PARIS | By La Croix via Presseurop | “There is growing wind of revolt against the government’s fiscal policy,” explains La Croix in the wake of a weekend of violent demonstrations in Brittany agains the ecotaxe, a new environmental tax on road transport.
BEIJING | By Qiao Xinsheng at Caixin | Why is a latte more expensive in Beijing than London? Because China is an emerging economy forcing hidden costs on companies and Britain isn’t.
LONDON | By The Economist via Presseurop | It’s not just sovereign borrowing; there are too many zombie firms and overindebted households.
NEW YORK | By Junheng Li at Forbes via Caixin | The assumption that China’s housing market is out of control ignores many facts, most importantly that homeowners are not deeply indebted.
BERLIN | By Claus Christian Malzahn at Die Welt via Presseurop | If allegations US intelligence services bugged German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone are proved true, it will prove the worst fears a reality. After revelations of US spying on other countries, this could be the final straw in relations between Europe and the United States.
LONDON | By Barclays analysts | Investor expectations have been slow to incorporate the improvement in global business confidence, and the persistent pessimism presents an opportunity to be long assets that will benefit from an acceleration in global growth.
MADRID| By Francisco López |The European Central Bank published on Wednesday some of the criteria to evaluate financial entities’ solvency, as a previous step before it takes on competences as a single banking supervisor. Balances of 128 European banks will be tested from November to October 2014. And new rules are stricter than expected.
PARIS | By Eric Sandin at Le Monde via Presseurop | In response to NSA eavesdropping and the massive collection of user data by Internet giants, it is up to the EU to lay the foundations for the future worldwide web. Because only Europe can guarantee a “responsible, shared” environment in which individuals can manage the data that concerns them.
By Nick Malkoutzis | The Agora/ MacroPolis | Earlier this year, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras held an informal dinner with some of his party’s MPs. He reportedly told them that if Greece would be able to get through a tough summer, it would “take off” in September. We are now nearing the end of October and there has been no departure for the skies. Instead, Samaras is bracing for impact.
MADRID | Spain is one of the European countries with the highest black economy and tax loss revenue since the current crisis began. This was revealed by a survey conducted by two Spanish tax inspectors, who estimate the undeclared economy was of 28.7% of GDP this year. To prevent loss of tax revenue they praise for limiting the 500 and 200 euro-banknotes and promoting incentives on electronic payments avoiding European regulations that unbalance the system.