According to research by OECD South Korean workers toil for over 45 hours every week on average, nearly seven hours longer than workers in any other OECD country.
The Netherlands has the shortest working week out of all OECD countries. However where more people work part-time the average working week is likely to be shorter. The Netherlands, where 45% of workers are part-timers, the highest proportion in any OECD country, has therefore the shortest working week.
Americans put in 15% more hours on average than workers in the western (richer) bit of the European Union. Owing to flexible arrangements for part-time workers, generous welfare systems and a limit on the working week all contribute to Western Europe’s seeming indolence.
Source
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Oslo (Norway) is the priciest city in the world to live in according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. In its latest twice-yearly index of over 130 cities, in which 160 items are assessed, Norway’s capital has been the costliest since 2005, when it toppled Tokyo from the top spot.
European cities dominate the list, reflecting the weakness of the dollar. New York is still the most expensive city outside of Europe or Asia, but it has slipped from 28th to 39th in a year. Relocating to Latin America or India would get you a lot more for your Euro.
The highlights of the ranking can be found here. More on the methodological approach of the conducted survey can be found here.
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Given the dollar’s historic depreciation, CNBC in association with Reuters and Thomson compiled a list of today’s strongest currencies, based on their exchange rate with the dollar.
You may be surprised to learn how many international currencies are ahead of the US dollar! From the Ghanaian Cedi, Euro, Pound Sterling to the Kuwaiti Dinar and the Cayman Islands Dollar. For a full overview click here. (The ranking - based on a sampling of published exchange rates - could change should the invariable, daily fluctuation in rates be significant.)
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Will Tokyo continue to be Asia’s leading financial centre and keep up with the world’s premier financial centres: New York and London?
The other day I was reading a special report on financial centres published by The Economist. Today my juices got rolling again on this topic. While I was reading this article published by the NY Times on how Japan’s economic planners want to revive Tokyo’s stock market.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange has fallen from being the largest stock market in the world at 1990 market capitalization to No. 2, behind the New York Stock Exchange. During that time, the value of all shares traded on the Tokyo exchange rose less than 60 percent, to about $4.6 trillion at the end of last year. By contrast, the value of the New York exchange increased fivefold. Hong Kong’s main exchange rose by a factor of 21, though it is still half the size of Tokyo. In London, already the global centre for trading in currency, the main stock market has grown fourfold since 1990 and could soon overtake Tokyo.
Industry experts agree that Tokyo has to attract much more foreign capital, foreign investors/companies, and foreign talent in order to remain competitive in the region and to keep up with New York and London. A necessity to achieve this is creating a better regulatory and tax environment. On top of that advance living conditions for English speakers, amongst others creating more English schools and putting up English signs etc..
If Japan will achieve this is yet to be seen. Particularly cause of the growing importance of Hong Kong as major hub to spread Chinese capital around the world. A safer bet for Tokyo would be to concentrate on a certain niche.
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The United States regained its title as the world’s most competitive economy. According to the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR), a comprehensive annual survey published by the World Economic Forum, the Swiss-based think tank.
The GCR is a closely watched metric that combines economic statistics and surveys of business leaders and ranks 131 countries. It measures multiple dimensions in the broader context of the economic system such as macroeconomic policy, political system, health system, legal system, etc. The survey praised the U.S. economy for its efficiency and ability to innovate, but the ranking came alongside a drumbeat of negative economic news.
One of the principal winners in this year’s report was China, which jumped up the rankings from 54th to 34th. The size of its domestic and export markets were its main competitive advantages, the report concluded, while it also benefited from general economic stability. However, weaknesses included the poor financial state of many of its banks, restrictions on capital flows and legal rights and low enrolment into higher education.
The Netherlands dropped one place and is now ranking 10th. Clarification for this drop is relative low investment in education, inefficient government bureaucracy, weak labour market efficiency and low innovation.
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Blogging is common practice in today’s society and is increasingly gaining polarity in corporate circles.
Many companies already have been forced to change policies or initiate special PR and marketing campaigns to encounter negative publicity, published by authoritative bloggers. The Times has ranked the fifty most influential business blogs, across industries, to date. This list can also be used (by newbies) as starting point in selecting your favourite business blogs to start reading frequently.
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Every year Fast Company ranks cities across the globe along 9 categories: Creative-class Meccas, Green Leaders, Culture Centres, Global Villages, High-Tech Spots, Unexpected Oases, R&D Clusters, Urban Innovators, and Startup Hubs. This year’s list can be found here.
Surprisingly European cities are underexposed and so called “emerging economies” are represented well across all categories. In my opinion the list of high-tech spots is quite surprising.
Additionally, as the author Andrew Park points out “You’re smart, young, newly graduated from a university with the whole world before you. You could settle in a small town with well-tended lawns, pancake suppers, and life on a human scale. Or you could truck it to the big city, with all its din and dog-eat-dog lunacy. Your choice?”
Exactly this choice is occupying my mind lately as I will graduate in one month! Shall I move to one of the Creative-class Meccas, Startup hubs, Global Villages or start off my working career in a more familiar sphere?
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Ranked upon holdings of tier-one capital, Bank of America is the biggest bank these days, according research conducted by The Banker Magazine. Surprisingly to this year’s list is that two Chinese banks made it in the top 10.
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The Northern Europeans are the happiest, according to a biannual European social survey conducted by Corrado & Aslam, Cambridge University.
The Danes are topping the list while Italy is on the bottom. The Dutch are fifth which is quite representative I guess! The sample size of the study was 20,000 responses spread over 15 European countries.
The major factors influencing happiness according Corrado & Aslam (2007) are the quality of social interactions with others and confidence and trust in national government and institutions. Check out this website for more technical information on the European happiness survey.
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According to research by OECD South Korean workers toil for over 45 hours every week on average, nearly seven hours longer than workers in any other OECD country.
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