Tag: Finance and banking
Germany chokes on its own austerity medicine – POLITICO
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BERLIN — Germans gave the world schadenfreude for a reason. And southern Europe couldn’t be more pleased.
For countries that spent years on the receiving end of Europe’s German-inspired fiscal Inquisition, there’s no sweeter sight than to see Germany splayed on the high altar of Teutonic parsimony.
The irony is that Germany put itself there on purpose and has no clue how it will find redemption.
Last week’s jaw-dropping
Anti-green backlash hovers over COP climate talks – POLITICO
This article is part of the Road to COP special report, presented by SQM.
LONDON — World leaders will touch down in Dubai next week for a climate change conference they’re billing yet again as the final off-ramp before catastrophe. But war, money squabbles and political headaches back home are already crowding the fate of the planet from the agenda.
The breakdown of the Earth’s climate has for decades been the most important yet somehow least urgent of global crises,
They’re talking, but a climate divide between Beijing and Washington remains – POLITICO
This article is part of the Road to COP special report, presented by SQM.
Last week’s surprise deal between China and the United States may provide a boost to the climate talks in Dubai — but the two powers remain at odds on tough questions such as how quickly to shut down coal and who should provide climate aid to developing nations.
The world’s top two drivers of climate change are also divided by a thicket of disagreements on trade,
Who’s who at COP28 – POLITICO
This article is part of the Road to COP special report, presented by SQM.
The annual U.N. climate summit that starts November 30 has become one of the biggest diplomatic setpieces in the global political calendar.
Organizers are expecting more than 70,000 people to descend upon Dubai’s Expo City: activists, billionaires, presidents, Indigenous leaders, business executives, monarchs and diplomats from every corner of the world. A few will hold sway over the outcome of the talks. Some will make noise
The state of the planet in 10 numbers – POLITICO
This article is part of the Road to COP special report, presented by SQM.
The COP28 climate summit comes at a critical moment for the planet.
A summer that toppled heat records left a trail of disasters around the globe. The world may be just six years away from breaching the Paris Agreement’s temperature target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, setting the stage for much worse calamities to come. And governments are cutting their greenhouse gas pollution far too slowly to
Putin rakes in extra €1B for his war chest via Bulgaria sanctions loophole – POLITICO
BRUSSELS — The Kremlin raked in an extra €1 billion for its war effort this year after Russia’s largest private oil firm exploited loopholes in EU sanctions rules — with help from Bulgaria.
Taking advantage of a unique exemption to the EU’s Russian oil ban, Bulgaria allowed millions of barrels of Russian oil to reach a local Russian-owned refinery, which then exported various refined fuels abroad including to EU countries, according to an investigation by the NGO Global Witness, the
WTF is Christine Lagarde up to? – POLITICO
Deep in the Wyoming wilderness last month, Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, stood before a large audience of elite central bankers and casually predicted the collapse of the international financial order. Resplendent in red and black, she resembled a humanoid Lindor chocolate truffle — and though her warning was diluted by the usual impenetrable jargon, the subtext was sufficiently clear and dramatic.
“There are plausible scenarios where we could see a fundamental change in the nature of
Italy to hit banks with 40 percent windfall tax – POLITICO
Georgia Meloni is going after the banks.
In a move that surprised investors and political observers alike, Italy’s far-right government led by Prime Minister Meloni announced plans late Monday to slap a 40 percent one-off windfall tax on bank profits.
Italian lenders have been raking in huge benefits from higher interest rates on their loans at a time when ordinary people are struggling with the cost of living.
The eurozone’s cost of living crisis, which has been marked by the
9 ways Dutch political paralysis hits the EU – POLITICO
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It’s hard to punch above your weight if you’re handcuffed.
In Brussels, the Netherlands is known for its assertive positioning in EU legislation in a wide range of policy files. Despite its relatively small size, the Netherlands has a tendency to get involved, even on files that are not at the core of the Dutch domestic debate.
Its prime minister, Mark Rutte, is the second-longest serving European Union leader
Right to use cash should be in constitution – POLITICO
Being able to continue using cash for payments rather than cards or digital currencies should be enshrined in the Austrian constitution, Chancellor Karl Nehammer said.
“More and more people are worried that cash could be restricted as a means of payment in Austria,” he said, insisting that people have a “right to cash”.
Austria has lagged begind other European countries on digital payments, with people clinging to coins and bills, particularly for smaller, everyday items.
“In Austria alone, €47 billion