The recent auction of Edward Munch’s “The Scream” for the incredible sum of about 120 million dollars made me rethink the value of art. Not only philistines might raise the question: Is this art piece really worth such a price? But the question should be: Why do people spend such enormous amounts of money for one single painted piece of canvas? Read full article >
I will tell them that I am much older than Google, Facebook and all the other things they can’t live without. I could also describe to them with a little effort the rise and the fall of the compact disc. But there is another, more fundamental topic I would like to be able to discuss with them. That my generation and the ones after mine have succeeded in transitioning into a more sustainable and peaceful world. Read full article >
Fitch recently published a report on illustrative alternative scenarios and preliminary rating indications. The outcome of the French elections on Sunday will surely be an important factor in these scenarios. Read full article >
That Luxembourg City scores well in most quality of life rankings is not news : recent examples include the International Living Quality of Life Index (ranked 6 out of 194) and the ECA Quality of Life Study (ranked 3 out of 254).
A new study by ECA International confirms this: Luxembourg is ranked third most attractive city in the world to live and work for European expatriates.
Surprised? The study considers various factors like climate (yes), health services, housing, public services, distance from other major centres, social life, leisure activities, security, the political situation and air quality. Read full article >
I am currently reading The Expats, a best-selling spy thriller largely set in Luxembourg. Besides the fact the novel is well plotted and highly suspenseful, it is rather exciting to read about places you know very well in an international bestseller, especially if it involves CIA assassins. And, unlike Tom Tykwer’s dreadful film The International, also set in Luxembourg (more on that later), you can tell that Chris Pavone, the author of The Expats, has actually spent sufficient time in Luxembourg to get to know the place, with the novel even featuring places such as Foetz, Cactus supermarkets or Lea Linster’s restaurant in Frisange. Indeed, Pavone lived in Luxembourg for two years after having moved here from New York to become an expat house spouse while his wife was working for Amazon’s European headquarters in Luxembourg. In the novel the roles are reversed: the main character Kate Moore gives up her job with the CIA to follow her husband who has accepted a job as an IT security expert for an international bank in Luxembourg. Read full article >
Yes, taxation is a complex topic, and, yes, international taxation is even more complex. And accusing multinational companies of using equivocal offshore structures to avoid taxes looks set to earn lots of applaus amongst politicians in search of constituants, company leaders facing growing competition and frustrated tax payers of any kind.
However, most press articles about alleged illegal tax avoidance practices as well as the many indignant letters to the editor they trigger show that neither the authors of the articles nor their readers understand the basic principles of international taxation. Read full article >
The European Central Bank injected 1 trillion euros into the Eurozone banking system and governments agreed to expand the bailout funds to 700 billion euros. These actions helped to take the heat out of the crisis. However, we should not cry victory too soon. The European Central Bank declared last week that the downside risks to the economic outlook prevail. Renewed intensification of tensions in euro area debt markets could impact the real economy, the European monetary watchdogs warned.