Obama phones Putin, warns him to negotiate ahead of Minsk summit February 11, 2015 US President Barack Obama has upped the rhetoric over Ukraine, using a phone call to tell Vladimir Putin to negotiate a peaceful settlement this week. The phone call came after Obama confirmed he had asked officials to look into supplying the Ukrainian government with weapons to fight the Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine. Putin is meeting [...]
Obama plans to tax US companies’ $2tn profits held overseas at 19 per cent closing loophole February 1, 2015 US companies could face a larger than expected tax bill after Barack Obama revealed plans to tax the foreign profits they hold overseas at a rate of 19 per cent. In the US President’s budget, due to be announced this week, a new one-off 14 per cent rate of tax on the estimated $2tn of [...]
State of the Union hints at Obama’s lame duck term January 22, 2015 There has been a growing trend in the State of the Union address the President gives each year. He stands before Congress and begins to alternate between populist appeals, personalised stories, and non-starter policy proposals. This year was no different, although there is a possibility that a couple minor changes may be made. Little of [...]
State of the Union: Barack Obama’s populist tax hikes will hit US investment January 21, 2015 In his State of the Union Address, President Obama proposed raising the top tax rate on capital gains and dividends to 28 per cent from the current rate of 24 per cent. This is up from 15 per cent when Obama took office. Part of the increase came from a 3.8 per cent tax on [...]
Barack Obama’s State of the Union address: “The shadow of crisis has passed” January 21, 2015 It was a triumphant moment for Barack Obama last night, when he stood up to tell his country "the shadow of crisis has passed". His closely-watched State of the Union address followed months of strong growth in the US economy – in stark contrast to its neighbours across the Atlantic. In a speech firmly designed [...]
Did North Korea hack into Sony Pictures? Obama considers putting Pyongyang back on terror list following release of private emails and film script December 21, 2014 In 2008, the White House took North Korea off its terrorism watch list when Pyongyang agreed to a full verification of its nuclear sites. Until that point, the country's covert attitude had led to suspicion in the West that the sites were being used to develop nuclear weapons. But now the US is considering reversing [...]
US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro to end trade embargo after 50 years December 17, 2014 US President Barack Obama has just announced the end of the longest-standing trade sanctions in US history, as part of a ground-breaking thaw in relations with Cuba. The two long-time enemies, which sit on the opposite ends of the political spectrum, have agreed to “open economic and travel ties”, the most significant improvement in [...]
How to destroy Islamic State: What Obama could learn from Wall Street November 17, 2014 TWENTY years ago, I sat on Wall Street as an expectant, newly-hired investment banker, being trained in the arts (although there was some science involved) of corporate finance, bond maths, and company valuations. One phrase from a shouty lecturer remains imprinted on my mind to this day. “Life’s just a stream of cashflows,” he bellowed [...]
G20 summit: Cameron, Obama and world leaders pledge $2 trillion boost and 2.1pc GDP growth by 2018 November 16, 2014 Countries of the G20 have pledged to grow their economies by 2.1 per cent by 2018, adding $2 trillion (£1.25 trillion) to the global economy. The G20 summit in Brisbane was brought to a close by leaders committing to more than 800 reforms aimed at growing their collective GDP, including employment measures, Infrastructure investment, increasing [...]
Lazard head to be Obama’s Bank Manager November 13, 2014 Lazard banker Antonio Weiss is set to become Barack Obama’s top domestic policymaker on banking and finance, as the president’s pick for the US Treasury. Weiss is the global head of investment banking at Lazard. The Senate will get the final say on his appointment.