Sarkozy Budget Unveiled

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has today unveiled his first national budget, with an emphasis on economic growth and increasing tax revenue to fund commercially considered policy.
The budget opened a chain of new measures designed to promote and nurture business and economic growth within France as part of Sarkozy’s wider agenda for economic reform, which has […]

French President Committed To Breaking Down Working Hours

The French 35-hour work week accused of leading to poor economic growth looks set to become a thing of the past, according to new French President Nicola Sarkozy and his tough agenda for economic reform.
In a speech made today, President Sarkozy announced he intended to work towards ‘loosening’ the 35-hour week, as a proactive attempt […]

EU China Bulb Tariff To Remain

European Union authorities have today announced their decision to maintain current import tariffs on energy efficient light bulbs from China, which would otherwise flood the market and hinder internal industry.
The European Commission took the decision to maintain the tariffs which are designed to stop the market flooding with cheap Chinese import goods.  At present rates, […]

German Investor Confidence Plummets

Investor confidence has fallen beyond analyst predictions this month, according to figures released in Germany today.
An influential index was published today reflecting a dramatic decline in confidence across German markets, as analysed as an outlook for future trading.
The ZEW institute study, which examines market expectations, was published at a decline of 6.9 points on its […]

Afghanistan And Russia Credit Truce

Russia has today announced the cancellation of the majority of Afghanistan’s outstanding debt, in an elaborate ceremony in Moscow which saw both nations cooperate on a diplomatic level after decades of hostility.
Russia and Afghanistan have agreed to a deal that will see the equivalent of 90% of the nations total outstanding debt cleared, to allow […]

Gazprom Belarus Spat Looks Set To End

Russian state gas authority Gazprom has announced today that supplies through Belarus could be allowed to continue after tensions between Russia and Belarus over the last few months.
Gazprom, which is run by the Russian government, supplies much of the natural gas resources through surrounding, former Soviet nations like Belarus, and is considered to be essential […]

Italy Increase Age Of Retirement

The Italian government have announced their latest measure in reversing the pension controversy, and attempting to overturn the national debt crisis.
Italy’s budget deficit has attracted attention from EU authorities, falling way short of Europe-wide targets. And with Europe’s oldest population, the welfare burden looks set to plunge their dire finances further into the red in […]

Eurozone Inflation Remains Consistent

The rate of inflation across the Eurozone has remained steady at 1.9% over the last month.  Prices across the Eurozone, comprising of 13 EU member states, have remained constant throughout June.  This comes as welcome news for the European Commission, given the figures are still well within the European Central Bank targets for the period.
The […]

Under-Performing French Economy To Undergo Fiscal Overhaul

France are preparing to implement radical new fiscal measures to boost economic growth by an estimate half percent in 2008.  The proposals will drastically overhaul employment, scrap around 10billion in tax revenues as a stimulant to the rather stagnant economy.  After years at the rear of the European field, French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde has […]

Bank of England surprises with rate hike

Both the Bank of England and the European Central Bank raised interest rates on Wednesday. The move by the ECB was expected, but the Bank of Englands Monetary Policy Committee surprised almost everyone by hiking UK interest rates. Both hikes took interest rates a quarter of a percent higher, to 4.75 percent in […]

Business confidence higher in Germany, down in France

The Ifo institutes newly released business climate index shows that business sentiment in Germany is higher than it has been in 15 years. The index rose to 106.8 in June, up from a reading of 105.7 in May. In addition, separate confidence surveys looking at Italian and Dutch sentiment show increases in […]

Turkey drops withholding tax as equities, currency decline

Turkey will discontinue a 15 percent withholding tax that was imposed on foreign investors in January. The change in policy brings the nation in line with European Union provisions on domicile and residence rules for the taxation of individuals, according to Turkeys finance minister. The rule changes come at a time when […]

Riksbank raises Swedish interest rates to 2.25 percent

The Swedish central bank has predicted that that the economy in Sweden will grow by 3.7 percent in 2006 and that consumer price inflation would reach 1.5 percent. The Swedish economy has been experiencing strong growth in both domestic and exports sectors. In consequence of these forecasts, the Riksbank raised interest rates by […]

Eurozone interest rates rise, UK rates unchanged

As expected, the European Central Bank raised interest rates in the Eurozone on Thursday. The rate rise was by 25 basis points ti 2.75 percent. Some analysts had speculated earlier in the week that it would hike rates by 50 basis points, but sentiment had turned to an expectation of the smaller rise […]

Unemployment falls in Germany, France

New economic data from the Eurozone has made it more likely than ever that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates when it meets June 8. The new data comes from several sources and shows that inflation is up, unemployment is down, and retail sales are up. The only real negative data […]

Eurzone, UK interest rates remain steady

Both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England chose to keep interest rates at their current levels in meetings on Thursday. Both decisions were expected, but while many analysts believe that the ECB will raise rates next month, expert opinion seems to be that the Bank of England will not change rates […]

Eurozone interest rates up

In a move that was expected by most analysts, the European Central Bank raised its main refinancing rate on Thursday by a quarter point, to 2.5 percent. It was only the second time rates have been raised in the eurozone in five years. Interest rates are expected to rise by a further quarter […]

Bond market yields down

Yields were down and prices were up on US Treasury bonds on Tuesday as investors reacted to lower consumer confidence, purchasing, and existing home sales data. At late morning, the two-year treasury was yielding 4.668 percent, 5.1 basis points lower, while the 10-year bonds were down 3.7 basis points to 4.557 percent.European bond yields […]

European bond markets await eurozone rate decision

Prices on government bonds in the UK and in Europe were mixed but mostly down and yields were generally up on Friday due to worries about rises in interest rates and other economic news.In the eurozone, investors seemed to be waiting to see whether the European Central Bank will raise interest rates a quarter of […]

WTO warns Europe on banana tariffs

Acting on a complaint filed by Latin American banana producers, the World Trade Organization on Monday said that the European Union cannot implement a planned tripling of import duties on that fruit. The EU has ten days in which to open new talks on the tariff. If it does not do so, or […]

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