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☆ U.K. Inflation Eases to 6.8% as Energy Prices Fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Liz Alderman | More About Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Behind the Numbers: Slowdown reflects falling energy prices. Inflation in Britain peaked in October at more than 11 percent, the highest rate in 30 years, after Russia’s war in Ukraine fanned a surge in energy and food prices. Officials in Britain and Europe’s largest economies have worked to tame high energy costs, which jumped after Russian gas supplies were cut off. Food prices in the U.K. rose 14.8 percent in July from a year earlier. Wages in Britain have been rising, as workers demand higher pay to offset rising prices and employers compete to fill jobs in a tight labor market.

Persons: it’s, Darren Morgan Organizations: National Statistics, Bank of England, The Bank of England Locations: Britain, Ukraine, Germany

☆ Lebanon Freezes Accounts of Former Central Bank Governor
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( Liz Alderman | More About Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Lebanese authorities on Monday froze the bank accounts of the country’s embattled former central bank governor, Riad Salameh, days after the United States, Britain and Canada imposed sanctions on him for “contributing to the breakdown of the rule of law in Lebanon” through decades of corruption. The action, announced by Lebanon’s interim central bank governor, Wassim Mansouri, followed an internal investigation. The assets of four people close to Mr. Salameh were also frozen by the central bank. They include Mr. Salameh’s brother, Raja Salameh; his son, Nady Salameh; Anna Kosakova, whom U.S. officials described as Mr. Salameh’s former partner; and his former assistant at the central bank, Marianne Hoayek. The U.S.-led coalition accused them of helping Mr. Salameh funnel hundreds of millions of dollars through layered shell companies to invest in European real estate so that he could amass an outsize fortune outside of the country.

Persons: Riad Salameh, Wassim Mansouri, Salameh, Salameh’s, Raja Salameh, Nady Salameh, Anna Kosakova, Marianne Hoayek Organizations: Monday, Lebanon’s Locations: United States, Britain, Canada, Lebanon ”, U.S

☆ French Journalists Call Off Strike, Failing to Block ‘Far-Right’ Editor
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Liz Alderman | More About Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Journalists at France’s leading Sunday newspaper announced Tuesday that they were ending one of the longest media strikes in recent French history, but they predicted that dozens might resign to protest the appointment of an editor with a far-right track record as the new editor in chief. Staff members said they had little choice but to work with the new leadership or leave their jobs. The new editor, Geoffroy Lejeune, who formerly led a far-right French magazine that was fined for publishing racist insults, was scheduled to take up his new post on Tuesday. Word of his appointment at The JDD, as the paper is known, had ignited a firestorm in French media and political circles, raising concerns that a major mainstream news outlet could be transformed into a right-wing platform. Before the uproar, about 100 journalists worked at the Paris paper.

Persons: Vincent Bolloré, Geoffroy Lejeune Organizations: France’s, Sunday, Le, Staff Locations: Paris

The agreement, known as the Black Sea Grain Initiative, was struck a year ago, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, to alleviate a global food crisis after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia had blockaded Ukrainian ports, blocking ships from carrying its grain and sending global prices soaring to record highs. The deal has been extended three times, most recently in May. Russia has repeatedly complained about the agreement, which it calls one-sided in Ukraine’s favor. Moscow has said that Western sanctions, imposed because of Moscow’s devastating war, have restricted the sale of Russia’s agricultural products, and Moscow has sought guarantees that free up those exports.

Persons: upending, António Guterres, “, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr Organizations: Initiative, United, United Nations Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Africa, United Nations, Turkey, Ukrainian, Ukraine’s, Moscow

☆ Wheat prices jump after Russia pulls out of the Black Sea grain deal.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Liz Alderman | More About Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The risk of a fresh uptick in global food inflation emerged Monday after President Vladimir V. Putin pulled Russia out of the Black Sea grain deal, sending wheat prices surging and exposing vulnerable countries in Africa and the global south in particular to the prospect of a new round of food insecurity. Chicago wheat futures, a barometer for global prices, jumped more than 4 percent as the Kremlin’s move once again jeopardized a key trade route to global markets for grain from Ukraine, one of the world’s major bread baskets. “It will hurt specific countries dependent on these exports,” Mr. Ash said. But beyond that, “it shows how weak Putin is after the Wagner coup: He is now desperate to take any bit of leverage he can.”The Black Sea Grain Initiative was struck a year ago to alleviate a global food crisis after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, when Russia blocked ships from carrying the country’s grain out of its ports on the Black Sea. Those blockages swiftly sent grain prices soaring to record highs.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, Timothy Ash, Ash, Wagner, blockages Organizations: Wagner, BlueBay, Management, Initiative Locations: Russia, Africa, Ukraine, London, “

☆ A French Newsroom on Strike After Appointment of ‘Far-Right’ Editor
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In its 75-year history, Le Journal du Dimanche, France’s leading Sunday newspaper, has almost never missed publication. But its operations ground to a halt this week after an editor with a far-right track record was abruptly appointed just ahead of a takeover of the paper by the French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, prompting a mass walkout by journalists and igniting a firestorm in French media and political circles. Mr. Bolloré, an industrialist often described as France’s Rupert Murdoch, has been steadily building a conservative media empire, anchored by a Fox-style news network, CNews. The appointment of the editor, Geoffroy Lejeune, who was formerly at a far-right magazine that was fined for racist insults, raised concerns that one of France’s most prominent newspapers could be transformed into a right-wing platform. The paper did not publish Sunday, only the second time since its founding in 1948, and on Thursday evening the website was still leading with news from last week.

Persons: France’s, Vincent Bolloré, Bolloré, Rupert Murdoch, Geoffroy Lejeune, ”, Lejeune Organizations: Fox, France’s, Journalists Locations: France, Le Monde

☆ The Eurozone Slipped Into a Mild Recession Early in the Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Spending in the eurozone fell 0.3 percent in the first three months of this year after falling 1 percent in the previous quarter. Across Europe, countries swiftly stockpiled energy reserves, and a mild winter, together with mass conservation efforts, helped avoid the worst. The strategy has helped drive down the price of energy, and inflation in the eurozone’s biggest economies climbed down from record highs. In May, the annual rate of inflation was 6.1 percent, the eurozone’s lowest level in more than a year. The International Monetary Fund has warned that European policymakers’ main challenge this year would be to tame inflation without stoking a severe recession.

Persons: ” Claus Vistesen, “, ” Organizations: “, Pantheon, European Central Bank, Monetary Fund, ’, Analysts, ING Bank, Bank’s Locations: Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, France, Ukraine, Europe

☆ Macron Faces Fresh Test as Outlook for French Finances Dims
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the list of challenges facing President Emmanuel Macron after raucous nationwide demonstrations over his pension measures, add a new one: a cascade of warnings over France’s finances. On Friday, S&P Global cautioned that it still had a negative outlook on France’s creditworthiness. S&P Global maintained its investment-grade credit rating for France, a decision that Mr. Macron’s government had eagerly awaited. But in restating a negative outlook first published in January, the ratings agency cited concern about France’s ability to rein in its public finances amid already elevated general government debt. And it added to concern among analysts about Mr. Macron’s ability, in a tense social and political climate, to move forward with his efforts to lift the country’s competitiveness and growth.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Macron’s Organizations: P Global, France

☆ Eurozone Inflation Slides to Lowest in More Than a Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Inflation in the eurozone slid last month to the lowest level in more than a year, as an easing of price rises after last year’s run-up in energy bills gained momentum. But the price of food and services climbed at an uncomfortable pace, raising the odds that the European Central Bank will continue to lift interest rates to curb costs. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core inflation rose 5.3 percent, down from 5.6 percent the month before. Yet while the yearlong surge in inflation has peaked, millions of households in Europe are continuing to confront a cost-of-living crisis, even as employers raise wages to help offset the pain, an issue that remains a top concern for E.C.B. “I could not say that the victory is there so far,” the bank’s vice president, Luis de Guindos, said in Frankfurt earlier this week.

Persons: “, Luis de Guindos Organizations: European Central Bank Locations: Europe, Frankfurt

☆ Building Boom on Mykonos Reveals ‘Wretched’ Side of Greece’s Recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Liz Alderman | Niki Kitsantonis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Among them is Nammos, a jet-set playground featuring open-air luxury boutiques and a beachside restaurant, owned by Monterock International, a Dubai-based private equity holding company, and Alpha Dhabi Holding. On Friday, the government called for Nammos to be shuttered, and the police closed one of its beach restaurants. There is also Principote, a destination for the affluent that for years has expanded over Panormos Beach, along a picturesque bay, despite multiple citations. Principote, which is registered to a holding company in the Marshall Islands, has contested the infractions and resulting fines. In 1989, his father built small bungalows above Panormos, a public beach once accessible to all.

☆ The ‘Peace Dividend’ Is Over in Europe. Now Come the Hard Tradeoffs.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Patricia Cohen | Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But the crucial question of how to pay for the momentous shift in national priorities remains. In France, for instance, government spending as a percentage of the economy, at 1.4 trillion euros ($1.54 trillion), is the highest in Europe. Debates over competing priorities are playing out in other capitals across the region — even if the trade-offs are not explicitly mentioned. It was just one in a series of walkouts by public workers who complained that underfunding, double-digit inflation and the pandemic’s aftermath have crippled essential services like health care, transportation and education. Romania, which has been running up its public debt over the years, has pledged to lift military spending this year by 0.5 percent of national output.

☆ The Eurozone Economy Shows Signs of Modest Growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Liz Alderman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Why It Matters: The eurozone economy has regained its footing — for now. But countries swiftly stockpiled energy reserves, and a mild winter, together with mass conservation efforts, helped Europe avoid the worst. The data show that the eurozone economy is regaining its footing — though only slowly. On an annual basis, growth contracted in the first quarter from a year ago by0.1 percent in the eurozone’s largest economy. Growth picked up in Italy, Belgium and Spain, and jumped further ahead in Portugal, where the economy expanded 1.6 percent in the first three months.

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