Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi urged ECB Executive Board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi on Sunday to resign his post soon to stop relations between France and Italy souring further, but admitted he was powerless to force him. Constantin Gurdgiev is head of research with St. Columbanus IA and lecturer in finance at Trinity College, Dublin German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday said the euro's weaknesses must be resolved "now or ... never", ahead of a crunch EU summit on the eurozone debt crisis. In China’s fight against the United States as an alleged currency manipulator, it is now trying to draw in the embattled euro zone. Agence France Press says that the Chinese are willing to contribute to the leveraged EFSF now set to be proposed by the EU at today’s summit. But only if they receive the EU’s blessing as a market economy. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/10/26/bloomberg_articlesLTN6520YHQ0X.DTL The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has agreed on the $3 billion Chinese loan secured by the Ghana government to finance critical infrastructure development in the country especially in the oil and gas sector. The Egyptian government is currently deep in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding a loan worth over US$3 billion needed to bolster the country's flagging coffers.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/23/us-eurozone-ecb-berlusconi-idUSTRE79M3TR20111023
Berlusconi heads to summit with minimum reform promise
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/26/us-italy-idUSTRE79P1NW20111026
Silvio Berlusconi 'makes secret pact to step down'
Silvio Berlusconi has reportedly drawn up a "secret pact" under which he will resign in December or January, paving the way for Italy to elect a new government in March
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/silvio-berlusconi/8849933/Silvio-Berlusconi-makes-secret-pact-to-step-down.html
Europe Faces New Hurdles in Crisis Over Debt
PARIS — New fissures and disagreements emerged on Tuesday on the eve of a European Union summit meeting promoted as the moment for agreement on a comprehensive solution to the two-year-old euro crisis. Crucial financial measures were left unresolved, and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy faced strong opposition inside his governing coalition to major changes demanded by the Europeans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/26/world/europe/europe-faces-new-hurdles-in-debt-crisis.html
Missed amidst the endless news flow on the euro crisis, the European parliament has been quietly working toward obtaining a ground-breaking set of new powers. If adopted, these would give the body unprecedented authority, which could lead to witch-hunt type trials of EU critics and those who challenge the status quo.
The proposed change, approved by the EU parliament’s constitutional affairs committee, would oblige member states “to punish, in accordance with their national rules, those who refuse without justification to provide documents or to testify, and likewise those who give false testimony or bribe witnesses.”
While no one can object to powers being extended to cover violations of the law, the new legislation would give the parliament adjoining powers to allow its committees of inquiry “to conduct on-the-spot investigations and get help when needed from national authorities,” with “the right to ask any person to provide relevant documents, in full compliance with national rules on seizure of objects.”
Further, any EU citizen could be summoned to testify at the committee's behest. Witnesses could be asked to speak under oath, but would retain the right to refuse, as well as other safeguards afforded by national laws in similar cases.
If passed, the new set of powers could improve the effectiveness of parliamentary inquiries. However, the very same powers could also be used to deliver character assassinations of critics of the EU or its policies. And in cases of national referendums, they could enable EU politicians to strong-arm those leading or backing opposition platforms. Nothing in the past performance of EU officials or politicians suggests that the parliament will refrain from using new powers to interfere in the democratic processes of member states.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-news/global-exchange/international-experts/eu-quietly-seeks-sweeping-new-legal-powers/article2213934/
http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20111026-38447.html
Here’s how the Portuguese site Dinheiro Vivo puts it (my translation):
http://www.creditwritedowns.com/2011/10/china-will-help-europe-if-it-is-recognised-as-a-market-economy.html
http://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2011/10/26/imf-agrees-with-ghana-on-3b-chinese-loan/
Ghana will be world’s fastest growing economy in 2011 - IMF
http://business.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201110/75427.php
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/25108/Business/Economy/Egypt-reopens-talks-about-IMF-loan.aspx
Economic slump hits 'Arab Spring' nations: IMF
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/economic-slump-hits-arab-spring-nations-imf/articleshow/10497142.cms
Libya’s Economy to Shrink More Than 50% After Conflict, IMF Says
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-26/libya-s-economy-to-shrink-more-than-50-after-conflict-imf-says.html
Wednesday, 26 October 2011
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