Business

BEIRUT, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese General Labor Union head Bechara Asmar called Tuesday for a nationwide strike on Friday to accelerate government formation, local media reported.

"We call for a nationwide strike this coming Friday for the public and private sectors in a bid to push officials to form a government and save the Lebanese people," Asmar was quoted by the National News Agency as saying.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said on Monday that China and the United States need to build their futures together, for themselves and for humanity at large.

Beijing and Washington formally established their diplomatic ties on Jan. 1, 1979. "The 40th anniversary of this relationship is a testament to the ability of countries with different histories, cultures and political systems to work together for the greater good," Carter wrote in an article published in the Washington Post.

NEW YORK, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- After a year of improvement, the U.S. economy may face challenges in 2019 as waning stimulus, less friendly monetary policy coupled with decelerating global growth are among the multiple risks for a slowdown, economists said.

"Real U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2.7 percent is forecast for 2019, slowing in the second half of the year as the effects of fiscal stimulus begin to fade," analysts from Bank of America (BofA) Merrill Lynch Global Research said in their 2019 outlook report released in December.

LONDON, Jan. 1 (Xinhua)-- British new pay ratio regulations came into force on Tuesday, aiming to enhance the salary transparency between bosses and ordinary employees.

According to a statement issued by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, the pay ratio regulations will apply to large Britain listed companies with over 250 employees, which are required to be disclosed annually.

The first statutory disclosures will be issued from the start of 2020, which will cover CEO and employee pay awarded in 2019.

BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- China is striving to gain a lead in the global race toward building an intelligent and data-driven society, as the country has the highest number of smart city pilot projects in the world, the China Daily reported Wednesday.

The world's second-largest economy has more than 500 smart city pilot projects ready or under construction, accounting for about half of the world's total, the newspaper cited a recent report by consulting company Deloitte.

New Delhi, Jan 1 (PTI) GST collection dropped to Rs 94,726 crore in December 2018, lower than Rs 97,637 crore collected in the previous month.

The total number of sales returns or GSTR-3B filed till December 30, 2018, is 72.44 lakh, the finance ministry said in a statement.

Compensation released to states for August-September stood at Rs 11,922 crore.

Of the Rs 94,726 crore collected, Central GST (CGST) collection is Rs 16,442 crore, State GST (SGST) is Rs 22,459 crore, Integrated GST (IGST) is Rs 47,936 crore and Cess is Rs 7,888 crore.

Noida (UP), Jan 1 (PTI) Infrastructure projects worth Rs 2,881 crore, including elevated roads, underpasses and a new district hospital building, would be inaugurated or works for them started in Noida in 2019, officials said Tuesday.

The projects to be opened for the public, include a Dada-Dadi Park in Sector 62 at a cost of Rs 14.57 crore, a Traffic Park in Sector 108 at Rs 34.71 crore, a Shilp Haat and Bunkar Bhawan in Sector 33-A at Rs 72.57 crore and a Command Control Centre in Sector 94 at Rs 22.35 crore, a senior official said.

MOSCOW, January 1. /TASS/. Foreign companies that provide electronic services in the B2B segment are required to register for taxation and independently pay the VAT in Russia starting from January 1, 2019. Starting today, the relevant changes to the Tax Code have entered into force.

ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- The UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) on Monday said that the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement is one of Africa's milestone trade policy that would serve as an imputes towards transforming Africa's future development.

"The AfCFTA is one of the milestone trade policy developments in Africa which is expected to change the way Africa does trade and catalyze transformation in a way trade policy has not done before," the ECA said in a statement on Monday.

New Delhi, Dec 31 (PTI) Amid the controversy over how much capital the Reserve Bank should keep as its reserves, a BJP MP Monday said by holding on to the excess money, it is resorting to raiding the economy.

Participating in the debate on the Supplementary Demands for Grants in the Lok Sabha, Anurag Thakur also cited infrastructure projects being stuck due to lack of liquidity.

He sought to blunt opposition charges that the government was encroaching on the autonomy of the Reserve Bank of India.