Switzerland-Davos 2020: American politics is the biggest risk facing the world right now, say experts

American politics is the biggest threat facing the world in 2020 and the looming presidential election will stress the country's institutions, influence economic and foreign policy and further divide an already polarized electorate, with potentially huge consequences for the climate, business and investors.

That's the view of experts at consultancies Eurasia Group and Control Risks.

The World Economic Forum, which is preparing to hold its annual meeting of political leaders and CEOs next week in Davos, is also warning of increased turbulence this year from trade conflicts and political polarization that makes it harder to tackle global challenges.

Read more: Davos 2020: American politics is the biggest risk facing the world right now, say experts

Global Innovation Index: The Netherlands takes 2nd place in 2018 Global Innovation Index- by Mina Solanki

The Netherlands has moved up to second place on this year’s Global Innovation Index (GII), by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization. The GII ranks the innovation performance of almost 130 economies from around the world.

This year marks the 11th edition of the GII, which reviews 126 economies. The theme of the 2018 edition is “Energizing the World with Innovation”. This edition looks at the energy innovation landscape of the coming decade and possible breakthroughs that could be made in the areas of consumption, distribution, storage and energy production.

To assess countries, the GII uses 80 indicators that then fall under seven pillars. The average score of the first five pillars equals the Input Sub-Index and the average score of the last two pillars makes up the Output Sub-Index. Each pillar has three sub-pillars with a varying number of indicators. The pillars are as follows:

• Institutions
• Human capital and research
• Infrastructure
• Market sophistication
• Business sophistication
• Knowledge and technology outputs
• Creative outputs

The number one country this year was Switzerland, which also took first place in 2017. The Netherlands came in second and was followed by Sweden, which dropped a place this year. In fourth place was the United Kingdom, climbing a place this year, and in fifth place, Singapore, moving up two places. The top 10 countries are as follows.

1. Switzerland
2. The Netherlands
3. Sweden
4. Britain
5. Singapore
6. United States of America
7. Finland
8. Denmark
9. Germany
10. Ireland

Read more: The Netherlands takes 2nd place in 2018 Global Innovation Index

Davos: Vision versus Economic Capacity and Power - by RM

Economic Power (USA) Versus Vision (EU)

At the end of the Davos economic gathering, it was interesting to note how much the speeches given by European leaders differed from that of the American President.

When the US President spoke, it was clear that he spoke, knowing that he could say just about anything he wanted, given the economic strength of the US. The fact that he added to his now famous slogan , "America first", the words, "but not alone*, just meant that he will support trade agreements and other multi-lateral deals only if they are based on US terms and conditions, certainly not on a multi-lateral basis.

The Europeans,  including their present champion, Emmanuel Macron, spoke with no exception, not only about the positive values of global trade, but also about major issues confronting the world, such as global warming.

The obvious conclusion one could make from these speeches in Davos, listening to these two different trains of of thought, is that unless the one submits to the others way of thinking - there is no harmony possible - and this, regardless of all the enormous challenges the world is facing today.

Unfortunately for the EU, is the fact that the Union is not unified enough to speak with one voice and put their "money where their mouth is", and consequently can not only offer a carrot as an alternative, but also when needed not use a stick against "Bougie Man" Trump.

The result of all this will be, as the saying goes, "when two dogs fight over a bone, another dog will take it",

That dog, if it has not already taken the bone, will be China.

Bottom line : Europe urgently needs to put its house in order, and those member states which like the status quo, better get out, or get thrown out of the EU.

EU-Digest
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Tax Systems - money is not determinating factor: The happiest countries in the world also pay a lot in taxes

The US Tax System needs an overhaul

The happiest countries in the world in 2017 are prosperous Western-style liberal democracies.

Their populations are, in many cases, largely homogeneous. And they also have something else in common: They each pay a lot in taxes.

According to the United Nations' latest World Happiness Report, as covered by CBS News, the top 10 happiest countries are:
1. Norway
2. Denmark
3. Iceland
4. Switzerland
5. Finland
6. Netherlands
7. Canada
8. New Zealand
9. Australia
10. Sweden

Report co-author Jeffrey Sachs, who is also the director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, tells CBS that "happiness is a result of creating strong social foundations," and that if other nations prioritized "social trust" and "healthy lives," they could also find that their citizens become more content.

The top three happiest countries, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, are all among the highest taxed countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in terms of total tax revenue as a percentage of GDP. The widely enjoyed social benefits residents get in exchange for their taxes, such as universal health care, access to education and subsidized parental leave, could have something to do with the "strong social foundations" touted by Sachs.

Note EU-Digest: These countries are happy, mainly for all the services they are getting in exchange for paying high taxes. Specially in the area of healthcare and low pharmaceutical costs, obviously also by enjoying great infrastructural advantages and obviously modern public transportation systems. In America right-wing politicians (mainly Republicans) have figured out that by telling the taxpayers they pay the lowest taxes in the world, it will make  corrupt practices by them easier. Unfortunately over time this made the US taxpayer the big loser.

Read more: The happiest countries in the world also pay a lot in taxes

Switzerland: Swiss Blick newspaper takes aim at Erdogans Referendum in German and Turkish

Blick goes on the attack against Turkish  dictator Erdogan

Swiss Newspaper fBlick exposed Erdogan's dictatorial powers in both German and Turkish and urged Turks to vote NO in the upcoming Turkish referendum.

The article was published  in  both the German and Turkish language for the benefit of the large number of Turkish Swiss citizens in that country.

A great example for European Newspapers around the EU member states to follow suit.  
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Read more: «Liebe Türkei»: Aufruf zum Nein zu Erdogans Referendum - Blick

Swiss government proposes paying everyone €2,234.90 a month - by Gianluca Mezzofiore

GET MONEY FOR DOING NOTHING

Swiss residents are to vote on a countrywide referendum about a radical plan to pay every single adult a guaranteed income of €2,234.90  a month. 

The plan, proposed by a group of intellectuals, could make the country the first in the world to pay all of its citizens a monthly basic income regardless if they work or not. 

But the initiative has not gained much traction among politicians from left and right despite the fact that a referendum on it was approved by the federal government for the ballot box on June 5.

Under the proposed initiative, each child would also receive € 130.82 a week.

The federal government estimates the cost of the proposal at € 97.43 billion a year. 

Around € 138.05 bn would have to be levied from taxes, while € 49.62 bn would be transferred from social insurance and social assistance spending.

The group proposing the initiative, which includes artists, writers and intellectuals, cited a survey which shows that the majority of Swiss residents would continue working if the guaranteed income proposal was approved. 

 'The argument of opponents that a guaranteed income would reduce the incentive of people to work is therefore largely contradicted,' it said in a statement quoted by The Local.  

However, a third of the 1,076 people interviewed for the survey by the Demoscope Institute believed that 'others would stop working'.

And more than half of those surveyed (56 percent) believe the guaranteed income proposal will never see the light of day.  

EU-Digest

Postal Services: Swiss test postal drones for future deliveries

The Swiss postal service has begun testing parcel deliveries by unmanned drones.

Eventually for areas which are difficult to access such as mountanous regions this will be the postal service of the future.

Extensive tests will analyse the technical restrictions of the drones, including limited battery life.

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Swiss Post says it envisages using the drones for mainly emergency situations, which could involve bringing supplies to an area that has been cut off from the outside world following a storm.

Tests are going to run until the end of July although widespread use the flying postmen is not expected for another five years.

Read more: Swiss test postal drones for future deliveries | euronews, world news

Fifa Scandal or Politics on Steroids ?: Why is the US policing a global game ?

The BBC asked in one of their recent programs - "America does not even like football, or so many people think. Why is it leading the charge against alleged Fifa corruption?"

Good question.

At dawn, Swiss police rounded up seven Fifa officials at the behest of US authorities who have conducted a massive investigation into corruption at football's governing body.
So how did a country where football is more niche than entrenched come to police the world's beautiful game?

"Too many countries are cowed by Fifa," said Alexandra Wrage, a former Fifa anti-bribery adviser who resigned in protest from the organization.

"As with international bribery more generally, the US Department of Justice has said they'll step up to investigate corruption if others won't," she said.

It is not clear what specific event - if any - prompted the US investigation. Some have pointed to the United States' failed bid in late 2010 to host the the 2022 World Cup, and suspicions that bribes were paid to encourage votes for Qatar.

Note EU-Digest:The US involvement in Fifa is questionable and looks much more like politics gone on steroids. Everyone is aware bribery in sports has been going on for years now, not only in the FIFA globally, but also in just about every sector of US sports.  Another possible point of this US contention could be that Russia will be hosting the next World Cup in 2018!  The country submitted its candidacy in early 2009 and was selected by the FIFA Executive Committee in Zurich on December 2, 2010, beating out England and joint bids from Portugal/Spain and Belgium/Netherlands. 

Who knows, the US might be wanting to turn this decision for Russia to host the 2018 world cup around by proving bribery charges favored the selection of Russia and in that way indirectly also punish Russia for the Ukraine crises.

Another aspect, and maybe the most important one, is that the commercial benefits of hosting a World cup and all the perks that come with it involves major corporate involvement and profits. 

This complicates matters even more, since corporate money these days,  more often than not,  usually controls political action.   

EU-Digest 

International Banking Fraud: Six top banks fined for forex, Libor abuses

US and British regulators have slapped massive fines on six major global banks for rigging the foreign exchange market and Libor interest rates. They called the banks' frauds 'brazen schemes' to harm clients.

In a settlement announced by the US Justice Department on Wednesday, the banks agreed to pay close to $6 billion (5.3 billion euros) in fines for their manipulations.

The deal included guilty pleas from UK-based Barclays Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland, as well as US banks JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup. They admitted to conspiring to manipulate the massive currency market.

Switzerland's UBS also pleaded guilty - in its case for one count of wire fraud in connection with Libor interest rate manipulations. However, the Justice Department granted the Swiss bank conditional immunity for cooperating with the investigation.

Together, the five banks agreed to a record $2.5 billion in criminal penalties, the largest set of antitrust fines ever obtained by the Department of Justice.

In addition, these five banks, plus the Bank of America, will pay more than $1.8 billion in fines to the US Federal Reserve over "unsafe and unsound practices" in forex markets.

Note EU-Digest: If someone steals a bar of chocolate in a grocery store, he or she can go to prison for a week including paying a fine. These banker crooks just pay a fine out of the billions they already stole from you and me and continue their life.
 
Read more: Six top banks fined for forex, Libor abuses | Business | DW.DE | 20.05.2015

Banking Industry: British HSBC ‘helped clients dodge millions in tax’

The Swiss arm of British banking giant HSBC helped wealthy clients dodge taxes and hide millions of dollars from authorities, according to a report by a network of investigative journalists released Sunday based on a cache of leaked bank files.

The allegations prompted the bank to release a statement admitting it was “accountable for past compliance and control failures” at its Swiss subsidiary HSBC Private Bank.

The files, analysed by reporters in the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in collaboration with more than 140 journalists from 45 countries, showed that British banking giant HSBC provided accounts to international criminals, corrupt businessmen, politicians and celebrities.

"HSBC profited from doing business with arms dealers who channeled mortar bombs to child soldiers in Africa, bag men for Third World dictators, traffickers in blood diamonds and other international outlaws," ICIJ reported.

The leaked files were first obtained by French daily Le Monde, which then distributed them through the ICIJ to news outlets around the world, including The Guardian in the UK, Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung and 60 Minutes in the USA, who published their reports simultaneously on Sunday.

The Guardian alleged in its report that the files showed HSBC’s Swiss bank routinely allowed clients to withdraw “bricks” of cash, often in foreign currencies which were of little use in Switzerland, marketed schemes which were likely to enable wealthy clients to avoid European taxes and colluded to conceal undeclared accounts from domestic tax authorities.

Read more: Business - HSBC ‘helped clients dodge millions in tax’ - France 24

Switzerland: EU halts Switzerland research and education ( euro 1.8bn) grant talks following anti-immigrant vote

The EU has suspended talks with Switzerland over its participation in EU research and education programmes because of the Swiss vote last week to curb immigration. 

Switzerland's access to millions of euros of EU funding is now at risk.

A European Commission spokesman said the Horizon 2020 research programme and Erasmus+ student exchanges were linked to freedom of movement.

Switzerland has blocked free access to its employment market for Croatians.

Switzerland is not in the EU but more than half of its exports go to the 28-nation bloc and it has adopted large sections of EU policy.

Horizon 2020 will provide nearly 80bn euros ($110bn) over seven years for research projects in the EU.

In the current programme Swiss participants have received more than 1.8bn euros in research grants. The first new grants are to be decided later this year.

Erasmus+ has a budget of 14.7bn euros and enables more than four million young Europeans to study and get work experience abroad.

Read more:  BBC News - EU halts Switzerland research and education talks

Switzerland votes a narrow 'yes' to cap EU immigration - and shoot themselves in the foot

Switzerland has voted 50.3 percent in favor of limiting annual migration from the EU, thus ending the policy of free movement within the bloc that was established in 2002.

Swiss voters narrowly decided that immigration quotas would be reintroduced, thereby overturning the free movement policy introduced in the European Union 12 years ago. Early results showed the country to be very divided in opinion over the 'Stop mass immigration’ initiative.

‘Stop mass immigration’ was introduced by the nationalist Swiss People's Party (SVP). Its goal is to introduce annual quotas on the number of foreign workers entering the country. The SVP currently has 54 seats in the Federal Assembly, and its vote share of 29% in the 2007 Federal Council election was the highest vote ever recorded for a single party in Switzerland. The SVP opposes governmental measures for environmental protection.. The Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher. 

The SVP adheres to national conservatism, aiming at the preservation of Switzerland's political sovereignty and a conservative society. Furthermore, the party promotes the principle of individual responsibility and is skeptical toward any expansion of governmental services. This stance is most evident in the rejection of an accession of Switzerland to the European Union, the rejection of military involvement abroad, and the rejection of increases in government spending on social welfare and education.

The emphasis of the party's policies lie in foreign policy, immigration and homeland security policy as well as tax and social welfare policy. Among political opponents, the SVP has gained a reputation as a party that maintains a hard-line stance. Most memorable negative of the party is that it denied to condemn Fascism.

Final count: Yes 50.3%(1,463,954 votes) No 49.7%(1,444,438) Turnout: 56.5% 

The result will likely vex multinational companies based there; Roche, Novartis, UBS, and other industry giants frequently utilize foreign labor.

According to the latest data, 23 percent of the country’s eight million inhabitants are foreigners – the second largest proportion in Europe after Luxembourg.

Many fear the initiative would have a negative impact on the economy, which relies on foreign workers for progress and a competitive edge.

Italians and Germans reportedly comprise the largest contingent of immigrants to Switzerland, most of whom seek work in IT, healthcare, and financial sectors.

Severin Schwan, Austrian CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals, said about half of the employees at the research and development site in Basel, Switzerland are foreigners.

EU-Digest

"Dutch economy is poised to improve" - says Dutch Central Bank President Klaas Knot in Davos

The Netherlands recently kept its triple-A credit rating from Fitch, which said that the decision reflected the country’s strong underlying economic, institutional and credit fundamentals.

The rating agency kept the outlook at negative, however, because of the Netherlands’ weak economic growth prospects.

Another rating agency, Standard & Poor’s, stripped the Netherlands of its top-grade AAA rating in late November, also citing its low growth prospects.

So far that has left Germany, Luxembourg and Finland as the only members of the 17-nation euro zone with the coveted top rating from all three leading credit agencies.

Moody’s, which still rates the Netherlands triple-A with a negative outlook, will publish its next update on March 7th.

Note EU-Digest:  The Dutch economy is poised to improve after house prices stopped declining and consumer confidence rose, Dutch Central Bank President Klaas Knot said. 

“There is no need to think that the Dutch economy will structurally lag the euro zone any longer,” Knot, 46, who is also a member of the European Central Bank’s Governing Council, said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We will have to wait for mid-February to see whether the fourth-quarter gross domestic product numbers confirm the gradual recovery.” .

The Dutch economy, the fifth-largest in the euro area, emerged from a year of recession in the third quarter as exports benefited from a nascent recovery in the currency region. The country has gone through three recessions since the origins of the global financial crisis in 2007.

Read more: Fitch affirms Netherlands credit rating - Economic News | Ireland & World Economy Headlines |The Irish Times - Fri, Jan 17, 2014

and at: The Dutch economy is poised toimprove - Bloomberg