Environment: a source of future economic growth in Portugal

Despite Portugal’s economic and political challenges, it is still committed to improving the environment. The government sees green investment in its stimulus package and green tax reform as part of the solution to the national budget deficit.

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• OCDE aconselha Portugal a manter o mesmo rumo no domínio ambiental

Composite Leading Indicators (CLIs), OECD, April 2011

Composite leading indicators (CLIs) for February 2011, designed to anticipate turning points in economic activity relative to trend, continue pointing to expansion in most OECD countries.

Quarterly National Accounts - Contributions to GDP growth - Fourth Quarter 2010, OECD

Real GDP in the OECD area grew by 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2010. Net exports and private consumption were the main contributors partly offset by an unwinding of inventories.

Development: Aid increases, but with worrying trends

Aid flows from OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donor countries totalled USD 129 billion in 2010, the highest level ever, and an increase of 6.5% over 2009. This represents about 0.32% of the combined gross national income (GNI) of DAC member countries.

India: joins OECD agreement on mutual acceptance of chemical safety data

India has become the third key emerging economy to join the OECD system for the Mutual Acceptance of Data (MAD) in the Assessment of Chemicals, ensuring that the results of non-clinical chemical safety testing done there will be accepted in all other participating countries.

Corruption: Bulgaria should boost efforts to fight bribery in international business deals

Bulgaria should do more to prevent, report, detect and prosecute foreign bribery cases, according to a new report by the OECD Working Group on Bribery.

OECD statement on UK Guidance for the Bribery Act

We recently received assurances from the highest levels of the UK government that they would issue guidance which would allow the UK’s Bribery Act 2010 to enter into force,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría.

Consumer Prices, OECD - Updated: 29 March 2011

Consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 2.4% in the year to February 2011, compared with 2.2% in January - the highest rate since October 2008.

Canada’s enforcement of the foreign bribery offence still lagging; must urgently boost efforts to prosecute

Although Canada has recently made progress in investigating the bribery of foreign public officials by Canadian businesses, Canada has only completed one prosecution since it enacted its foreign bribery law in 1999.

World Water Day: Governments must invest in water and sanitation

Would people invest more in clean water if they knew just how expensive dirty water is? World Water Day is an opportunity to remind governments worldwide that they have a responsibility to invest in clean water for the health of their citizens and their environments.