EU-Moldova: Commission proposes to increase Macro-financial Assistance for Moldova by up to €145 million

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The Commission is today proposing to increase the ongoing Macro-financial Assistance (MFA) to the Republic of Moldova by up to €145 million, bringing the total amount of ongoing MFA support to the country to up to €295 million. With this proposal, the Commission is […]

Syria needs a greater financial and political response from the EU

This article is brought to you in association with the European Parliament. MEPs express grave concern over the persistent political deadlock and the lack of progress in finding a solution to the conflict in Syria. The economic collapse and the disastrous humanitarian crisis in the country is deeply worrying, with 90% of the population living under […]

How AI is shaping financial services

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Lukas Ryll, Research Affiliate, Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, the University of Cambridge Judge Business School & Mary Emma Barton, Research and Analysis, Financial and Monetary Systems, World Economic Forum & Bryan Zheng Zhang, Executive Director, Cambridge Centre […]

EU prolongs economic sanctions on Russia by six months

This story is brought to you in association with the European Union Council Today, 5 July 2018, the Council prolonged economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy until 31 January 2019. This decision follows an update from President Macron and Chancellor Merkel to the European Council of 28-29 June 2018 on the state of […]

‘Safe Eurobonds’: a new trick to betray the south euro area countries

All along the years after the 2008-2010 financial crisis, which in the European Union took the form banking/government debt breakdowns starting with Greece, there were cries for the creation of a solid Eurozone. In every respect, these calls amounted to demands that super prosperous Germany accepts some degree of risk-sharing with the rest of the […]

If Macron defies Britain about the banks, Paris and London to clash over ‘La Manche’

None of the two winners of yesterday’s first round in the French Presidential election, the pro EU banker Emmanuel Macron (23.9%) and the anti-EU and xenophobic Marine Le Pen (21.4%) is to make things easier for their country. However, the same is true for the British PM Theresa May. The latter’s decision to call an […]

IMF – World Bank meetings: US – Germany clash instituted, anti-globalization prospects visualized

This year’s annual meetings of the IMF – World Bank Group in Washington D.C., which kicked off on Thursday 6 October, turned out to be an all out financial war of words between the United States and Germany. In the middle of it stands the battered Deutsche Bank. For a start, there was a confrontation […]

Brexit casts a shadow over the LSE – Deutsche Börse merger: a tracer of how or if brexit is to be implemented

One of the most direct and important consequences of the Brexit vote is the uncertainty it casts on the merger of Europe’s largest stock exchanges and clearing houses, the London Stock Exchange and the German bourse in Frankfurt, the Deutsche Börse. The two mammoth institutions, the double sun of Europe’s financial universe, last March agreed […]

Pumping more money into banks but leaving them unregulated doesn’t help

On Thursday 25 February, this newspaper concluded that “the other major central banks in Europe, China, Japan and elsewhere appear ready to fill the gap that the Fed plans to leave in the ‘money for nothin’ game”. This week’s developments completely justified this prediction. The immediate result is a new appreciation of the dollar with […]

Big world banks to pay $ 4.95bn for cheating customers; Is it a punishment or a gentle caress?

Last week five of the world largest banks, JPMorgan, Barclays, Citigroup, Royal Bank of Scotland and Union de Banques Suisses were fined by the American magistrates a total of $ 4.7 billion for rigging interest rate benchmarks. The banks had been setting those standards by themselves for five years after 2007. In another case the […]

Is it impossible to place the banks under control?

Within the next few weeks the European Commission is expected to announce a proposal for a structural reform in the banking sector. The declared target is to make sure “that banks do not remain or become too-big, too-complex or too-interconnected to fail”. In announcing its intentions on this grandiose plan, the EU’s executive arm states […]

The EU Commission lets money market funds continue the unholy game of banks

The European Commission adopted yesterday a proposal for measures on shadow banking introducing new but quite loose and thus ineffective rules and controls for money market funds (MMFs). This is a parallel financial system created by the major banks in order to avoid even the few controls and restrictions that the official banking system has […]

Germany’s fiscal and financial self-destructive policies

IMF Mission’s “Concluding Statement” (Article IV Consultation) on the German economy which was published yesterday, contains almost the same basic recommendations as the European Commission’s assessment aired at the Semester Press Conference in Brussels on 29 May. Both reports had references to Germany’s over stretched fiscal consolidation (meaning unneeded austerity) and the need to increase […]

Draghi: Germany has to spend if Eurozone is to exit recession

Mario Draghi, in a historic speech delivered yesterday in his home country, bravely surpassed the limits of his office as President of the European Central Bank, and upon receiving an honorary degree in political science, from the Luiss “Guido Carli” University in Rome, he warned the European leaders that in order to safeguard the European […]

Switzerland to introduce strict restrictions on executive pay

Michel Barnier, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, speaking recently during the 11th Annual Conference of the European Financial Services, revealed his frustrating experience from this years’ Davos gathering. On that occasion Barnier had the opportunity to meet the leaders of the world financial industry. Talking with them, he said he understood they are […]