Commentary: OECD tax agreement - a little more justice

For tax evaders, the risk of being uncovered has escalated. An agreement governing the international exchange of data will bring a little more justice, says DW's business editor Henrik Böhme.

Deutsche Welle, 30 Oct 2014

It was one of the first books I was given 25 years ago after the fall of the wall. Its title: "1000 ganz legale Steuertricks" or in English, 1,000 completely legal tax tricks. It was important to know where you stood in the battle against the merciless tax office. At the time, creating a tax return was something of a pleasure, knowing that in the end, thanks to all possible personal reliefs, you'd be refunded a decent sum of money.

The book still exists, but times have changed. The taxation of well-earned money has already reached a painful level and ways of reducing the tax burden have become much smaller. The state - that expensive old being - needs every euro it can get. That goes without mentioning the fact that since the financial crisis rocked the world, countries that had to support their banks with billions have accumulated gigantic mountains of debt.

This has led to tax hunters around the world taking the opportunity to look more intensely than ever before where their compatriots, who have more money in their account than the average Joe, are stashing away their money - or better said, where its hidden from the tax authorities. Of course, for rich Germans, there were possibilities just around the corner in Luxembourg or Switzerland, where tax-saving investment was part of the government-tolerated business model. But it became a risky business: After CDs holding entire lists of names of tax evaders emerged, there were some spectacular arrests, including that of Deutsche Post boss, Klaus Zumwinkel. The number of voluntary self-denunciations soared because for many tax evaders it was becoming just too hot to handle.

DW's Henrik Böhme

Because the business with the CDs had a somewhat nasty aftertaste - after all, the data was obtained by criminal means and then offered for sale to the tax authorities, which is nothing more than receiving stolen goods - it seemed like the better idea to implement what the international community had already decided upon at the 2009 G20 summit in London: drain tax havens and declare war on tax evasion.

Now a huge step has been made in the shape of a newly signed agreement. "Banking secrecy has become obsolete," says the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble with pride. Tax evaders are now skating on even thinner ice.

But the question remains: are the tax offices in the position to cope with the flood of data due to arrive from 2017 on? Will all countries really pull together? Will all those participating be working on a level playing field? And what will be done to tackle new loopholes, which are bound to appear? One thing that remains important is to implement the agreement quickly and without undue delay.

This momentum must now be used to also curb creative tax policies of internationally operating companies. It may all be legal, but it simply cannot be that profits are pushed back until the tax burden is zero. What applies to private assets must also apply to corporate assets: taxes must be paid where the net product comes from. It's a chance now, at least, for a little more justice.

Related Article:

Switzerland, Singapore join clampdown on bank secrecy

Fed ends bond buying, keeps rates low

The US Federal Reserve has ended its bond-buying program known as quantitative easing. The purchases were meant to stimulate a flagging economy that has since picked up.

Deutsche Welle, 29 Oct 2014

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday ended its monthly campaign of purchasing asset-backed debt, a show of confidence that the American economy would continue to recover despite bleak forecasts for much of the rest of the world.

But the central bank said it would keep its benchmark short-term interest rates at record lows "for a considerable time" while the job market picks up. Experts do not expect it to raise that rate until mid-2015.

"The Committee continues to see sufficient underlying strength in the broader economy," the Fed's policy committee said in a statement after a regular two-day meeting.

A decision to raise rates again would depend on incoming economic data, the Fed said.

The stopping of the long-running monetary stimulus program, known as quantitative easing, was largely expected. The central bank had already tapered its monthly bond purchases from $85 billion (66.5 billion euros) to $15 billion as the economy gradually recovered from the 2007-2009 recession.

The committee's statement also no longer referred to slack in the labor market as "significant," but instead said that it was "gradually diminishing," underscoring faith that the unemployment rate would continue to fall. In September, that rate fell to a six-year low of 5.9 percent.

But the Fed did acknowledge that some factors, such as lower energy prices, were weighing down inflation and keeping it below the central bank's 2 percent target.

"The Committee judges that the likelihood of inflation running persistently below 2 percent has diminished somewhat since early this year," the statement said.

cjc/uhe (Reuters, AP)

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Nearly US$300m in fines just the start for China's anti-monopoly work

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-10-26

Qualcomm's company logo. (File photo/CFP)

From Microsoft to Qualcomm, Audi to Mercedes Benz, China's anti-monopoly moves have issued penalties worth nearly 1.8 billion yuan (US$294 million) so far this year, while calls for ensuring fair competition in the market are getting stronger and stronger, the Beijing-based Economic Information Daily reports.

The next stage of the anti-monopoly campaign will focus on breaking administrative monopolies, including manipulating administrative power to exclude competition and local protectionism. Experts expect a more fair and orderly market environment in China in the future, following the implementation of the anti-monopoly law.

The world has been paying close to attention to how China has been managing monopolies since the campaign started in 2013. The first stage targeted monopoly agreements (vertical monopoly), the concentration of undertakings that restrict competition (horizontal monopoly) and the abuse of a dominant market position.

The vertical monopoly refers to upstream and downstream operators in the same industry having reached agreements to exclude or restrict competition. For example, in the auto market, car suppliers have issued policies or notices to restrict and define the minimum resale price, as well having fixed the resale price and taken other unilateral measures.

Horizontal monopoly refers to agreements reached among competitors, a tactic much harder to detect and break. Enterprises in the same industry may agree to jointly set prices through meetings and regional alliances.

Targets of fines include Japanese car parts enterprises, which got slammed with 1.24 billion yuan (US$202 million) in August, and fines on Zhejiang's insurers for 110 million yuan (US$18 million) in September.

Chen Fengying, director of the Institute of World Economic Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, expects the nation's anti-monopoly investigations to deepen further, expanding to wider ranges and gaining more authority.

Since China's implementation involves foreign multinational companies, some foreign media have raised queries over its fairness. Premier Li Keqiang at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos this year replied that among the companies being investigated for anti-monopoly, foreign enterprises accounted for only 10%, a number he described as fair. China's implementation of anti-monopoly probes will make China further expand its openings, allowing more foreign funds and foreign products willing to enter the nation.

Anti-monopoly probes follow international standards, aiming to ensure fair competition in the market and upgrade economic efficiency, said an expert.

Tesco chairman resigns as profits error deepens

Yahoo – AFP, Ben Perry, 23 Oct 2014

The chairman of Tesco will resign after the British supermarket group was found

 to have overstated profits by £263 million ($422 million, 334 million euros) (AFP

Photo/Carl Court)

London (AFP) - The chairman of Britain's biggest retailer Tesco resigned on Thursday as the troubled supermarket group said a huge accounting error began earlier than thought and contributed to plunging profits.

Chairman Richard Broadbent said he would be stepping down after an independent investigation found that Tesco had overstated profits by £263 million ($422 million, 334 million euros) as a result of accounting errors stretching back to before 2013.

"The board's immediate focus must be on ensuring that we complete the transition to a new management team and that new and far-reaching business plans are put in place quickly," Broadbent said in a statement that revealed Tesco's net profit had crashed to £6.0 million in its first half from £820 million one year earlier.

Tesco, the world's third biggest supermarket

 group, stunned investors one month ago

 when it revealed that its profit for the six

 months to August 23 was overstated by an

estimated £250 million (AFP Photo/Carl

Court)

Tesco, the world's third biggest supermarket group, stunned investors one month ago when it revealed that its profit for the six months to August 23 was overstated by an estimated £250 million.

Following an independent probe by accountants Deloitte, the final figure was put at £263 million, which includes overstatements of £70 million for Tesco's last financial year and £75 million relating to pre-2013/14.

"The issues that have come to light over recent weeks are a matter of profound regret," Broadbent added in the statement.

Tesco has suspended eight executives since recently-appointed chief executive Dave Lewis launched an inquiry into the accounting error that has triggered a separate probe by British regulator the Financial Conduct Authority.

Tesco's shock profits warning last month also sent its share price sliding and caused US billionaire investor Warren Buffett's investment company to cut its holdings in the group.

The group's share price was down 4.84 percent at 174.15 pence following the update and in early trading on London's benchmark FTSE 100 index, which had slid 1.24 percent to 6,320.20 points compared with Wednesday's close.

"Not only is the firm reporting a bigger accounting error than expected, but it is also not giving shareholders any indication of what it could report as a profit for its full year," said Joshua Raymond, chief market strategist at City Index traders.

'Challenging times'

While Tesco has been forced to massively adjust its reported earnings owing to an overstatement of income and an understatement of costs, the supermarket has in any case seen profits hit in recent times by increased competition in main market Britain.

In a bid to turn around its fortunes, the group in July appointed outsider and former Unilever executive Lewis to replace long-standing chief executive Philip Clarke.

"Our business is operating in challenging times," Lewis said in Thursday's statement.

"Trading conditions are tough and our underlying profitability is under pressure."

Tesco has struggled in recent years in Britain, as recession-weary shoppers have turned to German-owned discount retail groups Aldi and Lidl.

Tesco is the world's third-biggest

supermarket group after France's Carrefour

 and global leader, US retailer Wal-Mart

(AFP Photo/Paul Ellis)

Discount chains boomed during the downturn as consumers tightened their belts to save cash, and remain popular despite the economy's steady recovery this year.

Tesco's profits have been weighed down also by fierce competition from its traditional supermarket rivals comprising Wal-Mart division Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons.

"No great surprises in the Tesco results: we are faced with an extremely challenged UK business, an Irish operation that remains in freefall and a patchy performance in Central and Eastern Europe and Asia," said Bryan Roberts at consultants Kantar Retail.

"Naive hopes that the flamboyant accounting practices were limited to a six month period have been scotched, hinting at a systematic and long-term breach of standard practice."

Britain's biggest retailer has also suffered abroad in recent times, causing it to shut its failed US division Fresh & Easy and to exit from Japan over the past couple of years.

Tesco is the world's third-biggest supermarket group after France's Carrefour and global leader, US retailer Wal-Mart.

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Italy World Cup hero Cannavaro probed over tax fraud

Yahoo - AFP, October 22, 2014

Italy World Cup hero Cannavaro probed

over tax fraud

Rome (AFP) - Italy's World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro is being investigated on suspicion of running a sham company to avoid paying more than a million euros ($1.27 million) in tax, Italian authorities announced Wednesday.

The former centreback, who led Italy to glory in Germany in 2006, has had property and other assets worth 900,000 euros confiscated in connection with an ongoing probe into a luxury boat rental business that Cannavaro, 41, ran with his wife.

In a statement, prosecutors in Cannavaro's home city of Naples, said they suspected that three multi-million-euro vessels supposedly available for rental through the company were in fact exclusively for the couple's private use.

As such, Cannavaro and his wife, Daniela Arenoso, 40, should have declared them as taxable assets and not been able to benefit from the various tax breaks for which only companies are eligible.

Tax inspectors have estimated that the operation of what was effectively a sham company, FD Service, enabled the couple to avoid more than one million euros in taxes and VAT between 2005 and 2010.

The prosecutors said that they had obtained evidence of Cannavaro's direct involvement in the fraud and of other, unspecified, illegal actions in relation to the company.

Also under investigation is Eugenio Tuccillo, described by prosecutors as an individual of limited means to whom Cannavaro sold the business shortly after the opening of the tax probe.

Almost immediately after taking over, Tuccillo put the company into administration in what inspectors suspect was an attempt to hide the fraud.

A national sport

In an illustrious playing career, Cannavaro played for Napoli, Parma, Internazionale, Juventus and Real Madrid before a final stint with Al-Ahli in Dubai, where he is currently assistant coach.

His movie-star looks, 136 caps and rise from the back streets of Naples to the summit of world football have made him a national icon in Italy, a country that prizes defenders like no other.

Famed for being as tough on the pitch as the teak on one of his boats, Cannavaro had, until now, also enjoyed a squeaky-clean image as a family man.

The latest revelations may not sully that reputation too much as tax dodging is often referred to as the second national sport in Italy.

Numerous high-profile figures have been accused of cheating on their returns.

A government report published last month estimated that tax evasion currently costs the state 91 billion euros per year, equivalent to six percent of the country's annual output.

News of the allegations against Cannavaro emerged a day after the financial police announced they had broken up a ring of companies they believe used false accounting to defraud the state out of 1.7 billion euros ($2.2 billion).

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has promised a crackdown on tax dodgers and has vowed to end the country's tradition of regular amnesties for offenders as part of broader package of reforms intended to make the country easier to govern, more business-friendly and stronger financially.

Well-known names who have been previously accused or convicted of illegal tax evasion include fashion designers Giorgio Armani, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana.

Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is currently doing community service in a retirement home as his punishment after being convicted of tax fraud.

Related Article:

Italian police say discovered huge 1.7 bn corporate fraud

Italian police say discovered huge 1.7 bn corporate fraud

Yahoo – AFP, 21 Oct 2014

Italy's financial police said they had broken up a ring of companies they believe
 used false accounting to defraud the state of 1.7 billion euros ($2.2 billion) of tax
(AFP Photo/Gabriel Bouys)

Rome (AFP) - Italy's financial police on Tuesday said they had broken up a ring of companies they believe used false accounting to defraud the state out of 1.7 billion euros ($2.2 billion) of tax.

"The illegal activity has led, over the years, to damages to the state... whose total sum exceeds 1.7 billion euros" since 2001, the financial police said in a statement.

Police said two Rome businessmen, Pierino Tulli and Maurizio Ladaga, created a system using false invoices issued by intermediary subcontracting companies in areas such as security services and industrial cleaning to perpetrate the fraud.

Using these false invoices, large sums of money were put into the accounts of shell companies. The funds were then taken out in cash and deposited in San Marino or Luxembourg, and the companies declared bankrupt, the police said.

A total of 62 people are suspected of taking part in the fraud to some degree.

Some 70 police were involved in the investigation across Italy, which also led to the seizure of goods worth more than 100 million euros, including 100 properties, two companies and hundreds of bank accounts.

Chronic levels of tax evasion, by both individuals and companies, are considered, one of the biggest problems faced by the eurozone's third biggest economy.

A government report published last month estimated that the revenue shortfall is running at 91 billion euros ($115 billion) per year, roughly the equivalent of six percent of GDP.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has promised a crackdown as he battles to get Italy's budget deficit into line with eurozone rules and the government is counting on raising 3.8 billion euros from such measures next year.

Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan has vowed that there will be no repeat of the amnesties for tax dodgers which past governments have resorted to in order to encourage a short-term inflow of payments but critics say is counterproductive in the longer term.

The tax report also revealed that more than 700,000 snap inspections carried out last year found irregularities in the income declarations made by 94 percent of the companies or self-employed professionals inspected.

EU fines JP Morgan for rigging interest rates

Yahoo – AFP,  Bryan McManus, 21 Oct 2014

The European Commission fined US banking giant JP Morgan more than 61 million
 euros ($78 million) for its role in rigging benchmark international interest rates
(AFP/Timothy A. Clary) 

The European Commission fined US banking giant JP Morgan more than 61 million euros ($78 million) on Tuesday for its role in rigging benchmark international interest rates.

JP Morgan worked with Royal Bank of Scotland in 2008-09 to fix interest rates on Swiss franc LIBOR contracts, another example of major banks colluding "instead of competing with each other," EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said.

"Our economy needs a healthy, transparent, well-functioning financial sector. This is why antitrust rules in this sector must be strictly enforced," Almunia said.

LIBOR, the London Interbank Offered Rate, is a key benchmark, in effect used to price the trillions of dollars (euros) in financial instruments, from student loans to mortgages, bought and sold everyday on the markets.

Tiny differentials add up to huge profits and abuse of LIBOR and related benchmarks around the world have been discovered by authorities probing the markets after the global financial crisis of 2007-08.

Many critics blame the collapse on the reckless and corrupt practices allowed to flourish in what they say was an 'anything goes' attitude in parts of the world of high finance, with governments then forced to step in at huge cost to the taxpayer to bailout failed banks -- including RBS, which is now state-owned.

Many of the biggest banks have been ensnared by US and British LIBOR probes, among them Barclays and Lloyds of Britain, Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon.

At the same time, there are parallel investigations into charges that the top banks similarly rigged foreign exchange rates to get an unfair advantage.

Almunia said that a second similar LIBOR case involved RBS, JP Morgan and Swiss giants UBS and Credit Suisse who fixed a pricing element for the contracts which should have been determined by market forces.

Fines imposed in this second investigation, dating back to events in 2007, brought the total to some 94 million euros, he said.

Both decisions were based on a settlement with the banks, who "recognised their involvement and in exchange received a reduction of 10 percent of their respective fines," the Commission said in a statement.

RBS paid no fine, however, because it owned up to the Commission.

"Acting against financial cartels is one of our top priorities, given the importance of a healthy, transparent, well-functioning financial sector for the entire economy.

"All market players in this sector must be aware that no violation of antitrust rules will be tolerated," the statement concluded.

Australian, Chinese police target assets of corrupt officials

Want China Times, Xinhua 2014-10-21

The Independent Commission against Corruption in Hong Kong. (File photo/CNS)

Australian and Chinese police have joined forces to seize the assets of corrupt Chinese officials living in Australia, local media reported on Monday.

Called "Operation Fox Hunt," Australian Federal Police (AFP) together with their Chinese counterparts will take action in the coming weeks, according to Commander Bruce Hill, the manager of the AFP's operations in Asia.

Hill told Fairfax Media that Australia had agreed to assist China in the extradition and seizure of assets of corrupt officials who have fled to Australia with illicit funds running into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Hill said Australia had been identified by Beijing as one of the most popular outlets for corrupt Chinese money and a number of suspects are naturalized Australian citizens and permanent residents who have laundered money.

"They don't all of a sudden leave overnight and take a bag of money with them. In some cases they're very carefully planned," Hill said.

Hill said some Chinese officials send their spouse and children overseas to shift the money.

"As time goes on, they start to put (their funds) into legitimate assets such as houses and property and shares and bank accounts and then the money becomes their wealth," Hill said.

"But it's never been their money to start with in the first place; it's corrupt money flowing out of China."

The joint Australian-Chinese police operation follows the Chinese government's ongoing and wide-ranging anti-corruption drive.

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Ex-senior railways officials given suspended death penalty for bribery in Beijing

Two more Rabobank staffers face US charges over interest rate fixing

DutchNews.nl, Friday 17 October 2014

(NOS/ANP)

The American authorities have charged two more former Rabobank workers for the role in the Libor interest rate manipulation scandal.

The new charges mean six former Rabobank staffers have now faced charges in connection with the case. The two latest suspects are British men who worked as derivatives traders for Rabobank in London. One was the head of the Liquidity & Finance division, the US justice department statement said.

Rabobank itself reached an out of court settlement with the American authorities last year, agreeing to pay a fine of €254m.

In total Rabobank paid €774m in out of court settlements for its role in the Libor scandal, which cost the bank's chief executive Piet Moorland and department head Sipko Schat their jobs.

Fourteen bank workers have faced disciplinary measures such as the loss of bonuses, and five have been sacked for their role in the scandal.

Ex-senior railways officials given suspended death penalty for bribery in Beijing

Want China Times, Xinhua 2014-10-17

Zhang Shuguang stands trail, Sept. 10. (Photo/CNS)

A Beijing court sentenced a former senior railways official to death with a two years reprieve on charges of taking bribes on Friday.

The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court also deprived Zhang Shuguang, former head of the railways ministry's transportation bureau and deputy chief engineer, of political rights for life and confiscated all his property.

His deputy Su Shunhu, was also given life imprisonment, deprived of political rights for life and had all his property confiscated.

Zhang has not said if he is planning an appeal after the morning hearing.

According to the court, Zhang took bribes worth more than 47 million yuan (US$7.7 million) from 14 companies between 2000 and 2011, when he served in a variety of positions in the ministry.

He helped companies with contracts relating to the sale of trains or parts, technical supply and the bidding of projects, the court said.

On Su's part, the court found he took bribes worth more than 24 million yuan (US$3.9 million) from three companies between 2003 and 2011.

The court made judgments while considering both defendants voluntarily made a confession on undiscovered bribery and showed sincere regret over their wrongdoing.

Zhang is the second high-ranking railways official charged with bribery in China after former railways minister Liu Zhijun was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for bribery and abuse of power in July.

Prosecutors seize assets of Ting Hsin's former chairman

Want China Times, CNA 2014-10-16

Luxury apartments in Taipei, Oct. 15. (File photo/CNA)

Prosecutors on Wednesday seized three luxury apartment units as well as other assets owned by Wei Ying-chung, who recently resigned as chairman of Ting Hsin International Group, the conglomerate at the center of Taiwan's latest food scare.

Wei's assets–stocks, bank accounts, apartments in the upscale 'Palace' complex in Taipei and other real estate–were seized to prevent him from getting rid of them, prosecutors said.

Wei is under investigation in Taipei, Changhua, Chiayi, Tainan and Kaohsiung amid a snowballing food safety scandal involving the Ting Hsin group, which is owned by Wei and his family.

Investigators were worried that the family would move their assets to China to avoid having them frozen in Taiwan, pending an investigation into irregularities at edible oil plants operated by Ting Hsin subsidiaries.

A top executive of Ting Hsin Oil & Fat and another two from Cheng I Food, two of the subsidiary companies, were detained by prosecutors Tuesday in connection with the recent food safety scandal.

The two companies are accused of using lard meant for use in animal feed in their edible oil products.

The incident–the third cooking oil-related scandal to hit the conglomerate within a year–has sparked widespread outrage among consumers in Taiwan, leading to a public boycott of the group's products and brands.

Wei Ying-chung in a police car on the way to a detention

center, Changhua, Oct. 17. (Photo/CNA)

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Cheers in France as economist Tirole wins Nobel

Yahoo – AFP, Hugues Honore, 13 Oct 2014

French economist Jean Tirole, seen here in June 2008, was awarded the Nobel

 Economics Prize "for his analysis of market power and regulation", according to the

Royal Academy of Sciences (AFP Photo/Eric Cabanis)

Stockholm (AFP) - Jean Tirole won the Nobel Economics Prize on Monday for research on reining in corporate giants, a second French award this season hailed as a slap in the face for "France bashers".

"One of the most influential economists of our time," the jury called Tirole, whose fellow countryman Patrick Modiano took the prize for literature last week.

"Most of all he has clarified how to understand and regulate industries with a few powerful firms," it said of the 61-year-old professor at Toulouse 1 Capitole University.

Taming huge corporations, and ensuring they don't reap huge profits at the expense of ordinary consumers, has emerged as a growing concern in recent years.

The global financial crisis -- triggered by a small number of giant players in the banking sector -- has further pushed the complex issue up the agenda for global policymakers.

"Banking is a very hard thing to regulate, and we economists have to do more work on this," Tirole told the Nobel Committee after learning he had won the prize, worth eight million Swedish kronor ($1.1 million, 878,000 euros).

Thumbing noses at 'French-bashing'

News of his win triggered delight in Paris -- as well as a note of vindication from the French prime minister, irked by a string of articles decrying the morose state of the nation.

"After Patrick Modiano, yet another Frenchman has come to the fore: Congratulations to Jean Tirole!" Manuel Valls tweeted after the announcement. "Talk about thumbing your nose at 'French-bashing'."

Modiano's win last week was already hailed as a boost for a country in the doldrums with a stagnating economy and deeply unpopular government.

President Francois Hollande said the prize puts the spotlight on "the quality of the research carried out in our nation."

Tirole's work, the Nobel jury said, has provided a framework for designing policies for a range of industries from banking to telecommunications.

His citation comes amid growing controversy over the market power of such companies as Amazon and Google.

"Drawing on these new insights, governments can better encourage powerful firms to become more productive and, at the same time, prevent them from harming competitors and customers," the jury said.

The concentration of corporate power has been a key concern for policymakers since the 1980s, when advanced countries moved progressively to allowing markets a freer role.

The trend has been strengthened across industries by technological advances and globalisation, which produced unprecedented wealth but also exacerbated inequality.

Dominate thy neighbour

Laureate of the 2014 Nobel Prize in

Economics, French economist Jean Tirole and

his wife Nathalie are seen at the Toulouse

School of Economics (TSE) on October 13, 

2014 in Toulouse (AFP Photo/Remy Gabalda)

A lot of Tirole's research has focused on motivation and salary, with regard to large companies and the rise in pay among the top tiers of leadership -- like Wall Street chief executives.

But his Nobel Prize came for his work on oligopoly and game theory -- or the study of how strategic interactions affect an outcome.

An oligopoly is a state of limited competition, a popular example being the cellular companies Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, which together control around 90 percent of the market. A monopoly, on the other hand, is the dominance of one seller in the market.

Tirole's research has also shown how some companies -- for example producers of widely-used but patented software -- are able to dominate not just their own industry, but also related ones further down the production chain.

One of his chief contributions is the notion that market dominance works differently in different industries, according to the Nobel jury.

His research suggests, for example, that it can sometimes make sense to allow firms to undercut each other by setting prices below production costs -- something traditionally disciplined under competition, or anti-trust, law.

"The best regulation or competition policy should therefore be carefully adapted to every industry's specific conditions."

American near-monopoly

The prize will be awarded at a ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the death in 1896 of the prizes' creator, Swedish scientist and philanthropist Alfred Nobel.

Appropriately for an economist who has dedicated much of his career to the study of monopolies, Tirole's award reduces an American near-monopoly over the Nobel economics prize in recent years.

Over the past decade, 18 out 20 economics prize laureates have been from the United States, including one Israeli-American.

Last year, US scholars Eugene Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert Shiller won for their work on spotting trends in the asset markets.

The economics prize winds up this year's Nobel season, marked by the award Friday of the peace prize to 17-year-old Pakistani Malala Yousafzai and India's Kailash Satyarthi.

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“… 5 - Integrity That May Surprise…

Number five: There will be those who think it impossible to have a search for integrity and fairness in all things. In other words, Human Beings will not simply go with what they are told is the status quo. They will look at it and they will say, "Well, I think it could be better. I'm going to look around for something that has more integrity and fairness." Yes, there will be those who tell you, "Look, the institutions hold all the cards and you have to do it their way. If you want health insurance or you want loans from the banks for your home, you better do it their way." I have news for you. Even this is going to change.

"What are you going to do?" the Human asks. "They hold all the power!" In the past, there was nothing you could do. Now I'll tell you what the potentials are. You're going to pull out the puzzle and look past the walls of the maze. You're going to say, "Well, then I'll start my own institution." And some will. The new institutions, based on integrity, will sweep right past an old energy. In other words, there will be those who are young today who are going to start a new way of banking, a new way of health care, and a new way of insurance. And when you see these plans, you'll say, "Why didn't we think of that?"

Have you seen innovation and invention in the past decade that required thinking out of the box of an old reality? Indeed, you have. I can't tell you what's coming, because you haven't thought of it yet! But the potentials of it are looming large. Let me give you an example, Let us say that 20 years ago, you predicted that there would be something called the Internet on a device you don't really have yet using technology that you can't imagine. You will have full libraries, buildings filled with books, in your hand - a worldwide encyclopedia of everything knowable, with the ability to look it up instantly! Not only that, but that look-up service isn't going to cost a penny! You can call friends and see them on a video screen, and it won't cost a penny! No matter how long you use this service and to what depth you use it, the service itself will be free.

Now, anyone listening to you back then would perhaps have said, "Even if we can believe the technological part, which we think is impossible, everything costs something. There has to be a charge for it! Otherwise, how would they stay in business?" The answer is this: With new invention comes new paradigms of business. You don't know what you don't know, so don't decide in advance what you think is coming based on an old energy world. …”

HK protests swell again after talks with students canceled

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-10-11

Protesters returned to Admiralty on Friday night. (Photo

courtesy of Hong Kong Democracy Now)

The number of democracy protesters on the streets of Hong Kong surged after the special administrative region's government postponed talks with student protesters on Friday. Alex Chow of the Hong Kong Federation of Students has pledged to expand and extend the protests unless the government shows good faith, reports our Chinese-language sister paper China Times.

Over 100,000 protesters poured onto Harcourt Road in Admiralty, the location of the Hong Kong government office, on Friday night after the government scrapped talks with student protesters slated for 4pm that day, according to the Facebook page of Hong Kong Democracy Now. Many protesters also brought their tents, doubling the number of tents in Admiralty to around 90, in response to the calls of the student federation and another student activist group Scholarism. At least nine tents were also seen in neighboring Causeway Bay.

The government canceled the talks accusing the protesters of sabotaging the basis for negotiation and attempting to provoke another round of civil disobedience.

Chow said Hong Kong's citizens will not end their occupation "without achieving concrete results." He called Beijing's constraints on free elections in Hong Kong unacceptable and said the Chinese government should at the least reverse thir ruling that candidates for Hong Kong chief executive should receive the approval of more than 50% of members of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

Hong Kong police official Kong Man-keung said police will not rule out taking "appropriate measures" against Occupy Central protesters to bring traffic back to normal. A number of well-known figures including retired judge Andrew Li and Chinese University of Hong Kong vice chancellor Joseph Sung said Hong Kong citizens are on the verge of running out of patience with the protesters.

A group of 30 mothers sought to persuade students taking part in the occupied area in Admiralty to return to class on Friday afternoon, while an alliance formed by eight Chinese and Hong Kong logistics firms said Oct. 15 would be "last tolerance day" and said they will deploy large vehicles to clear road barriers if the protesters remained on the streets by that date.

Carrie Lam, chief secretary of the administration, left Hong Kong on Saturday for a pan-Pearl River Delta forum and will return Sunday, while the embattled chief executive whose resignation has been demanded by the protesters, Leung Chun-ying, is expected to attend the forum on Sunday and return to Hong Kong on Monday.

The protests began on Sept. 28.

Hong Kong protesters reopen channel for talks

Want China Times, CNA and Staff Reporter 2014-10-05

Are protesters in Hong Kong about to hang up their umbrellas? (Photo/CNS)

Leaders of the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong decided late Saturday to reopen a channel for talks with government officials and to allow civil servants to resume work Monday so as not to give the government any excuse to end their occupation movement.

Benny Tai, a key leader of the Occupy Central demonstration, which demands universal suffrage for Hong Kong residents to elect their top leader in 2017, said the decision was made after discussions with three major associations that have helped organize the protest.

Alex Chow, a leader of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, urged pro-democracy protesters to stand up and face the threat from the government.

Chow said the Occupy Central movement is not intended to launch a revolution, but it wants the government to respond to its demands and investigate accusations against the police regarding the use of gang members during attacks on peaceful demonstrators.

"If the government carries out such an investigation, the Hong Kong Federation of Students is willing to hold talks with the government again," he stated.

Confrontations between protesters and police and the arrest of peaceful demonstrators had led to protest leaders cancelling planned talks on Hong Kong's political reform with the government last week.

Lester Shum, one of the student leaders, said the occupation movement has been launched to pursue democracy and he urged the Hong Kong government not to respond by firing tear gas at protestors.

Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying said on television Saturday night that the government and police have the responsibility and would use "every means" to restore public order to enable 3,000 government officials to get back to work and students to return to school Monday.

Police have shown tolerance and urged protesters to clear the streets as soon as possible since the mass demonstrations erupted Sept. 28, but their efforts to disperse them have only drawn more supporters to the streets.

As protesters continued their occupation in downtown streets, clashes erupted between the students and their opponents throughout Sunday morning.

Earlier on Sunday, Peter Mathieson, president and vice chancellor of the University of Hong Kong, issued a statement urging students and faculty members to quickly leave the protesting venues, citing concerns for their personal safety.