(2022-01-17). Wealth of 10 Richest Men Doubled During Pandemic, Incomes of 99% of Humanity Drop, Oxfam Says. sputniknews.com MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic have helped doubling of fortunes of the world's ten richest people, who now are six times wealthier than the poorest 3.1 billion people, Oxfam, international charitable NGO, reported on Monday, ahead of the World Economic Forum's Davos from 17-21 January.
(2022-01-17). One island becoming a Mecca for crypto millionaires. rt.com 
Bitcoin enthusiasts are flocking to Puerto Rico, thanks to tax breaks and an island lifestyle | The US territory of Puerto Rico has become the new hot destination for cryptocurrency entrepreneurs as it has crypto-friendly policies, including huge tax breaks to those who spend at least 183 days on the island each year. | US citizens can hold on to their American passports while not having to pay any taxes on capital gains. | "That's where all my friends are. I don't have one friend left in New York, and maybe the pandemic accelerated this, but every single one of them has moved to Puerto Rico," crypto entrepren…
(2022-01-17). Xi stresses both ecological conservation and economic growth. ecns.cn China should never grow the economy at the cost of resource depletion and environmental degradation, nor should the country sacrifice growth to protect the environment, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday.
(2022-01-17). Xi voices confidence in the future of China's economy. ecns.cn "We have every confidence in the future of China's economy," Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday.
(2022-01-17). Full Text: Special Address by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the 2022 World Economic Forum Virtual Session. ecns.cn Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday delivered a special address to the 2022 World Economic Forum virtual session.
(2022-01-17). Xi addresses 2022 WEF virtual session. ecns.cn Chinese President Xi Jinping started to deliver a special address in Beijing to the 2022 World Economic Forum (WEF) virtual session.
(2022-01-17). No 'countercurrents' could stop trend of economic globalization: Xi. ecns.cn Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that no "countercurrents" could stop the trend of economic globalization.
(2022-01-17). Chinese President Xi Jinping Speaks on First Day of Davos 2022 Virtual Event Agenda. sputniknews.com The World Economic Forum (WEF) will hold the Davos Agenda virtual event from 17-21 January, during which heads of state and government, CEOs and other leaders will discuss critical challenges facing the world today.
(2022-01-17). Let sunshine of hope light up future of humanity: Xi. ecns.cn Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called on the world to do everything necessary to clear the shadow of the pandemic and boost economic and social recovery and development, so that the sunshine of hope may light up the future of humanity.
(2022-01-17). Highlights of Special Address by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the 2022 World Economic Forum Virtual Session. ecns.cn
(2022-01-17). China's surveyed urban unemployment rate drops in 2021. ecns.cn China's job market remained generally stable in 2021, with the surveyed urban unemployment rate standing at 5.1 percent, 0.5 percentage points lower than the same period in the previous year, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Monday.
(2022-01-17). UK income inequality worsens during pandemic. wsws.org UK average earnings for full-time work fell between 2019 and 2021 and soaring inflation and utility prices are reducing wages and living standards further.
(2022-01-17). China's resident nominal disposable income up 9.1 pct in 2021. ecns.cn China's per capita disposable income stood at 35,128 yuan (about 5,523 U.S. dollars) in 2021, up 9.1 percent year on year in nominal terms, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Monday.
(2022-01-17). Starmer and Corbyn try to prop up UK government as Johnson flounders. wsws.org Labour's contortions excusing their refusal to call a vote of no confidence are a cover for the party's real agenda—preventing a popular struggle against the hated Johnson government.
(2022-01-17). Hospital greed caused nurse shortage, not COVID-19. zcomm.org The country's largest nurse labor union maintains that hospitals are deliberately understaffing units and forcing nurses to work long hours to increase profits…
(2022-01-17). Journalists Under Attack,The CA Shield Act & The Cases Of Brian Carmody & Jeremy Portje. indybay.org David Snyder, the executive director of the First Amendment Coalition talks about the cases of independent journalists Bryan Carmody and Jeremy Portje who have both been illegally assaulted by police and had their equipment seized despite the California Shield Act which is supposed to protect them. He also discusses the judges who have issued warrants to take this action.
(2022-01-17). Management-union collaboration ends àáimsata≈ü wildcat strike in Turkey. wsws.org The wildcat strike of metalworkers at the àáimsata≈ü factory in Mersin has been ended as a result of management-union collaboration.
(2022-01-17). Retail sales drop in December. fightbacknews.org San José, CA – On Friday, January 14, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported that retail sales dropped 1.9% in December 2021. This number was called "terrible" by economists, who expected a very slight drop of 0.1%. Since the retail sales report is not adjusted for inflation, sales discounting higher prices fell almost 2.5%. | Many news reports tried to blame the new Omicron variant of COVID-19, which began to surge in the United States in December. But online sales, which usually go up when people don't want to shop in stores because of the pandemic, fell a much sharper 8.7% in December, more than four times…
(2022-01-17). China's retail sales top 44 trln yuan in 2021. ecns.cn China's retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of consumption growth, hit 44.08 trillion yuan (about 6.93 trillion U.S.Sales of consumer goods rose 12.5 percent year on year in 2021, NBS data showed, putting the average annual growth for the past two years at 3.9 percent.
(2022-01-17). Banker Brought in to Clean Up Credit Suisse's Image Resigns Over Breach of Covid Quarantine Rules. sputniknews.com Credit Suisse — the global investment bank and financial services giant headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, has reeled from a series of scandals and poor investment decisions which put a major dent in its reputation and position on Wall Street's coveted bulge bracket listing of the world's largest and most profitable banks.
(2022-01-17). Omicron wave in Germany leads to massive increase in infections. wsws.org Despite a massive spread of the virus, the German government is continuing the "profits before lives" policy that has already led to more than 115,000 dead.
(2022-01-17). Cuba shows an alternative to Big Pharma hegemony through global solidarity. greenleft.org.au Cuba puts people before profits — showing the world an alternative to the monopolistic practices of Big Pharma. It promotes a public health system, state-funded research and shows global solidarity through tech transfer and vaccine delivery to developing countries, writes Richa Chintan.
(2022-01-17). Marxism Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. zcomm.org To highlight past words often limits substance to what the past emphasized. Why not use our own words? Why not let "dead generations" rest in peace?>
(2022-01-17). 'Drone attack' kills three at Abu Dhabi airport. rt.com 
Yemen's Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the strike | Three people were killed and six wounded in an apparent drone attack on Abu Dhabi on Monday, UAE police have said. Yemen's Houthi rebels have announced a strike "deep" in Emirati territory. | Three fuel trucks exploded in the industrial Mussafah area near storage facilities used by oil firm ADNOC, after which a "minor fire" broke out at a construction site at Abu Dhabi International Airport, the Emirati WAM news agency reported, citing police. | Preliminary investigation suggests that the blast and the fire were caused by a drone attack. | Poli…
(2022-01-17). Fire ravages chemical plant in Passaic, New Jersey. wsws.org More than 200 firefighters responded to the city's second major industrial fire in less than a year, narrowly averting an environmental disaster.
(2022-01-17). Spanish scientists oppose PSOE-Podemos call to treat COVID-19 like the flu. wsws.org The Socialist Party (PSOE)-Podemos government plans to ignore mass COVID-19 infections and deaths by treating it as an "endemic disease" similar to influenza.
(2022-01-16). Ominous History in Real Time: Where We Are Now in the USA. zcomm.org Corporate power constrains just about everything, whether healthcare or education or housing or jobs or measures for responding to the climate emergency. What prevails is the political structure of the economy…
(2022-01-16). Ministries in talks with Chinese to implement 25-year deal. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 16 (MNA) — The Iranian economy minister said Sunday that Iranian ministries are negotiating with the Chinese side to reach shared deals to implement the 25-year strategic partnership signed between two nations last year.
(2022-01-16). World Bank says Iran economy grew by 3.1% in 2021. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 16 (MNA) — The World Bank says in its latest report that the Iranian economy grew by 3.1% in 2021 while it had previously predicted that the economy would grow by 2.5%.
(2022-01-16). Iran plans to extensively expand exports to China. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 16 (MNA) — The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Mehdi Safari said an Uzbek delegation will visit Iran's Chabahar port, adding that Tehran is planning to extensively expand exports to China.
(2022-01-16). Iranian delegation to visit Iraq for economic talks. en.mehrnews.com TEHRAN, Jan. 16 (MNA) — An Iranian economic delegation will leave for Iraq on Monday to discuss the expansion of cooperation in various fields.
(2022-01-16). US official threatens Russia with 'sharp pain' inflicted 'very fast'. rt.com 
Top American diplomat promises swift response should Moscow 'invade' Ukraine in 'any form' | The US has some 18 "different scenarios" up its sleeve to react to any form of Russian attack on Ukraine, leading official Victoria Nuland has warned, promising to inflict "sharp pain" on Moscow should it make such a move. | Nuland, who currently serves as undersecretary of state for political affairs in President Joe Biden's government, made the thinly veiled threat in an interview with the Financial Times published on Saturday. | "I'm not going to preview 18 different scenarios … I would simply say that our…
(2022-01-16). Rentier capitalism and class warfare in Kazakhstan. zcomm.org Blame 'free' market reforms that benefit the rich and powerful at the expense of the working class for the country's recent protests…
(2022-01-16). 'Smoking Gun' Analysis: US Sanctions Produce 'War Time' Economy. popularresistance.org Red Lines Host Anya Parampil Speaks With Francisco R. Rodríguez, The Executive Of Oil For Venezuela, About A Study He Recently Published Which Analyzed The Impact Of US Sanctions On Venezuela's Economy. | Rodríguez shares data which prove sanctions have directly contributed to a major economic contraction in Venezuela, driven mainly by a significant drop in the country's oil production as a result of the measures. Rodríguez also addresses common arguments made by individuals who seek to obscure the impact US sanctions have had on Venezuela's economy. Read the study: sanctionsandsecurity.org/publications/s…
(2022-01-16). One third of small U.S. firms see sales drop amid surging Omicron cases. ecns.cn Thirty-three percent of small firms in the United States have reported revenue decreases in the week ended Jan. 9 due to the surge of Omicron cases, the highest since February last year, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing the U.S. Census Small Business Pulse Survey.
(2022-01-16). China to promote orderly transfer of manufacturing industry. ecns.cn China has issued a guideline on promoting the orderly transfer of the manufacturing industry to facilitate coordinated development among different regions and maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains.
(2022-01-16). Turkey striving for rapid de-dollarization. rt.com 
The country's finance minister has pledged to accelerate ditching the greenback in the coming days | The process of de-dollarizing the Turkish economy will be accelerated in the coming weeks, according to Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati. | The government will step up the conversion of the nation's foreign currency holdings into Turkish lira, he said, adding that more than 131 billion lira ($9.69 billion) had been deposited in accounts under the plan. | The government program, unveiled last month, is intended to protect lira deposits from further forex depreciation, as well as to make citizens fee…
(2022-01-16). Tuesday 1/25: Dollar for Dollar NOW: From Pay Equity to Paid Leave – The Push for Economic Justice. indybay.org Online webinar…
(2022-01-16). U.S. 'New Cold War' non-strategic, failing: The Diplomat magazine. ecns.cn The U.S. military and its civilian leaders are wrong to wage the "New Cold War" by overemphasizing militarized responses to economic and diplomatic challenges, The Diplomat magazine has reported.
(2022-01-16). Pdte. Maduro: Venezuela recupera el camino económico en medio de las sanciones. telesurtv.net "En el 2021, el 76% del presupuesto nacional fue destinado al área social para proteger al pueblo en medio de la guerra económica", indicó el jefe de Estado.
(2022-01-16). Financial Markets under capitalism. mronline.org 
One of the most important arguments advanced by John Maynard Keynes, the renowned economist, was that the operation of financial markets under capitalism is deeply flawed.
(2022-01-16). Bank privatization isn't conducive for financial markets under capitalism. peoplesdispatch.org One of the most important arguments advanced by John Maynard Keynes, the renowned economist, was that the operation of financial markets under capitalism is deeply flawed. Such markets are intrinsically incapable of distinguishing between "enterprise" where an asset is held because of the stream of returns that its ownership yields over time, and "speculation" where an asset is held not for this yield but only because it can be sold at a higher price tomorrow to someone else who in turn would buy it because he believes that he can sell it at an even higher price the day after tomorrow. | The existence of speculat…
(2022-01-16). Challenging the poverty of words: Interview with progressive poet Frederick Pollack. mronline.org 
San Francisco State University professor Daniel Langton has called Frederick Pollack's poems "necessary" because "do what poetry should do—grapple with the important."
(2022-01-16). Thousands rally for labour protections, public services in South Korea and other stories. peoplesdispatch.org Today we look at the 2022 People's Rally against inequality in South Korea, the killing of 23 year old Ashling Murphy in Ireland, and more…
(2022-01-16). UK Labour Leader Starmer on 'Partygate': 'I Think PM Johnson Broke the Law'. sputniknews.com UK PM Boris Johnson is currently under fire over what has already been named "partygate": a series of alleged parties that took place on Downing Street at a time when the United Kingdom was under strict coronavirus restrictions.
(2022-01-16). Democrat group hides comments accusing Nike of slave labor after praising company. rt.com 
Occupy Democrats scrubbed its page of references to slave labor and child workers after celebrating Nike's decision to threaten unvaccinated employees with dismissal | Occupy Democrats, a popular left-wing political advocacy group which supports the US Democratic Party, was caught hiding comments expressing concern about slave labor after it praised sportswear company Nike. | The group praised Nike on social media after the multi-billion-dollar company threatened to fire employees who remained unvaccinated against Covid-19. | "Nike sends a defiant letter to its remaining unvaccinated employees that they will b…
(2022-01-16). China debunks Xinjiang-related lies fabricated by anti-China forces. ecns.cn A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Friday refuted the so-called "genocide" and "forced labor" in Xinjiang that U.S. politicians, in collusion with some anti-China organizations and individuals, have been unscrupulously spreading and hyping up for their ulterior political purpose.
(2022-01-16). William Scheuerman's "A New American Labor Movement" (SUNY Press). zcomm.org During 2021, there were signs of growing militancy in America's beleaguered union movement, as thousands of workers went out on strike at John Deere, Kellogg's, Nabisco, Frito-Lay, Volvo, Frontier Communications, New York University, and Columbia University, as did thousands more from the ranks of union carpenters, hospital workers, airport workers, and coal miners. Even so,
(2022-01-16). Fraccari continúa visita a Cuba. cubadebate.cu El presidente de la Confederación Mundial de Beisbol-Softbol (WBSC), Riccardo Fraccari, continuó este fin de semana su visita a nuestro país. El sábado, junto a colaboradores y directivos del Inder, visitó la Empresa Batos para evaluar posibles acciones conjuntas para la producción de medios e implementos para beisbol y softbol.
(2022-01-16). Warren Demands Private Equity-Backed Firms Answer for Role in Rising Rent Prices. zcomm.org Sen. Elizabeth Warren is demanding answers from housing corporations with backing from private equity, who she says are involved in inflating housing prices for both renters and buyers.