The Reverend Canon Peter Douglas Koon Ho-ming was blunt when he said, “Once there are no political issues, everything in Hong Kong is a livelihood issue.” He was also correct. Housing is this city’s biggest livelihood issue . It is also the hardest to tackle by far. The current administration has probably done more in this area than previous ones. Since Beijing’s top official for Hong Kong affairs...
The Reverend Canon Peter Douglas Koon Ho-ming was blunt when he said, “Once there are no political issues, everything in Hong Kong is a livelihood issue.” He was also correct. Housing is this city’s biggest livelihood issue . It is also the hardest to tackle by far. The current administration has probably done more in this area than previous ones. Since Beijing’s top official for Hong Kong affairs Xia Baolong directly called for the eradication of subdivided flats and cage homes in 2021, the government had been forced to deal with its biggest headache: reaching its public housing targets and taking care of those stuck in subdivided flats, many of whom aren’t poor enough to qualify for public housing. Advertisement Even if they do qualify, the waiting period is long. For families with young children, this means they’re stuck in these shoebox-sized living spaces while their children grow. Fortunately for the government, Xia set a deadline of 2049, well down the line. Even with that distant deadline, something had to be done quickly unless the administration wanted to risk being seen as dawdling even after Xia’s ultimatum. First came the quick fix of introducing certification and standards to meet. With that system in place, certified subdivided homes will be officially called “ basic housing units ”. Advertisement Removing the problem of subdivided flats was never going to be simple. The government had to first determine the basic standards for living spaces and weigh them against its ability to take care of displaced families . It cannot crack down on the horrendous living conditions all at once without sending struggling families into the streets.
Jinchuan Group International Resources Co. said an independent probe found that nearly $145 million was siphoned from its copper and cobalt operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo through fake procurement deals, cash payments and fabricated invoices. The investigation centered on Ruashi Mine, where investigators said former local employees exploited weak internal controls over several years...
Jinchuan Group International Resources Co. said an independent probe found that nearly $145 million was siphoned from its copper and cobalt operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo through fake procurement deals, cash payments and fabricated invoices. The investigation centered on Ruashi Mine, where investigators said former local employees exploited weak internal controls over several years to route funds through suppliers and intermediaries with “no apparent business purpose,” Jinchuan said in an exchange filing late Friday. Jinchuan, the Hong Kong-listed mining unit of one of China’s biggest state-owned metals conglomerates, said the alleged fraud was largely carried out between 2019 and 2024, a period when rising copper and cobalt prices pushed the mine to scramble for ore supplies in a bid to ramp up output. After reviewing transactions over the period, investigators found $137.4 million in payments to 12 suppliers, and $7.1 million paid to a former employee’s personal bank account, that related to “an alleged misappropriation scheme,” the filing said. The probe also found $66.8 million in spending related to “government-related affairs” in Congo, including cash payments made through a third-party intermediary retained to negotiate tax claims and penalties with local authorities, according to the filing. The company said investigators found no evidence that employees instructed the intermediary to make illegal payments to government officials. Jinchuan also said no evidence was found indicating that senior management at the Hong Kong-listed company had direct knowledge of, or involvement in, the misconduct. The company’s special investigation committee said the fraud “was directly attributed to misconduct of various employees of Ruashi Mine,” who took advantage of weak internal controls and oversight at the Congo unit. Jinchuan International’s shares have been suspended since March 2025 after a delay reporting its financial results. The company said the s...
Key Points Social Security has long run a surplus. However, the surplus is shrinking. If nothing is done, everyone's future Social Security benefits will shrink -- by a lot. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › Here's something that might surprise you as you plan for your retirement: You might have set up a my Social Security account at the Social Security Administ...
Key Points Social Security has long run a surplus. However, the surplus is shrinking. If nothing is done, everyone's future Social Security benefits will shrink -- by a lot. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › Here's something that might surprise you as you plan for your retirement: You might have set up a my Social Security account at the Social Security Administration (SSA) website -- which is a smart thing for each of us to do, regardless of our age. By doing so, you will have been able to see estimates of your future benefits, depending on when you claim them. It's smart to use those estimates as you plan for your retirement. But there's a possible big surprise around the corner -- and it's big enough to wreak havoc with your retirement if you're not prepared. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » The big Social Security surprise So what's the big surprise? Well, it's that you might not get all the benefits you've earned in retirement. You might only get around 77% of them -- or less! So if you're expecting, say, $2,500 checks in your first year of collecting Social Security, you might end up with only $1,925. Surprising, right? Here's why: As you probably know, Social Security works by collecting taxes from workers and using that money to pay retirees. The system has worked so well for many decades -- so well that it has long run a surplus, collecting more than it paid out. But those good times are ending. Many people are living longer and retiring earlier, and the surplus is running dry because Social Security is paying out more than it collects. Check out how the ratio of workers to Social Security beneficiaries has shrunk over time: Year Ratio of Covered Workers to Beneficiaries 1945 41.9 1955 8.6 1965 4.0 1975 3.2 1985 3.3 1995 3.3 2005 3.3 2015...