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☆ Wealthy G7 nations gearing up for new volley of sanctions on Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Leaders of the bloc of developed nations will meet virtually on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion, and are expected to announce the sanctions package. Current G7 president Japan said it was considering new measures, without giving any details, and called for a unified stance towards Moscow. "Russia is refusing to change their hardline stance," Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a news conference to mark the anniversary. India, which has maintained a neutral stance on the conflict, does not want the G20 to discuss additional sanctions on Russia. Speaking at the G20, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen accused Russian officials of being "complicit" in atrocities in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

☆ French Finance Minister: Not time to water down G-20 communique on Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFrench Finance Minister: Not time to water down G-20 communique on Ukraine warFrench Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire speaks to CNBC's Tanvir Gill at the G-20 meeting in Bengaluru, India.

"I think that we have a very good candidate for the World Bank," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said of Banga during a news conference at the G20 finance leaders meeting in India. The comments marked a turnabout from Tuesday, when Germany's international development minister, Svenja Schulze, who represents a different party in Germany's coalition government, said the next World Bank chief should be a woman. The G20 ministers meeting is being held on the outskirts of the Indian tech hub city of Bengaluru. 'UNIQUE SET OF SKILLS'The United States, the lender's dominant shareholder, has chosen every World Bank president since the founding of the institution at the end of World War Two. World Bank staff are bracing for Banga to make some management changes at the bank, emboldened by Yellen's repeated calls for "bolder and more imaginative" action by the bank, two bank sources told Reuters.

☆ Germany signals support for U.S. pick to lead World Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The German government has signalled its support for the United States' nomination of Ajay Banga for president of the World Bank, with German Finance Minister Christian Lindner calling Banga's nomination a "very remarkable" proposal on Friday. U.S. President Joe Biden nominated former Mastercard Inc (MA.N) CEO Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank on Thursday, betting the India-born executive's ties to the private sector and emerging markets will jump-start the 77-year-old institution's overhaul to better address climate change. The finance minister added that Germany would follow the nomination with "great attention" and expressed "sympathy" for the proposal. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire had also previously showed support for Banga's nomination. Reporting by Christian Kraemer, Writing by Maria Martinez, Editing by Miranda MurrayOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

BENGALURU, Feb 24 (Reuters) - G20 financial leaders must condemn Russia's aggression against Ukraine, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Reuters in an interview on Friday, adding that Europe was working on new sanctions against Moscow. Speaking on the first day of the G20 financial leaders meeting near Bengaluru, Le Maire said, "Sanctions will be more and more efficient, more and more effective". Le Maire said that India's purchase of discounted Russian oil has reduced Moscow's oil revenues. On the G20 communique, Le Maire said, "The purpose is to stick to the wordings of 2022 in Bali. Russia, which is a member of the G20, refers to its actions in Ukraine as a "special military operation", and avoids calling it an invasion or war.

☆ A subsidy arms race is kicking off between Europe and America
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

This premium is expected to shrink as clean energy technologies become more advanced and infrastructure to produce them is scaled up. Most of the money the IRA has earmarked for clean energy initiatives comes in the form of tax credits. In the meantime, government officials are lobbying the United States to rethink parts of the IRA. “Europe and other allied countries have nothing to fear from the Inflation Reduction Act and quite a bit to gain,” said Brian Deese, Biden’s top economic adviser. The fight over green subsidies also comes as geopolitical tensions are pushing countries to focus on greater localization of production — not just for green energy, but also for sensitive technologies like computer chips.

☆ Yellen touts battery investments in Tennessee after Biden speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen gives a speech after she visited the House of Slaves (Maison des Esclaves) at Goree Island off the coast of Dakar, Senegal January 21, 2023. "The Inflation Reduction Act is offering meaningful tax credits to spur clean energy investment and production. Importantly, the law deliberately encourages place-based investments," Yellen said in excerpts of remarks for delivery at the Ultium Cells plant. EUROPEAN COMPLAINTSBut European and Asian allies have complained that the Inflation Reduction Act's tax subsidies will pull green investments away from those regions toward the United States. Le Maire also said that U.S. rules on the tax credits, now being finalized by Yellen's staff, should be made available to a "maximum" of European components.

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - France and Germany's economy ministers said they would push for the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act to embrace European companies as fully as possible as they headed into talks with their Washington counterparts on Tuesday. While Canadian and Mexican companies are eligible to benefit from many of its provisions, the act does not help European competitors. Le Maire and his German counterpart Robert Habeck, who are due to put their case to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, trade representative Katherine Tai and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, fear European companies could be disadvantaged. "A strong green industrial market in the U.S. and a strong green industrial market in Europe will help each other," Habeck told reporters from a noisy Washington street corner before they headed into their meetings. Le Maire said Europe needed transparency on the exact subsidies and tax credits that were on offer to ensure "fair competition" between industries on both sides of the Atlantic.

☆ Germany's Habeck optimistic that EU and U.S. can reduce trade tension
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BERLIN, Feb 6 (Reuters) - German Economy Minister Robert Habeck expressed optimism before departing on a trip to the United States on Monday that a European Union trade dispute with Washington can be resolved soon. Many EU leaders are worried the local content requirements of $369 billion of green subsidies in the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act will encourage companies to relocate, making the United States a leader in green tech at Europe's expense. Habeck said the European Commission was taking the lead on the trade issue, but added: "We want to lend support." "And supporting means: in the working atmosphere that we have developed, to explore ways in which the problematic parts of the Inflation Reduction Act - that is, this industrial project - can perhaps be resolved," he said. Habeck and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire will hold talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday.

☆ Airbus and Qatar Airways settle bitter A350 jet row
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Tim Hepher | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The "amicable and mutually agreeable settlement" ends a $2 billion row over surface damage on the long-haul jets. The spat led to the withdrawal of billions of dollars' worth of jet deals by Airbus and prompted Qatar to increase purchases from Boeing. The deal heads off what amounted to an unprecedented public divorce trial between heavyweights in the normally tight-knit and secretive $150 billion jet industry. Airbus' decision to revoke that order, separate from the disputed A350 contract, had been criticised by global airlines group IATA. Airbus said it had done its best to avoid pushing Qatar too far back in the queue.

Experts estimate that about half of the German electric vehicles registered in the United States are leased. While the scale of the U.S. subsidies has attracted most attention, the EU has large potential resources of its own. THE REAL PROBLEM"The amounts of subsidies in Europe are in line or even more than those in the United States, that is not the problem," said one senior European Union official. "The real problems are the incentives to make firms move production to the United States," said the official, referring to the local content requirements. To ensure Europe can compete with the United States, the European Commission on Wednesday proposed measures including loosening EU state aid rules and repurposing existing EU funds.

☆ Explainer: Why the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act has rattled Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BRUSSELS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - The European Commission presented its Green Deal Industrial Plan on Wednesday in response to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), with increased levels of state aid to help Europe compete as a manufacturing hub for clean tech products. The Treasury is set to provide guidelines in March for electric vehicles bought by consumers, but there appears less room for manoeuvre. The European Commission and the White House have set up a high-level task force to discuss the issue. France has led calls for Europe to respond with state support of its own for European companies, including through a "buy European act" and large-scale subsidies. Longer term, the European Commission says it will propose a European Sovereignty Fund, but it is unclear how it will operate and how it will be funded.

"Major economies are rightly stepping up investment in net zero industries," von der Leyen told a news conference. And we want to be an important part of this net-zero industry that we need globally," von der Leyen said. RESISTANCEThe European Commission is hoping member states will back its plan at a Feb.9-10 summit but it faces a hot debate. Solar sector industry group SolarPower Europe said it was concerned by what it called a "lack of focus" on specific technologies in the EU plan. The bloc is heavily reliant on China for rare earths and lithium, which are vital materials for the green transition.

☆ Airbus and Qatar settle A350 jetliner row
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Airbus (AIR.PA) and Qatar Airways have settled a dispute over surface damage on grounded A350 jets, the companies said on Wednesday, averting a potentially damaging UK court trial. The "amicable settlement" ends a $2 billion row over the safety of Europe's premier long-haul jet - an unprecedented public rift that had led Airbus to revoke dozens of other jet orders from Qatar ahead of a scheduled June court trial. The announcement comes after Reuters reported that a deal could be reached as early as Wednesday. Airbus has acknowledged quality flaws but insisted that the jets are safe. Reporting by Tim Hepher Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 'China cannot be out, China must be in': France says it's diverging with Washington on Beijing ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

DAVOS, Switzerland — The European Union does not see eye-to-eye with the United States when it comes to opposing China, the French finance minister told CNBC Friday. Speaking at a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, looking at the economic outlook, France's Bruno Le Maire said: "China cannot be out, China must be in. "We don't want to oppose China, we want to engage with China, we want China to obey by the same rules," he said, "this is our policy." The United States has taken a confrontational approach with China particularly when it comes to the technology sector. The European Union, however, has looked at striking a balance between its political friendship with the U.S. and its economic ties with China.

[1/2] Climate activists Greta Thunberg, Helena Gualinga and Luisa Neubauer take part in a protest on the last day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland January 20, 2023. International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told the Davos audience that what had improved was the potential for China to boost growth and that the IMF now forecast Chinese growth of 4.4% for 2023. Wall Street executives in Davos said pessimism had eased as economies in the U.S. and Europe stayed resilient and China loosened its COVID-19 policies. For daily Davos updates in your inbox sign up for the Reuters Daily Briefing here. Reporting by Mark John in Davos; Editing by Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ European markets set for higher open, seeking rebound as investors weigh Fed risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

European markets are set to climb on Friday as traders look for a partial recovery from Thursday's selloff, with the outlook for monetary policy still firmly in focus. Investors have grown increasingly concerned that the Federal Reserve will continue to hike interest rates despite signs of slowing inflation. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 notched a third straight day of losses on Thursday, and U.S. stock futures were cautiously higher in early premarket trade on Friday. Shares in Asia-Pacific were mostly higher on Friday as investors digested Japanese inflation data, which showed nationwide core consumer prices rose by an annual 4% in December, the fastest inflation rate since 1981. Friday marks the conclusion of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where policymakers and CEOs have been discussing the key issues surrounding the economy, financial markets, geopolitics and climate change.

☆ ‘Utterly unprepared’: Larry Summers says another Covid-scale problem is a top economic risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Economist Larry Summers would place better than 50-50 odds on the world being shaken by another Covid-scale event within the next 15 years. The Harvard professor and former U.S. treasury secretary shared what he believes are the world's biggest near-term risks during a CNBC-moderated panel on the last day of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. They included the possibility of the Covid-19 virus mutating again, which he noted that no other panelist had brought up when discussing the global economic outlook. "I would note that the odds in my view are better than 50-50 that there will be a Covid-scale problem within the next 15 years and that the world is utterly unprepared for that eventuality," he said. Where it has been a topic of discussion, it has generally been around risks to the Chinese population as it experiences a spike in infections.

☆ From green subsidies to chips, Davos debates reflect a world in flux
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Davos, Switzerland CNN —The World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps is typically a venue for politicians and business leaders to deliver sermons about the benefits of globalization and cross-border cooperation. European leaders used Davos to amplify complaints about the law’s tax breaks for American companies that make parts for green energy projects, which they claim will disadvantage European firms. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz addresses the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday. Representatives from Asia’s third largest economy showed up in force at Davos to meet with international investors. “We’re looking at a less efficient world,” US Trade Representative Katherine Tai said.

☆ French bakers allowed to renegotiate sky-high bills with the daily baguette under threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Bakery owners have been struggling with higher crop and energy prices. Energy suppliers in France have agreed to allow bakeries to negotiate new payment plans for 2023 to avoid going out of business. It comes amid warnings that the country's iconic boulangeries face an existential threat due to the double hit of higher wheat and energy prices, with reports of some already shutting up shop. Contracts will be reviewed on a case by case basis depending on the owner's situation and financial assistance may be offered, he added. The government on Tuesday also announced plans to support the industry by allowing bakers to spread tax payments and suggested that further cash support for energy bills may follow.

TURTLENECKS HAVE A PR PROBLEM among men. Too many guys put them firmly in the “not for me” category, thinking them overly constricting, pretentious or artsy. The chin-grazing knit’s reputation suffered a further blow this fall, when French finance minister Bruno Le Maire seemingly declared a plan to reduce winter heating bills by wearing turtlenecks—and was widely mocked. “Let them wear cashmere!”Putting French politics aside, we’ve decided to assume the role of the turtleneck’s publicist. And turtlenecks have poked their heads into every fashion category this winter, from luxe (the Row) to sporty (Uniqlo Heattech).

REUTERS/Denis BalibousePARIS, Dec 9 (Reuters) - France's state-controlled utility EDF said on Friday three of its nuclear reactors were "ramping up" production after repairs, while a power outage tested nerves in Paris and cold weather added to the strain on supplies across Europe. EDF (EDF.PA) is racing to get nuclear reactors back online following work to tackle corrosion problems as the whole of Europe struggles to cope with the impact on its energy supplies of the Ukraine war. Compounding the impact of disrupted energy imports from Russia, a record number of outages at EDF's 56-strong nuclear fleet has taken France's nuclear output to a 30-year low, increasing the country's reliance on other country's depleted energy reserves. Later on Friday, EDF Chief Executive Luc Remont and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire are due to hold a news conference at a nuclear site. POWER CUTSGrid operator RTE, however, says the country's power supplies will be stretched even if EDF manages to stick to its repair schedule, and partial load-shedding measures cannot be ruled out this winter on cold days.

☆ Tax credits for EU electric vehicles to dominate U.S. trade talks
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. Secretary of State Blinken attends the Freedom of Expression Roundtable, in New York, U.S., September 19, 2022. The European Union's top trade official on Monday called for urgent steps before the end of the year to modify a U.S. climate law that would cut off the bloc's electric vehicles from U.S. tax credits, calling the measure discriminatory. EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, speaking to Deutsche Welle before a meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) said the law threatened to undermine progress made by the year-old transatlantic forum. Dombrovskis said the EU was looking at how to make its own subsidies "more efficient" and potential increases in joint U.S.-EU financing. Participants include U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and European Commission Executive Vice Presidents Valdis Dombrovskis and Margrethe Vestager.

☆ Explainer: Why the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act has Europe up in arms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Leigh Thomas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

While EU countries welcome the new commitment to energy transition, they fear the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act will put their companies at an unfair disadvantage. EU countries are worried their companies will suffer because of U.S. tax breaks for components used in renewable energy technologies like electric cars on condition they are made in North America. EU countries consider that 200 billion euros ($207 billion) out of the total is tied to locally produced content provisions that potentially violate World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. However, a riposte from Europe would likely face resistance from more traditionally free trade friendly nations such as the Netherlands and Sweden. France has led calls for Europe to respond with state support of its own for European companies, including through a "buy European act" and large-scale subsidies.

The move angered foreign governments and foreign-owned carmakers who say the change will disqualify a majority of their EV fleets from North American markets. "But it should not have negative side effects on their European allies and the European economy." South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol also spoke to Biden about the issue during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit, according to Yoon’s office. The Treasury is working to define the rules for some $278 billion worth of tax credits on EVs, solar and wind power investments and a range of other technologies. While a number of countries have said the U.S. tax credits likely violate World Trade Organization rules, none have sought to file a formal challenge.

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