OTTAWA- Despite creating job opportunities unemployment rate in Canada remains unchanged. Canada added 56,000 full-time jobs in February. However, the unemployment rate remains at 5.8 percent, the government statistical agency said Friday.
Coming on the heels of a jobs surge at the start of the year, economists had forecast a slight drop in the unemployment rate.
But only Ontario — the most populous region and an economic hub — saw an uptick in jobs in the month, according to Statistics Canada.
The Western prairie province of Manitoba shed 3,300 net jobs, while others saw no real change. “Is the Canadian economy a dead parrot, or like the one in the Monty Python skit, maybe it’s just resting, since today’s jobs data seem to suggest that there’s a lot of life left in it,” CIBC Capital Markets chief economist, Avery Shenfeld mused in a research note.
Following a string of interest rate hikes over the past year from a near record low, and then a pause, Shenfeld said the latest job numbers and other recent economic data could put pressure on the Bank of Canada to resume raising rates — eventually.
“While there’s nothing in this that spells a rate hike any time soon, the market might rethink the idea that the next move is sure to be a cut,” he said.
According to Statistics Canada, more people were employed in professional, scientific and technical services; public administration; natural resources; and agriculture in February. At the same time, there were fewer workers in hotel and food services, as well as transportation and warehousing.
(Agencies)
LONDON: Nearly a third of Britain’s billionaires have either moved or are relocating to tax havens, where some have broken UK law by bankrolling political parties, a major investigation said on Thursday.
The Times newspaper published a series of reports detailing allegations of Britain’s ultra-rich hiding billions of pounds from the UK Treasury in taxes over the past decade.
The report came out days after the government drew public fury for delaying a vote on proposed legislation aimed at ending secret company ownership in offshore territories.
“We must stop tax evasion so that the wealthiest pay their fair share,” Margaret Hodge, a leading lawmaker from the main opposition Labor Party who co-sponsored the tax haven measure, tweeted in response to The Times reports.
“Public registers and more transparency are the next big step for fairer tax.”
Prime Minister Theresa May’s government did not immediately respond to the investigation.
Knights and dames
The Times said that 28 out of the 93 British billionaires it found through public records “have moved to tax havens or are in the process of relocating”.
It said almost half of the 28 have left in the past decade. The Times said those in the process of moving included Jim Ratcliffe, Britain’s richest man and a major Brexit supporter. His chemicals firm is valued at £35 billion ($46 billion).
The Sunday Times reported last month that Ratcliffe’s move to Monaco, where it said 10 British billionaires and 408 UK business owners live, could cost the Treasury up to £4 billion.
Asked about his rumored move last October, Ratcliffe told Britain’s Press Association news agency that he was staying in Britain.
The Times said big business owners were trying to avoid paying Britain’s relatively high 38.1 percent income tax on dividends — the cash payments made by corporations to their shareholders.
It is effectively a profit tax, since business owners hold a large portion of their company’s shares.
Tax-evading
Companies registered in offshore tax shelters such as the Channel Islands or countries like Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates pay little to no tax.
The Times said the exodus was spurred by a hike in income tax rates for top earners to 50 percent in 2010, which was reduced to 45 percent in 2013.
New rules from 2013 making a switch in tax residency easier also contributed, The Times said. But some of its most damning allegations concerned political contributions.
The Times said successive UK governments have failed to properly enact a 2009 law banning large donations from anyone residing abroad for tax purposes.
It said tax-evading business owners and their companies have made political contributions worth £5.5 million over the past decade.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives accepted £1 million from these entities in the months leading up to the 2017 snap general election, The Times said.
It added that several of these billionaires have also received honorary titles such as baron, knight and dame.
(Agencies)
LONDON: In just three years of establishing her company, Kylie Jenner has been named as the youngest self-made billionaire of all-time. The 21-year-old Jener has made it onto the annual Forbes list of billionaires.
She has a net worth of $1bn (£759m). The company did an estimated $360m (£273m) in sales, according to Forbes. Jenner debuted her brand Kylie Cosmetics online in 2015 with $29 (£22) lip kits containing lipstick and lip liner. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was 23 when he made onto the billionaire’s list.
China’s Prime Minister Li Keqiang says the country faces a tough struggle while he laid out plans to prop up the country’s economy.
Inaugurating the annual session of China’s parliament, Prime Minister Li forecast a slower growth of 6 percent to 6.5 percent this year, which is down from a target of around 6.5 percent last year, agency reports said.
China, which has been struggling with a slowing economy and trade war with the US, plans to boost spending. It also plans to increase foreign firms’ access to its markets, as well as cut billions of dollars in taxes, according to reports.
He said China now must be prepared for a tough struggle adding the country will face a “graver and more complicated environment”, risks and challenges. (Agencies)
WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump is all set to end preferential trade treatment for India that allows duty-free entry for $ 5.6 billion worth of the country’s exports to the United States.
According to US tofficials, it would take at least 60 days for the country to scrap the concessions following notifications to Congress and the Indian government.
Trump Administration had been urging India to reduce the tariffs to cut the country’s trade deficits.
“I am taking this decision after India did not assure the United States that it would provide equitable and reasonable access to the markets of India,” Trump said in a letter to congressional leaders.
If US removed India from its participation in the GSP program, it would be the strongest action for the South Asian nation since Trump took office in 2017.
HANOI: President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un dove into the details of nuclear negotiations Thursday amidst speculations about what Kim will give up what and Trump may demand.
Trump is not in a mood to make decisions in haste. “Speed is not important,” Trump said. “What’s important is that we do the right deal,” Trump said.
Accompanied only by translators, the unlikely pair — a 72-year-old billionaire and a 35-year-old reclusive autocrat — displayed a familiarity with one another as they began the day’s negotiations.
After a 40-minute private meeting, the leaders went for a stroll on the Hotel Metropole’s lush grounds, chatting as they walked by a swimming pool before being joined by aides to continue talks, reported news agencies.
Possible outcomes could include a peace declaration for the Korean War that the North could use to eventually push for the reduction of U.S. troops in South Korea, or sanctions relief that could allow Pyongyang to pursue lucrative economic projects with the South.
Skeptics say such agreements would leave in place a significant portion of North Korea’s nuclear-tipped missiles while robbing the United States of its negotiating leverage going forward. Asked if this summit would yield a political declaration to end the Korean War, Trump told reporters on Wednesday: “We’ll see.”
(Agencies)
KATHMANDU: There has been an escalated tension between the two nuclear powers – India and Pakistan—after both the countries have claimed of shooting down one another’s aircraft on Wednesday, reports have said.
Pakistani army has claimed they have shot down two Indian aircraft on Wednesday.
Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, spokesperson of the Pakistan Armed Forces tweeted that Pakistani army shot down two Indian aircraft inside Pakistani airspace. According to him, one of the aircraft fell inside AJ&K while other fell inside IOK.
Ghafoor claimed that one of the aircraft fell in Pakistan-controlled territory while the other fell in the Indian side, according to India media.
Meanwhile, India has claimed of shooting down Pakistan F-16 that violated the Indian space on Wednesday.
India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh is holding a high-level meeting in the Indian capital of New Delhi to discuss row between the two countries.
According to reports, two pilots are feared dead when an Indian Air Force helicopter – Mi-17V-5 — crashed in Budgam of Jammu and Kashmir this afternoon.
Tensions have escalated after Indian fighter jets crossed the Line of Control (LoC) and carried out “pre-emptive air strikes” targeting terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed’s camp in Pakistan.
India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is currently in China, said the objective of the pre-emptive attack on the terrorist camp was based on attack on terrorism. India attacked the camp after Pakistani government refused to acknowledge and act against terror camps in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has called a meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA). It is a body that controls Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.
Earlier on Wednesday, an Indian army official said the Indian air-force jets intercepted three Pakistani warplanes that crossed into the Indian side of Kashmir. (Agencies)
Also read: Pak. claims of shooting down two Indian aircraft; India follow-suits
HANOI: American President Donald Trump says North Korea could thrive economically if it would give up its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
North Korea could thrive very quickly as the other developed countries if it would denuclearize, Trump tweeted before sitting down with Kim later Wednesday in Hanoi.
“North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. The potential is awesome, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong-Un,” Trump tweeted.
Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon – Very Interesting!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 27, 2019
Meanwhile, he asked the democrats in Washington why they did not tell North Korea to denuclearize during the eight years of the Obama Administration.
American Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un are holding their second nuclear summit with a one-on-one discussion in the capital city Hanoi as the world is watching on curiously what negotiations will take place between the two.
The two leaders first met last June in Singapore, a summit that was long on historic pageantry but short on any enforceable agreements for North Korea to give up its nuclear arsenal.
(With inputs from Agencies)
KATHMANDU: President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Jin Liqun, has assured of a senior level representation from AIIB in the Nepal Investment Summit to be held in Kathmandu in March.
The Embassy of Nepal in Beijing informed that Liqun has assured that AIIB would also continue to lend its support to Nepal’s development endeavors.
According to RSS, Liqun gave the assurances during his meeting with Chief Executive Officer of Investment Board of Nepal, Maha Prasad Adhikari, in Beijing on Tuesday.
CEO Adhikari, during a meeting with Liqan, informed him about the Summit expressing the confidence that AIIB’s support would be crucial in Nepal’s socio-economic development.
The AIIB President is also learnt to have pledged funding for the projects forwarded by the Nepal government. CEO Adhikari is in Beijing to participate in Pre-Investment Conference organized by Embassy of Nepal in China.
KATHMANDU: Smuggling of invaluable medicinal herbs continues unabated in Nepal.
Authorities have claimed that high demand for the rare medicinal herbs in the markets of India, China, and other countries has tempted smugglers towards this lucrative business.
Around 7 hundred species of medicinal herbs are available in Nepal, according to a study conducted by the Department of Forests.
These rare species of herbs are going to be extinct if not protected by the government. The unbridled smuggling has posed a serious threat to the herbs.
Ayurvedic pharmaceutical industries, including the government-owned Singha Durbar Vaidyakhana, have complained that they are facing a shortage of medicinal herbs in recent times.
Herbs worth Rs millions smuggled
The absence of effective monitoring has encouraged smugglers to smuggle these herbs.
On February 8, police arrested a person Sher Singh Dhami, 48, with 715 kilograms of Setak Chini, locally known as Khiraula, concealed in a house at Chainpur of Bajhang district. Dhami, who originally hails from Apihimal Rural Municipality, Dharchula, landed in police net while he was preparing to smuggle the herbs to India.
On October 30, a squad of Armed Police Force (APF), Kalabanjar seized 75 kilograms of spikenard (Jatamasi) from Duduwa Rural Municipality of Banke.
Similarly, on September 22, police rounded up Mane Rokaya with 1,012 kilograms of Setak Chini in Budhinanda Municipality of Bajura.
Rokaya had collected Setak Chini from a nearby jungle which is priced at Rs 1,600,000 per kilogram in the local market. He was held while he was preparing to smuggle it to India in cahoots.
Influential mafias, according to police, have a hand in smuggling. They, residing in India, smuggle Nepal’s herbs to various countries via India.
These incidents are only the tip of the iceberg. The statistics maintained by the Nepal Police has shown that herbs worth millions of rupees are seized annually.
Police seized herbs worth Rs 16.6 million from Karnali Province in the Fiscal Year 2017/18 alone. Likewise, various types of herbs were seized from Kalikot, Mugu, Rolpa, and Rukum while they were being smuggled to India.
SSP Uttam Raj Subedi, the spokesperson of Nepal Police, admits the smuggling of herbs to India through porous borders.
“Priceless herbs available in Nepal are mostly smuggled to India. Only small portions of the herbs are illegally sold in the third country,” said SSP Subedi.
Influential mafias, according to police, have a hand in smuggling. They, residing in India, smuggle Nepal’s herbs to various countries via India.
Herbs are seized when setting fails
Herbs are collected from Nepal’s hilly districts, including Kalikot, Mugu, Humla, Jumla, Dolpa, Jajarkot, Darchula, and Bhajhang. Locals collect herbs in cahoots with the forest officials, local representatives and police despite government’s ban on the collection of such herbs.
“Herbs are smuggled in cahoots with locals, local representatives and police,” an official at the Ministry of Forests and Environment told Khabarhub on the condition of anonymity.
The herbs are seized when a disgruntled police official informs the higher authority about it after he is deprived of his pie.
According to herbs trader, the herbs are seized when setting among the local representatives, forest officials and police fails.
Nepali pharmaceutical deprived of herbs
With the Nepal government’s ban on the collection of some certain herbs, Nepal pharmaceutical companies are facing the shortage of herbs, entrepreneurs said.
Government-owned Sindha Durbar Vaidyakhana Development Committee had called for a quotation seeking 91 items of herbs in the fiscal year 2016/17. However, only 40 items of herbs were made available.
A quotation seeking 300 kilograms of Hadchur had been announced in the fiscal year 2017/18.
Vaidyakhana has not been able to meet the demands of Ayurvedic medicines due to the shortage of herbs, said Hari Prasad Yadav, acting chief of Vaidyakhana Development Committee.
No conservation despite the ban
The government has not taken any initiation to protect invaluable herbs despite a ban imposed on their collection.
These rare species of herbs are going to be extinct if not protected by the government. The unbridled smuggling has posed a serious threat to the herbs.
Besides, fire, deforestation are the other causes leading to the disappearance of such priceless herbs.
“The government has to either bring concrete plans to protect these herbs or lift the ban on their collection,” said a trader.