Trump spurs red tape bonfire for EU finance rules. Just don’t call it deregulation. – POLITICO

Trump spurs red tape bonfire for EU finance rules. Just don’t call it deregulation. – POLITICO

“Recent moves to delay and dilute vital regulatory protections reflect a worrying trend where ‘competitiveness’ is repeatedly used as a pretext to weaken essential safeguards against financial risks,” he said. Now, with Donald Trump returning to the White House in a matter of weeks, the future of the rules looks uncertain — which creates a … Read more

Why a tense world is betting on gold – POLITICO

Why a tense world is betting on gold – POLITICO

“While these are … distinct efforts,” El-Erian said, “they can serve to come together in slowly eroding the absolute dominance of the dollar and of the dollar-payments system.” On the bandwagon It will be a long re-balancing. While advanced economies hold as much as 70 percent of their reserves in gold, BRICS central banks typically … Read more

The Bundesbank says 2025 spells big trouble for German economy – POLITICO

The Bundesbank says 2025 spells big trouble for German economy – POLITICO

The Bundesbank flagged that the labor market, which it had previously expected to sustain the post-pandemic recovery, is now also visibly weakening. Unemployment is already at its highest in four years, at 6.1 percent of the workforce, and a wave of layoff announcements in the manufacturing sector — most notably at automaker Volkswagen — has … Read more

EPP’s digital euro lead steps down to quell German obstruction suspicion – POLITICO

EPP’s digital euro lead steps down to quell German obstruction suspicion – POLITICO

Markus Ferber (another German) who is the center-right coordinator for economic files, will determine Berger’s replacement within the next week. Among the names being floated to fill the role is a former Spanish central banker Fernando Navarrete Rojas. The digital euro is a virtual counterpart to euro coins and banknotes that the European Central Bank … Read more

ECB cuts interest rates again as inflation eases and growth falters – POLITICO

ECB cuts interest rates again as inflation eases and growth falters – POLITICO

The ECB also refrained from offering new guidance on the expected speed and scope of interest rate cuts next year, repeating that it will stick to a “data-dependent and meeting-by-meeting approach.” “Most measures of underlying inflation suggest that inflation will settle at around the Governing Council’s 2 percent medium-term target on a sustained basis,” the … Read more

Trump 2.0 is already stoking divisions within the European Central Bank – POLITICO

Trump 2.0 is already stoking divisions within the European Central Bank – POLITICO

He appeared to get support on Thursday from the influential Bank of France Governor François Villeroy de Galhau, who argued that “the balance of risks on growth and inflation is … shifting to the downside,” and that possible U.S. tariffs are unlikely to change the eurozone inflation outlook in particular. The ECB cut its benchmark … Read more

Lebanese ex-central bank gov. arrested on embezzlement charges

Lebanese ex-central bank gov. arrested on embezzlement charges

Former governor of Lebanon’s Central Bank, Riad Salameh, was arrested and awaits trial on embezzlement charges, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.  Salameh is considered a central figure who ushered in economic instability in Lebanon, which eventually led to a power vacuum that allowed the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah to make gains in … Read more

IMF warns war and protectionism to hurt world economy – POLITICO

IMF warns war and protectionism to hurt world economy – POLITICO

“We have three main policy recommendations,” Koeva-Brooks said, highlighting that the first is “for central banks to pivot towards providing more support to activity where inflation is under control.” By contrast, she added that governments should tighten fiscal policy to draw a line under the emergency measures of the pandemic years, as well as enacting … Read more

IMF’s end-of-inflation party sobered by debt, war … and a US election – POLITICO

IMF’s end-of-inflation party sobered by debt, war … and a US election – POLITICO

But in her next breath she warned that now isn’t the time for victory laps.  Ever-rising debt levels and the splintering of global trade under the pressure of geopolitical rivalries have cast a long shadow over the meetings, which begin in earnest Tuesday. The uncertainty is only fueled by the wars raging in both Eastern … Read more

20 people to meet at Labour’s conference – POLITICO

20 people to meet at Labour’s conference – POLITICO

Neil Amin-Smith Neil Amin-Smith | Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for GLAAD He’s a former popstar who’s now the main adviser on financial services policy for Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Neil Amin-Smith, the ex-violinist of chart-topping band Clean Bandit, is the key political person in the Treasury for City policy and for the party’s investment ambitions. He also … Read more