The Republican tax bill unveiled last week in the US Congress could disrupt the global supply chains of large, multinational companies by slapping a 20% tax on cross-border transactions they routinely make between related business units.

Luxury spending is set to benefit if US president-elect Donald Trump succeeds in lowering US taxes, spurring rich consumers to buy more, according to the chief executive of French cognac maker Remy Cointreau.

Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign suffered a blow today after a video surfaced showing him telling wealthy donors that 47% of all Americans "believe they are victims" entitled to help from the government.

MITT Romney, the frontrunner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, is promising Americans deep spending cuts, smaller government, trade penalties on China, a new Federal Reserve chairman and sweeping deregulation.