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☆ 'Focused on the job': France's Le Maire defends writing of steamy novel
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Dominique Vidalon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, May 3 (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said he was fully focused on creating growth and fighting inflation after coming under fire for penning a steamy novel that was published hours before France's credit rating was downgraded by an agency. "I am 100% focused on the job," Le Maire told Franceinfo radio. It is a graphic account of Oskar having sex with a character named Julia that has exposed Le Maire to mocking and criticism. The French edition of the Huffington Post headlined a story "Bruno Le Maire has written about an anus and no one was ready for this." "These are 10 lines out of a 480 pages book," Le Maire shot back when pushed on his writings during the Franceinfo interview.

☆ Resolving Credit Suisse: an alternative history
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Reuters GraphicsThe market shock will be all the more extreme because Credit Suisse doesn’t obviously need more capital. It seems perverse to put taxpayer money on the line while leaving the Credit Suisse bonds untouched. Of the 30 global lenders classed as systemically important by the Financial Stability Board, Credit Suisse is the third-smallest by total assets. It also enables the Swiss National Bank to offer Credit Suisse an open-ended credit line, hopefully ending the bank run. Credit Suisse is suffering from a crisis of confidence brought on by years of mismanagement, rather than a system-wide meltdown.

☆ France to uphold electricity price caps until early 2025, finance minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, April 21 (Reuters) - France's cap on electricity price hikes will stay in place beyond 2023 and likely be phased out over a two-year period, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Friday, arguing power prices haven't "normalised" yet. "Electricity prices haven't returned to normal, so we will take a little more time to withdraw the price cap. I give us another two years until early 2025," Le Maire told broadcaster LCI in an interview. Le Maire, however, said the government will likely end similar household price caps for natural gas at the end of 2023, because gas prices have lowered significantly in recent months after spiking in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In addition to a 15% price hike limitation on energy tariffs, the government has also pressured retailers to guarantee affordable food prices.

☆ How US and allies can find common ground on China
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

That said, the U.S. and its allies have many common values and interests with regards to China. Reuters GraphicsJapan, Australia and other Asian countries also need American support to counter the challenge from a more assertive China. The G7 finance ministers last week took a step to address this concern. But it is unclear how much headway the G7 will make as China has already invested heavily in many poorer countries. It is not just the group’s finance ministers who are seeking to coordinate their approach.

☆ French court to rule on pension age rise as nationwide protests rage on
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Riot police guard the Constitutional Council building during a demonstration against pension reform in central Paris, France, on Thursday, April 13, 2023. French unions are held strikes and protests on Thursday against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform, seeking to maintain pressure on the government before a ruling on the law's constitutionality. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesFrance's Constitutional Council will rule on the legality of President Emmanuel Macron's controversial pension system reforms on Friday, as nationwide protests against raising the retirement age rumble on. While some hope the Constitutional Council will fully reject the bill, many commentators say that is unlikely. Demonstrators march along the vieux port during the 12th day of nationwide strike on pension reform on April 13, 2023 in Marseille, France.

On Wednesday, Group of Seven (G7) finance leaders pledged to give low- and middle-income countries a bigger role in diversifying supply chains to make them more resilient and sustainable. It's one of the key reasons that the IMF predicts the global economy will stay mired in low-growth mode for years. Georgieva said policymakers might have to accept that development of new, more separated supply chains would involve some cost. "Security of supplies and the reliable functioning of global supply chains is taking a new, higher priority seat in economic discussions," she said, citing the impact of both the COVID pandemic and the war in Ukraine. But he drew a distinction between "de-risking" supply chains and "de-coupling" from China.

They reiterated that the financial system is resilient, supported by prompt government responses to the turmoil and reforms implemented after the 2008 financial crisis. "We will continue to closely monitor financial sector developments and stand ready to take appropriate actions to maintain the stability and resilience of the global financial system," the G7 finance leaders said. 'SHARED VALUES'The ministers said that supply chains needed to achieve both efficiency and resilience, helping to maintain macroeconomic stability and make economies more sustainable. The statement cited the need to diversify the "highly concentrated" supply chains for clean energy technologies. JOINT RESEARCHIn addition to working more closely with developing countries on supply chains, the G7 finance officials pledged to encourage joint research and development efforts among G7 members and other "interested parties."

☆ France wants independence, will stay 'strong and reliable' US ally, finance minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, April 12 (Reuters) - French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on Wednesday that France and Europe want to pursue an independent policy path from the United States and China, but intend to be "strong and reliable allies of the United States of America." Asked about Macron's comments, Le Maire said the controversy was "much ado about nothing" because the French president has been advocating such an approach for years. I mean that on the geopolitical issues, on the industrial issues, on the technological issues, we want Europe to be more independent," Le Maire said. He said Macron spoke with U.S. President Joe Biden before visiting China and said the U.S., France and Europe have a "coordinated approach" to relations with China. Le Maire said Macron had asked China to hold more dialogue on Taiwan-related issues.

☆ French lawmakers propose tax credits, subsidies for green industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PARIS, April 3 (Reuters) - France could offer tax breaks and subsidies for producing climate friendly technologies in the country, according to proposals on Monday from lawmakers preparing a green industry bill. The proposals, presented on Monday, included plans for tax credits and subsidies depending on the size of a company's investment or how much it produces in France. So we want to put public money on the table," Le Maire told a conference where the proposals were presented. "We want to look at tax credits as a way to speed up the investments." The lawmakers, business leaders and a finance ministry official said the exact amounts and scope would be hammered out in the coming months when the bill is prepared.

A successful no-confidence vote would fell the government and kill the legislation, which is set to raise the retirement age by two years to 64. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Sunday called the votes "a moment of truth" for the government. Senior officials from the conservative Les Republicains (LR) party have said they will not get behind the no-confidence motions. Le Monde calculated that at least 26 LR lawmakers would need to back the motion for it to succeed. Even if the motions flop, Macron's failure to find enough support in parliament to put his pension system overhaul to a vote has undermined his reformist agenda and weakened his leadership, observers say.

☆ France's Macron faces another test with parliamentary votes on Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( Dominique Vidalon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

However, while Monday's votes may put on display anger at Macron's government, they are unlikely to bring it down. Opposition lawmakers filed two motions of no-confidence in parliament on Friday. Centrist group Liot proposed a multiparty no-confidence motion, which was co-signed by the far-left Nupes alliance. Hours later, France's far-right National Rally party, which has 88 National Assembly members, also filed a no-confidence motion. None of them had sponsored the first no-confidence motion filed on Friday.

☆ "Calm down!" EU finance ministers play down SVB contagion despite banking shares rout
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SummarySummary Companies European bank shares down nearly 10% over two daysMinisters try to soothe markets as investors dump bank stocksFrance's Le Maire: "calm down!" BRUSSELS, March 13 (Reuters) - European finance ministers and the EU's economics commissioner played down the contagion risk of the collapse of U.S. Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) while European bank shares saw their biggest rout since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At the start of a Eurogroup finance ministers meeting in Brussels, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire called on markets to "calm down" and European Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni stressed he did not see a risk of contagion for European banks following SVB's collapse (SIVB.O). France's Le Maire and his Belgian counterpart Vincent Van Peteghem also said they saw no specific concern for their country's banks, as investors were dumping their financial institutions' shares. Belgian finance minister Vincent Van Peteghem also poured oil on the waters.

☆ French government says has deal on anti-inflation shopping basket
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Dominique Vidalon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The discounts are expected to cost retailers "hundreds of millions of euros", Le Maire said. From June, retailers and government officials will reassess the situation and may ask large consumer goods suppliers to re-negotiate prices with retailers, he added. French annual inflation rose unexpectedly to 7.2% in February from 7.0% in January, partly as a result of higher food prices, preliminary figures from the INSEE statistics body found. INSEE has forecast that food price inflation would remain at 13% for the first half of the year. The basket of anti-inflation groceries is the government's latest effort to show political support to lower-income citizens.

IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd (INGL.NS), is also comparing the A320neo with the Boeing 737 MAX as it weighs a major new order for narrow-body jets, they added. The split between wide- and narrow-body jets was not immediately clear. An IndiGo representative told Reuters the airline is constantly in talks with manufacturers as it plans its next phase of growth. IndiGo, which counts a 55% share of the domestic market, is widely expected to maintain Airbus as its supplier of narrow-body jets to squeeze out further economies of scale. Industry publication CAPA reported last month that IndiGo was looking at around 500 jets as Air India closed its own deal.

☆ Yellen backs fully financed IMF program for Ukraine by end-March -U.S. Treasury
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday backed completion of a "fully financed and appropriately conditioned" program for Ukraine with the International Monetary Fund by the end of March, Treasury said in a statement. Yellen's comments reflect growing momentum toward agreement on a new IMF financing package for Ukraine, coming days after IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva also visited Kyiv. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters on Friday that European finance chiefs have endorsed a $15.5 billion IMF loan program for Ukraine, a sum in line with that given last week by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Yellen spoke with Georgieva before leaving Washington to attend the Group of 20 meeting in India, and senior Treasury officials were in daily touch with IMF counterparts about the Ukrainian program, a Treasury official said. Yellen and Treasury officials also had conversations at the G20 with counterparts about an IMF program for Ukraine, the official said.

☆ France says sanctions against Russia are 'very efficient' as more are being considered
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

watch nowFrance's finance minister told CNBC that additional sanctions are being considered against Russia for its unjustified war against Ukraine, as current measures have proven to be "very efficient." When you are looking at the assets that have been frozen — more than $58 billion, you can say that sanctions against Russia are efficient," said the finance minister. Bruno Le Maire French finance ministerThe European Union recently ramped up its oil sanctions against Russia. The Group of 7 implemented a $60 price cap on Russian oil on Dec. 5. Reuters reported that the G-7 economies agreed to review the level of the price cap on exports of Russian oil in March.

BENGALURU, Feb 25 (Reuters) - G20 finance chiefs have been unable to reach a consensus on describing the war in Ukraine and are likely to end a meeting in India on Saturday without a joint communique, delegates said. 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. Host India is also pressing the meeting to avoid using the word "war" in any communique, G20 officials have told Reuters. "We need absolute clarity, this is a war initiated by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin," he said. A senior G20 source said negotiations over the communique were difficult, with Russia and China blocking proposals made by Western countries.

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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

Participants at the meeting, however, are likely to focus on the war in Ukraine. The G20 bloc includes the wealthy G7 democracies, as well as Russia, China, India, Brazil and Saudi Arabia. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told Reuters that G20 financial leaders must condemn Russia's aggression against Ukraine and that Europe was working on new sanctions against Moscow. G7 chair Japan's finance minister, Sunichi Suzuki, told reporters that the group would closely monitor the effectiveness of sanctions and "take further actions as needed". German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said the pressure on Russia must be kept high to "completely isolate" Russia's economy.

☆ 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 rules out spending 'more and more money' as Europe hopes to avoid subsidy race with the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

European Union officials have been embroiled in tense discussions over how to make the region more competitive in the wake of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, also referred to as IRA. The American legislation was approved by U.S. lawmakers in August and includes $369 billion in spending on climate and energy policies. But, according to Christian Lindner, the German finance minister, the answer for the 27-member EU bloc to boost competitiveness is not via more public spending. "We need a better quality of public sector investments, not more quantity of public sector investments," he said. "Belgium is a small market, very open economy, Germany is a big market.

☆ 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.

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