Critics blast outgoing SNB chief for maintaining bank’s opaque structures (POLITICO)
By Ben Munster · Mar 5, 2024 The acclaimed 12-year run of Switzerland’s retiring central bank governor was tainted by autocratic processes enabled by the opaque decision-making structures of the Swiss National Bank, three prominent economists have said. Thomas Jordan unexpectedly announced Friday that he plans to leave the Swiss National Bank (SNB) in September, […]
EU plans to create war-ready defense-industrial complex (POLITICO)
By Jacopo Barigazzi, Laura Kayali, Joshua Posaner · Feb 27, 2024 BRUSSELS — The EU wants to shift its defense industry onto a war footing, laying out its plan in a 27-page draft of a European Defence Industry Strategy seen by POLITICO. A few of the most far-reaching proposals made during the consultation process — […]
US tech giants refuse to work with Britain’s top secret military censorship board (POLITICO)
By Laurie Clarke, Tamlin Magee · Feb 27, 2024 LONDON — Britain’s media censorship board is trying to woo Big Tech. But the Silicon Valley giants aren’t interested. Tech firms including Google, Meta, and X have repeatedly spurned the British media censorship board in its mission to prevent state secrets spreading across social platforms. The […]
The West tried to crush Russia’s economy. Why hasn’t it worked? (POLITICO)
By Nahal Toosi, Koen Verhelst, Ari Hawkins, Gabriel Gavin, Kyle Duggan · Feb 23, 2024 Russia has faced a historic slew of penalties from Washington, Brussels and beyond since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The punishments, chiefly economic sanctions, were designed in large part to drain Russia’s coffers so […]
Is world war looming? Europe’s policy pivot reveals leaders’ fears (POLITICO)
By Bjarke Smith-Meyer · Feb 15, 2024 BRUSSELS ― Europe is gearing up for war. That much is obvious. Whispered conversations among the EU’s most influential decisionmakers reveal a disturbing new truth: Gone are the days when the bloc had the luxury of prioritizing the green agenda or improving competitiveness. Now it’s all about coping […]
The ECB is taking a long hard look at itself (POLITICO)
By Johanna Treeck, Carlo Boffa · Feb 9, 2024 FRANKFURT — When the global financial crisis struck in 2008, panicked central bankers desperate to stop the system collapsing and avoid deflation did the unthinkable: they threw out their operating manuals and cranked up the money printers to unprecedented levels. In the process they created a […]
Pre-positioning: the quiet revolution rocking central banking (POLITICO)
By Izabella Kaminska · Jan 19, 2024 There’s a quiet revolution happening at the heart of central banking, but you wouldn’t necessarily know it. On the surface, the inconspicuous language around the shift makes it sound like any other boring back-office central bank protocol. For now, even financial markets haven’t picked up on its significance. […]
German central bank chief to join street protest against right-wing extremism (POLITICO)
By Geoffrey Smith · Jan 18, 2024 The head of Germany’s fiercely independent central bank is taking to the streets in protest at the rise of far-right extremism. Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel told Der Spiegel on Thursday he was concerned by the rise of right-wing populism “both as Bundesbank president and as a citizen” and […]
Political push for cheaper ‘green’ interest rate runs into ECB resistance (POLITICO)
By Ben Munster · Jan 17, 2024 Central bankers and politicians are at odds over a new scheme to combat climate change that would get cheap funding to companies pushing the green transition and discriminate against polluters, by offering them two different interest rates. Politicians, including French President Emmanuel Macron, argue that rolling out such […]
UK unveils plan to guard supply chains against geopolitical threats (POLITICO)
By Joseph Bambridge · Jan 17, 2024 LONDON — The United Kingdom has unveiled its strategy to help businesses navigate risks to their supply chains as tensions threaten to disrupt vital trade routes around the world. The Critical Imports and Supply Chains Strategy, published Wednesday, addresses the impact of “geopolitical tensions” which have “already forced […]
