Hard hitting global and local news
In a foolish as well as never-ending attempt to prevent price deflation and revive growth, the ECB Urges Berlin to Cut Taxes and Spend . Berlin has hit back at calls from a top European Central Bank official urging Germany to spend more to help the eurozone escape from its economic malaise.
Today the Financial Times reports ECB’s Lending Spree Short of Expectations . The European Central Bank’s first offer of cheap four-year loans has fallen short of expectations, dealing a blow to president Mario Draghi’s hope of sustaining the eurozone’s ailing economy by expanding the central bank’s balance sheet. Banks borrowed €82.6bn through the first of the ECB’s Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations, or TLTROs, one of policy makers’ big ideas to revive the currency area’s recovery.
View the original here: Venture Capital Risk Taking and Cash Burn Rates Unprecedented Since 1999; 47% of Nasdaq in Bear…
Counting Sheep: French Government Faces Second No Confidence Vote in Six Months Second No Confidence Vote in Six Months In spite of the fact the Socialist party holds a majority of just 1 in the 577-seat lower house, French prime minister Manual Valls hopes to stabilize things with a Second No Confidence Vote in Six Months . Mr Valls could see a narrowing of his majority compared with the vote when he was first appointed prime minister at the end of March after a big socialist loss in local elections. Then he won by a margin of 306 votes to 239 against, with 26 abstentions.“Valls is politically and economically archaic
Bloomberg reports Scots Independence Campaign Nears Climax as Polls Diverge . Activists were out in force across Scotland during the final weekend before the Sept. 18 ballot that might trigger the breakup of the union after more than three centuries.
View original post here: China Industrial Growth Slows, Power Generation Negative 1st Time in 4 Years; Stimulate Now, Crash Later
In spite of a massive fearmongering campaign by both Labour and Tories in the UK, Scots Independence Race Tightens Six Days Before Ballot . Scotland’s nationalists drew closer to the Better Together campaign in the latest poll on independence before the referendum, making the run-in to the Sept. 18 vote too close to call.
Please consider Gazprom, Lukoil Hit in New Round of Sanctions . The US dramatically expanded its sanctions against Russia on Friday by adding Gazprom, Europe’s leading energy provider, to the list of targeted companies, as it sought to ratchet up pressure on Moscow to step back from the war in Ukraine.
Excerpt from: Don’t Like the Rules? Then Ignore Them: Shoot First, Ask Questions Later