Sack Andrew Bailey as Bank of England boss, says Liz Truss – POLITICO

Excerpts were released over the weekend and include a scathing view of Britain’s financial establishment. She describes the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) as a “three-headed hydra” that “wanted to stick as closely to EU law as possible.” But the now-backbench MP went further in the interview, saying … Read more

The gold treasure of National Bank of Romania that was sent to Moscow – POLITICO

The troubled story of the evacuation of the National Bank of Romania treasure to Moscow began during the First World War. Romania entered the war in August 1916, joining the ‘entente’ of France, United Kingdom and Russia. After the initial victories, Romania’s situation became increasingly challenging, as it fought a two-front war against the central powers: … Read more

UK inflation lower than expected – POLITICO

Consumer prices in the United Kingdom stood at 4 percent in January, unchanged from December and defying expectations of a renewed pick-up, data released by the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday. Analysts polled by Reuters ahead of the release had projected inflation to accelerate to 4.2 percent at the start of the year. Core … Read more

Geert Wilders goes back to the drawing board – POLITICO

“Incredibly disappointing,” “very surprised” and “complete surprise,” were their reactions on X. “What you see is that everyone is busy with the blame game: trying to point at Omtzigt as the guilty party and feigning surprise,” even though there had long been palpable tension, Rachid Azrout, a political analyst at the University of Amsterdam, told POLITICO. … Read more

Christine Lagarde makes a poor central banker, ECB staff say  – POLITICO

Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. FRANKFURT — On the global stage, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde still exudes the air of an international rockstar of finance, but back home her records just won’t sell.  Most participants in a trade union survey of ECB staff, seen by POLITICO, said … Read more

Middle East braces for chaos as Iran and West square up – POLITICO

Press play to listen to this article Voiced by artificial intelligence. Western warplanes and guided missiles roared through the skies over Yemen in the early hours of Friday in a dramatic response to the worsening crisis engulfing the region, where the U.S. and its allies are facing a direct confrontation with Iranian-backed militants. The strikes … Read more

The year in figures and charts – POLITICO

2023 was marked by crisis, transition and conflict. As the war in Ukraine dragged into its second year, the EU was confronted with yet another conflict on its doorstep: The Israel-Hamas war, which brought fresh instability to the Middle East and exacerbated divisions between EU countries. Europe now heads into a big election year and … Read more

Cost-of-living crisis squeezes Europe’s housing – POLITICO

Are you a 30-something professional looking to settle down and buy your first home in a friendly, welcoming European city? Think again. Rising real estate prices have turned home ownership into an increasingly unachievable dream for many Europeans — an issue compounded by the cost-of-living crisis, which has hit city residents and poorer households especially … Read more