ECONOMY

A professor from University of Waterloo observed Canada's anti-smoking campaign has been slipping, all because the government has not curbed the low selling prices of cigarettes in the country.

Along with the close of the year 2013 is the end of the age of crisis, Japanese investment bank Nomura said in its yearend report and forecast for the global economy for 2014.

New Zealand wants to partake in the growing global market for lifestyle wines, described as lesser-alcohol and lower-calorie content. In fact, New Zealand wants to be the world's global top diet wine maker.

Goldman Sachs report a looming recession to Australia

The city of Toronto in Canada topped the list of 25 global cities indexed by YouthfulCities, an organisation that assists youth in building better cities.

Two months after, Italy wants to buyback the pristine Budelli Island it has sold to New Zealand Businessman Michael Harte for $4.8 million at an auction.

Officials from the Japan Sport Council has conceded to public rage and announced it has decided to scale back the proposed 70-metre mammoth stadium intended for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

A report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed Australia’s population booming to 46m by 2075.

The Australian dollar is all set to fall below 90 U.S. cents by the Christmas.

Africa will have to spend between $200-350 billion a year in climate adaptation costs by 2070, if the current global temperature rises by more than two degrees Celsius, according to a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Tuesday.

As H.L. Mencken opined, 'The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, and intolerable.'

It is the task of today's Weekend Daily Reckoning to speculate on a profitable trade for 2014. But before we get there it helps not to forget that the whole financial system is rigged.

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation) is out with its latest global outlook, warning Australia about the blindingly obvious. That is, labour costs and house prices are too high, which threatens our competitiveness on the global stage.

Shares of Air New Zealand dropped on Wednesday when it resumed trading, following the government's divestment of 20 per cent to the tune of $NZ365 million ($324 million).

Indonesia has been hit by a powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. No immediate reports of fatalities and damages have so far been reported on the temblor that struck off eastern Indonesia. The Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency ruled out any potential tsunami occurrence.

Williams reckons there is only one outcome possible: hyperinflation. A year ago, he expected it in 2019. Now, he's moved up the schedule. He now expects hyperinflation to begin in 2014.

As the melt-up in global asset markets continues, today we ask the question: Are central bankers' egotistic hooligans blinded by their own intellectual arrogance? You can probably guess the answer to that one.

The relative strength of the US dollar is one of the great mysteries of the financial world. It has defied predictions of collapse for years, despite copping severe abuse from its managers, the US Treasury and their henchman at the Federal Reserve.

The Australian Institute report “Hard to get a break” reveals that Aussies are either overworked underpaid or out of work.

China has set to open its next carbon emissions trading markets in Beijing and Shanghai before the end of November 2013.

At least 100 stores located inside Westfield Hornsby Mall remain closed on Tuesday as authorities continued to assess the damages inflicted by a mini tornado that ripped Australia's Central Business District on Monday afternoon.

So Janet Yellen's first hearing took place overnight. It was fairly boring. She's expected to sail through and become the next Chairperson of theUS Federal Reserve. Given that the last few years of extraordinary monetary policy have achieved a miserable recovery, what's she going to do differently?

Now, this is sheer entertainment. The Chicago branch of the Federal Reserve has addressed the great monetary question of our day.

What do a Bacon triptych, a balloon dog, a Pink Star and the stock market have in common? They're very, very expensive.

Typhoon-battered Philippines have felt the impact of super storm Haiyan (Yolanda) as the 315-kph Category 5 Hurricane-equivalent massively destroyed homes, crops and infrastructure in the central part of the country, particularly provinces located in the Visayas.

China is most likely to snatch the world's largest gold consumer title from India this 2013, according to the World Gold Council on Thursday.

For the first time in 18 years, the U.S.' crude oil production has exceeded the number of its imports, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.

It takes a natural disaster of major catastrophic proportions like Category 5 super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) for the world to literally stop, forget its selfish cares and unite for a common good.

Members of the LGBT community may now marry in Hawaii after the state's legislative chambers approved a gay marriage bill on Tuesday.