LONDON | It was inevitable. The UK woke up Thursday saddled by a 50/50 chance of losing the maximum award of its national borrowing capabilities. After all, as Santander analysts poke out of Fitch Ratings’ statement over its outlook downgrade of the triple A, which British sovereign bonds still hold, the growing public debt to GDP ratio is set to approach the edge of the top-gun category. The figures came…
LONDON | Odd. After months of mild fireworks of demonstrations against austerity throughout Spain, it seems hard to believe that Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, international economics editor at The Daily Telegraph, would be struck. Even president Mariano Rajoy acknowledged that his reform plans for the labour market would probably spark a general strike. But Evans-Pritchard was struck, nevertheless: “In the twenty years or so that I have been following EU affairs closely, I cannot remember such a…
NEW YORK | “It’s the same Google experience that you’re used to, with the same controls,” said the company about its new privacy rules on Thursday. Really? Announced in January 24 and despite warnings from the EU earlier this week, Google’s highly controversial privacy changes took place on March 1st. European justice commissioner insisted they are in breach of European law. France’s regulator CNIL expressed its deep concern about the…
NEW YORK | General Motors and PSA Peugeot Citroën’s strategic pact announced Wednesday is meant to help both automakers squeeze $2 billion a year at their struggling European operations. The Detroit giant will acquire a 7% stake in French automaker PSA as part of a broad alliance that will include sharing vehicle architectures and pool the purchase of components. They will also cooperate in such areas as logistics and transportation to…
MADRID | According to a report by the market and opinion research firm TNS Sofres about the image of France in the world, for 72% of the French “Spain is the country they like the most.” The study, released by the French Embassy in Spain, also reveals that 66% of Spaniards are drawn to the Gallic country, 76% rate the bilateral relations as ‘excellent’ and 61% believe that these have improved…
The letter that the heads of government of twelve EU countries, including Spain’s Mariano Rajoy, sent to Brussels presented an eight point programme to promote economic growth in the European Union. It was addressed to the president of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and that of the Commission, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, yet was not signed by either Germany or France, the two main economies of the euro zone…
LONDON | For all the sovereign chin-ups the British prime minister David Cameron draws in every occasion he finds himself summoned to Brussels and Sarkozy’s financial transaction tax is mentioned, the savings gained in the name of the City of London would amount to just €8 billion. Mr Cameron and his euro sceptic troops, barricaded behind a loud sector of the British society too prone to vent their frustration over…
France’s economy is coming to a standstill. The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for France declined 0.6 percent in September to 112.8 (taking 2004 as benchmark), following a 0.5 percent decline in August, and a 0.3 percent decline in July. The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index (CEI) for France, a measure of current economic activity, though, was unchanged in September at 105.6, following a 0.1 percent increase in August, and a 0.1 percent…