Sovereign venture capitalism: at a crossroad

This summer, Elon Musk jolted markets, especially his shareholders, by leaking his intention to take Tesla private.

Planning for life after NAFTA

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is at least as controversial today as it was almost 25 years ago, when it went into effect. One outcome that is hard to dispute, however, is that it created one of the most powerful cross-border trade partnerships in the world. Dozens of industries, including medical devices, automobiles and auto parts, oil and gas, textiles and even aerospace components, have expanded their production facilities across the borders of the three partner countries.

U.S. tax reform: The global dimension

Corporate taxpayers in the U.S. and many around the world have their hands full puzzling out the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The TCJA reduces the U.S. corporate income tax rate from 34% to 21%, switches the country to a territorial tax system in which businesses are taxed only on income earned within U.S. borders, and drops personal income tax rates modestly, although this provision will expire in 2025. It also encourages U.S.

Taxing digital services

Taxing digital services: The devil's in the details

How to tax the digital economy, i.e., commercial transactions conducted electronically on the internet, has been a thorny issue for governments and business for years. In March the European Commission unveiled a proposal for two new directives to stem what the EC considers to be revenue losses caused by loopholes in the global corporate tax system. Officials estimate that digital businesses in the EU pay an average effective tax rate of 9.5%, while traditional businesses pay 23.3%.

Risks and opportunities in a changing world

Read our Taxing digital servicesU.S. tax reform: The global dimension, & Planning for life after NAFTA articles by clicking the thumbnails below. 

The new face of wealth and legacy: Redefining wealth and giving

The Economist Intelligence Unit undertook a study of high-net-worth women and men (individuals with US$1 million or more in assets), sponsored by RBC Wealth Management. The survey covered 1,051 individuals (502 women and 549 men) in Canada, the U.S., the UK and Asia (mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore).
 

Unlocking green infrastructure investment

Green infrastructure investment isn’t happening at the speed and scale needed to meet the UK’s policy goals. UK government must intervene now to unlock private-sector investment, via long-term commitment, strategic public spending and issuance of a sovereign green bond, argues Alex White, senior policy officer at the Aldersgate Group.

Blending capital to fill the ocean’s fisheries finance gap

Overfishing is one of the world’s persistent environmental challenges. It results in fewer fish in the sea, less food on plates and ultimately decreased jobs along our coasts. For these reasons, global leaders agreed to the target to end overfishing as part of goal 14 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Experience to date has shown that this target can be met (albeit not likely by the 2020 target date), but it will cost money.

Finding the silver lining amid medical research funding cuts

Some believe—to paraphrase Charles Dickens—that this is the best of times and the worst of times to be a medical researcher. On the one hand, technology is helping medical researchers make leaps and bounds in the areas of surgical procedures and pharmacological advancements. But on the other hand, medical researchers are feeling constrained by an increasingly complex medical insurance system and dwindling government funding for research. Perhaps, those who ascribe to this paradoxical view are half right.

Embracing a pattern of change: Model Innovation across banking, insurance and asset management

 “This is a world of six-month product development cycles and constant updates, primarily of software, with a huge premium on simple user interfaces and trusted security.”
 
These are the words of Christine Lagarde, managing director of the international monetary fund (IMF) in a 2017 speech at a Bank of England conference in London. She was outlining her vision of the financial services sector in the year 2040. She adds this is “a world where data is king. A world of many new players without imposing branch offices.”
 

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