The president of the World Bank David Malpass has warned politicians and global leaders against setting a global minimum tax rate for companies that is too high, BBC reported. Malpass said he did not want to see new rules and amendments that would prevent poor countries from attracting investment with low charges. Low taxes, which attract fresh investments is a popular tool for emerging economies.

The International Monetary Fund expressed support for the proposals of US President Joe Biden to increase corporate taxes and go further by agreeing a global minimum tax, Reuters reported. The Fund also noted that it was fair enough to impose higher taxes on wealthy firms and rich individuals who cashed big profits in pandemic and therefore can afford to pay more.

During an extraordinary year, the number of billionaires on Forbes’ 35th annual list of the world’s wealthiest exploded to an unprecedented 2,755 - 660 more than a year ago. What's more, altogether they are worth $13.1trn, up from $8trn on the 2020 list, with dozens of newly-minted billionaires making their fortunes in areas related to combating the pandemic 

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday that she is working with all G20 countries to agree on a global corporate minimum tax rate and pledged that restoring US multilateral leadership would strengthen the global economy and advance US interests.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) began experiments on Monday to study the feasibility of issuing its own digital currency, joining efforts by other central banks that are aiming to match the innovation in the field achieved by the private sector.

The Suez Canal is now free for all transport ships but the financial consequences of the blockage are yet to be calculated, Reuters said. Insurers and reinsurers anticipate a pile of claims related to delayed traffic and deliveries of goods.

Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing will hand over oversight of the investment and corporate bank to board member Fabrizio Campelli, the German bank said on Monday, as part of an overhaul of the management board, Reuters reported. The move is likely to reassure regulators, who worried that Sewing had too much on his plate, potentially leaving the investment bank open to operational hazards.

The year 2020 was critical for the whole mankind in terms of health fears, as well as concerns over personal wealth, Reuters reported. However, the world crisis was not equally bad for everyone. The world’s wealthiest have managed to explore the opportunity caused by the Covid-19 turmoil and added new billions to their bank accounts. The world is stuck in the worst recession since WWII, but even that was explored as an opportunity.

The economic activity of the Еurozone has recovered at a faster than expected pace in March, Reuters reported. Official data showed that production orders spiked at its fastest speed for the last 23 years. The growth rate has offset the influence of on-going lockdowns in most European states affected the bloc’s leading service sector.

The crypto currency company Blockchain.com announced it had raised a further amount of $300 million in its latest round of funding, putting the firm’s market valuation at $5.2bn. The round of financing was led by DST Global, Reuters reported.