100 posts
Vi kanske kan enas om roamingen, pirat Hökmark!
Moderaternas EU-parlamentariker Gunnar Hökmark svarar på mitt och Amelia Andersdotters debattinlägg om roamingpriserna i en slutreplik på SvD Opinion. Vi är bägge överens om att dagens situation med hutlösa priser på dataroaming är ohållba...
Scenting... new regulations
A new public consultation of European Commission's Health and Consumers Scientific Committees caught my attention. Namely, on the preliminary opinion on fragrance allergens in cosmetic products. My interest is not surprising since I'm one of the 1-...
MEPs call for urgent and coordinated measures to halve food wastage in the EU
MEPs in Strasbourg have this week called for urgent and coordinated EU-wide measures to halve food waste by 2025 and to improve access to food for needy EU citizens in a resolution adopted on Thursday. It is estimated that almost 50% of edible and he...
How banks get away with inventing profits | Gordon Kerr
Abetted by a sloppy bailout structure, bankers now produce financial statements that would make Bernie Madoff blushBoth sides of the political divide are in agreement that bailing out the UK's failed banks in 2008 (and Northern Rock in 2007) was the...
New strategy to improve animal welfare
The European Commission has recently adopted a new four-year strategy (2012-2015) that aims to further improve the welfare of animals in the European Union. EU Animal Welfare legislation, developed in response to contingencies and political demand...
Banking Intermediation, FRB & Bank Runs
Having described the tools available to the ECB (and these can be generalized to other CBs), I would like to briefly consider the functioning of the banking sector. In this post I will consider the very basic concepts of banking … Continue read...
THE WORST VERY DECENT COUNTRY IN THE WORLD: A LOLGREECE CHRISTMAS CAROL
UPDATE: A Greek version of this post was published on 5 Jan 2012 by protagon.grIn my months of relative absence I’ve been reading this blog over and over again, looking for things I ought to have done better or things I used to do well but no longe...
'Die Zeit' - Chronology of a Failure
Some of you may be surprised that I'm writing about 'Die Zeit' again, but apparently this newspaper is full of surprises, unfortunately negative ones! So, here's what has happened so far: 11.11.2011 - I subscribe to 'Die Zeit' and the subscr...
David Cameron has left the City more, not less, vulnerable to EU law | Philip Whyte
Cameron may have feared Sarkozy and Merkel taming the City, but the UK is now powerless to thwart new legislationThere are many puzzles about the British government's tactics at last week's EU summit. One is why it chose to identify the City of Londo...
Collateral crunch, commodity financing edition
Look at any financial market long enough and it starts to resemble the repo market.Conventional sales and buybacks. Islamic finance. Covered bonds. Commodity contango or backwardation trades....
Fashion
In all my years abroad, I’ve heard three comments about the Finnish fashion sense. Not three themes of comments, three in total. So let me enlighten you on the Finnish fashion sense. One girl once said to me how she absolutely loves Hel Looks.
Corporate bonds to the rescue?
Back in September, the FT reported an interesting estimate by JP Morgan.Twenty-eight European banks would have faced a total liquidity shortfall of €493bn at the end of 2010,...
A great way to lose customers. Today's example: 'Die Zeit'
There are many ways to lose customers and sometimes it's surprisingly easy. The other day, I decided to subscribe to 'Die Zeit', one of Germany's leading weekly newspapers. Yes, I know it sounds strange. Who subscribes to a printed newspaper nowad...
Why I was wrong, by Dick Bove
Rochedale’s Dick Bove has pondered why he’s been wrong on the banks — spurred on, he writes, by a Bloomberg survey (which we couldn’t find) showing analysts’...
European banks: Gone ECBing
Morgan Stanley is not making recommendations about which European banks to invest in. They are just telling you which ones are even worse than other ones, as they go through the...
ICT Tourism Business Platform
Since the Internet became more popular, travel information search and booking has been one of the top five most popular consumers' tasks online. Consumers book flights, hotels and whole package trips online. And even if they decide to make a travel r...
Nature is fooled into flowering in a ‘second spring’
Fruit, frogs, birds, insects, plants: they are all enjoying a warm autumn as the seasons go topsy-turvy. Via www.guardian.co.uk...
Cat haters: a dwindling minority
Which is more important: a cat being swung by its tail by a teenage thug, or the possibility of France and Germany setting up an exclusive “club” within the eurozone? If the number of comments posted by Daily Telegraph readers are an indication...
Remembering animals in war: brave or just victims?
It’s not just human victims of war that are being remembered today. This morning, dogs, horses and even a mule attended a special remembrance service at the Animals in War monument on London’s Park Lane. They, alongside several animal welfare and...
Brussels Briefing: Food price volatility
The next Brussels Development Briefing will take place on the 30 November 2011 and will be organised in partnership with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the European...
Women Given a Poor Deal by the Banks
Evidence has come to light today that women are being discriminated against by banks. The report, entitled ‘Women and Banks: Are Female Customers Facing Discrimination?’, by Noreena Hertz, looks at several cases where banks have discrim...
No EU permit for South African dairy products
In a statement published in allAfrica.com, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) corrected a media statement issued on 16 September 2011, in which exporters were invited to apply for a permit to export the following agricult...
Restructuring, loans to Greece cost Dexia $8.7B
BRUSSELS — Dexia, the Franco-Belgian lender that had to be bailed out last month, said Wednesday the firesale of its Belgian retail business and losses on Greek government bonds cost it almost euro6.32 billion ($8.74 billion) in the third quarter.
Online music in Europe
This short video outlines problems that European regulators face with regard to creating a single market for transactions concerning online music. Illegal downloading, problems with online licensing, databases and copyrights are all mentioned.
EU grants available for Caribbean food exporters
The Caribbean Export Development Agency is offering European Union-funded aid of up to $3.6 million per applicant for food exporters who need help improving food-safety standards. The money is sourced from the 10th European Development Fund (EDF)...
The last one left standing
Last week East Malling Research kindly invited me to give the annual Amos Memorial Lecture at the research station. My theme was 'Food: Safe, Sustainable, Sufficient?' They videoed the lecture so I will post a link if it becomes available, not that...
Opt-out tools from targeted online advertising: it's just an illusion putting me back in all this confusion...
A recent study on online behavioral advertising (Why Johnny Can't Opt Out) conducted by researchers at Carnegie-Mellon University showed that consumers are having serious troubles to use opt-out tools that advertising companies provide to them in ord...
Do It Yourself Bank Stress Test
Don't trust the authorities? Try your own stress test. (h/t pg)...
Those who profited on the road to financial crisis can compensate now. Get giving | Timothy Garton Ash
Charity is no substitute for systemic reform, but it can help a lot in the meantime. And bankers have a moral debt to payBetween the steps of St Paul's Cathedral and the G20 meeting in Cannes, I have this message to bankers: give some of it back. By...
Our video guest: Dominique Ristori, Joint Research Centre
Dominique Ristori is the general director of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. In our interview, he speaks about the food security conference organised by the JRC and about the value of research and science in food security.
The European Parliament strengthens the right to food
The European Parliament this week passed a report by German MEP Gabriele Zimmer on global food security in which it gave strong backing to the implementation of the right to food in the EU and in the world. The Parliament thus calls for “urgent...
Banks and States
Nicolas Véron argues that European banks must sever their ties with individual states and be placed under a transnational European Banking Authority with "supervisory and resolution authority." In other words, the EU should regulate banks, insure de...
Are Europe’s banks in crisis?
Slowly, painfully slowly, a plan seems to be coming together to save the Eurozone. Wolfgang Münchau, writing in The Financial Times, says he has never seen European leaders looking so scared. And they have good reason to be scared; Robert Peston, &...
Somalia ranked as world’s most food insecure country
A new study assessing the availability and stability of food supplies in 196 countries has rated the food security of Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as the lowest in the world, while countries in the drought stricken Horn of Af...
Bank One: Adding to Systemic Risk
How soon we forget. How soon the financial crisis in September 2008 was relegated or even forgotten. Exactly three years later, the New York Times reported that Republicans have been repeatedly invoking the Dodd-Frank Act’s 848-page length and rule...
Interactive Debt Map
A fun toy to see just how bad shape your bank is in. The politicians are saying everything is fine; the IMF disagrees.
Ce n’est pas la faute de l’UE (cette fois)
La presse Française (au moins) s’enflamme contre l’Union Européenne qui veut, parait-il, affamer nos pauvres. Rétablissons la vérité : il s’agit au départ d’une institution en particulier, la Cour de Justice Européenne,...
Love food. Hate waste.
"Best before", "use by", "sell by" and "display until"... these are the most common labels that a consumer might find on food products that he purchases in a supermarket. Sometimes a product will have more than...
Eurozone blues
Who is going to be the Herostratus of the eurozone? Many are in the running if we try to follow events.In the column Public debt in the Eurozone, Japan, and the US, professor Charles Wyplosz presented a report about the ease of accumulating excessive...
Hungarian Minister Says Banks Should Share Burdens
Hungary's government will ensure banks accept their share of burdens and risks during a difficult time for the country, Development Minister Tamas Fellegi said.
To Russia From America, With Lace
Female Russians should be delighted. Retailing giant Limited Brands Inc. is opening its first Victoria's Secret lingerie shop in Moscow later this month, according to the business daily Vedomosti.
How do you go about buying your fish?
We need to act now to protect marine life, as due to overfishing, there are fewer and fewer fish in the sea and the situation is getting serious. Together, we can help to make sure there will be more fish in the sea. Watch EC video clip on the is...
THE AUSTRIAN EXPERIENCE IN RESTRUCTURING THE FOOD SAFETY SYSTEM, THE ITALIAN REALITY AND THE COMPANIES' POINT OF VIEW
Quartiere Fieristico ModenaFiere, Viale Virgilio, 70/90 - Modena in the framework of the SICURA fair A representative of the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) will discuss the reorganization of the food safety system in Austria and wi...
Why you shouldn’t trust the WSJ piece on BNP Paribas
Reasons to doubt the WSJ claim about BNP Paribas: it's the WSJ, the author is a hack, the article is laden with embarrassing mistakes. Related posts:Corruption in France To Whom It May Concern Highly leveraged...
EESC calls for more action on passengers' rights
Last week, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) organized a public hearing on passengers' rights. Views were shared on the current problems and suggestions were made for the upcoming revision of the passengers rights. One of the problems...
Banks Pinched by Hungary’s Debt Rescue Plan
A plan by Hungary’s government to aid troubled foreign currency debtors with an exchange-rate fixing plan is already bringing pain to the banking sector.
GMO honey banned in Europe
“Bitter honey for the GMO lobby,” quips the Tageszeitung on its front page following the ban brought down by the European Court of Justice on honey containing traces – even minute ones – of genetically modified organisms. “The ruling is...
French Banks
French Banks are now in the eye of the financial storm. The government has contingency plans to supply fresh capital or even to nationalize the three top banks: SocGen, Crédit Agricole, and BNP Paribas.When I began this blog in 2007, this is not wha...
Why are German banks hiding?
French banks are being pounded again today for holding so much Greek debt, but the other story this week (still) is that a number of German banks have decided to withdraw from the stress testing of the European Banking Authority. To which my res...
mining in North Manchester
Alex’s post on the sub-prime/ legal loansharking industry’s rental of the Conservative Party reminds me again of the odd cluster of payday loan cum pawnbroking storefronts in our local high street; four on a hundred yard frontage. Now the thing i...
Back to Class (Actions)
The autumn conference season has opened... Here's an interesting conference on class actions and mass litigation. The topic is a hot item in European consumer law, seeing for example the recent consultation on collective redress on which we posted ea...
Moody's Downgrade for French Banks
BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole are expected to be downgraded one notch and SocGen two notches owing to Greek debt exposure and decline in share value.
French Banks Fudge Losses on Greek Debt
The French are not the only offenders but apparently are the worst:Broadly speaking, there seems to be a consensus within countries. British banks were most willing to swallow bad medicine and admit the bonds were worth far less than par value. Some...
Europe’s banks could be in big trouble
On August 28th the IMF’s new chief Christine Lagarde was bombarded with criticism after she insisted that Europe’s weakest banks need urgent recapitalization in order to curb contagion in the euro crisis. Her main critics were ECB president Jean-...
Lamy: Trade is vital for food security
Should agriculture be treated like shirts, shoes and tyres and fall under the same trade regime, asks Pascal Lamy?
More on the insolvency of the European banking system
European banks are verging on insolvency. The sooner EU officials accept there is a problem, the better, since they will start searching for solutions. Image Source: econintersect I have for... To view the full entry click on the title or visit...
FT video: Roubini sides with IMF on eurozone banks
At the Ambrosetti forum in northern Italy, Nouriel Roubini, the US-based economist, weighs in on the health of Europe’s banks and sides with IMF chief Christine Lagarde on the need for the sector to raise even more capital.
I KNOWZ, A MERGUR WILL FIX IT! PART 2
The rate at which posts on this blog end up spawning sequels never ceases to amaze me.Readers will, by now, have read about the planned (and presumably done) deal to merge two of the largest Greek banks, EFG and Alpha. You can also check out my frien...
Banking on Buffett’s Bank
Beyond wondering what could Ken Lewis have been thinking when he ok’d Bank of America’s purchase of Countrywide, it might be worth pondering why the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Law of 2010 did not mandate splitting up banks such as Bank of Americ...
Apple Is Worth More than ALL Eurozone Banks Combined
Here:That's the stark result from a steep fall in the share price of banks including Spain's Santander,France's BNP Paribas, Germany's Deutsche Bank and Italy's Unicredit, compared to a steady rise in Apple's valuat...
