EIB, Brussels hatch plan to reduce defense investing stigma (POLITICO)
By Bjarke Smith-Meyer · May 16, 2024 There are four “sin stocks” that most European lenders won’t touch: Gambling, pornography, tobacco and weapons. But morality is a luxury many cash-strapped EU finance ministers can no longer afford as Russia pursues its war of attrition in Ukraine. Starved of weapons, policymakers across the bloc and in […]
In the Blind Spot (Trader justice)
SNEAK PEEK — A SocGen trader flung out of the bank for unauthorised risk-taking takes to social media to call for “trader justice” and new dismissal rules. — Georgia’s foreign agent bill is causing havoc on the streets of Tbilisi again. — Dario argues that Chinese EV competitiveness isn’t down to subsidies or forced […]
Better collateral pre-positioning regime could have saved Credit Suisse (POLITICO)
By Izabella Kaminska · (First published on Politico Pro, Apr 25, 2024) Banks need to pre-position as much collateral as possible at the central bank to avoid regulators being caught out by illiquid and unacceptable assets, such as yachts or ships, former Bank of England deputy governor Paul Tucker told a high level central banking […]
Not so fast, Ireland’s Makhlouf warns ECB doves (POLITICO)
WASHINGTON — Ireland’s central bank governor pushed back strongly against colleagues looking to lock in a sequence of interest rate cuts in the second half of the year, stressing that the uncertainties around the economy are still far too great. “It is speculating a bit too far to say ‘I feel confident enough about the […]
In the Blind Spot (States within states)
Our one-stop source for central banking & monetary policy news. SNEAK PEEK — Who really controls Kaliningrad? Dario takes a look at how the Russian exclave became a hotbed of illicit activity, while retaining a surprising amount of German influence. — What’s the difference between an investment zone and a special economic zone? Dario ponders […]
How Dresden became Germany’s Chips City (POLITICO)
By Pieter Haeck · Mar 26, 2024. This article is part of a special report, The New Factory Towns. DRESDEN, Germany — If Europe’s best manufacturing days are behind it, no one told Dresden. The eastern German city and Saxon capital has become an industrial stronghold, with a world-class microchip manufacturing sector that is attracting […]
The Ozempic boom: How the entire country of Denmark became a company town (POLITICO)
By Charlie Duxbury · Mar 26, 2024 This article is part of a special report, The New Factory Towns. KALUNDBORG, Denmark — It’s not the first time this small Danish town boomed with the times. The question for Mayor Martin Damm is when, or even whether, the bust will come again. In the 1920s a […]
In the Blind Spot (Central bank schisms in Europe and beyond)
SNEAK PEEK — What it means for Poland and the ECB’s independence if Prime Minister Donald Tusk manages to remove central bank governor Adam Glapiński. — Dario argues that Nato’s push to up readiness for a Russian attack on Europe will run into the usual continental cohesion challenges — The Blind Spot’s Del J. Kelham […]
France pitches radical joint EU borrowing plan to pay for defense (POLITICO)
By Bjarke Smith-Meyer · Mar 20, 2024 BRUSSELS ― The French government is pushing for the European Union to issue joint debt to pay for increased military spending and is pitching the radical idea to its European counterparts, according to a confidential letter seen by POLITICO. In the diplomatic note, likely to spark fierce opposition […]
Spotlight: How ‘yellow rain’ disinformation blew back on us
In an exclusive interview recorded in 2021, Jim Coyne, a Vietnam veteran who later became a freelance journalist for Soldier of Fortune (SOF) magazine, explained how he had been duped into believing that the infamous “yellow rain” of the 1980s was a real biochemical weapon, but also how his experience may have been purposefully hijacked […]