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☆ It Might Be Time to Consider Timisoara
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Andy Trincia | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Families stroll and savor gelato cones as bike couriers whiz by. Pensioners relax on benches near manicured flower beds while earbud-wearing hipsters walk dogs and children chase pigeons by a fountain laden with bronze fish. The scene in Victory Square in Timisoara, Romania, is quintessentially European — modern meets Old World. Romanians and history buffs know Timisoara for its leading role in the bloody Romanian revolution in December 1989, when local protests set off a nationwide wave that toppled dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. As I gaze at vibrant Victory Square, it’s hard to envision 100,000 anti-Communist protesters crammed together during those fateful days.

Persons: Nicolae Ceausescu Organizations: Pensioners, National Opera House, Metropolitan Orthodox Cathedral, Communist Locations: Timisoara, Romania

☆ The Netherlands named the best place to retire — here's how other countries compare
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Sophie Kiderlin | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Retirement income systems vary in different countries, and the U.S. does not come out on top. The additional concerns make one thing even more important: retirement income systems. They have some of the strongest retirement systems, according to the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index for 2023, which was published Tuesday. A total of 47 different retirement systems were assessed in the report. Retirement systems in the latter have "major weaknesses," the report said.

Organizations: Mercer CFA, Global, U.S Locations: U.S, Netherlands, Iceland, Denmark, Israel, Kazakhstan, Colombia, France, Spain, Canada , New Zealand, Germany, Mexico, Indonesia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, India, Philippines, Argentina

☆ Attacks in France in recent years
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here are some other attacks that have taken place in France in recent years:- June 9, 2023 - A Syrian national wounded four children and two pensioners in a knife attack in the Alpine town of Annecy. - Oct. 29, 2020 - An attacker with a knife killed three people and wounded several others at a church in the southern city of Nice. - March 23, 2018 - A gunman killed three people in southwestern France after holding up a car, firing on police and taking hostages in a supermarket. - July 26, 2016 - Two attackers killed a priest and seriously wounded another hostage in a church in northern France before being shot dead by police. - Nov. 13, 2015 - Paris was rocked by multiple gun and bomb attacks on entertainment sites around the city, in which 130 people were killed and 368 wounded.

Persons: Lycee Gambetta, Carnot, Pascal Rossignol, Emmanuel Macron, Samuel Paty, Prophet Mohammad, Charlie Hebdo, Mickael Harpon, Francois Hollande, Frenchman, Charlie Hebdo’s, Michel Rose, Frances Kerry Organizations: Lycee, REUTERS, Rights, Syrian, Police, Paris police, Security, Islamic, Islamic State, Belgian, Thomson Locations: Arras, France, Alpine, Annecy, Reims, Nord, Paris, Kurdish, Nice, Pakistan, Islamic State, Tunisian, State

☆ KPMG hit with record fine for 'textbook failure' in Carillion audits
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-12 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) said the number, range, and seriousness of the deficiencies in the audits of Carillion were exceptional, resulting in the watchdog's highest ever fine. On occasions, KPMG audit partner Peter Meehan told his team to record his review of working papers without having done a review, the FRC said. Meehan, no longer with KPMG, was fined 350,000 pounds after a discount to reflect his cooperation and admission of failures. It would have been 30 million pounds, but was discounted due to admissions and co-operation by the auditor. KPMG was fined 14.4 million pounds last year after providing false and misleading information to the FRC during spot checks on audits of Carillion and outsourcing firm Regenersis.

Persons: Reinhard Krause, Carillion, Richard Moriarty, Moriarty, Peter Meehan, Meehan, Jon Holt, Holt, Huw Jones, Sharon Singleton, Mark Potter Organizations: KPMG, Canary, REUTERS, BHS, Council, FRC, PwC, Deloitte, EY, Thomson Locations: London, Britain

☆ Poland's toxic politics is splitting the country in two, one family at a time
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

“We always end up talking about politics,” Karolina says with an exaggerated weariness. An increasingly toxic politics has polluted kitchens and dining rooms in every region of the country. But the negativity of the country’s politics – arguments echoed each hour on state TV, which is almost always turned on – has worn her down, she says. The efforts sparked years of legal challenges, protests and international confrontations – and hardened the Polish public. Asked whether Polish politics is more divided than they remember it, three generations of this family explode in agreement.

Persons: Karolina, “, – Stella, Patrycja, – Stella’s, Stanisława –, ” Karolina, ”, Stanisława, Stella Martynowska, Rob Picheta, PiS, –, ” Stella, Rob Picheta “, “ That’s, Stella, billows, Piotr Buras, ” Women’s, Donald Tusk, patsy, Tusk, Lech Walesa, Poland’s, Jarosław Kaczyński, ” “, ” Jacek Kucharczyk, Ewa Majewska, I’m, Igor Konior, Konior, Wanda, … I’m, ” Lucyna, Aleksandra Lukasiewicz, Lukasiewicz, “ It’s, “ We’re, ” Aleksandra Lukasiewicz, they’re, they’ve, Michal, I’ll, gesturing, ” Patrycja Organizations: Poland CNN, Soviet, Justice, CNN, European Council, Foreign Relations, Civic Coalition, Warsaw’s Institute of Public Affairs, Tusk’s Civic Coalition, PiS, Union Locations: Warsaw, Poland, Rob Picheta Poland, Polish, Hungary, Russia, Western Europe, Brussels, Berlin, Lublin, “, Rotterdam, Łódź, Bonita

That's despite Congress recently passing a short-term funding package that averted a U.S. government shutdown but dropped $6 billion in aid to Ukraine. Political Cartoons View All 1199 ImagesOfficials from the Washington-based IMF also said Ukraine’s economy was showing surprising resilience despite widespread damage from Russia’s war. Ukraine is “making good progress” on passing legislation on a specialized anti-corruption prosecutor, said IMF Ukraine mission chief Gavin Gray. IMF loan agreements with Ukraine before the war had stalled due to lack of progress in curbing corruption and the influence of politically influential business moguls. ___This story has been corrected to show that the IMF loan package is over four years, not three.

Persons: It's, “, Biden, Uma Ramakrishnan, Gavin Gray, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Nathan Epstein, ___ McHugh Organizations: —, International Monetary Fund, Institute, IMF, Ukraine, Bills Locations: KYIV, Ukraine, United States, U.S, Kiel, Germany, Kyiv, Washington, Ukrainian, Frankfurt

[1/2] A general view of Polish shoe retailer CCC shop is pictured, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Warsaw, Poland, September 8, 2020. "Let me tell you, there was a time when I couldn't even afford to buy salmon, for example. Buczek has benefited from the fact that PiS has raised her pension as part of hefty welfare spending moves which, opinion surveys show, are easing Poles' concerns over high inflation. The Polish minimum wage, already the highest in central Europe, will rise by nearly a fifth next year. With many houseowners on variable loan rates, Warsaw recently extended a scheme for mortgage repayment holidays into next year.

Persons: Kacper, Jadwiga Buczek, Buczek, PiS, Steffen Dyck, Adam Glapinski, Fitch, Federico Barriga Salazar, Andrzej Kuzniak, Moody's Dyck, Kacper Pempel, Jan Strupczewski, Gergely, Mark John, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Justice, European Union, European Commission, National Bank of, Sovereign Risk, Moody's, International Monetary Fund, Civic Coalition, Thomson Locations: Warsaw, Poland, WARSAW, Poland's, Europe, NBP, Brussels

Benefiting from the highest interest rates since 2008, pension funds are better funded to meet future payouts than they have been in years. Because insurers hold a lot less government debt than pension funds, favouring higher-return assets such as corporate debt, they are expected to sell some of the gilts they receive. It is selling 240 billion pounds of debt this year, a record, save for 2020-21. Helped by the pension fund demand of past years, Britain's average debt life is around 15 years, more than double the U.S. and Germany's. Britain has already started skewing its funding towards shorter debt this year, citing high borrowing needs, a move investors reckon also reflects declining pension fund appetite.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, BoE, gilts, Chris Jeffery, Lane Clark, Peacock, Barry Kenneth, Van Lanschot, Arif Saad, Craig, Owen Davies, LGIM's Jeffery, Yoruk, Carolyn Cohn, Dhara Ranasinghe, Toby Chopra Organizations: REUTERS, Bank of England, Legal, General Investment Management, Fund, Investment, Royal London Asset Management, Investors, Yoruk Bahceli, Thomson Locations: gilts, Germany's, Britain, Amsterdam, London

HANGZHOU, China, Sept 21 (Reuters) - China hopes to make a splash with the Asian Games, opening on Saturday, but nationwide excitement has been muted as the economy sputters and some locals question the cost of the sporting extravaganza. Organisers this week expressed confidence in holding a "magnificent" games, thanks to President Xi Jinping’s "important instructions" and great, broad-based efforts. "People care more about their own lives, and the Asian Games are not on the top of their list of concerns," Yan said. [1/4]A woman poses for pictures in front of statues of the three mascots of the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022, near the Hangzhou Asian Games Village, in Zhejiang province, China September 20, 2023. "There's a saying online: 'The Hangzhou city government, when encountering even a dog, wishes they could catch it and give it a fresh coat of paint'."

Persons: Xi Jinping’s, Xi, Bashar al, Assad, John Yan, Yan, Jiang, It's, Mark Dreyer, Tingshu Wang, Wu Lili, Zhang, Jules Boycoff, it's, Dylan Martinez, Martin Quin Pollard, Xihao Jiang, William Mallard Organizations: Asian Games, COVID, Games, Sports, Beijing Olympics, Asian, Hangzhou, REUTERS, Pacific University, Thomson Locations: HANGZHOU, China, Hangzhou, Beijing, Zhejiang province, Zhejiang, Shanghai, U.S ., Oregon, West

☆ Higher pay makes life harder for Treasury and BoE
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England, attends the Bank of England Monetary Policy Report Press Conference, at the Bank of England, London, Britain, February 2, 2023. Yui Mok/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 12 (Reuters Breakingviews) - UK employees and pensioners can raise a glass. Average total pay, including bonuses, rose at an annual rate of 8.5% in the three months to July, faster than inflation. The average state pension will rise from 156.2 pounds to 169.5 pounds per week, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and finance minister Jeremy Hunt may, however, be crying into their beer.

Persons: Andrew Bailey, Yui Mok, Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, BoE, Bailey, Francesco Guerrera, George Hay, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Bank of England, Press, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, Institute for Fiscal Studies, X, UBS, Warner Bros Discovery, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Asia

☆ Argentina offers financial aid to crisis-hit workers and pensioners
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Eliana Raszewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Argentine one hundred peso bills are displayed in this picture illustration taken September 3, 2019. Massa said workers will receive 400 billion pesos in loans, while self-employed workers will be offered six months of tax relief and those on food benefits will receive additional stipends. "The goal is that every economic sector receives some state support," Massa said. Meanwhile, tensions have risen and a series of lootings have taken place across the country. ($1 = 350 Argentine pesos)Reporting by Eliana Raszewsi; Writing by Lizbeth Diaz and Sarah Morland; editing by Diane Craft and Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Agustin Marcarian, Sergio Massa, Massa, Javier Milei, Patricia Bullrich, Eliana Raszewsi, Lizbeth Diaz, Sarah Morland, Diane Craft, Chris Reese Organizations: REUTERS, Sunday, International Monetary Fund, South, Thomson Locations: BUENOS AIRES

☆ Russia’s ‘August curse’ sees war come home
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Matthew Chance | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Moscow CNN —In years past, the month of August was often greeted in Russia with a degree of caution, even alarm. Russians spoke in whispered tones of their “August curse” to explain the unusually high number of deadly accidents, terrorist attacks, or outbreaks of war. For a long time now that curse seemed to have been lifted and almost forgotten, reducing the month to just another hot summer interlude. In the Black Sea, Russia’s military and commercial fleets have come under attack from Ukrainian naval drones this month, threatening Russian supply and trade routes. There has been a strict crackdown on dissent in Russia, particularly around criticisms of the war in Ukraine.

Persons: We’re, ”, Russia’s Organizations: Moscow CNN —, CNN, Kremlin Locations: Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Sergiev

☆ Disney deja vu? DeSantis may be picking a fight with another business that did something he doesn't like
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

DeSantis has feuded with Disney for over a year, but now seems to have set his sights on Bud Light. DeSantis has directed an inquiry into AB InBev after Bud Light partnered with a trans influencer. DeSantis said Disney had "crossed the line" and that the state would "fight back." Disney sued DeSantis for retaliation and violating the company's First Amendment rights — a charge the governor and the state has denied. It's notable that DeSantis is taking issue with the financial fallout Bud Light has experienced as a result of partnering with Mulvaney — when DeSantis himself encouraged consumers to boycott the brand.

Persons: DeSantis, Bud, Bud Light, Ron DeSantis, didn't, Disney, influencer Dylan Mulvaney, there's, Mulvaney Organizations: Disney, InBev, Bud, Service, Gov, Parental, Fox News Locations: Wall, Silicon, Florida

Ron DeSantis has told his government to investigate whether Bud Light's parent company breached its duties to shareholders as a conservative backlash continues to rage over the beer brand's deal with transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Shares of AB InBev are down about 2% this year, while the broader market is up. Sales of Bud Light have plummeted in the wake of conservative uproar and a boycott over the Mulvaney partnership. The firm also found Bud Light sales are down by about 25% from last year. Mulvaney has criticized Bud Light for not standing by her during the boycott.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Bud Light's, influencer Dylan Mulvaney, DeSantis, Lamar Taylor, Bud Light, Bump, Bud, there's, Florida's, Disney, Donald Trump's, Taylor, Mulvaney, I've Organizations: Florida, United, Israel Summit, Crystal Gateway Marriott, Florida Gov, Republican, State Board of Administration, SBA's, InBev, Constellation Brands, Especial, Anheuser, Busch InBev, CNBC, Fox, Disney, Trump, GOP, NBC Locations: Arlington , Virginia, U.S, Florida

☆ Pension funds reform: Britain is banking on this $3 trillion cash cow to revive its economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —The UK economy badly needs a boost — and the government hopes the nation’s vast pension savings might deliver one. All UK workplace pension plans offer default funds, which savers who don’t choose their own investment strategy are automatically enrolled into. Measures to tap pension fund cash come at a crucial time for an economy suffering from stubbornly high inflation, depressed investment and feeble growth. UK pension funds’ exposure to domestic stock markets has fallen even more sharply: from 53% in 1997 to 6% in 2021. The combination of measures is likely to have “far-reaching” effects on the types of assets pension funds invest in, easing companies’ access to the capital they need to grow, he added.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Mercer, ” Hunt, Hunt, “, ”, Nicholas Lyons, Julia Hoggett, Nigel Peaple Organizations: London CNN, Aviva, London, European, London Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, EU, chipmaker ARM, House, of London Corporation, City of, Financial, New Financial, Pension, Lifetime Savings Association Locations: London, Britain, Frankfurt, Paris, New York, United States, United Kingdom, Edinburgh, City of London

☆ Opinion: Welcome to the ‘looking-glass’ world of Putin’s Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Opinion Daniel Treisman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Welcome to the weird, through-the-looking-glass world of Vladimir Putin’s Russia, where everything is its opposite and almost nothing is what it seems. That may hold as well for the still-murky fate of last month’s mutineer, Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner group. Daniel TreismanWorse yet for the Kremlin, Prigozhin’s claim — coming from a diehard nationalist — will seem quite believable to many Russians. In this looking-glass world, the president has no time for politics. After the war started, Navalny offered a 15-point program for ending it and rebuilding a democratic Russia.

Persons: Daniel Treisman, “, ”, Vladimir Putin’s, mutineer, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Alexander Lukashenko, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Prigozhin, Putin, Alexey Navalny, Alexander Zemlianichenko, Orwell, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Emmanuel Macron, Navalny, Angela Merkel Organizations: University of California, CNN, Russian Federal Penitentiary Service, Russian, Putin, Kremlin, Twitter, Facebook Locations: Los Angeles, Moscow, Belarus, Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Belarusian, Minsk, St . Petersburg, Kremlin, Russian, Melekhovo, Vladimir, Russia, Kara, Rostov, Sochi, Ukraine, Dagestan, Crimea, “

☆ Britain to unleash $64 billion in pension funding for tech startups after missing out on Arm IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Among the measures introduced by the government was an agreement among the country's largest defined contribution pension providers to allocate 5% of assets in their default funds to unlisted equities by 2030. This could unlock up to £50 billion (roughly $64 billion) of investment in high-growth firms if all other defined contribution pension schemes follow suit, Hunt said. Meanwhile, average earners' pension pots could rise up to 12% to as much as £16,000 with defined contribution pension schemes committing to more effective investments, he added. Hunt also committed to an "intermittent trading venue" that makes it possible for public market investors to trade shares of unlisted firms. This would act as a halfway house for privately-traded firms looking for alternative ways of raising capital to public listings.

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Hunt Organizations: Britain, Finance, CNBC, Treasury Department Locations: Europe, Silicon

Several countries, including Venezuela, Argentina and Sudan have been saddled with skyrocketing costs for decades. In advanced economies overall, inflation averaged 2.4% since the 1990s – the earliest aggregate data the IMF has available. In 2022, Venezuelan inflation was still 310%, the highest in the world that year. “Because everything will be more expensive tomorrow, people spend their money as they receive it, increasing the inflation,” Anselmi told CNN. Using US currency for transactions is common in Venezuela, as people don’t trust the volatile local currency, according to Guevara.

Persons: Z, Bolivar, bolivars, Andrés Guevara, bolivar, ”, “, Nelson Sánchez, Sanchez, Emiliano Anselmi, Luis Robayo, ” Anselmi, Guevara, Gaby Oraa, Anselmi Organizations: CNN, Bureau of Labor Statistics, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Federal Reserve, European Union, Pensioners, Andrés Bello Catholic University, Getty, U.S Locations: United States, Venezuela, Argentina, Sudan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, US, Caracas, Buenos Aires, AFP, Venezuelan

☆ UK's Hunt to detail plans to steer pensions into growth investment
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt will spell out on Monday long-awaited plans to encourage pension funds and other asset managers to invest in high-growth sectors, the Treasury said on Sunday. But the pensions industry has said it opposes mandatory investment quotas. Financial services lobby group TheCityUK said government policy should aim for pension funds to invest in growth and in turn deliver higher returns. "On average, Australian and Canadian pension funds currently provide better performance. Hunt was also expected to reiterate that bringing down high inflation remained his priority, saying there could be "no sustainable growth without first eliminating the inflation that deters investment and erodes consumer confidence".

Persons: Jeremy Hunt, Hunt, TheCityUK, Muvija, William Schomberg, Helen Popper Our Organizations: Treasury, Reuters, Financial Times, Thomson Locations: British, London's

☆ Germany's economy is stagnating. And these 5 charts show how
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Hannah Ward-Glenton | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

But a faltering gross domestic product isn't the only figure that suggests that the German economy is stuttering. Germany's inflation rate is expected to hit 6.4% for June, according to provisional data from the German statistics office, which is an increase from the 6.1% recorded for May. Expect maybe for the second half that inflation might come down to a certain extent," Joachim Nagel, president of Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, told CNBC in March. "What the fiscal authority can do in the face of high inflation is to alleviate the pain of inflation on the most fragile citizens," he said. The German economy has already recouped half of the losses in terms of trade incurred over the last two years and the energy crisis," he added.

Persons: Joachim Nagel, Sylvain Broyer, Volker Wieland, Veronika Grimm, Alexander, Universität, Broyer, China's, Robert Habeck Organizations: Anadolu Agency, Getty, CNBC, European Central Bank, Energy, Goethe University, Allianz, Reuters, Friedrich, country's Locations: Germany, Europe, Ukraine, Frankfurt, Universität Erlangen, Nürnberg, China, Beijing

☆ Insight: Young Russian lawyers step up to defend anti-war protesters
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Lucy Papachristou | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

"I have always had a keen sense of justice," Gominova told a Reuters reporter based in Poland. "Defending protesters in court is my version of protest," said Gominova, who began representing anti-war activists in court almost immediately after the invasion. With numerous civil society groups disbanded by the state, many other lawyers also defend anti-war activists independently, but it is hard to determine how many. Several Russian lawyers have attracted the attention – and condemnation – of authorities, not only for defending critics of the invasion but also for expressing their own opposition. Before the Ukraine conflict, Gominova, in St Petersburg, worked mainly on civil cases ranging from family disputes to consumer rights.

Persons: Young, acquittals, Sofia Gominova, Gominova, Violetta Fitsner, Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Kara, Murza, Russia's, Evgenia Kara, Vladimir, Vadim Prokhorov –, Putin –, Prokhorov, Dmitry Talantov, Ivan Safronov, Maria Bontsler, Anastasia Rudenko, George Orwell's, Yuri Mikhailov, Mikhailov, Filipp Lebedev, Gabrielle Tetrault, Farber, Mike Collett, White, Mark Trevelyan, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Russia, Ukraine Lawyers, Petersburg Bar Association, Moscow Bar, Russia's, Ministry, Russian Federation, Reuters, U.S, of America, Facebook, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, acquittals Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, Poland, St . Petersburg, St, Petersburg, Moscow, Ivanovo, Russian, St Petersburg, Tbilisi, Geneva

☆ Sri Lanka parliament approves domestic debt restructuring plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Uditha Jayasinghe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

COLOMBO, July 1 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's parliament approved a domestic debt restructuring plan on Saturday that is crucial to continue a $2.9 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). To put its debt on a sustainable footing and pass an IMF review, Sri Lanka unveiled a much-anticipated domestic debt restructuring framework last Thursday that seeks to rework part of the island nation's $42 billion domestic debt. "This debt restructuring plan is essential for Sri Lanka to meet the target set by the IMF agreement to reduce debt from the current 128% of GDP to 95% of GDP by 2023," State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe told parliament. Implementing the domestic debt plan is also crucial to push forward negotiations with bondholders and key bilateral creditors China, Japan and India. Sri Lanka aims to finalise debt restructuring talks by September.

Persons: Finance Shehan Semasinghe, Sajith Premadasa, Shivangi Acharya, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: International Monetary Fund, Sri, Finance, Thomson Locations: COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, India, New Delhi

☆ Japan’s economic scars might blind it to inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Pete Sweeney | Thomson Reuters | Asia Economics Editor Pete Sweeney Joined Reuters Breakingviews In Hong Kong In September Previously He Served As Reuters' Chief Correspondent For China Economy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Investors worry about market ructions if Ueda hikes rates now but there is another risk: that he waits too long. Reuters GraphicsUeda’s inaction – and the domestic markets’ positive response – have bought him time to focus on evaluating macroeconomic fundamentals, particularly inflation. The country only emerged from a decades-long deflationary rut relatively recently, so local economists, executives and consumers are unused to worrying about consumer prices rising too fast. The government’s latest draft of its long-term economic plan, seen by Reuters on June 2, remains focused on eradicating Japan's “long-held deflationary mindset”. "We expect inflation to quite clearly slow below 2%" toward the middle of the current fiscal year, Ueda told parliament.

Persons: Kazuo Ueda, Haruhiko Kuroda, Ueda, ’, –, Richard Koo, Shinzo Abe, Francesco Guerrera, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, Bank of Japan, Nikkei, Nasdaq, Bank for International, Toyota, Toshiba, Black Monday, Japan Inc, International Monetary Fund, of, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Japan, United States, U.S, Great, China, Europe, Germany, Italy, of Japan’s

☆ Italians are furious over soaring pasta prices and some are threatening a macaroni strike
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Grocery prices in Europe have been on the rise. Britain — where food inflation has reached 45-year highs — is discussing a similar move. In comparison, U.S. food prices rose 7.7% in April from a year earlier, 8.2% in Japan and 9.1% in Canada. Such controls could actually make food inflation worse by increasing demand from shoppers but discouraging new supply, he said. "The current food price shock does not warrant such intervention," Shearing said.

Persons: —, Furio Truzzi, Borey, Helen Barnard, Anna Sjovorr, hasn't, that's, Neil Shearing, Shearing, SWG pollsters, Carlo Compellini, Marie Antoinette, Roberto Dipiazza Organizations: Service, Shoppers, European Union, Trussell, European Central Bank, U.S . Federal, Capital Economics Locations: Europe, Rome, U.S, Japan, Ukraine, Paris, Britain, Hungary, Croatia, Spain, United Kingdom, London, Canada, Trieste, Italian

☆ Annecy gathers in support of knife attack victims
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, June 11 (Reuters) - Citizens of the southeastern French town of Annecy gathered on Sunday in support of victims of the knife attack which gravely wounded four toddlers and two pensioners on Thursday. Annecy Mayor Francois Astorg told the crowd the attack was "a tragedy touching our city, the country and the whole world. The suspect, a Syrian refugee, is under formal investigation for attempted murder and was placed in detention on Saturday. The injured are no longer in critical condition, Annecy Prosecutor Line Bonnet-Mathis told a news conference on Saturday, though the four children remained in hospital. The stabbing was the first violent attack targeting children since 2012, when gunman Mohamed Merah shot three Jewish children and one of their parents, and then three soldiers, in Toulouse.

Persons: Annecy Mayor Francois Astorg, Astorg, Mathis, Mohamed Merah, Dominique Vidalon, David Holmes Organizations: Annecy Mayor, Annecy Prosecutor, Thomson Locations: French, Annecy, Syrian, Toulouse

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