Search Results for: World Trade Organisation

High value banknotes remain of concern to AML regulators, even though they are increasingly being withdrawn from circulation. Despite the growth of electronic payments, the amount of physical cash in circulation remains huge. The USD remains the currency that circulates most widely in the world, with the US Currency Education Programme (a Federal Reserve scheme) saying that there was USD2 trillion in circulation by the start of 2021 (December 31, 2020).…

The Nordic and Baltic beer markets are increasingly diverse, with craft beer sales growing faster than those for standard beers across the region, with only Lithuania bucking the trend. According to UK-based market researcher GlobalData (which owns Just Drinks), sales of craft beers Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia and Latvia have all seen significant sales increases over the past five years with many exhibiting double-digit growth.…

The European textile industry is already working more sustainably but can do better, said Charlotte Denis, communications officer for the European Technology Platform for the Future of Textiles and Clothing (ETP). Her comments are particularly valid as the platform is a key partner in the new two-year research project CISUTAC (Circular and Sustainable Textiles and Clothing – www.cisutac.eu),…

“Flavours have been the best thing that has happened to the tobacco industry,” wrote US company Revival Vape in a recent blog on the growth of the electronic cigarette sector and the popularity of non-tobacco flavours.

It is not just vaping which has capitalised on the variety of flavours that can be created to drive sales.…

The list of Russian assets seized by its European and north American opponents grows ever larger, with super yachts joining bank accounts and expensive properties being sequestered. But could they be sold? Should they be sold? And should the money be spent on rebuilding Ukraine, if it drives out the Russian invader?…

While forecasts of a global recession are far from conclusive, the World Bank has in its latest international economy assessment released in September (2022) warned that such a downturn is a real possibility for 2023. (1) The reason is potential government spending tightening to deal with inflation rates not witnessed since the 1990s or earlier: “To stem risks from persistently high inflation, and in a context of limited fiscal space, many countries are withdrawing monetary and fiscal support,” noted the bank.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has widened the scope of comprehensive sanctions imposed on Russia since it invaded Ukraine on February 24 so they can also be imposed on people or organisations helping to breach these measures.

In a statement, the Council said it said “circumvention of certain EU restrictive measures is likely to contribute to destabilising Ukraine or undermining its territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.”…

If proof were needed that the European Union (EU) was genuinely concerned about the boom in energy prices sparked by Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine, it is surely a decision made by the EU Council of Ministers on September 30 to back an EU energy tax law, for implementation on December 1 (2022).…

Textile companies in Finland, whose government has developed a national road map towards creating a circular economy (1), are developing game-changing solutions to achieve carbon neutrality.
According to the report ‘Fashion on Climate’, published in 2020 by consultants McKinsey & Co and Danish non-profit organization Global Fashion Agenda, “the fashion industry accounts for around four per cent of emissions globally”, and “more than 70 per cent” from “upstream activities, particularly energy-intensive raw material production, preparation and processing” (2).…

How effective is the ongoing fight against money launderers and terrorist financers? AML experts are arguing that despite FATF’s increasing focus on effectiveness in mutual evaluation reports and its extensive data on jurisdictional compliance with its recommendations, more statistical indicators would be valuable.…