protest on Tuesday. “When we started the public participation in the finance bill of 2024, we did make a promise that public participation would not be an exercise in futility. We have listened to the view of Kenyans,” Kimani said in a speech outside the State House in Nairobi. Changes to the finance bill were driven by a “need to protect Kenyans from increased cost of living,” Kimani said. Kenyan police officers walk away from a street covered in tear gas during a demonstration against tax hikes in downtown Nairobi on June 18, 2024.

Persons: Kuria Kimani, ” Kimani, Luis Tato, William Ruto, “, ”, ” Ruto, Faith Odhiambo, ” Odhiambo Organizations: CNN, Kenyan, Kenya’s Finance, National Planning, Getty, State, Defenders Coalition, National Police, ” Police, Central Police Station, Kenya’s Law, National Police Service Locations: Nairobi, AFP, Kenya, National Police Service Kenya

☆ Colombia's Petro Denies Calling for Cabinet Resignations
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

Colombian presidents frequently request mass, 'protocol' cabinet resignations in order to make changes to the government, though these are not guaranteed. The three government sources said had Petro asked for the resignations of his ministers during a meeting on Wednesday evening. Rather than the president demanding their resignations, ministers offered to resign, Agriculture Minister Jhenifer Mojica said during a presentation near capital Bogota. Petro last called for ministers' resignations in April after a debate on a health reform was abandoned by the lower house of congress. (Reporting by Oliver Griffin and Luis Jaime Acosta; Additional reporting by Carlos Vargas; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Persons: Oliver Griffin, Luis Jaime Acosta BOGOTA, Gustavo Petro, Petro, Jhenifer Mojica, Jorge Ivan Gonzalez, Ricardo Bonilla, Jose Antonio Ocampo, Luis Jaime Acosta, Carlos Vargas, Sandra Maler Organizations: Finance Locations: Bogota

☆ 'Time to set the record straight': Saudi minister defends China's lending to developing nations
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (left), Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank Group (center) and Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Saudi Arabia's finance minister, during a panel session at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank in Marrakesh, Morocco, on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. "Maybe it's time to set the record straight," Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said Thursday at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund joint conference in Marrakesh, Morocco. China built infrastructure that they cannot carry with them to China, it will actually be in Africa. China took the risks, when people didn't want to take the risks," he said at a panel discussion on debt reform priorities. He was speaking on a Marrakesh panel discussion, which included the heads of both the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, as well as Zambia's Minister of Finance and National Planning, Situmbeko Musokotwane.

Persons: Kristalina Georgieva, Ajay Banga, Mohammed Al, Mohammed al, Jadaan Organizations: International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Bank, Finance, National Locations: Saudi, Marrakesh, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, China, Beijing, Africa, Musokotwane

☆ Unreasonable? Israel's Judicial Overhaul Dismays Environmentalists
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

Under the changes passed so far, the government and ministers are now exempt from judicial oversight based on the so-called "reasonableness clause". The prime minister's office and ministries involved in the inquiry said they were not responsible. The 15-judge Supreme Court will hear an appeal on Sept. 12 against this amendment. It was launched before the judicial overhaul and sought a ruling based on the application of the reasonableness clause. The prime minister's office and environmental protection minister's office declined to comment for this article.

Persons: Ari Rabinovitch JERUSALEM, Amit Bracha, Adam Teva V'Din, Benjamin Netanyahu, Barry Levenfeld, Arnon Tadmor Levy, ATD, Netanyahu, Aryeh Deri, Silman, Netanyahu's, Lahav, Ari Rabinovitch, Edmund Blair Organizations: Tel, Israel Union, Environmental Defense, Supreme, Likud Locations: Tel Aviv, Herzliya

☆ UK growth hinges on more than a new pension giant
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Francesco Guerrera | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Politicians and financiers think a consolidation of the country’s pension funds would breathe new life into its stocks, startups and infrastructure. Meanwhile, there is no doubt that UK defined-benefit pension funds, company-sponsored plans that promise a specific payment upon retirement, have moved away from UK equities. The proposals also entail creating a 100 billion pound pension fund, modelled on the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, a retirement giant with $536 billion assets under management. Overall, some 19% of these funds’ assets are in UK stocks, according to the Pensions Policy Institute. If UK assets can yield the risk-adjusted returns offered by other assets, pension funds will join in too.

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - Zambia last week gave its bondholders a "concrete proposal" for the restructuring of some $3 billion in eurobonds, the ministry of finance and national planning said on Friday. "We continue to engage actively with our bondholders and proposals are being exchanged," the ministry told Reuters in a statement. The proposal "represents our commitment to finding a resolution that is acceptable to all parties and within the parameters set out by the IMF debt sustainability analysis." Zambia defaulted on its overseas debt in 2020 and is working on a restructuring with bilateral creditors and private bondholders, but talks have dragged amid a lack of consensus on how to provide debt relief. Internationally we need to pool our voices together for a stronger response ... We need a stronger response on a global stage."

☆ Fact Check-Scotland’s ‘20-minute neighbourhoods’ policy addresses climate change and infrastructure; there are no plans to imprison people or limit freedom of movement
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Social media users claim a Scottish climate policy will imprison people in their homes and prevent them from leaving their respective ‘districts’. The government plans to overhaul the infrastructure of towns and cities by creating ‘20-minute neighbourhoods’, which aim to provide people with all their needs within a 20-minute journey from their home. One Facebook user, whose post has been shared more than 500 times (here), published a screenshot of a news headline which reads: “Scotland aims to cut car use by creating ‘20-minute neighbourhoods’ in net zero push” (here). “It promotes an integrated approach to planning housing, local infrastructure including schools, community centres, local shops and health and social care. Scotland’s ‘20-minute neighbourhood’ policy does not include plans to imprison people in districts or use cameras and fines to deter people from moving around.

☆ Yellen says Russian oil price cap could save African countries $6 bln annually
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during her interview with Reuters in New Delhi, India, November 11, 2022. Yellen said ending the war would be the best thing to help the global economy, but Treasury estimated that a Group of Seven-led price cap on Russian crude oil and refined products to limit Russia's revenues could save the 17 largest net oil-importing African countries $6 billion annually. G7 countries and Australia implemented the oil price cap on Dec. 5, banning the use of Western-supplied maritime insurance, finance and other services for cargoes priced above $60 per barrel. A further cap on Russian refined petroleum products, such as diesel and fuel oil, is due to take effect on Feb. 5. "We believe that the international community, including China, needs to provide meaningful debt relief to help countries regain their footing," she said.

Zambia has become a test case for the G20-led 'Common Framework' restructuring vehicle launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, but differences with some of its main creditors about the debt relief required means progress has been slow. Its vast swathes of national parks are home or migration routes for some of Africa's most impressive wildlife including lions and elephants. "We will be considering all debt restructuring options that are in the framework (G20 Common Framework)which falls within the DSA (debt sustainability analysis) parameters... and that are acceptable to all parties," the ministry's response added. KAZA conservation areaCOMMON FRAMEWORKWWF's Zambia country head, Nachilala Nkombo, told Reuters that the most recent talks with the government took place last month. Sri Lanka, another Common Framework restructuring country, has said that it would like to do a debt-for-nature swap and with Zambia still hoping to wrap up its deal this year it would likely set a precedent.

The coal ban reshaped energy markets and showed how Beijing’s efforts to use its economy as a foreign-policy tool can have limits. China effectively ended a ban on Australian coal that has been a centerpiece of a diplomatic dispute lasting more than two years, in the latest indication that Beijing is taking a less confrontational approach in its foreign policy as the economy struggles. Customs officials in the southern province of Guangdong on Thursday received notice from the local government that they can clear Australian coal shipments, two people familiar with the situation said. The move comes about a week after the country’s national planning agency permitted a group of large state-owned companies to buy Australian coal again. The Guangdong government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Nearly half of world population suffers from oral diseases - WHO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 17 (Reuters) - Nearly half of the world's population, or 3.5 billion people, suffer from oral diseases, the majority of them in low- and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. The most common oral illnesses are tooth decay, severe gum disease, tooth loss and oral cancers, with untreated tooth decay affecting nearly 2.5 billion people, the United Nations agency said. About 380,000 new cases of oral cancers are diagnosed every year, it said. "Oral health has long been neglected in global health, but many oral diseases can be prevented," said WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The agency suggested countries include equitable oral health services as part of their national planning and integrate oral health services into their primary health care models, while also improving access to affordable fluoride toothpaste, among other measures.

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