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From its skyscrapers to its bridges, amazing feats of engineering have made the skyline of Chicago immediately identifiable and completely unforgettable. CNN's Richard Quest reports on the legacy of architecture in the Windy City.
(CNN) – Qatar can be simply defined in the 21st century as the “little state that does.” From near bankruptcy 20 years ago in the face of declining oil reserves and a record budget deficit, the Gulf Arab state with a population of up to 1.6 million, roughly one-fifth of them Qataris, is punching well above its weight. Qatar’s foray into the global investment arena is hard to miss. Its sovereign fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, has only been around since 2005, but its footprint is a long and wide one. The QIA has taken high profile stakes in German auto giants VW and Porsche, global banks Barclays and Credit Suisse, the London Stock Exchange and British supermarket giant J. Sainsbury and it even bought outright the luxury icon Harrod’s. The big splash year was 2009 when it invested $32 billion on a variety of transactions. According to Jones LaSalle, the building and real estate group, Qatar was the largest property investor globally in 2010. It has taken high profile positions across London in the Canary Wharf financial district, Chelsea Barracks near the Thames River, and is owner of the current U.S. Embassy in Grosvenor Square. (CNN) – As the eurozone battles public debt issues, a city in Germany has made it easier for sex workers to pay taxes. Bonn has installed automated pay stations on the streets in which streetwalkers can pay and print out receipts for a 6 euro fee (about $8.70) each night, according to an article in the New York Times. If police stop the prostitutes, they must have a current ticket to practice their trade. Prostitution is legal in Germany and income taxable. While collecting tax returns is easier at brothels, getting government revenues from curbside sex workers is more problematic for Germany tax authorities. |
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