Europe

Munich football boss’s Swiss account becomes German political football

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday distanced herself from Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness, whose Swiss bank account and alleged tax dodge has poured fuel on a heated election-year debate. 'Many people in Germany are now disappointed in Uli Hoeness,' said Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert about the football club chief. The 61-year-old football legend voluntarily disclosed a Swiss bank account in January and was working closely with investigators on a tax evasion probe. At a Bayern Munich press conference, journalists were told that the event would be immediately scrapped if anyone asked about the tax issue." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMunich football boss’s Swiss account becomes German political football

Greece’s great fire sale

"The idea of snapping up a Greek island certainly has its appeal. In March the Emir of Qatar bought six for £7 million, while a Russian oligarch bought Skorpios – previously owned by the Onassis family – earlier this month for a reported £65 million, as a present for his 24-year-old daughter Ekaterina Rybolovlev. To that end, the royal palace on Corfu, where Prince Philip was born, is now also for sale. So too is a large coastal estate which, the government boasts on its website, is next door to land owned by the Rothschild banking dynasty. Officials refuse to discuss prices, saying that it depends on offers and the development proposals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreece’s great fire sale

German Tax Officials Launch Nationwide Raids With Stolen Swiss Bank Data

"A total of five German states clubbed together to buy the CD for €4 million from an anonymous informant, said sources close to the Rhineland-Palatinate government, which arranged the deal. The information was distributed to tax authorities across Germany some six weeks ago. Tuesday's raids only mark the start of an extensive investigation that could last until the end of the year. Authorities expect that the media coverage of the raids will prompt many tax evaders to turn themselves in to authorities so that they can lessen their penalties. The current raids affected customers with accounts in Credit Suisse, the former Clariden Leu AG and Neue Aargauer Bank." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGerman Tax Officials Launch Nationwide Raids With Stolen Swiss Bank Data

Vast Greek war claims against Germany explode like a ‘time-bomb’

"Premier Antonis Samaras held a special meeting with the foreign minister Dimitris Avramopoulos and other key officials this morning to limit the diplomatic damage from the 80-page report. The document – stamped 'Aporito', or secret – was drafted by a panel of experts appointed by the Greek finance ministry and delivered to officials last month. The alleged claim against Germany reaches a grand total of €162bn, including €108bn for rebuilding the country’s infrastructure after the Nazi occupation from 1941 to 1944. This is 80pc of Greek GDP." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVast Greek war claims against Germany explode like a ‘time-bomb’

A Ton Of Gold Bricks: What Capital Flight Looks Like In Italy

"Curious why so little has been said about cash flowing out of Italy's banks, especially when even UniCredit's CEO today proudly warned everyone he is all for confiscating uninsured deposits as long as 'everyone else is doing it' - and no, he is not kidding, so when it does happen, nobody will be able to say they weren't warned. Maybe it is because Italian cash is actually not leaving the country at all. Instead, real 'wealth' is departing the boot-shaped nation, quietly and under the radar, as fast as it can in another form: gold. Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Ton Of Gold Bricks: What Capital Flight Looks Like In Italy

Czechs unrelated to Chechens, diplomats remark after Boston blast

"Make no mistake: the Czech Republic is not Chechnya. That's a distinction the Czech ambassador to the United States wants to make crystal clear after news emerged that the two suspects in Boston Marathon bombing had Chechen origins. 'The Czech Republic and Chechnya are two very different entities - the Czech Republic is a Central European country; Chechnya is a part of the Russian Federation,' Petr Gandalovic, the Czech ambassador, wrote on the embassy's website on Friday. The unusual statement followed a series of Twitter messages from people who apparently struggled to distinguish the two places with similar names." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCzechs unrelated to Chechens, diplomats remark after Boston blast

Greece to sack 15,000 state workers in next two years to unlock bail-out cash

"Greece is in deep recession, GDP has contracted by 22pc since 2008 and unemployment has spiralled to 27pc as the Greek government has implemented deeply unpopular EU-IMF austerity measures or 'fiscal adjustment' in return for loans. 'Our society has reached its limits. But finally we are meeting our targets and the programme is being improved,' said Antonis Samaras, the Prime Minister, in a nationally televised address. 'Soon, Greece will not depend on the memorandums. Greece will have growth, it will be competitive and outward-looking. In other words, we will have a strong Greece.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreece to sack 15,000 state workers in next two years to unlock bail-out cash

China Takes Another Stab At The Dollar, Launches Currency Swap Line With France

"China has now launched yet another feeler to see what the apetite toward its currency is, this time in the heart of the Eurozone: Paris. According to China Daily, as reported by Reuters, 'France intends to set up a currency swap line with China to make Paris a major offshore yuan trading hub in Europe, competing against London.' As a reminder the BOE and the PBOC announced a currency swap line back in February, in effect linking up the CNY to the GBP. Now it is the EUR's turn." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina Takes Another Stab At The Dollar, Launches Currency Swap Line With France

Portugal’s elder statesman calls for ‘Argentine-style’ default

"Portugal's leading elder statesman has called on the country to copy Argentina and default on its debt to avert economic collapse, a move that would lead to near certain ejection from the euro. Mario Soares, who steered the country to democracy after the Salazar dictatorship, said all political forces should unite to 'bring down the government' and repudiate the austerity policies of the EU-IMF Troika. 'Portugal will never be able to pay its debts, however much it impoverishes itself. If you can’t pay, the only solution is not to pay. When Argentina was in crisis it didn’t pay. Did anything happen? No, nothing happened,' he told Antena 1." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPortugal’s elder statesman calls for ‘Argentine-style’ default

Now It’s The Netherlands’s Turn

"The Netherlands, Berlin's most important ally in pushing for greater budgetary discipline in Europe, has fallen into an economic crisis itself. The once exemplary economy is suffering from huge debts and a burst real estate bubble, which has stalled growth and endangered jobs. No nation in the euro zone is as deeply in debt as the Netherlands, where banks have a total of about €650 billion in mortgage loans on their books ..." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNow It’s The Netherlands’s Turn