Tax avoidance by large US firms is a major issue that gets very little attention in the media. Heavy lobbying (lobbying is legal, bribing is illegal) by these firms ensures that the regulators and politicians perpetually turns a blind eye to the issue. Every year billions of dollars in taxes owed never reach the state’s …
Ships carry much of the global trade goods across countries and continents. Over 5,000 commercial ships transport all types of goods cheaply and efficiently across vast distances. The graph below shows the world’s largest container posts in 2104: Source: Trade – The whole world in boxes, Deutsche Welle Asia has emerged as the largest region …
Continue reading ‘The World’s Top 20 Container Ports 2014 by Cargo Capacity’ »
Immigrants are some of the largest successful community in the U.S. Highly educated and skilled immigrants dominate the high-tech industry in the U.S. especially in Silicon Valley. Many of the well-known startup success stories were founded by immigrants. Unlike other countries plenty of American venture capital firms are willing to bet on the next great …
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Swiss retailer IKEA is the world’s largest furniture chain. Similar to successful global retail chains such as Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour, etc. IKEA has a loyal following in the countries it operates. Here is a neat chart that shows some key facts about IKEA: Click to enlarge Source: IKEA’s India Bet Runs Into Thicket of Rules, …
Continue reading ‘Chart: IKEA – Number of Stores and Top Countries for Sales’ »
Countries in the Middle East have deep sectarian religious divisions. Many people in the western world are not aware that Saudi Arabia for example is mostly Sunni Islam while most in Iran follow the Shia faith of Islam.These two groups do not get along very well. Hence Saudi Arabia opposes the spread of Iranian influence and …
Continue reading ‘Infographic: Religion and Oil in Middle Eastern Countries’ »