Free carry-on bags in Europe look like a win, but there’s more to it
Two pieces of free cabin luggage put a spike in the heart of budget carriers’ business model. But a loophole in the new regulations skirts that problem.
· Michael Gebicki
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Hontiveros pushes El Niño-ready budget
SEN. Risa Hontiveros is pushing for a super El Niño-ready and responsive 2027 national budget, calling on government agencies and local government units (LGUs) to strengthen measures to protect the public from extreme heat, water shortages and threats to public health.
· Catherine S. Valente
Top spending cities on OnlyFans revealed – and NYC is nowhere near the top
It turns out Americans are paying top dollar to show their fan appreciation.
· Andrea Palladino
Pickpockets review – small-budget Australian crime flick steals audience’s heart
DC Fairhurst and Lucy Green’s film could have been a by-the-numbers genre piece. Instead it is fun, frothy and refreshingly differentAudiences have been conditioned to expect movies that are either in full colour or, more occasionally now, black and white – and ne’er the twain shall meet. Or, at least, very rarely: …
· Luke Buckmaster
We face paying £9,000 tax even though our second home is in a war zone
A Ukrainian woman who fled to Scotland is told she and her partner could face a £9,000 property tax charge because she still owns a flat in Kyiv.
· Bbcnews
China urged to target sugar-rich drinks during consumption tax overhaul
China has been urged to stop keeping beverage makers sweet and instead declare war on sugar-rich drinks through taxation, as the country moves to align its regulatory framework with global health promotion trends. A sugar tax has been proposed by experts and state media outlets, who argue that an ongoing overhaul of…
· Frank Chen
Only one in five voters trust Albanese now as blame sticks for cost of living
Voters are squarely blaming the Labor government and its most recent budget for the cost-of-living crisis, as 42 per cent of people single out the government as responsible.
· James Massola
COP31 climate summit in Turkey, ASEAN Summit, Sri Lanka budget
Your weekly lineup of Asia's biggest business and political events
· Staff Writer
Entire up system to receive performance bonus before year-end; DBM oks conversion of 179 UP Manila faculty positions
DEPARTMENT of Budget and Management (DBM) Acting Secretary Kim Robert De Leon brought good news to the University of the Philippines (UP) community, announcing that the entire UP System is eligible for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Performance-Based Bonus (PBB), which eligible personnel can expect to receive before the …
· The Manila Times
REIWA highlights stamp duty and rental relief in state budget wishlist
REIWA president Rob Mandanici said while prices are now declining, strong growth over the past few years had made purchasing a property increasingly expensive.
· Michael Philipps
Japan tourism industry steps up push to draw Indian visitors
Hotels and operators offer tailored services as spending surged 39% in 2025
· MAYUKO KURIHARA
Does God want us to make peace with China?
BEFORE the headline topic, a quick take on the pledge by some senators to banish from the 2027 national budget bill the pork-barrel insertions made by the House of Representatives.
· Ricardo Saludo
APAC firms focus AI spending on incremental gains
SEVENTY-NINE percent of business decision-makers surveyed in Asia-Pacific said their organizations are directing too much artificial intelligence investment toward incremental improvements rather than opportunities to transform their businesses, according to a report released this week.
· J.G. Amor
Ivy League daughter sparks fury for flaunting cruel ‘Tax the Poor’ shirt during economic crisis
Columbia University student Constanza Peña, the daughter of Paraguay President Santiago Peña, was slammed for posting a selfie on her Instagram Stories that shows her wearing a "Tax The Poor" t-shirt.
· Adry Torres
LA’s overspending nightmare laid bare as Nithya Raman prepares to inherit budget mess
The financial troubles stretch back several years.
· Jamie Paige
Mark Cuban says he doesn’t ‘give a f---' about growing his net worth—a healthy mindset for non-billionaires too, a financial therapist says
The billionaire serial entrepreneur says he cares more about the impact he can have by spending and investing, rather than worrying about amassing more wealth.
· Tom Huddleston Jr.
Trump administration weighs order targeting nonprofits over alleged terrorist ties - report
Officials have spent months on an order invoking Section 501(p) of the tax code, which would let the president suspend groups’ tax-exempt status immediately, The Wall Street Journal reported.
· JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Pressure on government for budget update amid spiralling costs
Federal Government under pressure to show it can make significant savings in next month's budget update, amid high inflation and spiralling costs.
Pressure on government of spiralling costs
The pressure is on the Federal Government to show it can make significant savings, in next month's budget update.
Reform UK councillor promoted collapsed $1.9bn ‘Ponzi scheme’ HyperVerse that left victims suicidal
Susan Lawrence, elected to Wolverhampton city council, sits on committee overseeing financial reporting of multimillion-pound budgetA woman who promoted a notorious cryptocurrency scam has been elected as a Reform UK councillor and now sits on the audit and risk committee of a major city council.Susan Lawrence was o…
· Benquinn, Sarah Martin
FACT CHECK: SC didn’t rule Marcos’ budget signing unconstitutional
The Court faulted Congress for raising the President's proposed budget, and with the decision not yet final, no formal probe has been opened
· lamarcellana0382
UAE job has been either a stepping stone or a pension fund in the past, but now Ahmed Raza is the perfect fit | The National
New coach’s first assignment will be to try to safeguard ODI status, after taking over struggling side from Lalchand Rajput
· Paul Radley
LA reveals radical new plan for homeless cleanup in time for 2028 Olympic Games
The City Council voted Friday to advance a homelessness plan.
· Daniel Farr
Budget-friendly one-pot pulao is packed with veggies and full of flavour
Helly Raichura's simple, family friendly dish is full of fragrant Indian spices and perfect for celebrating Diwali.
Paraguay Ousts Its President As His Daughter's "Tax The Poor" Shirt Goes Viral
Paraguay Ousts Its President As His Daughter's "Tax The Poor" Shirt Goes Viral Paraguay's Senate voted unanimously on Friday to remove President Santiago Peña over the collapse of Ueno Bank, a day after a photo of his 20-year-old daughter in a "Tax the Poor" T-shirt spread across X. Paraguayan President Santiago Pen…
· Tyler Durden
A $12 million book is not the only reason there’s nothing like this Australian library anywhere else
It took 10 years to plan and four years to build, and the budget blew out by about $90 million. Was it all worth it for this underground work of art?
· Margaret Gordon
Hochul’s hubby collects nearly $200K from gaming giant that cased in on $18M tax break
Records show Bill Hochul has received nearly $200,000 in “deferred compensation” from his former employer, Delaware North, even though he claimed to have cut ties from the company.
· Matthew Fischetti
Takaichi vs. the tax ‘rebels’
Japan’s House of Representatives approved the consumption tax cut on Friday, November 6, but the government’s accomplishment was overshadowed by the decision by four senior Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers — most notably former prime minister Shigeru Ishiba — to absent themselves from the vote. The bill now heads …
· Tobias Harris
LA museum reduced to begging on GoFundMe to keep the lights on amid budget crisis after 30 years
After nearly three decades of saving the San Fernando Valley’s past, one treasured Los Angeles museum is begging the public to save its future. The Valley Relics Museum — which houses more than 30,000 vintage artifacts inside two massive airport hangars at Van Nuys Airport — has launched an urgent GoFundMe campaign …
· Bianca Zalben
Cooking classes help cut cost of living and boost social connection
A regional community centre's free weekly cooking class, using homegrown and donated ingredients, is teaching people to cook on a budget, while fostering connections.
· Oliver Brown
ECB forecasting losses of up to £50m in 2027 despite visit of Australia for the Ashes
Concern among counties due to reliance on ECB fundingOptimism that eventual figure could be reduced to £35mThe England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is forecasting losses of tens of millions of pounds next year despite hosting the Ashes, with county executives told last week that the deficit could be as large as £50…
· Matthughes
Albanese weighs in on 'very significant' US midterm results
The prime minister describes the US midterm results as "very significant" and assures Australians he will continue to push for an end to the war in Iran.
· Sara Tomevska
IRS releases new tax brackets, raises standard deductions — see what your 2027 tax rate will be
The Internal Revenue Service has released new tax brackets for 2027, raising income thresholds for each level due to inflation.
· Emily Lang
Hochul teases new taxes to fund Mamdani’s free childcare plan — as DSA continues pressure to ‘tax the rich’
Gov. Hochul signals possible new taxes to sustain Mayor Mamdani’s universal childcare plan amid DSA pressure; stay tuned for details.
· Craig McCarthy, Vaughn Golden, Alex Oliveira
The Trumpocalypse holds big lessons for Albanese
If there's usable political information in the American drubbing for the Albanese government, it may be that there's no room for error in the era of cost-of-living pain.
· Jacob Greber
Agricultural trade gap expands
THE country’s agricultural trade deficit widened in September to $1.25 billion, higher than the $1.21 billion recorded in the previous month and $1.00 billion recorded during the same month last year.
· Chynna Grace Ong
‘Food security spending tilted toward agriculture’
THE government's growing investments in food security remain heavily concentrated in agricultural development, while fragmented programs and weak coordination among agencies make it difficult to determine whether public spending is translating into better access to affordable and nutritious food, a study by the Phil…
· Franco Jose C. Baroña
The budget’s old politics may outlive its old masters
THE House-approved 2027 national budget is before the Senate, carrying a question: Who decides where public money goes, and under what rules? The House passed a P7.2-trillion General Appropriations bill on Oct. 12. Watchdogs have identified allocations they say are vulnerable to patronage and thousands of projects a…
· Antonio Contreras
Govt must rethink its education budget
THE Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 results showed that Filipino 15-year-olds averaged 367 in reading, 371 in mathematics and 373 in science, the highest scores that the country has obtained since it first took part in 2018 (https:// www.oecd.org/en/publications/pisa-2025-results... ).
· Al Vitangcol III
Apple looking to raise $7.5B from dollar bonds
APPLE is raising about $7.5 billion from a seven-part US-dollar bond offering, a term sheet seen by Reuters showed on Thursday, adding to a growing number of tech firms tapping debt markets to fund the artificial intelligence boom.
· Reuters
PH economy under siege from inflation, corruption and political warfare
THE Philippine economy is sending unmistakable distress signals. Inflation is accelerating, unemployment is rising, investment is weakening, public debt continues to accumulate and political instability threatens to undermine already fragile economic confidence. Yet the Marcos Jr. administration appears increasingly…
· Anna Malindog-Uy
China’s AI models, led by Kimi, dominate open-source enterprise spending
Chinese artificial intelligence models led by Moonshot AI’s Kimi family accounted for nearly nine-tenths of estimated global enterprise spending on open-source systems, according to a new study, even though proprietary US rivals continue to capture the vast majority of overall revenue. The report, released this week…
· Minxiao Chang
AI stocks hammered by midterm shock as data center buildout becomes a 'war of attrition'
The election rout landed on an AI trade already under pressure from high interest rates, heavy capital spending and questions about returns.
· Kai Nicol-Schwarz
Belgian king refuses Bart De Wever’s resignation
Instead, the monarch asked the prime minister to restart budget negotiations with his fractious coalition partners.
· Sonja Rijnen, Hanne Cokelaere
AI debt concerns grow as ING reportedly seeks buyers for $500 million of data center loans
ING is reportedly seeking bids for about $500 million across 12 data center loans, including debt tied to a New Mexico Stargate site.
· Hugh Leask
Democrat sweep gives markets a reason to rethink path of interest rates
Rate hikes could be curbed by an Iran war resolution, slower U.S. growth and fresh fiscal policy — but none are set in stone.
· Jenni Reid
Veteran tax investigator named new head of S. Korea's tax agency
Ahn Duk-su, tapped to lead South Korea's National Tax Service (NTS) on Friday, is widely regarded as a veteran tax investigator with extensive experience in tax administration and protecting taxpayers' rights. Ahn, 55, began his career in public service after passing the national civil service examination in 1996 an…
· Yonhap
China’s skyscraper expertise earns Shenzhen a place on global watch list
China’s construction expertise has gained fresh international recognition, with Shenzhen named among the top cities to watch for high-rise development in 2027 by a UK industry publication. A skyscraper originally planned as the headquarters of failed property giant China Evergrande Group was among the projects highl…
· Emma Ma
Rappler Talk: The nerds watching the national budget
Rappler reporter Patrick Cruz sits down with People's Budget Coalition co-convenor Ken Abante to unpack their findings on the proposed 2027 national budget, from more than P1 trillion in potential red flags to congressional budget insertions.
· jpcruz0306
France's Debt Crisis Could Trigger A Much Bigger European Meltdown
France's Debt Crisis Could Trigger A Much Bigger European Meltdown Authored by Alastair Paynter via OilPrice,A budget deficit of 5.1% and public debt exceeding 115% of GDP raise concerns about France's fiscal sustainability and the eurozone's resilience.Industrial decline, energy disruptions, political instability a…
· Tyler Durden