European member countries in the OECD are some of the big spenders on social spending. France tops the ranking in terms of gross public and total net social spending as a percentage of GDP. This is not surprising as the country has some of the best safety net systems in the world. It is not …
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Global investors are turning their attention to emerging markets this year. Though these markets had a lackluster to poor performance last year, this year they are heading in the right track. Some of the major markets are already up by double digit percentage points year-to-date. The returns for few of the emerging market indices are …
S&P Global has published the 2019 version of the Withholding Tax Rates for Foreign Stock Dividends by country. This simple table is highly useful for investors buying overseas stocks as withholding tax rates vary significantly among countries and high tax rates can cut a big chunk of the payouts. For example, in developed Europe Switzerland …
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Germany is the largest economy in Europe and the country’s blue chips are also some of the top dividend payers in the continent. Unlike other indices, the benchmark DAX Index is a total-return index and higher dividend payouts tend to further increase returns. Below is a quote from one my article back in 2014: In …
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