Europe's Economic Crisis Is Getting Worse Not Better, Says Caritas Report

The Caritas report says that as a result of economic measures[,]
Greece's political scene has become increasingly toxic.

THE GUARDIAN: Survey shows increase in the number of new poor in seven countries and challenges the official European Union discourse

Far from being over Europe's economic crisis is getting worse with disturbing levels of poverty and deprivation being noted among children and youth, says a report compiled by the Catholic charity Caritas.

The survey, conducted over the course of the past year, not only challenges the official discourse – that Europe is on the mend – but documents a dramatic poor in the seven EU countries worst hit by the policies of austerity.

"We in Brussels keep hearing that the economic crisis is over," Thorfinnur Omarsson, a spokesman for Caritas Europa said in Athens where the network of Catholic relief organisations released the report. "These findings not only doubt that the crisis is over but show it is the poor who are paying for a crisis they did not cause." » | Helena Smith in Athens | Thursday, March 27, 2014

If the West Wants to Hurt Putin, Could Saudi Arabia Do Its Dirty Work?

THE GUARDIAN – ECONOMICS BLOG: Europe depends on Russian oil and gas exports, so an embargo may not be practical. But there is another way to apply pressure

Russia is vulnerable to sanctions. Economic weakness caused the collapse of the Soviet Union a quarter of a century ago and – the self-enrichment of the oligarchs apart – not much has changed since. Energy exports to the rest of the world pay for imports of machines and consumer goods. The population is ageing and there has been little industrial diversification. » | Posted by Larry Elliott | Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Sanctions: Potential Economic Damage

Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed a treaty making
Crimea part of Russia.

BBC: Russia, already teetering on the edge of recession, has a lot to lose from any economic sanctions imposed by Europe and the US - as does Europe, experts say.

The tense stand-off between Russia and the West over Crimea and Ukraine has led to sanctions being imposed on members of the Russian elite by the EU and the US.

US president Barack Obama has signed an order enabling economic sanctions against sectors of the Russian economy, and EU leaders are meeting in Brussels to consider their options.

"Russia can lose immensely out of this," says Paul Ivan, an analyst at Brussels-based think tank the European Policy Centre. "They are much more dependent on the European economy than we are on them."

Over half of Russia's budget comes from gas and oil it sends to the EU, making it vulnerable to any economic sanctions involving fossil fuel exports, Mr Ivan says.

By contrast, around 25% of European Union gas comes from Russia.

EU member states are linked to gas supplies flowing from countries such as Norway, making them less vulnerable to fluctuations in supply from Russia. » | Friday, March 21, 2014

£108m Jackpot Winner to Tell All

BT: Details have emerged of the lucky ticket-holder who scooped a massive £107.9 million on the EuroMillions draw as he prepares to reveal his identity.

Details have emerged of the lucky ticket-holder who scooped a massive £107.9 million on the EuroMillions draw as he prepares to reveal his identity.

The car mechanic and racing driver from Coulsdon, in Surrey, will discuss his plans for the future when he speaks at an event tomorrow, Camelot said.

The claimant had the only ticket to hit the jackpot from Friday's draw, making him the National Lottery's fourth biggest winner. » | Monday, March 17, 2014

Euromillions Jackpot of £107.9m Claimed by UK Ticket-holder

BBC: A UK ticket-holder has come forward to claim the £107.9m Euromillions jackpot - the UK's fourth biggest win in National Lottery history.

The winning numbers in Friday evening's draw were 6, 24, 25, 27 and 30, with the lucky star numbers 5 and 9.

Lottery operator Camelot confirmed it has had a claim staked for the jackpot prize, though no further details about the winner or winners were released.

Subject to validation, the prize could be paid out when banks open on Monday.

The ticket-holder can then decide whether or not to go public and share the news.

There will be no information released on whether the winning ticket belonged to an individual player or a syndicate, or where exactly the ticket was purchased, unless the ticket-holder decides to go public. (+ BBC video) » | Saturday, March 15, 2014

Ed Balls 'Daunted' by Chancellor Task

BBC: Ed Balls has told me that he is "daunted" at the prospect of becoming Chancellor of the Exchequer, given the scale of cuts a future Labour government may have to make.

I put it to the shadow chancellor that he would have to make spending cuts deeper than those made by any government since the war (other, that is, than the coalition itself) - deeper than those made by Labour Chancellor Denis Healey in the 1970s and Margaret Thatcher's Tory government in the 1980s.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates that Labour's plans would imply about £18bn cuts to departmental budgets, since spending on pensions, welfare and debt interest is rising at the moment.

Despite this Mr Balls insisted that the government was wrong to save £200m this year (and £400m in the year after) by refusing to give pay rises to 600,000 NHS staff already receiving automatic pay increments. » | Nick Robinson, Political editor | Thursday, March 13, 2014

Carney’s ‘Forward Guidance’: Interest Rates (January 2014)

The governor of the Bank of England talks to Jeremy Paxman about his plans for interests rates, and what's next for forward guidance. They also discuss Ed Miliband's banking strategy and Bitcoin.

The Irresponsible Bank of England Keeps Interest Rate Down At Record Low

Simon Rose of Save Our Savers, interviewed on Sky News after the Bank of England's MPC announced the 60th month of base rate at 0.5%.

BBC: UK interest rates kept at record low: UK interest rates have been held at 0.5% for another month, the Bank of England has said. » | Thursday, March 06, 2014

Soaking the Rich: Are the Wealthy Fleeing New York City?

Mar. 04, 2014 - 3:37 - Fox News contributor Michael Goodwin weighs in

Deutsche Firmen fürchten Eiszeit mit Russland

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Die Krim-Krise belastet die wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit zwischen Russland und Deutschland. Die Länder sind so eng miteinander verflochten, dass Sanktionen und mögliche Gegensanktionen ernsthafte Folgen hätten.

Hamburg - Der Warenstrom zwischen Deutschland und Russland ist fast ausgeglichen: Öl und Gas fließen aus Sibirien nach Deutschland, deutsche Unternehmen liefern vor allem Autos, Maschinen und chemische Erzeugnisse in die russische Föderation. Die wechselseitigen Verbindungen zwischen der Wirtschaft beider Länder haben sich in den vergangenen Jahren verstärkt - zu Wohl und derzeit Wehe der Unternehmen.

Rainer Lindner, Geschäftsführer beim Ost-Ausschuss der deutschen Wirtschaft zeigt sich deshalb äußerst besorgt über die Zuspitzung der Lage auf der Krim: "Wir erleben große Turbulenzen an den Märkten, die russische Wirtschaft ist bereits stark betroffen, genauso die börsennotierten deutschen Unternehmen, die auf dem russischen Markt tätig sind; darunter Metro , Volkswagen , BMW oder Daimler ". Deutschland habe deutlich engere Verbindungen zu Russland als andere europäische Länder, mit 6000 deutschstämmigen Betrieben seien mehr Firmen in Russland tätig als aus allen anderen EU-Staaten zusammen. Lindner zufolge hängen 300.000 deutsche Arbeitsplätze am Russland-Geschäft.

Das Handelsvolumen zwischen Russland und Deutschland belief sich im vergangenen Jahr auf rund 76,5 Milliarden Euro, wobei die russischen Exporte mit einem Wert von rund 40,5 Milliarden Euro leicht über den deutschen Ausfuhren (36 Milliarden Euro) lagen. Während Deutschland für Russland der drittwichtigste Handelspartner ist, liegt umgekehrt Russland nur auf dem elften Platz der wichtigsten deutschen Handelspartner - knapp hinter Polen. » | Von Franziska Bossy und Nicolai Kwasniewski | Dienstag, 04. März 2014

Inside a Nigerian Private Jet

BBC: Nigerians have spent $6.5bn on private jets, making it the largest market in Africa for luxury aircraft and one of the fastest growing in the world.

More than 100 private planes are said to operating in there - many of them owned by the country's growing number of rich businessmen and women.

Tomi Oladipo reports from Lagos airport. (+ BBC video) » | Sunday, March 02, 2014

German Supermarkt's 'supergeil' Advert Earns Superstar Status

Friedrich Liechtenstein's video promo for mammoth Edeka chain goes viral as store goes for more funky fresh image

Read the Guardian article here | Philip Oltermann in Berlin | Wednesday, February 26, 2014

HSBC to Announce Bonuses Totalling £2.4 Billion

LONDON EVENING STANDARD: HSBC will announce staff bonuses totalling just under £2.4 billion globally for 2013 and is expected to report a significant rise in pretax profit, according to reports.

Europe's biggest bank is expected on Monday to announce the size of its bonus pool, a sensitive issue as many Britons still blame banks for the 2008 financial crisis after which the state was forced to bail out RBS and Lloyds.

Earlier this month Barclays prompted an angry reaction from politicians and labour unions after it increased its bonuses by 13 per cent to £2.4 billion even as it announced plans to axe 12,000 jobs. » | Agency | Saturday, February 22, 2014

Counting the Cost: The Price of Closed Borders

We look at the global immigration debate and examine whether foreigners are good for a country's economy, or a burden.

Five Élite Bankers Die In Apparent Suicides

There's been a string of bizarre deaths in the globe's financial circles. In the past few weeks five high-profile bankers have died - all from apparent suicides. RT's Tesa Arcilla investigates.

The Joris Luyendijk Banking Blog »

David Cameron's Plans for EU Referendum Are 'Bad for the Economy', Mark Carney Warns

Mark Carney speaks on BBC's 'The Andrew Marr Show'

THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Governor of the Bank of England says prospect of referendum will create "uncertainty" for businesses and mean that they "hold off" on investment

David Cameron's plans for a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union are "bad" for the economy and could hamper investment, the governor of the Bank of England has warned.

Mark Carney said that the prospect of a referendum will create "uncertainty" for businesses and mean that they "hold off" on investment.

He compared the referendum, which is due to be held in 2017, to the near collapse of the banks and the financial crisis in the Eurozone.

His intervention is likely to prove embarrassing to Mr Cameron, who has pledged to reform Britain's relationship with the European Union before an in/out referendum in 2017. » | Steven Swinford, Senior Political Correspondent | Sunday, February 16, 2014

Inside Story: Scotland: A Rocky Road to Independence

The British government warns Scots of the consequences of its plans to withdraw from the Union.

31,2 millions de francs pour le gagnant de l'Euro Millions

TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Un chanceux a trouvé la combinaison gagnante de l'Euro Millions et a remporté 31,2 millions de francs ce vendredi.

Un joueur a trouvé vendredi la combinaison gagnante de l'Euro Millions et a remporté 31,2 millions de francs. Il a coché les numéros 2, 4, 6, 19 et 39 ainsi que les «étoiles» 2 et 7.

Lors du prochain tirage mardi, le jackpot atteindra 18 millions de francs, a indiqué vendredi soir la Loterie romande dans un communiqué. [Source: Tribune de Genève | ats/Newsnet | vendredi 14 février 2014

Cardinal Vincent Nichols: The Wealth Gap Is Widening

The New Dust Bowl: 'Epochal' Drought Hits California's Central Valley

The cracked-dry bed of the Almaden Reservoir in San José,
California

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Washington is finally waking up to California's worst drought since the 16th century, but is it too little too late? Nick Allen reports

On the road into the small California farming community of Mendota the signs read “Stop – dust bowl!” and “Save Water” as farmers in orchards are busy bulldozing withered almond trees.

It didn’t used to be like this here. Until recently this town of 11,000 people was proudly known as the “Cantaloupe Capital of the World”. Of all the many local crops its melons were most prized. Mendota’s farmers have been growing them since the 1920s, when Greek immigrants arrived and found the soil was perfect. The lush fields used to provide 70 per cent of America’s cantaloupes.

But today Mendota is becoming known for another reason. It sits at ground zero in an unfolding, slow motion billion dollar disaster, what climatologists are calling an “epochal” drought. Analysis of the rings in ancient sequoia trees suggests the region is experiencing a lack of rain not seen since 1580, around the time Sir Francis Drake reached the California coast and claimed it for Elizabeth I. » | Nick Allen, Mendota, California | Friday, February 14, 2014