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THE DRAWBRIDGE MENTALITY, by François Leclerc
Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell
A united front of German banks has opened up, refusing any kind of interference from a supervisory body – in this case the ECB – due to their little idiosyncrasies and their little hidden frailties, but also the risk of being made to contribute…
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100 DAYS FOR THE NEW PRESIDENT
Le Monde, the 27th August : Hollande’s popularity falls by 11 points, according to Ipsos
Article first published on the 29th March:
In the context of a series of interviews commissioned by LELAB2012 on what is at stake in…
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UNDERSTANDING THESE TIMES IN WHICH WE LIVE
In the Wall Street Journal today:
Since the beginning of the crisis in 2007, one thing has become clear in European politics: the outgoing parties are not voted back in. Confronted by the incapacity of the governments and the majorities…
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THE LOBBYISTS AND US
In the Wall Street Journal today:
A new American law requires US-listed companies to mention on products containing certain minerals that their extraction fuels conflict in Central Africa.
Too expensive for businesses, said the lobbyists! Get rid of it!
The Securities and…
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BEHIND THE SCENES, by François Leclerc
Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell
There are some sinister goings-on behind the scenes of the European financial system, which are hardly being proclaimed from the rooftops! Even Mario Draghi himself is preoccupied by it, drawing attention to vague manifestations of “fragmentation” which are developing at the heart of the…
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KNOCKING IT OFF ITS PEDESTAL, by François Leclerc
Guest post. Translated from the French by Tim Gupwell
As people return from their holidays, the convergence of internal political tensions in Germany, the attempt by the Greek Government to obtain a two year period of grace for its bail-out plan, and the ever-approaching Spanish derailment, have rendered the options for a European…
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ECUADOR OFFERS POLITICAL ASYLUM TO JULIAN ASSANGE
With Great Britain suddenly threatening to invade the Ecuadorean embassy in London, methinks we will be hearing more about this one. Methinks that this might just be the famous single spark that can start a prairie fire. Methinks that we…
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AH! THE IMAGE OF FINANCE!
We learned on Tuesday that the fifth largest British bank, Standard Chartered, had promised the New York State regulator that it would pay a fine of 340 million Dollars for illegal transactions with Iran. The matter is not yet…
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BALMY!
Patents on DNA sequences, on the Olympic rings, on the word “Olympic”, what next?