Reaktion auf Schuldenkrise: Spanien schafft die Siesta ab
SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG: Shoppen statt schlafen: Spaniens Regierung wagt sich im Kampf gegen die Wirtschaftskrise an eine jahrhundertealte Tradition: Ab September wird die Siesta abgeschafft, der Einzelhandel darf dann nachmittags durcharbeiten. Die Touristen aus dem Norden dürften an der neuen Regelung nicht unschuldig sein

Das Nickerchen nach dem Mittagessen war den Spaniern immer heilig. Sogar einen eigenen Begriff gab es dafür: die Siesta. Eine jahrhundertealte Tradition, um die viele Deutsche die Südländer immer ein bisschen beneideten. Jetzt ist Schluss damit; die Spanier werden ein Stück weit nordeuropäischer - und sollen den Tag künftig durcharbeiten. Um mehr Geld zu verdienen.

Nach dem Willen der konservativen Regierung sollen sie künftig ganz auf ihre Siesta verzichten. Schuld daran: die Euro-Krise. Von Warenhäusern und Supermärkten abgesehen, sind traditionell alle Geschäfte zwischen 14 und 16 Uhr geschlossen. Auch die meisten Restaurants machen am späteren Nachmittag bis zum Abend zu. Von 1. September an dürfen alle Geschäfte und Gastronomiebetriebe den ganzen Nachmittag durcharbeiten. » | Von Thomas Urban, Madrid | Sonntag, 29. Juli 2012

Schuldenkrise in der EU: Juncker warnt vor Zerfall der Euro-Zone

SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG: "Keine Zeit mehr zu verlieren": Der Vorsitzende der Euro-Gruppe sieht einen entscheidenden Punkt der Schuldenkrise gekommen. Jean-Claude Juncker unterstützt Pläne von EZB-Chef Draghi zum Ankauf von Staatsanleihen - und gibt Deutschland eine Mitschuld an der Krise. Berlin behandle die Euro-Zone "wie eine Filiale". Auch "Geschwätz über den Austritt Griechenlands" sei nicht hilfreich.

Luxemburgs Premier Jean-Claude Juncker warnt vor dem Zerfall der Währungsunion. "Wir sind an einem entscheidenden Punkt angekommen", sagte Juncker der Süddeutschen Zeitung. "Die Welt redet darüber, ob es die Euro-Zone in einigen Monaten noch gibt." Um den Euro zu retten, sei "keine Zeit mehr zu verlieren", fügte der Vorsitzende der Euro-Gruppe, des mächtigen Gremiums der 17 Euro-Finanzminister, hinzu. "Wir müssen jetzt mit allen verfügbaren Mitteln überaus deutlich machen, dass wir fest entschlossen sind, die Finanzstabilität der Währungsgemeinschaft zu gewährleisten." » | Von Cerstin Gammelin und Stefan Kornelius | Sonntag, 29. Juli 2012

CNN President Resigns amid Worst Ratings in Decades

RT.COM: CNN President Jim Walton revealed on Friday that he will leave the network after three decades effective the end of this year, an unexpected departure that follows an announcement that the station is seeing its worst ratings since the early 90s.

Walton will walk away from CNN after spending 30 years building the business up. He’s overseen their operations as president for the last decade, but announced in an email to his staff this week that both CNN and himself need to start working towards something new.

`I've been doing this job I'm in now for 10 years and I'm ready for a change,” Walton writes. “CNN needs new thinking. That starts with a new leader who brings a different perspective, different experiences and a new plan, one who will build on our great foundation and will commit to seeing it through. And I’m ready for a change. I have interests to explore and I want to give myself time to do it [sic].” » | Friday, July 27, 2012

Schuldenkrise: Wann kippt Deutschland?

FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Die Euro-Rettung wird immer teurer. Aber auch Deutschlands Kräfte sind nicht unbegrenzt. Die ersten Folgen spüren wir schon.

Die vergangene Woche begann mit einem Erdbeben, ausgelöst von Moody’s, der amerikanischen Ratingagentur. Am Montag stellten die Analysten in Frage, ob der Schuldner Deutschland - bislang über jeden Zweifel erhaben - noch länger das Spitzenrating „AAA“ verdient. Am Mittwoch die nächste Erschütterung: Der wichtigste Frühindikator für die Konjunktur, der Ifo-Geschäftsklimaindex, fiel deutlich und zum dritten Mal in Folge. Und die bislang vor Kraft strotzenden Dax-Konzerne? Ende vergangener Woche präsentierten Unternehmen wie Siemens und MAN kleinlaut ihre Zahlen. Die Bilanzen zeigen, dass die Euro-Eruptionen auch an ihnen nicht länger spurlos vorbeigehen. » | Von Johannes Pennekamp | Sonntag, 29. Juli 2012

Debt Crisis: Angela Merkel and François Hollande Pledge to Back Euro

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Angela Merkel and François Hollande pledged on Friday "to do everything to protect" the European Union's single currency, papering over deep divisions between them over how to tackle the Spanish and Italian debt crisis.

The German chancellor and French president issued a joint statement following a crisis telephone call echoing Mario Draghi's promise on Thursday that the European Central Bank would do whatever it took to save the euro.

"France and Germany are fundamentally tied to the integrity of the euro area," they said in the statement.

"They are determined to do everything to protect it.

"Member states, like the European institutions, must fulfil their obligations to this end according to their prerogatives."

Markets rose on Friday afternoon as the Franco-German signal was interpreted as giving a green light for ECB to resume buying Italian and Spanish bonds. » | Bruno Waterfield, in Brussels | Friday, July 27, 2012

George Osborne Under Attack as Britain's Recession Deepens

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: George Osborne faced calls from business leaders to do more to kick-start Britain’s economy on Wednesday after official figures showed that the country has fallen into the worst double-dip recession for more than 50 years.

The economy shrank by 0.7 per cent between April and June, the Office for National Statistics said. It is now smaller than when the Coalition came to power in 2010.

Since then, the Chancellor has pursued a strict policy of austerity – “Plan A” – in an attempt to bring down the deficit, leading to accusations that he has not done enough to stimulate growth.

Wednesday’s fall was worse than expected and means that Britain is firmly back in recession, with negative growth for the past nine months.

Amid a growing clamour from business groups for radical action, one senior Conservative figure admitted that the economy was likely to be in “intensive care” for another two years.

Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, called for a “Plan A plus” as he suggested that austerity alone was not enough to bring the country out of recession.

Business groups want extra help for companies struggling to raise money, a more radical infrastructure plan, a National Insurance holiday for employers and assistance with local business rates.

Small business organisations also called for political parties to work together in a “grand national bargain” to stop Westminster disagreements undermining the economy. Read on and comment » | Robert Winnett, and James Kirkup | Wednesday, July 25, 2012

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Vince Cable: I would 'probably' make a good chancellor - but I'm backing George Osborne – Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Business Secretary, has admitted that he would like to be chancellor but said he was backing under-fire George Osborne to stay in his job as the OECD tells Britain to stick to Plan A. » | Rosa Prince, Online Political Editor | Thursday, July 26, 2012

George Osborne Is a 'Work Experience Chancellor' Who Should Be Moved in Reshuffle, Says Senior Lib Dem
George Osborne is a 'work experience' Chancellor, according to senior Lib Dem Lord Oakeshott as Michael Fallon, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, admits the economy is in "intensive care".

Read the article here | Christopher Hope, Senior Political Correspondent | Wednesday, July 25, 2012
THE GUARDIAN: George Osborne reeling as economy enters the disaster zone: Chancellor urged to rethink austerity plan by business, the City and opposition after shock slump in GDP » | Larry Elliott and Nicholas Watt | Wednesday, July 25, 2012

From Stable to Negative: Moody's Cuts Outlook for Germany's Top Rating
SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The debt crisis is threatening Germany's top credit rating. Moody's changed its outlook for Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to negative from stable late on Monday. The German Finance Ministry said the country would remain an anchor of stability in the 17-nation euro zone.

Moody's Investors Service on Monday cut its outlook for Germany's creditworthiness to "negative" from "stable," but confirmed the country's triple-A rating.

Moody's also cut its outlook for the Netherlands and Luxembourg, which also have triple-A ratings, to negative from stable. Finland kept its stable outlook.

The ratings agency said the move was due to growing uncertainty caused by the debt crisis.

It said there was an increased chance that Greece could leave the euro zone, which "would set off a chain of financial sector shocks ... that policymakers could only contain at a very high cost."

It also warned that Germany and other countries rated AAA might have to increase support for ailing countries such as Spain and Italy. The burden of that support would fall most heavily on the euro zone's top-rated states, it said. » | cro -- with wire reports | Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Spanish Protest Taxes and Cuts in Public Sector Wages
Taking their anger to the street, this demonstration in Madrid by Spanish government workers comes a day after tens of thousands protested across the country. The message to Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is 'You're cutting too far and too fast'. Plans to introduce new taxes and cut public sector wages are part of a drive to slash the budget deficit. Al Jazeera's Nadim Baba reports

Wealthy French Angry Over Tax Hikes
n France, the parliament has voted through a programme to increase taxes on the rich. They now face a rise in wealth tax as well as a tightening of inheritance tax. And more is expected, including a 75 per cent tax rate on annual incomes of more than 1.2 million dollars. Tim Friend reports from Paris.

You Can’t Blame Capitalism for This 'Shambles’
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Real free markets require genuine competition if they are to offer the constantly improving quality of service that is the redeeming virtue of private enterprise

What a feast the past week has been for the last adherents of the old socialist religion. There was yet another banking scandal and this one actually involved (wow!) laundering of drug money, and possible terrorist connections. And then there was a whopperoo of a public relations catastrophe, when a private firm’s commitment to providing security for the Olympics fell apart. So here we go again. From the planet where state power and government provision is an eternal fount of benevolence, come the voices of reproach. They always knew it would end like this: the forces of rabid capitalism have been allowed to pillage and destroy the moral fabric of the nation with their rapacious lust for profit, laying waste to the great public service ethos which once ruled our communal life.

Thank heaven for Mark Serwotka. Just as this outpouring of egregious moral hokum was reaching its ululating zenith, along came the Public and Commercial Services Union to remind us what the “public service ethos” is all about. Mr Serwotka’s comrades, who hold the security of the entire country in their grip, were to pull the plug at Britain’s ports of entry on the day before the Olympic Games opened. Ah, yes. There is the spirit of the untrammelled, invincible public sector at its purest: self-serving, politically ruthless, and indifferent to any needs or concerns outside its own vested interest. This was the mindset that once prevailed in the government-owned public services, with their hugely powerful national unions, which dominated our day-to-day existence within living memory.

Those of us old enough to recall what it was actually like to be persecuted by the North Thames Gas Board, to be put on a six-month waiting list for a telephone by the General Post Office, and to be at the mercy of dustmen who went on strike whenever their feelings were hurt, are not likely to be taken in by meretricious rhetoric about the glories of state ownership. It was the blinding rage against all of that – and the determination that it should never return – that kept the Conservatives in power for 18 years.

But I worry about the youngsters. Could a whole new generation of useful idiots be recruited to the cause of collectivism and state ownership, bamboozled by deliberately muddled assertions which do not stand up to examination? Will they be inclined, for example, to accept the hysterical claims that HSBC’s alleged money-laundering activity is a revelation about the nature of capitalism itself: that it encapsulates the essential immorality of the free market? Perhaps it would be pertinent for someone (David Cameron?) to point out that laundering drug money is not capitalism. It is not even “rampant capitalism”: it is a crime. Read on and comment » | Janet Daley | Saturday, July 21, 2012

My comment:

Capitalism has been discredited; and for one simple reason: it has become the economics of greed. Greed is the order of the day for the big boys, who then proceed to screw the 'little people'.

Capitalism could be a wonderful system. Not perfect, but the best system known to man. It used to work just fine when people had moral and ethical anchors. Alas, people have them no more.

I write not as a religious man, but as a keen observer. I must therefore confess that capitalism worked well when the Church held sway over the people. For Christianity ensured that people suppressed their base desires. It led at least to a modicum of fairness for all. People at the top checked their own greed. It was not acceptable to grab all for oneself. There was a sense of community, a sense of looking after the less well-off. In this modern age of hedonism, everyman is out for himself. It's become a case of grab all you can get – for yourself. And this is one of the main reasons why capitalism is failing. Capitalism without any checks and balances is not a noble system at all. In fact, it becomes the blueprint to introduce the law of the jungle.

In short, capitalism is only good when it is tempered by a sense of morality, a sense of ethics, a sense of fairness. – © Mark

This comment also appears here

Debt Crisis: Greek Economy Is In a 'Great Depression' Says Samaras

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Greece is in a "Great Depression" similar to the American one in the 1930s, the country's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras told former US President Bill Clinton on Sunday.

Mr Samaras's comments come two days before a team of Greece's debt inspectors arrive in Athens to push for further austerity measures if the debt-laden country wants to qualify for further rescue payments and avoid a chaotic default.

Athens wants to soften the terms of a €130bn euro bailout agreed last March with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, to soften their impact on an economy going through its worst post-war recession.

Greek GDP is expected by the end of this to have shrunk by about a fifth in five consecutive years of recession since 2008, hammered by tax hikes, spending cuts and wage reductions required by two EU/IMF bailouts. Unemployment climbed to a record 22.6pc in the first quarter.

"You had the Great Depression in the United States," Samaras told Clinton, who was visiting Greece as part of a delegation of Greek-American businessmen. "This is exactly what we're going through in Greece - it's our version of the Great Depression." » | Source: Reuters | Sunday, July 22, 2012

The Pain in Spain: Recession and the Middle Class
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Unemployment, debt and the collapse of industry have brought Spain to its knees – even the middle classes are now queuing at the food banks

Spain, the fourth-largest economy in the Eurozone, is treading water. Europe is poised to approve a loan of up to €100 billion to save its stricken banking sector, and with Spain's borrowing costs remaining dangerously high, fears are growing that it could follow Greece, Ireland and Portugal in a full-scale bailout. The prospects for growth are low as Spaniards steel themselves for the effects of €27 billion worth of cuts this year as the country struggles to bring its budget deficit down from 8.9 per cent of GDP in 2011 to under three per cent by 2014.

Spain is forecast to be the only country among the 17 nations of the Eurozone to remain in recession in 2013. Unemployment, already at 24.3 per cent, is expected to worsen. Half of all Spaniards aged between 18 and 25 are out of work – youth unemployment in Spain now exceeds 50 per cent, matching that of Greece. Blocked out of a labour market that favours older employees on permanent contracts who are expensive to fire, youth workers in Spain have suffered the brunt of the economic crisis. Once, many unskilled youths found work in the construction sector, but with growth crippled and Spain sliding into its second recession within three years the competition for jobs is high.

Where their parents looked to a bright future, as Spain developed from a fledgling democracy on the death of the Fascist dictator Francisco Franco to one of the success stories of the European Union, today's youth have little to do with their time but join marches and sit-ins against the austerity cuts, the political system and rising unemployment.

In Tres Cantos, a dormitory town 20 miles north of Madrid, the heat of the day was barely diminished at 7pm. An elderly couple shuffled beneath a pergola draped in wisteria, seeking out what little shade there was. Restaurant terraces were empty, their tables laid optimistically for an evening rush. The one hive of activity was outside a collection of white portable buildings on scrubland behind metal fencing in the heart of the town centre. Here, a queue of people snaked out of the gates. Their heads down, they pulled shopping trolleys and clutched bags marked with the names of leading supermarkets, but this was not a supermarket. It was a Red Cross centre. Read on and comment » | Fiona Govan | Saturday, July 21, 2012

Rettungspaket für spanische Banken beschlossen
Die Euro-Finanzminister haben an einer Telefonkonferenz beschlossen, die von der Immobilienkrise geschwächten Banken zu unterstützen. Die Finanzminister entschieden gleichzeitig, dass der Bankensektor stärker überwacht wird.

SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN: Spanien droht das gleiche Schicksal wie Griechenland: Die Finanzmärkte verlieren zunehmend das Vertrauen in Spanien. Die Risikoaufschläge für deren Staatsanleihen sind auf ein Rekordhoch geklettert. Auslöser war der Antrag auf Finanzhilfe durch mehrere Regionen. Dass sich Spanien noch selber retten kann, wird immer fraglicher. » | agenturen/fref;horm | Montag, 23. Juli 2012

Immer mehr Spanier ziehen in die Schweiz
Die wirtschaftliche Situation in ihrem Land zwingt viele Spanier, ihr Glück woanders zu suchen. Viele ziehen in die Schweiz, der Zustrom an spanischen Einwanderern nimmt deshalb massiv zu.

Spain Police Clash with Austerity Protesters
Eurozone ministers are expected to give their final approval of a huge bailout of Spanish banks on Friday.But in Madrid, police fired rubber-coated bullets to disperse protesters. They are angry at the latest budget cuts and tax hikes as demonstrations were held in 80 cities. Al Jazeera's Paul Brennan reports from the capital, Madrid.

Italy's Economic Crisis Risks Sparking 'Civil War' in Sicily
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The misery caused by Italy's financial crisis could spark a "civil war" in the southern island of Sicily, the mayor of regional capital Palermo said on Friday.

"Because of an explosive mix of despair felt by many families and the stranglehold of organised crime, a civil war could even break out," mayor Leoluca Orlando told the economic daily Wirtschaftsblatt.

"Sicily is the Greece of Italy," said Orlando, a member of the anti-corruption Italy of Values party and a staunch anti-Mafia champion.

"We've managed to stay afloat only because we're a part of Italy," he added.

"Many businesses are shutting, families on low incomes can no longer pay their electricity bills," said Orlando, who has been mayor since May. » | Source: AFP | Friday, July 20, 2012

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Monti plans 'Greek-style' takeover of Sicily to avert default: Italian premier Mario Monti is mulling emergency action to take direct control of Sicily’s regional government before the island spirals into a full-blown financial crisis, fearing contagion to the rest of Italy. » | Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Verbunden »

Yahoo Could Make Marissa Mayer One of Top-paid CEOs
LOS ANGELES TIMES: The new chief executive could earn up to $129 million over five years, through salary, cash bonuses and stock awards.

Marissa Mayer,Yahoo Inc.'s new chief executive, could earn up to $129 million over the next five years, making her one of the country's highest-paid CEOs.

The compensation package, which was revealed in a regulatory filing Thursday, demonstrates the lengths to which the ailing technology firm went to lure Mayer from rival Google Inc.

The 37-year-old could make up to $85 million in salary, cash bonuses and stock awards over five years. She also will get $44 million in one-time grants, including a $30-million "retention" stock award and $14 million in restricted stock for forfeiting her current Google stock.

"She's certainly going to be highly compensated if she succeeds," said Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Financial. "It's a multibillion-dollar company. If she creates value, it'll be a tiny fraction; if she doesn't, she'll be another one in a long line of Yahoo CEOs who had expensive compensation packages that didn't work out."

Given that much of her pay is coming in the form of restricted stock or options, the ultimate value of the package depends heavily on the performance of Yahoo shares in coming years.

The Sunnyvale, Calif., company needed to offer Mayer generous compensation because "it's not easy to get people to come into the Yahoo mess," said James F. Reda of Gallagher Benefit Services Inc., a human resources consulting firm. However, "if she doesn't perform, the Yahoo board hasn't been too shy of getting rid of people." » | Walter Hamilton and Andrea Chang, Los Angeles Times | Friday, July 20, 2012

Debt Crisis: IMF Calls on Coalition to Draw Up 'Plan B'
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Britain’s recovery has stalled and the Government must be prepared to relax austerity to pump life into the ailing economy, the International Monetary Fund has warned.

The IMF said that post-crisis repair to the ravaged economy would take longer than expected, meaning extra effort to boost growth could take priority over deficit reduction should the outlook worsen.

It said the 2013 Budget would be an ideal time for the Government to consider further action, should policies already in place fail to make an impact.

"If growth does not take off and unemployment fails to recede even after substantial further monetary stimulus and strong credit easing measures have been given time to work, the policy response should include a further slowing of fiscal consolidation," said Ajai Chopra, the IMF’s deputy director of the European department.

"[The Budget] would be the natural time to look at the state of the economy and policy responses," he said. » | Angela Monaghan, Economics Correspondent | Thursday, July 19, 2012

IMF report on UK
My comment:

Austerity, austerity, austerity is not the answer to a severe recession, depression. What the Chancellor is doing with all this austerity is slamming the breaks on really hard when in actual fact the pump needs to be primed.

Whilst it is always prudent for a country to get its finances in order, the time for doing this is when the going is good. It is when the going is good that we save for that proverbial 'rainy day'. A family doesn't save money when the rainy day has come; rather, it saves for the rainy day when circumstances allow. So it should be for government. The coffers should be being filled when the economy is booming. What this government is doing is turning this wisdom on its head. The result will be misery for the people. Witness what is going on in Greece – austerity as we have, but in extremis.

All this austerity should therefore be tempered by a solid growth strategy. Only when the economy starts to grow again, only when there is at least a modicum of recovery can we hope to shorten the dole queues, can we hope to relieve people's misery, can we hope to encourage people to spend again. For it is only when people spend that demand increases; and only when demand increases will the economy start moving again. – © Mark

This comment also appears here.

Global Impact as Drought Wilts US Crops
At least 29 states in the United States'' Midwest are feeling the heat of the Big Dry as oppressive heat and a worsening drought are pushing grain prices near or past records. Corn is a mega-crop and a bad year drives up the price everything from beef to cereal and auto fuel. As crops continue to wilt and falter, farmers and consumers across the globe are hoping for more rain, despite forecasts of dry days ahead. Al Jazeera's John Hendren reports from Rensselaer, Indiana.

Will Marissa Mayer Save Yahoo Or Run It Into the Ground?
FORBES: This is only her first day on the job as CEO of Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), but Marissa Mayer is already being criticized as an unusual hire with “no real leadership experience.”

“I have to tell you, I don’t know what the Yahoo! board was thinking,” CNBC’s Herb Greenberg ranted last night. “This is a wonderful opportunity for her but this is also a remarkable challenge for someone that has no real leadership experience.”

Mayer, a former Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) executive responsible for the clean look of Google’s homepage, is an engineer and inventor credited with several patents in artificial intelligence and interface design.

Colin Gillis, the senior technology analyst at BGC Partners, told CNBC that Mayer will have “about 100 days” to prove that she is right for the job. » | Louis Bedigian, Contributor | Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Barclays Faces Trans-Atlantic Scrutiny
Along with an inquiry in London, some of the biggest financial institutions in England are now coming under scrutiny from Washington. Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, told the US Senate that he could not guarantee that libor rates were no longer being manipulated. Al Jazeera's Barnaby Phillips reports from London.

Misswirtschaft: Sizilien steht vor der Pleite
KRONE.AT: Nach der Herabstufung Italiens und mehrerer Banken durch die Ratingagentur Moodys sorgt die Regierung nun mit einer neuen Hiobsbotschaft für Aufregung: Sizilien steht vor der Pleite. Der Insel mit neun Millionen Einwohnern droht ein ähnliches Schicksal wie Griechenland. Die Verschuldung sei auf ein Rekordhoch von fünf Milliarden Euro geklettert, es gebe massive Sorgen vor einem "finanziellen Kollaps" der Region, erklärte Premier Mario Monti am Dienstag. Ursache für die Krise ist die Misswirtschaft der lokalen Behörden. Die autonome Region Sizilien, die rund 5,5 Prozent des italienischen Bruttoinlandsprodukts erwirtschaftet, gilt als Armenhaus Italiens. » | AG/red | Mittwoch, 18. Juli 2012

La dolce vita Not So Sweet Amid Rising Poverty
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Life is no longer so sweet in the land of “la dolce vita”, with a report finding that more than 11pc of Italian families now live in relative poverty.

Eight million Italians, out of a population of 60 million, are struggling to make ends meet, according to Istat, the national statistics agency on Tuesday.

Of those, 3.4 million are living in absolute poverty, representing 5.7 per cent of the population, up from 5.2 per cent in 2010.

The problem is worst in the sun-baked south, known as the Mezzogiorno, where one in four families now live below the poverty line.

The definition of absolute poverty is based on a basket of necessary goods and services, while relative poverty is measured by average household consumption. » | Nick Squires, in Rome | Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Evasion fiscale : De nombreuses familles riches quittent la France

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Les initiatives du nouveau gouvernement français concernant les impôts poussent de nombreuses familles fortunées à quitter le pays.

La décision «d'un nombre important de familles françaises fortunées de quitter le pays à cause des initiatives annoncées par le nouveau gouvernement» explique la bonne activité du marché immobilier supérieur à 5 millions d'euros ( 6 millions de francs), affirme lundi Sotheby's International Realty France.

«Le fait que nous ayons vendu plus de 100 biens haut de gamme avec un prix moyen de plus de 1,7 million d'euros entre avril et juin 2012 montre clairement que le marché immobilier de prestige se maintient, même en cette période extrêmement difficile», déclare Alexander Kraft, PDG de Sotheby's International Realty France.

Alexander Kraft n'a pas souhaité indiquer le «nombre important de familles fortunées françaises» ayant décidé de quitter la France. » \ lundi 16 juillet 2012

Senate Report: HSBC 'Allowed Drug Money Laundering'

BBC: A US Senate probe has disclosed how lax controls at Europe's largest bank left it vulnerable to being used to launder dirty money from around the world.

The report into HSBC, released ahead of a Senate hearing on Tuesday, says huge sums of Mexican drug money almost certainly passed through the bank.

Suspicious funds from Syria, the Cayman Islands, Iran and Saudi Arabia also passed through the British bank.

HSBC said it expected to be held accountable for what went wrong. » | Tuesday, July 17, 2012

IMF Slashes UK Economic Growth Forecast

THE GUARDIAN: International Monetary Fund downgrades its forecast for UK growth next year by more than any other developed nation

The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its forecast for UK growth next year by more than any other developed nation and warned that the world economy is weakening.

The Washington-based organisation predicted on Monday that growth in the UK will be just 1.4% in 2013, compared with a previous forecast of 2%. This year the situation will be even worse and a previous forecast for 0.8% growth for the year has all but evaporated.

The IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook that GDP across the UK – which is currently in recession – will increase by just 0.2% in 2012, beating Italy and Spain, but behind France and Germany.

Christine Lagarde, the former French finance minister who heads the IMF, has warned European leaders they must press ahead with further measures to deal with the euro crisis or growth forecasts could prove optimistic. » | Phillip Inman, economics correspondent | Monday, July 16, 2012

Italy's Super Rich Yachters Sail Away from Taxman
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Wealthy Italian sailors are finding that their yachts attract unwanted attention from the taxman, reports Nick Squires

As Italy swelters in temperatures of up to 40C, the country's marinas should be packed with bronzed sailors in expensive deck shoes tending to their gleaming yachts.

But Italian boat owners are feeling the heat not just from the sun this summer.

Thousands are weighing anchor and fleeing with their gin palaces to quiet corners of the Mediterranean to escape a tax evasion crackdown – part of efforts by the government of Mario Monti, the prime minister, to tackle Italy's €1.9 trillion public debt.

Six months after the authorities launched a high-profile campaign against suspected tax dodgers in the up-market ski resorts of the Alps and the Dolomites, the battle against evasion has taken to the waves.

Just as tax inspectors targeted the owners of Lamborghinis, Ferraris and other top-of-the-range sports cars in their bid to sniff out tax evasion in the mountains, so in the ports and marinas they are going after the owners of luxury yachts.

Uniformed officers of the Guardia di Finanza, or tax police, are performing on-the-spot checks, boarding boats and checking owners' details against their tax records.

In a country where tax evasion is regarded almost as a national sport, they often find that the owners of expensive boats have declared trifling amounts of income, or none at all. » | Nick Squires, Rome | Saturday, July 14, 2012

Spain's Indignados Distribute Food to Madrid's Poor
Indignado activists have become volunteers in the Spanish city of Madrid, distributing food to those who cannot afford it. In this direct action initiative, shopkeepers donate the food and volunteers deliver it to the people who need it most. Al Jazeera's Tim Friend reports

Le Liborgate pourrait coûter 20 milliards aux banques

LE FIGARO: Morgan Stanley a estimé la facture que pourraient se voir infliger dix grandes banques susceptibles d'être impliquées dans la manipulation des taux Libor et Euribor. Société Générale pourrait être fortement impactée.

L'étude réalisée par Morgan Stanley soulève l’énormité du scandale financier du Libor. Le broker américain a publié une note de recherche -que lefigaro.fr s'est procurée-, qui tente de chiffrer les conséquences en termes de coûts et d'image de l'affaire du Libor, pour onze grandes banques internationales susceptibles d'avoir manipulé ces taux interbancaires d'une importance colossale dans le financement de l'économie mondiale. » | Par Marine Rabreau | vendredi 13 juillet 2012

Sans-Papiers in der Schweiz
Laut Schätzungen leben in der Schweiz über 100'000 Papierlose. Eine Studie der Sans-Papier-Anlaufstelle in Zürich bietet nun erstmals Einblick in den Alltag der Sans-Papiers in der Schweiz.

Peugeot-Citroën streicht 8000 Stellen
Der französische Autohersteller Peugeot-Citroën streicht 8000 Stellen und schliesst das Werk in Aulnay bei Paris. Das Unternehmen sieht die europäische Schuldenkrise als Auslöser für die drastischen Massnahmen. Einschätzungen von SF-Korrespondent Michael Gerber aus Paris

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: François Hollande: Peugeot job cuts are 'unacceptable': PSA Peugeot Citroën's plans to slash 8,000 jobs are "unacceptable" and must be renegotiated, French President François Hollande said on Saturday. » | Szu Ping Chan, and agencies | Saturday, July 14, 2012

Timothy Geithner Pressed Mervyn King to Reform Libor in 2008

THE GUARDIAN: Bank of England releases memo from senior US official calling on governor to improve integrity of Libor setting

Sir Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, has been put at the centre of the Libor-rigging scandal after a senior US official called on him to reform the interest rate market in 2008.

Timothy Geithner, who was then the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, called for six changes he said would improve the integrity of Libor, the London interbank offered rate which is used around the world to set the rate of borrowing for many households and companies.

Geithner, who is now the US treasury secretary, sent his memo in June 2008. The memo, published by the Bank of England on Friday (pdf), shows that the recommendations made by Geithner came before October 2008 when Barclays was found to have lowered its Libor submissions to ensure there was no suggestion that it was in financial difficulty during the banking crisis.

The Bank appeared to pin the blame on the British Bankers' Association, which compiles Libor. The Bank said on Friday that a review of Libor was launched by the BBA in June 2008 in the light of "concerns about difficulties in setting Libor in the stressed market conditions of late 2007 and 2008". The governor endorsed Geithner's recommendations. » | Jill Treanor, City Editor | Friday, July 13, 2012

Mervyn King Has Turned Our Leaders into Zombie Puppets

THE GUARDIAN: Demand has not risen. Neither has production. Yet we have been duped into thinking that QE will kickstart the economy

It must be the biggest confidence trick of all time. It is a cheat, a scam, a fiddle, a bankers' ramp, a revenge of big money against an ungrateful world. It is called quantitative easing, and nobody has a clue what it means. According to the Bank of England, the past four years have seen £325bn pumped into the British economy to kickstart growth, with another £50bn now on the way. This enormous sum does not exist and never has. It is not "printed" money or funny money. It is no money. The one silver bullet on which the coalition relies to pull Britain out of recession is a fiction.

I have spent the last year trying to find this money, if only because it seemed rather a lot – more than an entire annual take from income tax, VAT and corporation tax together. I have asked bankers, regulators, commentators, economists, and even trotted round to the Bank of England. Ask any of them after the £325bn and they stare at the ceiling or look at their shoes. Nobody knows. The money appears in no statistic of cash in circulation or on deposit. Bank balances have not altered. Demand has not risen. Production has not expanded.

Such professional and intellectual gullibility on a matter of national salvation is staggering. When Alistair Darling, as Labour chancellor, "pumped in" £75bn, he said it would stave off recession. George Osborne, then shadow chancellor, derided it as "the last resort of desperate governments", and Vince Cable said Britain was going down the road to Harare and hyperinflation. Yet when these two men came to power, they were overnight converts. They became zombie puppets of the Bank of England and its boss, Sir Mervyn King. » | Simon Jenkins | Thursday, July 12, 2012

My comment:

Mervyn King should have stuck to teaching geography. Maybe then, we'd have all been better off. He can call QE whatever he wants to call it; to me it is turning on the printing press in disguise. And doing so has never been an act of sound economics. On the contrary, it has always had disastrous consequences in the long-run. – © Mark

This comment also appears here

Valentino Slips from Italian Hands

THE GUARDIAN: Sources say Qatari royal family is behind Gulf investment group that has bought the fashion house for a reported €700m

The fashion house Valentino became the latest in a long line of famous brands to pass out of Italian hands on Thursday, when it was bought by the royal family of Qatar for a reported €700m (£550m).

It was the second renowned Italian design firm in two years to be snapped up by Gulf investors.

The company's founder, 80-year-old Valentino Garavani – a friend of princesses, socialites and film stars – staged his last collection in 2008. Ten years earlier, he and his life partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, had sold the company for around $300m (£195m) to an Italian conglomerate.

For the past four years, the design of Valentino's collections has been in the hands of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Picciolo, who worked closely with Garavani until his retirement. Their dresses have been worn by, among others, Jennifer Aniston and Rachel Weisz. » | John Hooper in Rome | Thursday, July 12, 2012

Konjunkturausblick: Italienische Firmen warnen vor Katastrophenzahlen
WELT ONLINE: Italien steckt bereits in der Rezession. Die Frage ist nun, wie tief das Land in diesem Jahr fallen wird. Der italienische Unternehmerverband hat eine ziemlich bedrohliche Zahl genannt.

Italiens Wirtschaft sagt dem krisengeschüttelten Land für 2012 einen Konjunktureinbruch voraus. "Das Bruttoinlandsprodukt wird bestenfalls nur um 2,4 Prozent sinken, wahrscheinlich wird es aber noch etwas mehr sein", betonte der Chef des größten Unternehmerverbandes Confindustria, Giorgio Squinzi. "Ich finde es schwer, eine Besserung für das zweite Halbjahr auszumachen."

Die drittgrößte Volkswirtschaft der Euro-Zone steckt tief in der Rezession und kämpft gegen hohe Schulden und wachsendes Misstrauen der Finanzmärkte. Regierungschef Mario Monti steuert mit einem harten Sparprogramm dagegen und brachte jüngst die Möglichkeit von EU-Hilfen für sein Land ins Spiel. Italien gilt als nächster Wackelkandidat, der als sechstes Land auf ein Rettungspakt seiner Euro-Partner angewiesen wäre. » | Reuters/lw | Donnerstag, 12. Juli 2012

Spanien will massiv sparen
Mariano Rajoy, der spanische Ministerpräsident, will in den nächsten zweieinhalb Jahren 65 Milliarden Euro einsparen. Am Mittwoch kam es zudem in Madrid zu Ausschreitungen und Zusammenstössen mit der Polizei.

Related »

Barclays Chief Bob Diamond Could Be Brought Before Congress, Sources Say

THE GUARDIAN: Washington politicians considering asking former Barclays chief executive to testify as Libor-fixing controversy crosses to US

US politicians are considering summoning Barclays' former boss Bob Diamond to Washington to answer questions about the Libor-fixing scandal, in a sign that the controversy is becoming an ever hotter issue in the US.

Two high[-]powered committees, the Senate Banking committee and the House Financial Services committee, are both believed to be considering calling Diamond to testify. The committees declined to comment, but sources close to them said they were in the early stages of gathering information and were almost certain to call the former Barclays chief executive after the summer recess. A spokesman for Bob Diamond declined to comment.

Senator Tim Johnson, chairman of the banking committee, said on Tuesday that his panel would quiz Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner on the scandal at hearings scheduled before the August break.

"I am concerned by the growing allegations of potential widespread manipulation of Libor and similar interbank rates by some financial firms," said Johnson.

The US justice department is already investigating the scandal, and several cities and state pension funds have launched legal action, claiming that their investments suffered as a result of the manipulation of Libor rates. » | Dominic Rushe in New York and Jill Treanor | Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Spain Piles On Austerity Measures
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: MADRID—Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced new austerity measures Wednesday that should help Madrid cut its budget deficit by €65 billion ($80 billion) through to 2015, and warned the euro-zone's fourth-largest economy may not grow at all next year.

In an impassioned address to parliament, Mr. Rajoy called on all Spaniards to back the measures, which include a value-added tax hike to 21% from 18% and cuts to jobless benefits and public sector wages, saying Spain's economic situation is "extraordinarily serious."

The measures were swiftly welcomed by the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union. But analysts said the moves would hurt Spain's recovery from recession and may not save the country from needing a full-fledged financial bailout on top of a plan to support its struggling banks with up to €100 billion in EU loans.

As Mr. Rajoy spoke during a six-hour parliament debate on austerity, hundreds of coal miners and their supporters rallied in Spain's capital against government plans to end subsidies for their sector. Some protesters threw rocks and firecrackers at police, the latest sign of growing social unrest in a country mired in an unprecedented, five-year-long crisis. » | Davíd Roman and Nicholas Winning, with contributions from Ilan Brat and Dan Strumpf | Wednesday, July 11, 2012

L'austérité risque de créer des millions de chômeurs en Europe
L’EXPANSION: L'Organisation internationale du travail craint que les politiques d'austérité dans la zone euro fassent apparaître 4,5 millions de chômeurs de plus en 4 ans. Pour l'éviter, elle recommande d'agir sur les banques et de favoriser l'insertion professionnelle des jeunes.

Il pourrait y avoir 4,5 millions de chômeurs de plus en quatre ans dans la zone euro si des politiques économiques favorisant la croissance et l'emploi ne sont pas engagées, avertit l'Organisation internationale du travail (OIT) dans une étude.

Il y a actuellement 17,4 millions demandeurs d'emplois en Europe, soit un taux de chômage de 11%, souligne l'OIT, qui s'alarme particulièrement du chômage des jeunes qui est de 22% pour la zone, mais culmine à 30% en Italie, au Portugal et en Slovaquie et à 50% en Espagne et en Grèce. 44% des demandeurs d'emploi sont au chômage depuis plus d'un an.

"S'il n'y a pas de changement de politique, tous et je dis bien tous les pays de la zone euro, seront touchés, à la fois ceux déjà en difficulté et ceux qui se portent le mieux", a lancé Juan Somavia, le directeur général de l'OIT en présentant l'étude aux journalistes. » | L'Expansion.com avec AFP | mercredi 11 juillet 2012

San Bernardino Seeks Bankruptcy Protection
LOS ANGELES TIMES: San Bernardino, facing the possibility of missing payroll, becomes California's third city in weeks to authorize a bankruptcy filing.

San Bernardino on Tuesday became the third California city in less than a month to seek bankruptcy protection, with officials saying the financial situation had become so dire that it could not cover payroll through the summer.

The unexpected vote came at the suggestion of the interim city manager, who said the city faces a $46-million deficit and depleted coffers.

"We have an immediate cash flow issue," Andrea Miller told the mayor and seven-member City Council.

Mayor Patrick Morris called the decision, passed on a 4-2 vote, a "stain" on the city. But he said the only other option was "draconian cuts" to all city services, including the police and fire departments. » | Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times | Tuesday, July 10, 2012

George Osborne 'To Fight For Bankers' Bonuses' In Europe

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: George Osborne is preparing to defend the right of British banks to pay large bonuses against EU plans to cap the pay-outs, it emerged last night.

The Chancellor is expected to argue against the crackdown at a meeting of European finance ministers on Tuesday, in spite of a fresh public outcry over the behaviour of bankers in the wake of the rate-rigging scandal.

Mr Osborne will argue that the proposals, to set a maximum 1:1 ratio of bonus to pay, are not the right way to curb City remuneration.

Officials insist that he had taken the same position before details of the Libor rate-fixing scandal emerged, and it has not changed, the Financial Times reported.

But the timing of the meeting is likely to make it politically risky for him to make such a case, with the Chancellor potentially facing the accusation of being in cahoots with bankers despite allegations about their reckless behaviour.

It comes amid outrage that Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond may still be in line for a multi-million pound pay-out following his resignation over rate rigging. » | John-Paul Ford Rojas | Saturday, July 07, 2012

My comment:

This is clearly a case of out-of-touch Osborne defending the indefensible. This man is not in power to serve the people, but to serve his cronies. – © Mark

Gina Rinehart Sells Down Interest in Fairfax Media

THE GUARDIAN: Mining magnate reduces interest in Australian publisher Fairfax Media to 15% after sale of 86.5m shares

Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart has reduced her stake in Fairfax Media, publisher of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age newspapers, less than three weeks after she increased her investment in the group.

Minutes after the close of trade on the Australian stock market on Thursday, Rinehart sold 3.7% of the business to a major Australian fund manager, reducing her ownership in Fairfax Media to 15%.

The 86.5m shares sold were worth A$50.1m (£33.0m). Rinehart remains the largest shareholder.

A statement by Rinehart's company, Hancock Prospecting, said that the sale was completed to "esolve an issue that arose concerning the directors and officers insurance policy, in the situation of a director having a greater than 15% shareholding in Fairfax.

"This was one of the key issues recently raised by the chairman of Fairfax and needed to be resolved by either the chairman authorising endeavours to raise the 15% limit, which has been able to be reasonably achieved by other companies, or, as also discussed with the chairman, by sale of shares so that the largest shareholder had less than 15%," said the statement by chief development officer, John Klepec. » | Alison Rourke in Sydney | Thursday, July 05, 2012

THE GUARDIAN: Gina Rinehart issues ultimatum to Fairfax chairman: Largest shareholder tells Roger Corbett to improve share price or resign, but media group dismisses her 'bid for editorial control' » | Alison Rourke in Sydney | Friday, June 29, 2012

Related »

Vince Cable Tells Shareholders: Throw Out Bank Cheats

THE GUARDIAN: Bosses preside over 'moral quagmire', says business secretary, as Barclays chief Bob Diamond is summoned to face MPs

Vince Cable has urged shareholders in UK banks to rise up and purge their companies of corrupt executives, who he says have allowed "systemic abuse" to take root in the banking system.

The business secretary, writing in the Observer, says it is now clear that no one at Barclays Capital, the investment bank that triggered the market-rigging scandal, is prepared to take responsibility for endemic corruption, so the ultimate owners of banks must take matters into their own hands.

Describing the problems in UK banking as "a moral quagmire of almost biblical proportions", Cable says the government is taking urgent action, including creating a clearer separation between "casino-style investment banking" and retail banking on the high street. Ministers will this week begin a review into the libor system under which banks lend to each other and Cable hints that US-style criminal sanctions, such as the threat of prison terms, could be considered against those who abuse it.

But he says shareholder power will be crucial. "Regulators are a backstop: they don't own banks," he writes. "The governance at the top of our leading banks has been shown to be lamentably weak. No one at the top of Barclays will take responsibility for systemic abuse.

"Shareholders, the owners, have a major responsibility here. I am bringing in legislation to strengthen their control over pay and bonuses, through binding votes, but shareholders have to get a stronger grip on weak boards and out-of-control executives." » | Toby Helm, Jamie Doward and Jill Treanor | Saturday, June 30, 2012