Global wealth distribution
HT The Society Pages
Subscribe:
RSS feed
In search of sustainable middle ground between poverty and affluence
Browsing All Posts filed under »wealth«
Speculating in the cocoa fields
July 12, 2010
This weekend I noticed another story about speculation in commodities, this time in cocoa. Since the commodity markets don’t get nearly enough attention, or enough outrage in my opinion, I’ve posted this story alongside an earlier one that explains how commodity markets work. The latest speculation debacle is in the cocoa market, where the prices… [Read more…]
The giving pledge
June 24, 2010
Could you give away 99% of what you own? Probably not, but that’s something Warren Buffett has promised recently. ”More than 99% of my wealth will go to philanthropy during my lifetime or at death” he wrote recently (pdf). “I will continue to live in a manner that gives me everything that I could possibly want in… [Read more…]
Save the West with undevelopment aid
June 15, 2010
Aid usually flows one way – the rich world attempting to sort out the problems of the poor. But what if you turn it on its head for a change? What if the developing world got to have a go? “We have been focusing our energy and resources on trying to solve our Developing World… [Read more…]
The world’s most secretive financial centres
June 7, 2010
The Tax Justice Network and Christian Aid have compiled a report on the world’s most secretive financial centres. Called the Financial Secrecy Index, it is a league table of banking opacity, showing which parts of the world are least likely to cooperate with international financial reform. Here’s the top five: Delaware, US Luxembourg Switzerland Cayman… [Read more…]
Robin Hoodies
April 9, 2010
The latest video from the Robin Hood Tax, and idea which seems to be on a roll. If you want to get more involved, tomorrow is a day of action for the campaign, including the invitation to give up 0.005% of your day. Now let’s see if any of the parties are brave enough to… [Read more…]
What the banking system has learned about derivatives: nothing at all
March 18, 2010
I was tempted to post that headline with a blank space underneath, but I’d better explain. Much of the crisis in the banking sector in 2008 was due to over-reaching in the trade of derivatives. The invention of derivatives allowed banks to transcend their actual assets, and then soar above them in layer after layer… [Read more…]
Why it pays to be male and white
March 6, 2010
More on these rather stunning figures from Mint. HT Phil.
The Robin Hood Tax
February 11, 2010
It’s an idea that comes around regularly, in various forms, but the Robin Hood Tax is the latest incarnation of a banking transaction tariff. They’ve kicked off a big round of campaigning this month, and here’s their promotional video explaining the idea.
Metro: London’s new and better bank
February 9, 2010
New banks are quite common in many parts of the world, but there hasn’t been a new bank on a British high street for decades. That’s about to change, with London’s Metro bank due to open to customers this week. With many large banks closing branches to cut costs, a stubborn tradition of closing early,… [Read more…]
August 16, 2010
4