Cameron and Merkel gear up for showdown over EU treaty change February 26, 2014 DAVID Cameron is being urged to confront the tricky topic of EU negotiation in a clash with German chancellor Angela Merkel today, as the two politicians meet in London. Merkel will address parliament today before joining the Prime Minister for lunch, where she is expected to insist that while reform in Brussels is necessary, the EU [...]
Why Merkel’s EU reform shopping list isn’t enough February 26, 2014 GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives in London today on an official visit that many are heralding as the start of David Cameron’s pitch to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU. Unlike Francois Hollande’s trip to an Oxfordshire pub last month, when the French President said he wouldn’t support treaty change, initial reports suggest Merkel is [...]
Merkel told to abandon green subsidies February 26, 2014 Angela Merkel should abolish renewable energy subsidies due to their lack of cost-effectiveness, according to a report from the Expert Commission on Research and Innovation that will be presented to the chancellor on Wednesday. The commission took aim at the Green Renewable Energy Act (EEG), which cost €22bn (£18bn) in subsidies last year. The body [...]
Asian shares flat as investors look to Yellen testimony February 26, 2014 Asian markets are flatlining in the wake of a relatively calm day on Wall Street and a lack of significant economic data. Investors are remaining cautious ahead of Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen's testimony on Thursday. Markets will also be looking to whether the People's Bank of China will undertake further market reforms and seek [...]
Zucker-bore is set on pushing his Internet.org February 24, 2014 THE TECH geeks currently nerding it out over at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona couldn’t believe their luck that just five days after Facebook splurged $19bn on Whatsapp, the connectivity wunderkind himself Mark Zuckerberg delivered the keynote speech last night. The Facebook chief exec showed up in his trademark jeans and T-shirt and like some [...]
Bottom Line: Zuckerberg takes centre stage in Barcelona February 23, 2014 FROM THE MWC BARCELONA ONCE a year, everyone who’s anyone in mobile undertakes a pilgrimage of sorts to Barcelona, for Mobile World Congress (MWC). Think Davos or the Sundance Film Festival but rather than politicians or movie directors, the congress draws more than 75,000 attendees from the mobile industry; executives, developers and analysts. This week [...]
What Fed chair Yellen was saying the day after Lehman went bust February 21, 2014 Back in September 2008, now Fed chair Janet Yellen attended a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee as an alternate member. That meeting came the day after Lehman Brothers went bust. Here's what she had to say: During the past several weeks, my head office and Branch directors have become decidedly more pessimistic about [...]
The 7 issues Clegg and Farage must tackle in EU debate February 21, 2014 As Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage prepare to go head to head over Britain's membership of the European Union, LBC listeners will be waiting eagerly to see which arguments the two men use to land their best blows. In terms of what is most important for Britain regarding EU membership, here are seven of key [...]
Game on – Farage to take on Clegg over EU February 21, 2014 Nigel Farage has accepted Nick Clegg's challenge to debate Britain's membership of the European Union. Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari show, Farage said: I have absolutely no choice I've got say yes. He added: I will do it with Nick Clegg, but the other two, I'd like to see them there as well. In the [...]
Nick Clegg challenges Farage to EU debate February 20, 2014 The deputy prime minister has thrown down the gauntlet to the leader of UKIP Nigel Farage for a "public, open debate" on the UK's membership of the European Union. Speaking on his weekly LBC radio programme Nick Clegg said "If Nigel Farage is either listening or looking at this programme I hope he would take [...]