Inflation Jumps in Eurozone

According to Eurostat, the inflation in Eurozone hit a near 4 year high in January. To be specific, inflation in the euro area jumped to 1.8% last month from 1.1% the month before. One of the causes of the inflation is the jump in energy prices in January compared with the year before.

 

                                        Image source: http://advisoranalyst.com/glablog/2014/09/23/contrarian-view-eurozones-                                                        economy-is-turning-the-corner.html

Eurostat data also revealed that eurozone's GDP growth reached 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2016, up from 0.4% in the previous quarter.

The same source showed that the euro area's unemployment rate fell to 9.6% in December, which is the lowest rate since May 2009.

Source
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38807942

The Biggest Tax Haven Countries of 2016

According to the Oxfam Novib's (a worldwide development organisation) list of the world's 15 biggest tax havens, the Netherlands represents the biggest tax haven in the EU and the 3rd biggest in the world. The country is surpassed only by Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, which are ranked on the 1st and 2nd positions respectively.

Other European Union member states included in the top 15 are - Switzerland on 4th place, Ireland in 6th and Luxembourg on 7th position. Curacao is the 8th biggest tax haven in the world. And the British Virgin Islands made it to 15th place.

The countries on this list have no or very low corporate tax rates, give unfair tax incentives to businesses and do not participate in international measures against tax evasion. Oxfam Novib accuses these countries of increasing the inequality between states.

The world's 15 biggest tax havens, according to Oxfam Novib, are:

15. The British Virgin Islands
14. Mauritius
13. Barbados
12. Jersey
11. Bahamas
10. Cyprus
9. Hong Kong
8. Curacao
7. Luxembourg
6. Ireland
5. Singapore
4. Switzerland
3. Netherlands
2. Cayman Islands
1. Bermuda


Source:
http://nltimes.nl/2016/12/12/netherlands-europes-biggest-tax-haven-says-oxfam-novib