EU-DIGEST

U.S., UK, Cayman Islands Top Destinations for Private Deposits Offshore

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:12:00 +0000

The rate of growth of offshore deposits in secrecy jurisdictions has expanded at an average of 9 percent per annum since the early 1990s, significantly outpacing the rise of world wealth in the last decade. The gap between these two growth rates may be attributed to increases in illicit financial flows from developing countries and tax evasion by residents of developed countries.

For more: Tax Justice Network

Europe: A New Superpower on the Rise - by Melvin Rhodes

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:03:00 +0000

This year is going to be a test year for the post–Lisbon Treaty European Union. What lies ahead? An article in the British magazine The Economist, in its year-end special publication The World in 2010, states: "The fear of irrelevancy will haunt European leaders in 2010. They devised a new rule book, the Lisbon treaty, to come into force in 2010 and give their union the political heft to match its might as a trading and regulatory power. Its first year will reveal whether the design really does the job" (David Rennie, "More Than a Museum?").

The Dec. 24, 2009, issue of the Canadian newspaper Ottawa Citizen included an article titled "The Decline of America" by Karl Moore and David Lewis. It concluded with the following remarkable assessment of the near future: "In spite of all the arguments of the Euroskeptics, the European Union has transformed itself into a unique global superstate. Europe now has a president, a foreign minister, a common currency, a passport, a defence industry, a supersonic fighter, and an international role in peacekeeping.

For more: Europe: A New Superpower on the Rise > The Good News: March/April 2010

Israel the spoiled child of America - Netanyahu Offers an Apology, but No Shift in Policy - by Mark Landler and Ethan Bronner

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 22:55:00 +0000

An ill-timed municipal housing announcement in Jerusalem has mutated into one of the most serious conflicts between the United States and Israel in two decades, leaving a politically embarrassed Israeli government scrambling to respond to a tough list of demands by the Obama administration.

The Obama administration has put Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a difficult political spot at home by insisting that the Israeli government halt a plan to build housing units in East Jerusalem. The administration also wants Mr. Netanyahu to commit to substantive negotiations with the

Palestinians

, after more than a year in which the peace process has been moribund.

There is a feeling among officials in Washington that the Netanyahu government does not fully grasp how angry Obama officials have grown. But there are signs that it is sinking in.

For more: Netanyahu Offers an Apology, but No Shift in Policy - NYTimes.com

EU Calls for Bank Collapse Fund

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:47:00 +0000

The European Union's finance executive called Friday for banks to pay into a fund that could be drawn upon in case of collapse, an effort to shield taxpayers from the fallout of future crises.

Officials are also calling for new ways to deal with insolvent financial groups that operate in multiple countries to avoid a repeat of the messy and expensive cross-border wrangling that followed the September 2008 collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers.

For more: EU Calls for Bank Collapse Fund - ABC News

US No. 1 arms exporter, China, India top importers

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:56:00 +0000

While the United States remains the world's biggest arms supplier, China and India are the biggest importers of conventional weapons, the sale of which rose sharply by 22% globally during the 2005-2009 period a leading Swedish peace research group said.

While China's arms imports accounted for nine per cent of the global defence sales, the same figure for India was seven per cent, SIPRI said. Eighty-nine per cent of China's arms imports originated from Russia, it said while identifying France and Ukraine (three per cent each) as the other major sources of conventional weapons. In the case of India, Russia supplied 77 per cent of the country's imported conventional defence equipment while United Kingdom supplied eight per cent and Israel providing five per cent of its arms requirements.

The SIPRI said combat aircraft accounted for 27 per cent of the volume of international arms transfers during 2005-2009. Orders and deliveries of these potentially destabilising weapon systems have led to arms race concerns in the following regions of tension: the Middle East, North Africa, South America, South Asia and South East Asia.

For more: US No. 1 arms exporter, China, India top importers: SIPRI- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times

PM Erdogan continues "sanitizing" Turkish military and detains an additional 20 people In alledged coup plot case

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:26:00 +0000

Turkish police on Thursday detained around 20 people in connection to an alleged plot to topple the Islamist-rooted government, and the detainees included retired and active military officers, state media said.

The operation was part of an investigation into the "Ergenekon" network, an alleged right-wing militant group that prosecutors say had planned to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party government, broadcaster NTV said. State-run news agency Anatolian said the detentions took place in eight cities and that the operation was still going on.

For more: Turkey Detains 20 People In Coup Plot Case - Media - NYTimes.com

CAMERA: Presbyterian Committee Member Supporter of One State Solution

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:59:00 +0000

Earlier this month, a committee created by a 2008 vote of the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s General Assembly issued a report that asserts Israel is largely responsible for the continued existence of the Arab-Israeli conflict. One section of this report also affirms Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

Note: EU-Digest: also see: http://www.pcusa.org/gamc/business/feb10/actions/C107.pdf

For more: CAMERA: Presbyterian Committee Member Supporter of One State Solution

French leader: No mercy for Basque terrorists

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:56:00 +0000

Speaking Thursday at a ceremony for the officer killed outside Paris by suspected ETA militants, he said those responsible would be sternly punished and that France stands at Spain's side in fighting the separatist group.

He called for "no mercy" against ETA and said he would not allow France to be a "calm staging ground for terrorists and assassins."

Tuesday's killing was the first time ETA, which seeks an independent Basque homeland, has been accused in the death of a French police official.

For more: French leader: No mercy for Basque terrorists | rgj.com | The Reno Gazette-Journal

Merkel Urges Stricter Rules for Euro Zone

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:28:00 +0000

Speaking before a session of Parliament in Berlin, Mrs. Merkel referred to a proposal made last week by Wolfgang Schäuble, the German finance minister. As she described the proposal, “It would even be possible to exclude a country from the euro zone when over the long term it no longer fulfills the conditions.”

“Otherwise, we can’t work together,” Mrs. Merkel said, though she stopped short of explicitly endorsing the idea. This week, finance ministers for the 16 countries in the euro zone promised loans, if necessary, to help Greece overcome its debt problems.

The ministers have not yet agreed about how to structure the aid, and Mrs. Merkel’s statement on Wednesday seemed to suggest that European leaders were interpreting the aid promise in different ways.

For more: Merkel Urges Stricter Rules for Euro Zone - DealBook Blog - NYTimes.com

China and Germany unite to impose global deflation- by Martin Wolf

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:58:00 +0000

You may have heard of Chimerica – a neologism invented by Niall Ferguson the Harvard historian, and Moritz Schularick of the Free University of Berlin, to describe a supposed fusion between the Chinese and American economies. You may also have heard of Chindia, invented by Jairam Ramesh, an Indian politician, to describe the composite new Asian giant. Let me introduce you to Chermany, a composite of the world’s biggest net exporters: China, with a forecast current account surplus of $291bn this year and Germany, with a forecast surplus of $187bn . China and Germany are, of course, very different from each other. Yet, for all their differences, these countries share some characteristics: they are the largest exporters of manufactures.

Both also believe that their customers should keep buying, but stop irresponsible borrowing. Since their surpluses entail others’ deficits, this position is incoherent. Surplus countries have to finance those in deficit. If the stock of debt becomes too big, the debtors will default. If so, the vaunted “savings” of surplus countries will prove to have been illusory: vendor finance becomes, after the fact, open export subsidies.

In this battle, the surplus countries are most unlikely to win. A disruption of the eurozone would be very bad for German manufacturing. A US resort to protectionism would be very bad for China. Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad. It is not too late to look for co-operative solutions. Both sides have to seek to adjust. Forget all the self-righteous moralising. Try some plain common sense, instead.

For more: FT.com / Columnists / Martin Wolf - China and Germany unite to impose global deflation

Credit Rating Company Moody's fears social unrest as AAA states implement austerity plans - Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:36:00 +0000

The world's five biggest AAA-rated states are all at risk of soaring debt costs and will have to implement austerity plans that threaten "social cohnesion", according to a report on sovereign debt by Moody's.

The US rating agency said the US, the UK, Germany, France, and Spain are walking a tightrope as they try to bring public finances under control without nipping recovery in the bud. It warned of "substantial execution risk" in withdrawal of stimulus.

"Growth alone will not resolve an increasingly complicated debt equation. Preserving debt affordability at levels consistent with AAA ratings will invariably require fiscal adjustments of a magnitude that, in some cases, will test social cohesion," said Pierre Cailleteau, the chief author.

For more: Moody's fears social unrest as AAA states implement austerity plans - Telegraph

Swedish tourists tightest on Cyprus

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:10:00 +0000

Revenues from Cyprus's vital tourism sector dipped 5.7 percent in the first two months signalling another rocky year for the Mediterranean island's economy.

The average daily spending by tourists in February was 62.2 euros - and the Swedes spend the least.

The Irish were the biggest spenders at 168 euros a day, while the Swedish were the most frugal, spending just 39.1 euros a day on average.

Income from tourism makes up 12 percent of gross domestic product. On the back of disappointing tourism income, the Cyprus economy contracted by 1.7 percent in 2009 to end decades of robust growth.

For more: Swedish tourists tightest on Cyprus

Are Dutch still Europe's least prejudiced people? - by Marijke Peters

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:07:00 +0000

The Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence at Germany’s Bielefeld university spoke to 8,000 Europeans about attitudes towards migration, religion and minority groups. Half of respondents said there are too many immigrants in their home country and 43 percent said homosexuals should not have equal rights.

Social distance: Professor Andreas Zick, who led the team, found the Netherlands is the country with the least hostility towards minority groups. But he also warns appearances can be deceptive:

“The Netherlands – as well as France and even the UK – seems to be very tolerant according to the attitudes against groups. But if it comes to discrimination intentions like ‘would you move into a district where there are many immigrants?’ you can see people are more resistant. So there’s high diversity…. But the social distance is still there.”

Lack of self-awareness: Others agree the study offers little cause for celebration. The Swiss-Egyptian Muslim thinker Tariq Ramadan said on a recent trip to Amsterdam he feels the Dutch lack self-awareness on the subjects of racism and prejudice.

“I think there is a deep problem in this country, a self-projection as a very liberal society that says… ‘this is our tradition, so by definition we cannot be racist; by definition we are open; by definition we are dealing with all of these people and then if we have a problem with Muslims it should be the Muslims [that solve] the problem.’ And I say this is wrong.”

For more: Are Dutch still Europe's least prejudiced people? | Radio Netherlands Worldwide

EU's Ashton: "Israeli Settlements are illegal, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to make a two state-solution impossible."

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:07:00 +0000

EU foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton has said Israel's decision to build new settler homes in occupied East Jerusalem endangers peace talks. She was speaking to Arab League members in Cairo, as she began a Middle East tour amid tensions over Israel's move.

Speaking in Cairo, she said: "Recent Israeli decisions to build new housing units in East Jerusalem have endangered and undermined the tentative agreement to begin proximity talks.

"The EU position on settlements is clear. Settlements are illegal, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to make a two state-solution impossible."

For more: BBC News - EU's Ashton chides Israel over Jerusalem settler plan

China and the U.S.: The Indispensable Axis - 10 Ideas for the Next 10 Years - by Christina Larson

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:32:00 +0000

The quest to secure Middle Eastern oil and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan consume much of the foreign policy establishment in Washington today. But in the next decade, more of the U.S.'s attention will shift to the new Middle East: China.

Economists have been predicting this shift for decades. China is already the world's top manufacturer, top auto market, top cement producer and top polluter. Its military and naval capacity is growing. Its construction-driven hunger for natural resources, especially timber and energy, is reshaping the landscapes of Africa, Southeast Asia and South America. Experts may argue about the pace of China's economic ascent — Nobel laureate economist Robert Fogel predicts that China's economy will be an eye-popping 40% of global GDP by 2040, while others project somewhat more modest growth — but few question that it's happening dazzlingly fast.

Some see a threat to our way of life in China's rise. Martin Jacques, author of When China Rules the World, imagines the rise of China toppling the cherished Enlightenment principles of the West. Others persist in using faulty cold war analogies, substituting China for the old U.S.S.R.

Rather than being cold war adversaries, however, the U.S. and China will form an indispensable axis for global governance.

For more: China and the U.S.: The Indispensable Axis - 10 Ideas for the Next 10 Years - TIME

Dutch Insurer Eureko Scales Down Europe Ambitions

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:21:00 +0000

Eureko BV, the Netherlands' largest insurer by gross premiums, Tuesday said it will focus on making its Dutch businesses less complex and more efficient as it is scaling down its ambitions to expand in Europe after a failed attempt to turn Poland into its second home market. After years of growing through mergers and acquisitions, nonlisted Eureko wants to focus on reducing the complexity of its operations in the Netherlands while making better use of economies of scale, Chief Executive Officer Willem van Duin said in an interview with Dow Jones.

For the complete report: 2nd UPDATE: Dutch Insurer Eureko Scales Down Europe Ambitions - WSJ.com

Turkish president sees Africa as Turkey's strategic partner

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:12:00 +0000

The Turkish president saw on Sunday Africa as Turkey's strategic partner. Turkey's President Abdullah Gül said he considered Africa Turkey's strategic partner, and he would meet high-level executives and his counterparts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon.

For more:Turkish president sees Africa as Turkey's strategic partner

Greece Avoids S&P Downgrade - by John Kell

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:09:00 +0000

Greece avoided a downgrade to its credit rating by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, which had warned last month that it was considering such a move, although the ratings firm slapped on a negative outlook.

The euro also rose in the minutes following S&P's announcement.

S&P credit analyst Marko Mrsnik said the Greek government's plans to reduce its deficit was supportive of the nation's current triple-B-plus long-term credit rating, which is three notches into investment-grade territory. S&P said the government's reduction measures were "appropriate to achieve its 2010 fiscal target."

For more: Greece Avoids S&P Downgrade - WSJ.com

Israel-US: Is the honeymoon finally over ?

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:14:00 +0000

The United States thwarted an Israeli attempt to play down a diplomatic rift on Sunday by renewing its condemnation of plans to build settler homes in occupied East Jerusalem.

Biden was left fuming last Tuesday after Israel announced plans to build 1,600 settler homes in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem just hours after he had succeeded in persuading the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to begin indirect talks.
The move was widely interpreted in Washington as a calculated snub designed to humiliate Obama's peacemaking efforts in the Middle East, which have proved unpopular in Israel.
"This was an affront, it was an insult but most importantly it undermined this very fragile effort to bring peace to that region," David Axelrod, Obama's most senior political adviser, told NBC News. "This was not the right way to behave."

For more: U.S. rebuffs Israel's attempt to downplay rift over settlements

Safer Flying in Europe

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:54:00 +0000

I In the past EU member states' safety investigation authorities have cooperated with each other on an informal basis. A recently approved draft regulation will formalize this cooperation by creating a European network of civil aviation safety investigation authorities. The network will facilitate the exchange of information and sharing of resources.

The new rules clarify the roles of various actors. For example, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the Commission will be involved in cooperation and information-sharing with the member states.

The regulation are expected to be adopted jointly by the Council and the European Parliament in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedures.

For more: CONSILIUM - Homepage

Sarkozy suffers loss in regional French elections

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:50:00 +0000

President Nicolas Sarkozy's camp suffered setbacks in several major cities in round one of French local elections Sunday, dealing a new blow to the right-winger as he battles a collapse in popularity.

Exit polls showed the opposition Socialists well-placed to score big gains over Sarkozy's Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), in next Sunday's decisive second round of a vote cast as a referendum on his presidency.

For more: France24 - Sarkozy's party suffers first round setback

Ads-oriented media breeds biased journalism - Mark Crispin Miller

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:10:00 +0000

Modern America’s media is a cartel system that is owned and dominated by a handful of huge corporations saddled with heavy debts, said author Mark Crispin Miller, who shared his views on American media and propaganda.

Miller says: “What they tend to do is cut costs wherever possible and at the same time go for the kind of material that they think will sell the most and the quickest,” said the author, “You basically get a new system that resembles the worst aspects of the Internet and that is simply because it is profit-driven, advertising-based and controlled – that is probably the most important – by a handful of enormous commercial entities that are very close to our government and that is not good for democracy.”

Note EU-Digest: It is not only in America where this happens, but in just about any country in the world. Unfortunately sensationalism sells and the media applies it in order to survive. The Ménage à Trois of Free Enterprise, Politics and Journalism has resulted in poorly informed and polarized citizens and the situation can only be expected to get worse.The positive side of the coin is that people are now turning in droves to the Internet and news blogs to form their own opinion. This fact obviously is also noticed by the world's corporate cartels and political establishment and has led them to also start infiltrating this last bastion of "freedom of expression" in a variety of devious manipulations. In this context it is also good to remember the saying, "that if hierarchy is inaccessible on the human level, then chaos will prevail rather than natural order."

For the complete report: Ads-oriented media breeds biased journalism – author - RT

Alternative TV News Reports

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:09:00 +0000

Are you tired of watching those local TV news programs, who all seem to be saying the same thing and sensationalism being their main focus?

Listed below are a few alternative TV news stations, which in streaming video and right on your own lap - or desktop can provide you with a different perspective of what is really happening around the world.

EURO-News Live: http://www.livestation.com/channels/1?page=466
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/video_and_audio/news_summary/8070822.stm
RT Russian World News reports: http://rt.com/On_Air.html
ITV: http://www.itv.com/news/tonight/
Al Jazeera: http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/
CBC Canadian World news: http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/
PBS: USA : http://www.pbs.org/nbr/info/video.html
For News from China in English go to: http://english.cctv.com/live/

EU-Digest

EU talks tough, but US banks and hedge funds unbowed

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:38:00 +0000

Britain and France say a deal is close on stricter financial regulations in the EU, including on speculative hedge funds, to reduce the chances of another economic crisis.

Though not yet finalized, Europe's plans are already causing tension with Washington. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has written to the European Commission voicing concern that the plans discriminate against American investors, banks and investment funds.

For more: EU talks tough, but US banks and hedge funds unbowed - expert - RT Top Stories

Italy - Ciao, baby! Why Italy just can't say no to Silvio Berlusconi

noreply@blogger.com (A-News) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:39:00 +0000

Ronald Reagan was known as the Teflon president, but Berlusconi's ability to shrug off misfortune beggars such metaphors. Ten months ago, as I was preparing to leave Rome, Berlusconi seemed doomed. It was his wife Veronica that had done for him: her announcement last April that she wanted a divorce seemed to break the spell in which he had held his country hypnotised for years. Suddenly, it seemed, people began to see him for what he was. Veronica's comments about him frequenting under-age girls, her condemnation of the "trash" – buxom showgirls – he wanted to put up for election to the European parliament, her cryptic remark that "my husband is not well" – all this from the woman who had stood by her man stoically for nigh on 30 years, cast him in a new and ghastly light. He might be mega-rich, brilliant, energetic, charismatic – but what a creep! What an appalling character to have thrown your lot in with! And what horrors might that pregnant phrase "non sta bene" – "he's not well" – contain? What raptures of megalomania, sadism or psychosis might the unlucky Veronica have been privy to?

For years Berlusconi has behaved more like a Roman emperor than an elected Prime Minister, but in the autumn of his years the tendency has become even more extreme. But the dismaying element today is the extent to which his adversaries let him get away with it: the last person to land a blow on him was the unbalanced character who hurled a bronze model of Milan's Duomo in his face at New Year. No one could claim that Italy was buoyant with Berlusconi at its head. Even the sort of phoney and palsied recovery that Britain experienced after the crash has eluded it. Industrial output plummeted by more than 17 per cent last year, and the nation's public debt of €1,663bn is the third highest in the world. Add this to the sleaze piling up on all sides and one would expect Berlusconi to get a terrible drubbing in the coming polls. Yet that is unlikely to happen – and not only because of the feebleness of the opposition. As a new book spells out, Berlusconi has a hold over a huge swathe of his electorate, who will vote for him no matter what.

According to the Italian writer Curzio Maltese, in The Bubble: The dangerous end of the Berlusconian dream, ever since he entered politics Berlusconi has appealed, more or less openly, to the nation's millions of tax evaders. And this is one constituency that he has never disappointed.

Italy today is devouring its own entrails. Private affluence and public squalor; constantly shrinking budgets which inflict vicious blows on schools and universities and hospitals and museums while the entrenched gerontocracies which preside over them are untouched; talented and vigorous youth who flee abroad to find study and work opportunities in ever-greater numbers, while their less-enterprising contemporaries struggle to make ends meet in jobs with miserable pay and no security; organised crime which constantly extends its reach; fear and hatred of immigrants, cynically encouraged by politicians in the government: this is Berlusconi's dismal legacy.

For more: Ciao, baby! Why Italy just can't say no to Silvio - Europe, World - The Independent