French conservative vote unclear November 18, 2012 The result of a tightly fought two-way contest to choose the next leader of France’s conservatives remained unclear yesterday, with both sides claiming they had won. Jean-Francois Cope, a disciple of former president Nicolas Sarkozy, announced his victory to reporters around 10.30pm, then former prime minister Francois Fillon said 20 minutes later he was in [...]
Hollande’s party set to scrap French tax break on overtime July 17, 2012 TAX breaks on overtime in France are set to be scrapped by new President Francois Hollande’s socialist government, it announced yesterday. The decision to reverse the policy, which was introduced by former President Nicolas Sarkozy, is being taken under the belief that it will create jobs. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault argues that the measure disincentivises [...]
Police search Sarko’s home July 3, 2012 POLICE raided the home and offices of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday as part of a judicial inquiry into financial relations between his political camp and L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt. Sarkozy’s lawyer said the raids, a day after his client had left for Canada on holiday, would show nothing and that he had already [...]
LOWER OIL PRICES LIKELY TO REMAIN AS GROWTH SLOWS June 25, 2012 SENIOR MARKET STRATEGIST, GFT LAST week, Brent crude oil traded below $88.50 – a level last seen in November 2010. Back then, crude was in the early stages of a rally which would take it above $126 four months later. The rally was driven, to a great extent, by the US Federal Reserve’s second round [...]
Francois Hollande enjoys surge as Merkel’s party ratings slump May 27, 2012 CLOSE to two thirds of French people approve of President Francois Hollande’s actions in his first days in power, a poll showed at the weekend, giving him a strong foundation to face down other leaders in the Eurozone, as he pledged on the election trail. Meanwhile German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives saw their lead crumble [...]
Hollande cannot be ultra radical May 14, 2012 FOR the third year running, Greece has managed once again to steal the limelight in the month of May. The Greek elections have managed to eclipse the results of the French elections, which resulted in one of the biggest political shifts seen in a major European economy in almost two decades. While events in Greece, [...]
RAPID RESPONSES May 9, 2012 Facebook’s trials [Re: Is Facebook’s estimated market value excessively high?, Tuesday] Facebook is often compared to Microsoft. They’re both hugely successful companies that tens of millions use, but which few really love (in contrast to Apple). Facebook has shown impressive growth in revenues and profitability, but to become a $100bn company it must face two [...]
Japanese minister urges France to stick with financial reforms May 8, 2012 JAPAN’S finance minister warned France against abandoning fiscal discipline yesterday, telling new President Francois Hollande that it would be better if he did not act on his “heated” promises made before the election. Jun Azumi said he wants Hollande to stick to plans made by outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy, and not to disrupt the international [...]
How will Francois Hollande’s victory in the French presidential election affect the City? May 8, 2012 WELL Syed Kamall His greatest enemy is finance and his strategy for defeating it is taxing it to death. Francois Hollande has made quite clear how he detests bankers. He has also been shouting loudly about his plans to introduce a 75 per cent tax rate on all income above €1m and a unilateral financial [...]
Austerity here to stay, warns German leader May 7, 2012 GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel tried to ease tensions with new French President Francois Hollande yesterday, after she supported rival Nicolas Sarkozy in the campaign. However, she warned that the new French leader – and his currently unknown peer in Greece – will not be allowed to renegotiate the Eurozone’s fiscal discipline deal. Merkel said that [...]