Forget sanctions: Lame duck Obama is burying Pax Americana March 20, 2014 AS AN old DC hand living in Berlin, I was kindly invited to hear Barack Obama speak there in 2008 by some of my old foreign policy frenemies in the Democratic Party. I was present when candidate Obama’s white-hot global fame reached its apogee. In front of an old Napoleonic war memorial stood the anointed [...]
George Osborne has been picking up bad habits March 20, 2014 The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has given its assessment on the chancellor's Budget. The think tank says that George Osborne has become increasingly reliant on short-term revenue raising wheezes to pay for permanent tax cuts and spending commitments. For example, the changes announced yesterday on the abolition of taxing pension pot withdrawals, and accelerated [...]
Yellen says Fed may raise rates by spring 2015 March 19, 2014 THE Federal Reserve will probably end its massive bond-buying programme this coming autumn, and could start to raise interest rates around six months later, Fed chair Janet Yellen said yesterday. US stocks fell after the statement with the Dow closing 0.7 per cent lower at 16,222.17. The Fed had pledged not to raise rates until [...]
US markets exercise caution ahead of Yellen speech March 19, 2014 US markets crept lower today at the open, following weaker European counterparts. Investors are awaiting the new inflation and growth forecasts from the Fed’s Open Market Committee, with Janet Yellen holding her first press conference (6.00pm GMT) since taking over as chair last month. Despite some recent weaker economic data, the Fed isn’t expected to [...]
Stocks rally after Putin speech despite Crimea tensions March 18, 2014 RUSSIAN markets rallied after a speech by President Vladimir Putin yesterday, bouncing back as he signalled an end to military aggression in Ukrainian territories. Putin signed a draft bill in Russia’s parliament to officially annex Crimea, saying that the peninsula was an integral part of Russia, but that he had no desire to further divide [...]
London Report: Shares lifted by Putin’s speech despite tension March 18, 2014 THE UK’S top share index rose yesterday as stock markets rebounded after a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine, which some traders interpreted as being less aggressive in tone than had been expected. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 0.6 per cent, or 36.93 points, at 6,605.28 points – marking only the [...]
UK suspends military cooperation with Russia after Putin signs Crimea treaty March 18, 2014 Foreign secretary William Hague has said Britain has suspended bilateral military cooperation with Russia, including arms exports, in a move responding to Russia’s annexing of Crimea. President Putin has formally signed a treaty to accept the “Republic of Crimea” into the Russian Federation, saying he does not plan to seize any other regions of Ukraine. He [...]
Putin signs Crimea over to Russia as the EU and US issue sanctions March 17, 2014 PRESIDENT Putin has signed Crimea over to Russia and announced it is now a sovereign state, according to the Kremlin. The Russian president is understood to have signed a decree last night recognising the Ukrainian territory as part of Russia, following a widely-disputed vote in Crimea on Sunday. The news comes as President Obama and [...]
Putin’s calculations make Ukraine escalation all too likely March 17, 2014 GETTING inside the thinking of Vladimir Putin is a daunting prospect at the best of times; and these aren’t the best of times. Yet doing so shows why a worst-case outcome just a few days ago suddenly seems entirely plausible. After the Crimean referendum, the thoughts ringing around Putin’s head go something like this: “I [...]
Merkel: Russia’s is “the law of the jungle” March 13, 2014 Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel has accused Russia of invoking “the law of the jungle” in the Crimea crisis, warning that EU leaders are poised to take further action. If Russia continues on its current path, it’ll be a catastrophe not just for Ukraine and the EU, but for Russia as well, she said. In a [...]
