Hollande calls for growth summit amid political turmoil August 28, 2014 French President Francois Hollande has appealed for a Eurozone growth summit to get to grips with the currency block's economic stagnation and high unemployment. The embattled President warned an audience of ambassadors in Paris that “Europe is threatened by a long and possibly interminable stagnation if we do nothing.” Hollande called on European leaders to [...]
Christine Lagarde charged with negligence August 27, 2014 Head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde has been charged with “simple negligence” by a court in France, following claims of ministerial wrongdoing surrounding a €400m (£318m) payout to French businessman Bernard Tapie when she was finance minister. Lagarde said she would challenge the “totally baseless” decision.
Forget Piketty: How Sweden combined wealth and equality through capitalism August 27, 2014 SWEDEN continues to be one of the countries others look to for an answer to this fundamental question of our times: how can a country successfully combine increasing prosperity with a relatively egalitarian distribution? The French economist Thomas Piketty provided part of an answer in his book Capital in the Twenty-First Century, in which he [...]
Warren Buffett and Floyd Mayweather square off ahead of Maidana rematch August 27, 2014 Warren Buffett appears to be the latest member of Floyd Mayweather's "The Money Team", making him "teammates" with Justin Bieber. Mayweather, the pound-for-pound best boxer in the world, posted an image of Buffett visiting him at his gym to his Instagram page, accompanying it with a caption describing Buffett as "the original founder of The [...]
European bond yields fall further after Draghi’s hints at quantitative easing August 27, 2014 European bond yields fell again on Wednesday, as the knock-on effect from a speech by European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi continued to quell investors' fears over muted growth. Germany's 10-year yield fell to 0.9 per cent in London (and a record 0.91 per cent in New York), while Spanish 10-year yields fell to [...]
IMF chief Christine Lagarde under investigation by French court August 27, 2014 International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde has been put under formal investigation on suspicion of "simple negligence" by a French court. Lagarde was questioned for 15 hours on Tuesday by the Court of Justice of the Republic over her involvement in a long-running political fraud case involving controversial French businessman Bernard Tapie, who was awarded [...]
Burger King tax row hits Warren Buffett after Tim Hortons takeover announcement August 26, 2014 Burger King and US tycoon Warren Buffett were forced to defend a £7bn (£4.25bn) takeover of Canadian chain Tim Hortons yesterday amid mounting political tension in America over tax inversions. The Miami-based giant said it would buy the coffee and doughnut chain for $11.4bn and relocate to Ontario, Canada – seemingly to benefit from [...]
Francois Hollande gives ex-Rothschild banker Emmanuel Macron top economics job August 26, 2014 Embattled French President Francois Hollande announced his new government yesterday, replacing his rebellious economy minister with former Rothschild banker Emmanuel Macron. The 36-year-old was previously Hollande’s economic adviser, and takes the place of Arnaud Montebourg, the firebrand socialist who trashed the government’s economic policies in a speech last weekend. Macron is viewed as a reformist [...]
Boris takes first step towards return as MP August 26, 2014 Mayor of London Boris Johnson has taken the first step towards rejoining the House of Commons by submitting his application to stand as the Conservative candidate in Uxbridge and South Ruislip in 2015. The incumbent MP, Sir John Randall, is stepping down at the next election and Boris is favourite to take his place and [...]
Ride a black swan? WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell adds Russian crisis to his list August 26, 2014 The Sochi Winter Olympics in February were a key turning point in the West’s deteriorating relationship with Russia, says WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell who now lists the Russian crisis as the most threatening of his unknown unknowns – or “black swans” – supplanting the Eurozone debt crisis. “I think we made a mistake [...]