Author: Asif Sheikh

The 1% grabbed 82% of all wealth created in 2017

More than $8 of every $10 of wealth created last year went to the richest 1%.

That’s according to a new report from Oxfam International, which estimates that the bottom 50% of the world’s population saw no increase in wealth.

Oxfam says the trend shows that the global economy is skewed in favor of the rich, rewarding wealth instead of work.

The head of the advocacy group argued that the people who “make our clothes, assemble our phones and grow our food” are being exploited in order to enrich corporations and the super wealthy.

The study, released ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, was produced using data from Credit Suisse’s (CS) Global Wealth Databook.

Related: 5 ways the world is pulling apart

The report also highlights the detrimental effects of gender inequality with data that show more men own land, shares and other capital assets than women.

Rising inequality has been a major topic at Davos for years.

Oxfam said Monday that it is time for the global elite to stop talking about inequality and start changing their ways.

“It’s hard to find a political or business leader who doesn’t say they are worried about inequality. It’s even harder to find one who is doing something about it,” said Byanyima.

“Many are actively making things worse by slashing taxes and scrapping labor rights,” she added.

Related: Thought 2017 was bad? 2018 could be much worse

Oxfam said that governments should focus on policies that would lead to fairer distribution of wealth and stronger workers’ rights.

These could include introducing a living wage, supporting labor unions and tackling gender discrimination.

Governments also need to tackle tax avoidance and put limits on shareholder returns and executive pay, Oxfam said. The group argues companies should not issue dividends to shareholders unless they pay their workers a living wage.

Oxfam also said that tax policies should be used to reduce extreme wealth.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/07/17/investing/barclays-qatar-trial-financial-crisis/index.html

They’re the most senior bankers to face charges in Britain over crimes allegedly committed during the financial crisis.

And now they have a trial date.

Former Barclays CEO John Varley and three top lieutenants will go on trial in January 2019, more than a decade after they orchestrated controversial cash injections from Qatar that saved the bank during the global financial crisis.

The start date for the criminal trial was set Monday in Southwark Crown Court in London.

Lawyers representing Varley declined to comment. Barclays (BCS), which faces related charges, also had no comment.

Varley and the bank’s former head of investment banking in the Middle East, Roger Jenkins, each face two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and one count of unlawful financial assistance.

A lawyer for Jenkins said that his client intends to “vigorously defend against the charges.”

The maximum penalty for a criminal fraud charge in the U.K. is 10 years in jail. Unlawful financial assistance carries a maximum of two years.

Two other former Barclays executives are facing one count of conspiracy to commit fraud each.

Charges were filed in the case last month by the U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office. It’s the first time the SFO, which investigates white collar crimes, has charged a bank or its executives over actions taken during the financial crisis.

 

 

Americans are suddenly defaulting on their credit cards

The American economy has looked pretty robust of late — unemployment just hit a 16-year low and stocks recently reached an all-time high.

This makes it all the more curious that Americans have suddenly stopped paying off their credit card bills at a rapid rate.

In the last two fiscal quarters, banks reported a steep rise in credit card charge-offs — debt that companies can’t collect from their customers — according to a report from Moody’s.

This chart from the report shows how each bank has fared on charge-offs, with Capital One, First National of Nebraska, and Synchrony showing the worst performance over the period:

© Provided by Business Insider moody’s credit card charge offs

The sharp increase, the largest since 2009, is especially unusual given how strong the US employment market has been, Moody’s noted. It suggests that American consumers haven’t fallen onto hard times so much as banks have started to loosen their standards and issue credit more aggressively.

Card issuers have been much stricter since the financial crisis and the passage of the CARD Act in 2009, which added an array of protections for consumers. Getting a credit card got a lot tougher, especially if you had sub-prime credit.

Charge-offs and unemployment tend to be related: When people lose their jobs, credit cards tend to be one of the first bills people stop paying, as compared to a home or auto loan where people risk losing those crucial assets.

So, charge-offs spiking when unemployment claims are low indicates that banks have lowered their standards and are approving people for cards who aren’t as credit worthy.

The ratio of charge-offs to unemployment claims had been hovering near all-time lows, but this chart shows that it’s shot back up to the historical average in the last two quarters — meaning standards might have deteriorated “rapidly,” according to Moody’s.

Federal Shariat Court goes on with the hearing of Riba Case on March 13 in Islamabad.
Tanzeem-e-Islami counsels are ready to assist the court on jurisdictional question.

Mr. Qaisar Imam Advocate pleaded well today in Federal Shariat Court and gave his expert opinions very confidently to satisfy on the various questions posed by honorable judges of the epic court.

1.     Federal Shariat Court has started hearing of the Riba case remanded by the Shariat Appellate Bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan in the year 2002.

2.     The judges panel of the Federal Shariat Court has asked the counsels of Jamat-e-Islami to assist them to determine the issue of jurisdiction of the epic court as has been indicated in the remand judgment of 2002.

3.     The Federal Shariat Court has fixed 6^th of March 2017 for the next hearing session.