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☆ Forget the pension protests. France’s economy has momentum
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

France’s economy grew 0.2% in the first quarter of this year, its national statistics agency said Friday, after stagnating in the previous quarter. Yet the long-running protests are unlikely to leave a lasting dent in France’s economy, according to Charlotte de Montpellier, a senior economist at Dutch bank ING. But its $2.8 trillion economy has held up comparatively well. Office buildings illuminated in the La Defense business district of Paris, France, on Monday, Feb. 6, 2023. ‘Momentum’ building for banksBritain’s exit from the European Union has also been a boon for France’s financial sector.

☆ Saudi Arabia's crown prince once bragged Jared Kushner was 'in his pocket'. It's getting harder to convince people otherwise.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It's a move that, even if technically legal, appears designed to help obscure Kushner's financial relationship with the Saudis, and fuels longstanding suspicions over Kushner's relationship with the crown prince. During his time as a senior advisor in his father-in-law's administration, Kushner's relationship with the Saudi ruler repeatedly raised alarm among top US officials. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesThe Post report also said Trump benefited financially from ties with the Saudis after leaving office. A report by The Intercept in 2018 claimed that Crown Prince Mohammed boasted about having secured an extraordinary level of influence over Kushner, reportedly remarking that he had Kushner "in his pocket." The report said that Kushner may have even handed US intelligence on internal critics to Crown Prince Mohammed.

☆ China set to launch long-awaited IPO reforms to reset the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

A surveillance camera outside the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) building in Beijing on July 9, 2021. Tingshu Wang/ReutersUnder the new system, regulators will stop vetting planned share sales by companies. Currently, listings on the main boards of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges must be reviewed and approved by regulators before they can be launched. Financial stress has surged, even as the economy has started to recover after three years of strict pandemic controls. Following a chaotic exit from its zero-Covid policy, Beijing is trying to reset the economy and rebuild the trust of investors and businesses.

☆ Egypt: How the Arab world's most populous country became addicted to debt
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Cnn Staff | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The loan, along with billions of dollars in cash inflows from Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, are Band-Aids, experts say, designed to keep the Arab world’s most populous country afloat. Without proper reforms, however, Egypt may never be able to shake off its chronic financial woes and break its growing debt addiction. Billions of dollars from Abu Dhabi and Riyadh have poured into the Egyptian economy in recent years. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) also launched the Saudi Egyptian Investment Company (SEIC) in August, a company dedicated to investments in several vital sectors of the Egyptian economy. Still, the Egyptian economy has struggled to shake off its economic woes.

☆ Sri Lanka approves law to liberalize petroleum imports
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

COLOMBO, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka approved legislation on Tuesday to let companies from oil-producing nations import and sell fuel as it attempts to cope with a steep oil bill that deepened its worst financial crisis in decades. "Due to the country's financial situation we cannot afford to purchase the fuel that we need. Sri Lanka is in the middle of a serious energy crisis." State-run banks have also struggled to repay about $751 million it owes to suppliers, the minister said. The new legislation will liberalize the petroleum industry allowing international companies to directly import and sell fuel in Sri Lanka and reduce reliance on the country's meagre dollar supplies.

☆ Opinion | Abortion Is Legal in Ethiopia. But Half of These Clinics Won’t Provide Them.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Anu Kumar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +12 min

When Congress passed the Helms Amendment, only six of those countries allowed abortion in circumstances beyond saving a woman’s life. And every year, more than 16,000 of the women and girls who have received these unsafe abortions die from more serious complications. President Biden also has the power to mitigate some of the harms of the Helms Amendment. His administration could also ensure that clinics in countries where abortion is legal understand that U.S. rules allow them to offer abortion information and counseling. The Helms Amendment is an act of international interference and overreach, and it has to end.

☆ China's economy is 'in deep trouble' as Xi heads to Communist Party congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“Xi’s leadership is not causal for China’s economic rise,” said Sonja Opper, a professor at Bocconi University in Italy who studies China’s economy. Bloomberg/Getty ImagesThe International Monetary Fund recently cut its forecast for China’s growth to 3.2% this year, representing a sharp slowdown from 8.1% in 2021. Under Xi, China has not only become more insular, but has also seen the fraying of US-China relations. He is expected to secure an unprecedented third term in power at the Communist Party Congress that begins on Sunday. “Moreover, growth is not the only source of legitimacy and support for the Communist Party, and Xi has increasingly burnished the Communist Party’s nationalist credentials to appeal to patriotism as well as pocketbooks,” he added.

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