IMF to Make Chinese Yuan Reserve Currency in Historic Move

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Renminbi will join basket of elite currencies including dollar, pound, euro and yen

The International Monetary Fund is to give the yuan a historic vote of confidence on Monday when it includes the Chinese currency in its elite club of major currencies.

The yuan, also known as the renminbi, is widely expected to be added to the IMF’s group of international reserve currencies after an IMF meeting held by its managing director Christine Lagarde.

It comes after lengthy efforts by Chinese officials to legitimise the yuan, which critics say has been kept artificially cheap to artificially boost exports in the world’s second-largest economy.

China has lobbied hard for the currency to be included in the list, which at present is made up of just the dollar, the euro, the pound and the Japanese yen. The list has not been altered since 2000, when the euro replace[d] the franc and deutschmark. Read on and comment » | James Titcomb | Sunday, November 29, 2015

Angela Merkel Is Destroying Europe (2013)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I should like to take this opportunity to wish our American visitors, followers, and Twitter followers VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

QE Has Paved the Way for a New Financial Crisis, Warn Germany's 'Wise Men"

THE TELEGRAPH: Council of Economic Experts says low interest rates pose risk for financial stability, and call on the ECB to end stimulus measures

The European Central Bank must end its unprecedented stimulus measures to prevent a new financial crisis from erupting in the eurozone, Germany's top economic advisers have warned.

Berlin's Council of Economic Experts - known as the country's five "wise men" - said the ECB must consider tapering its bond-buying measures early to avoid dangerous imbalances from building up in the bloc.

The Council's annual report delivered a scathing verdict on the ECB's recent measures and the perils of record low interest rates.

"Monetary policy is leading to a build-up of risks to financial stability which could pave the way for a new financial crisis," they said.

"Persistently low interest rates erode the earnings of banks and life insurance companies, and raise the appetite for taking risks. It is important to avoid delaying an exit from the low interest rate environment for too long." » | Mehreen Khan | Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Armistice Day: Nation Remembers War Dead

BBC: A two-minute silence has been observed across the UK to remember the nation's war dead on Armistice Day.

The silence began at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month - the time in 1918 when the guns fell silent along the Western Front in Europe.

War memorials, offices, schools, town halls, and churches all hosted events.

The Princess Royal was at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, while veterans and serving personnel laid wreaths at the Cenotaph in London.

Armistice Day follows similar ceremonies on Remembrance Sunday to pay tribute to all those who died in World Wars One and Two and in every conflict since. (+ BBC video) » | Wednesday, November 11, 2015

43 Millionen Europäer haben nicht genug zu essen

KURIER: Ein Report untersuchte humanitäre Folgen der Wirtschaftskrise.

43 Millionen Europäer haben nicht genug zu essen. Immer mehr Menschen am Kontinent sind auf Hilfe angewiesen, 120 Millionen Europäer sind per Definition armutsgefährdet. Das geht aus einem am Donnerstag in Rom veröffentlichten Report der Internationalen Föderation der Rotkreuz- und Rothalbmondgesellschaften hervor, die sich unter anderem auf Eurostat-Zahlen beruft. Die Studie untersuchte die humanitären Auswirkungen der Wirtschaftskrise. » | APA / la | Freitag, 11. Oktober 2013

In Memory of the Fallen: Remembrance Sunday 2015

Remembering those who perished for our liberty; in gratitude for their sacrifice.