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Russia Holds Key Rate at 21% Amid Surging Inflation

The Bank of Russia unexpectedly maintained its key interest rate at a record-high  21% , defying analysts’ expectations of another significant hike as inflation remains stubbornly elevated. The decision marks a shift toward a more measured approach in balancing economic growth and price stability. Key Details Inflation Concerns: Annual inflation climbed to  8.9%  in November, well above the central bank’s  4% target , with inflation expectations reaching  13.9%  in December. Policy Rationale: The central bank cited the significant tightening of monetary conditions after October’s  200-basis point hike  as sufficient to resume disinflationary processes. Governor Elvira Nabiullina emphasized avoiding both economic overheating and severe slowdowns. Economic Overheating: Elevated government spending on the war in Ukraine and social programs, coupled with labor shortages and rising wages, have fueled strong domestic demand, exacerbating price pressures...

Bad Customer Service Experience From the HSBC Credit Card

I have been in dilemma on whether to post my bad experience with the customer service from HSBC but in the end I decided to post my story here so that more people are aware of some of the bad services by certain banks , and this is not limited to HSBC. If I have bad experience with other credit card issuers in the future, I might post it here as well. I know that not all customer service are perfect, but at least what they should do is to provide the best customer service that can satisfy their customer. Being the HSBC credit card user for about four years, I feel that HSBC has been doing alright to retain and to satisfy their customer. Why? Because there was once that my dad has lost his wallet and we called to block the card, and immediately the CS offered to send a replacement card and he received his card within three days. However, my experience with the replacement card is totally contrast with what my dad has experienced. Ok, the following is what I have been experiencing and I...

Forbes 400: The Richest People in America

So, do you know who are the richest people in the United States of America? Well, the top two people in the America seems to remain in their position. They are Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Both of them are still on top despite being generous. Read below for full story that I get from the Forbes 400: The Richest People in America from Yahoo Finance . Since the article is too long, I'll share it in this blog by separating the articles into few parts. It has been a year of reclamation for America's richest. The total worth of the Forbes 400 was up 8% to $1.37 trillion, well out-earning the 1% rise in the S&P over the same period of time. More than half (217) are richer than they were a year ago. The headline number tells a partial story. Just over one-third of the 400 failed to add to their fortunes or lost ground. Still far above us is the record of $1.57 trillion in total net worth set in 2008. But the very top of the list gained, as good friends Bill Gates and Warren Buf...

How The Global Competitiveness Index Is Calculated?

I posted something on The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011 last week and get a comment from a reader named Aaron asking on how the Global Competitiveness Index is calculated by the World Economic Forum. The following is his comment aaron said... So how is the Global Competitiveness Index calculated and what does this say about the economy, as I see that Canada has slipped down one place too? As we all know, all these reports and indexes are just number that the World Economic Forum put in based on their perception using some of the guidelines from the forum. To me, the drop of a country in the Global Competitiveness Index means one and only thing - too many red tapes which makes it difficult to do a business with the nation. Well, that is just my opinion. Anyway after getting the comment from Aaron, I feel that it is also good for me to learn new stuff by learning how the Global Competitiveness Index is calculated by the World Economic Forum, thus I do a search from the Wor...

The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011

The US which has just lost the pole position to Switzerland in the Global Competitiveness Report not long ago slips another two places in the latest report by the World Economic Forum, overtaken by Sweden and Singapore. Malaysia also slipped 2 places while the United Kingdom which has recently slipped move back up by one place to 12th position. Click on Read More to get the full list of The Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011 by World Economic Forum . Country/Economy GCI 2010 GCI 2009 Change 2009-2010 Rank Score Rank Switzerland 1 5.63 1 0 Sweden 2 5.56 4 2 Singapore 3 5.48 3 0 United States 4 5.43 2 -2 Germany 5 5.39 7 2 Japan 6 5.37 8 2 Finland 7 5.37 6 -1 Netherlands 8 5.33 10 2 Denmark 9 5.32 5 -4 Canada 10 5.30 9 -1 Hong Kong SAR 11 5.27 11 0 ...