How to Read President Obama's New Budget

BROOKINGS

By: David Wessel

The first trick: Skip the rhetoric. ("This budget takes critical steps to grow our economy, create jobs and strength the middle class....") Do what the pros do: Go directly to the tables.

Next week President Obama is expected to send Congress his new budget. It's a huge, sprawling document; last year's was 2,476 pages in four volumes. Because no one can absorb all that instantly, here's an insider's guide to the budget for fiscal year 2015, which begins Oct. 1, 2014.

The Wisdom of Crowd-Funders: What Motivates Cross-Border Private Development Aid?

Report | December 2013

 By: Raj M. Desai and Homi Kharas

BROOKINGS

(Introduction and conclusions, for full report follow the link at the end of the text)

INTRODUCTION

In 2010, foundations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), religious groups and other charitable organizations in the United States contributed $39 billion to international development causes (Hudson Institute 2012). By comparison, $30 billion in US official development assistance (ODA) was disbursed during the same year. For US-based organizations, this represented a doubling of international private, voluntary development assistance over the past decade.

Crowdfunding In Europe: The Top 10 'Peer-to-Peer' Lenders

Forbes

The following guest post is by David Drake, founder and chairman of LDJ Capital, a New York City private equity firm, and of The Soho Loft, a global financial media company with divisions in Conferences and Publishing.

Crowdfunders generally fall into different categories: equity, donation, reward, and debt. The last is also known as microfinancing — and commonly referred to in Europe as “peer-to-peer lending.” Here are the top 10 up-and-coming peer-to-peer lenders e making financial waves in Europe:

Greece’s troubles

The troika is back

The Economist

The stand-off between the government and international lenders continues

Mar 1st 2014 | ATHENS

THE scene is familiar: burly Greek bodyguards hustle a trio of foreign bureaucrats into the finance ministry through a side entrance to avoid a cluster of anti-austerity protesters shouting “troika go home”. Hours later tight-lipped representatives of the troika—the European Commission, IMF and European Central Bank (ECB)—head back to their hotel while ministry officials spin their version of the talks: heroic Greek resistance to “excessive” demands made by the country’s international creditors.

In Ukraine, Naming of Interim Government Gets Mixed Response

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORNFEB. 26, 2014

The New York Times

KIEV, Ukraine — Standing before a crowd of tens of thousands in Independence Square, the center of the three-month civic uprising that ousted President Viktor F. Yanukovych, the lawmakers temporarily controlling Ukraine announced an interim government on Wednesday night to be led by Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, a veteran public official.

Hagel Warns Russia Not to Intervene in Ukraine

By HELENE COOPERFEB. 27, 2014

The New York Times

BRUSSELS — Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel warned Russia on Thursday to stay out of the turmoil in Ukraine, while NATO defense ministers issued repeated statements meant to show support for the new leadership in Kiev.

“We expect other nations to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and avoid provocative action,” Mr. Hagel said after the ministers met at NATO headquarters here. “That’s why I’m closely watching Russia’s military exercises along the Ukrainian border, which they just announced yesterday.”

Gunmen’s seizure of parliament building stokes tensions in Ukraine’s Crimea

By William Booth and Will Englund, Published: February 26 | Updated: Thursday, February 27, 9:06

Washington Post

SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine — With unrest growing in the Crimea over Ukraine’s political transformation, a group of armed men seized the local parliament and the regional government headquarters in Simferopol early Thursday morning, barricaded themselves inside both buildings and raised Russian flags, news services reported.

They were reported to be wearing plain uniforms without designating marks. The Interfax news agency quoted a local authority as saying the men were from a Crimean self-defense group.

The takeover, in the regional capital of Simferopol, brings tensions in the Crimea to a new high, just hours after thousands of ethnic Russians there had protested against the new government in Kiev, while Crimean Tatars rallied in its support. It also came after Moscow ordered surprise military exercises in a district bordering Ukraine and put troops in the region on high alert.

Hunting credit, firms look beyond wary EU banks

BY STEVE SLATER

LONDON Wed Feb 26, 2014 3:17am EST

(Reuters) - When David Armitt needed to refinance loans last year for his 153-year-old manufacturing company in Yorkshire, he found British banks reluctant to lend. So he took the nuclear option.

The finance director in Huddersfield turned instead to San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, borrowing $28 million after putting up as collateral the gearboxes that his firm, David Brown Gear Systems, makes to propel nuclear submarines.

Year of the PIIGS? Greece leads 2014 stock market league table

Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain have been the best performers in Europe so far in 2014

By Kyle Caldwell4:15PM GMT 25 Feb 2014

The Telegraph

Backers of the UK stock market are celebrating a steady start for the FTSE 100 in 2014 and a challenge of its 1999 all-time high of 6930. But its marginal gain of 1.3pc since the start of year is dwarfed by gains from some of the eurozone's most troubled economies.

Data from Russell Investments, an asset management firm, show Portugal, Italy, Ireland and Greece have been the best performers in Europe so far in 2014.

Natural Big Lies

FEBRUARY 24, 2014, 1:27 PM  46 Comments

Paul Krugman

The New York Times

I’ve been doing some more Fed transcript readings, and noticing how implausible everyone found it that what did happen, could happen. And I have a small insight as I remember the days of bubble denial. It involves a violation of Godwin’s Law, but in a good cause.

Stakes High as E.C.B. Tests Banks

FEB. 23, 2014

The New York Times

A lot is riding on the cleanup of euro zone banks that is being overseen by the European Central Bank. The progress so far is encouraging. But clarity is needed on a few points to ensure that lenders really do get a good scrubbing and so are able to support the zone’s fragile economic recovery.

The E.C.B. is in the midst of a so-called comprehensive assessment of euro zone banks. This has two elements: an “asset quality review,” or A.Q.R., to determine whether the loans and other assets held on their balance sheets are valued properly, and a “stress test” to check whether they could withstand a severe economic downturn.

Greece resumes bailout talks with lenders, no hard figures discussed

BY HARRY PAPACHRISTOU AND LEFTERIS PAPADIMAS

(Reuters) - Greece resumed bailout talks with its international lenders on Monday, hoping to end six months of wrangling over the release of new rescue loans it needs to avoid default.

At stake is the disbursement of funds to repay 9.3 billion of bonds maturing in May, the biggest single debt redemption Greece faces in the next three decades, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data.

They held a first round of talks but no hard numbers were discussed. "Talks are tough, a lot of issues are open," a senior Finance Ministry official said, declining to be named.

Piraeus Port Becomes Hub in Greek Logistics-Industry Push

By Jonathan Stearns  Feb 25, 2014 2:01 AM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

The Greek port of Piraeus could become one of Europe’s top five container-shipping hubs as the government spurs logistics activities in a bid to kick-start economic growth, said Development Minister Kostis Hatzidakis.

Piraeus, now the 11th-largest container-shipping port in the European Union, is expanding as China-based Cosco Pacific Ltd. (1199) operates one of two piers, builds a third and prepares to offer cargo-train shipping to multinational companies including Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) and Huawei Technologies Co.

Εντοπίσθηκαν ταμειακά διαθέσιμα ύψους 3 δισ. ευρώ στον δημόσιο τομέα

ΣΩΤΗΡΗΣ ΝΙΚΑΣ

Καθημερινή

«Λευκή» τρύπα 3 δισ. ευρώ έχει εντοπίσει το υπουργείο Οικονομικών στον αχανή δημόσιο τομέα. Τα κεφάλαια αυτά μπορούν να αξιοποιηθούν ως «ρεζέρβες» για τα κρατικά ταμεία, με το οικονομικό επιτελείο να κινείται προς αυτήν την κατεύθυνση για να καλύπτει –όποτε αυτό απαιτηθεί– κενά στο χρηματοδοτικό πρόγραμμα της χώρας.

Billionaire Soros considers investing in European banks: paper

FRANKFURT Sun Feb 23, 2014 7:27am EST

(Reuters) - George Soros wants to invest in Europe's financial sector, according to a German magazine's interview with the billionaire investor on Sunday.

"I believe in the euro," weekly Der Spiegel quoted him as saying.

"Therefore my investment team is looking forward to make a lot of money soon in Europe by, for example, pumping money in banks which urgently need capital," he added, noting the euro zone needs this kind of private investment right now.

Greece resumes protracted bailout talks with lenders

BY HARRY PAPACHRISTOU AND LEFTERIS PAPADIMAS

ATHENS Mon Feb 24, 2014 3:02am EST

(Reuters) - Greece resumes bailout talks with its international lenders on Monday, hoping to end six months of wrangling over the release of new rescue loans it needs to avoid default.

At stake is the disbursement of funds to repay 9.3 billion of bonds maturing in May, the biggest single debt redemption Greece faces in the next three decades, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon data.

The review by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund has dragged on since September, with disagreements about the extent of savings and reforms Athens must make to comply with the terms of its bailout.

Stocks slip as Fed rate talk spooks some investors

By Associated Press, Thursday, February 20, 2:04 AM

NEW YORK — Stocks fell Wednesday as investors were left uneasy by news that some Federal Reserve policymakers were willing to start raising short-term interest rates sooner than previously expected.

The market was mixed most of the day, then turned lower after 2 p.m., when the Fed released the minutes from its January policy meeting.

The minutes revealed that some policymakers “raised the possibility that it might be appropriate to increase the federal funds rate relatively soon.”

China training for ‘short sharp war’ with Japan, Navy official says

The Washington Times

Capt. James Fannell, the chief of intelligence of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, believes that China is training for war with Japan.

A recent training exercise by the Chinese military included an amphibious invasion geared toward securing Japanese resources in the East China Sea, the U.S. Naval Institute News reported.

Fed Closes a Loophole for Banks Overseas

By PETER EAVIS

The New York Times

Updated, 8:51 p.m. | Foreign banks with a major presence on Wall Street will no longer be allowed to avoid many of the tougher rules that the United States introduced after the financial crisis to prevent banking failures and bailouts.

The Federal Reserve, a leading bank regulator, approved a final rule on Tuesday that will force the American operations of foreign banks to follow many of the same rules as American banks. In doing so, the Fed closed a gaping loophole that roughly half the big firms on Wall Street were able to exploit simply because their headquarters were overseas.

Πλεόνασμα 1,2 δισ. στο ισοζύγιο τρεχουσών συναλλαγών το 2013

Για πρώτη φορά από το 1948

Τετάρτη, 19 Φεβρουαρίου 2014 11:20

Η Ναυτεμπορική

Πλεόνασμα ύψους 1,2 δισ. ευρώ παρουσίασε το ισοζύγιο τρεχουσών συναλλαγών το 2013, έναντι ελλείμματος 4,6 δισ. ευρώ το 2012, σύμφωνα με στοιχεία που έδωσε στη δημοσιότητα η Τράπεζα της Ελλάδος .

Πρόκειται για την πρώτη φορά από το 1948 που η χώρα εμφανίζει πλεονασματικό ισοζύγιο τρεχουσών συναλλαγών, σε ετήσια βάση.

Στην εξέλιξη αυτή συνέβαλε κατά κύριο λόγο η σημαντική μείωση του εμπορικού ελλείμματος κατά 2,4 δισ. ευρώ καθώς και η αύξηση των πλεονασμάτων των ισοζυγίων τρεχουσών μεταβιβάσεων κατά 3 δισ. ευρώ και υπηρεσιών κατά 1,7 δισ. ευρώ. Αντιθέτως, αυξήθηκε το έλλειμμα του ισοζυγίου εισοδημάτων.

Fed adopts tough capital rules for foreign banks

Tue, Feb 18 2014

By Douwe Miedema

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Tuesday adopted tight new rules for foreign banks to shield the U.S. taxpayer from costly bailouts, ceding only minor concessions despite pressure from abroad to weaken the rule.

Foreign banks with sizable operations on Wall Street such as Deutsche Bank and Barclays had pushed back hard against the plan because it means they will need to transfer costly capital from Europe.

The Fed, which oversees foreign banks, gave them a year longer to meet the standards, and applied it to fewer banks than in a first draft, but the rule was largely unchanged from when it was first proposed in December 2012.

A Test Europe’s Banks Mustn’t Fail

By FRANCESCO GIAVAZZI and ANIL K. KASHYAPFEB. 17, 2014

The New York Times

Europe is lurching toward an overhaul of its banking system. Later this year, the European Central Bank is set to assume the authority to supervise the 130 largest banks in the euro zone — a momentous process of centralizing financial regulation in Frankfurt aimed at preventing another round of the bank failures that contributed to the 2007-8 global financial crisis.

In preparation for the handoff, the E.C.B. will conduct a “stress test” to gauge how the banks would fare if economic conditions deteriorated. But the central bank’s point person for these efforts, Danièle Nouy, appears to have misdiagnosed the problem, suggesting that “insufficient transparency regarding the balance sheets of the European banks” is the critical problem.

Laser-sparked fusion power passes key milestone

NEWSCIENTIST

12 February 2014 by Jacob Aron

CLEAN energy inspired by the stars is the dream of scientists pursuing nuclear fusion, in which atomic nuclei fuse together and release energy. In a first for laser-driven fusion, scientists at a US lab say they have reached a key milestone called fuel gain: they are producing more energy than the fuel absorbed to start the reaction.

But the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Livermore, California, is still a long way from sparking a self-sustaining fusion reaction with an overall gain in energy – a process called ignition. Currently, the reactor as a whole needs more energy to operate than the amount that is produced.

A workable euro zone fitness regime

February 17, 2014 @ 9:42 am

By Hugo Dixon

Reuters

The euro zone has gone from the emergency room to rehab. As often with patients, the question is how to maintain a stiff exercise regime now the immediate danger is over.

Germany has an idea. At December’s summit, it got the rest of the zone to agree in principle to what are called “partnerships for growth, jobs and competitiveness”. The idea is that governments will sign contracts committing them to do things like reform their labour markets, liberalise product markets and improve the efficiency of their public sectors. Countries such as Greece and Cyprus, which are already in bailout programmes, wouldn’t be covered.

France and Germany Lead Euro Zone to Higher Growth

By DAVID JOLLYFEB. 14, 2014

The New York Times

PARIS — The euro zone economy grew slightly faster than expected in the last three months of 2013, an official report showed on Friday, bringing welcome news for the global economy amid signs of slowing in the United States and China.

Although growth in the 18-nation currency union is still weak, at a 1.1 percent annualized rate, it was the euro zone’s third straight quarter in positive territory, indicating that the bloc is well beyond the year-and-a-half recession that ended in mid-2013.

Regling: euro-zone banks in good shape before stress test: newspaper

BERLIN Sun Feb 16, 2014 5:55pm EST

(Reuters) - The head of the euro zone's bailout funds, Klaus Regling, said that he believes banks in Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece and Ireland are in good shape and that there will not be any surprises in European Central Bank stress tests due later in 2014.

Banks in London Devise Way Around Europe’s Bonus Rules

FEBRUARY 13, 2014, 7:32 PM

The New York Times

By JENNY ANDERSON and PETER EAVIS

A battle over banker bonuses is building in this financial capital.

Since the 2008 crisis, regulators around the world have tried to rein in bonuses, worried that big payouts encourage excessive risk-taking by bankers and traders. The European Union has gone further than most, limiting bankers to bonuses equal to one or two times their salaries.

But the bank giants operating in London — including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays — are seeking to outflank the new restrictions. Responding to the law, they are structuring new pay packages that try to satisfy both their emboldened regulators and their very expensive employees.

It's The Euro, Stupid

Frances Coppola, Contributor

I write about banking, finance and economics.

FORBES

A few days ago the German constitutional court referred the question of the legality of the ECB’s Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), claiming that the ECB was straying into fiscal policy that was beyond its mandate and that OMT breached EU treaty directives outlawing monetary financing of governments.

Eurozone watchdog says some banks should go under: FT

FRANKFURT/LINKOPING, Sweden Mon Feb 10, 2014 2:04pm EST

(Reuters) - Some of the euro zone's lenders have no future and should be allowed to go under if they fail a health check, the bloc's new banking supervisor told the Financial Times, underscoring a tougher approach to banking oversight.

Daniele Nouy told the newspaper that if any of the region's participating banks fail the European Central Bank's comprehensive assessment then they could be wound down, and that merging them in order to save them was not an option.

River Thames Bursts Banks, Flooding Homes Near London

Flooding Follows Wettest January Since 1776

The Wall Street Journal

By NICHOLAS WINNING

Updated Feb. 10, 2014 7:46 p.m. ET

LONDON—Hundreds of homes have flooded and hundreds more are at risk to the west of London after the River Thames burst its banks on Monday as England continued to suffer from one of the wettest winters in more than two centuries, authorities said.

With waters predicted to rise further this week, Prime Minister David Cameron said the government would do all it could to assist those affected as he visited flood-hit areas in the southwest of England.

Berlin: George Clooney Tells U.K. to Return Art Treasures to Greece

At the press conference for his film "The Monuments Men," Clooney said Greece had "a very good case" in demanding Britain return treasures such as the Elgin Marbles.

George Clooney has called on the U.K. to act as real “Monuments Men” and return historic Greek art  held in British museums.

EU Said to Weigh Extending Greek Loans to 50 Years

By Nikos Chrysoloras and Rebecca Christie  Feb 5, 2014 5:44 PM GMT+0200

Bloomberg

The next handout to Greece may include extending the maturity on rescue loans to 50 years and cutting the interest rate on some previous aid by 50 basis points, according to two officials with knowledge of discussions being held by European autorities.

The plan, which will be considered by policy makers by May or June, may also include a loan for a package worth between 13 billion euros ($17.6 billion) and 15 billion euros, another official said. Greece, which got 240 billion euros in two bailouts, has previously had its terms eased by the euro zone and International Monetary Fund amid a six-year recession.

UPDATE 1-Greece's 2014 fiscal gap issue largely resolved with lenders-sources

Tue, Feb 4 2014

By Karolina Tagaris , Lefteris Papadimas and Jan Strupczewski

ATHENS/BRUSSELS, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Greece and its foreign lenders have largely bridged differences over a potential fiscal gap this year, removing a key sticking point holding up talks to release more bailout funds, two sources directly involved in the talks said on Tuesday.

The latest review of Greece's progress under its European Union/International Monetary Fund bailout has dragged on since September in large part due to wrangling over how Athens would plug a gap in this year's budget, which had been estimated at 1 billion euros.

Greek leftist seeks negotiated debt write-off

Tue, Feb 4 2014

By Paul Taylor

PARIS, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Greece would seek to negotiate an international write-off of about one-third of its debt if the leftist Syriza opposition party won a general election, its leader said on Tuesday.

Alexis Tsipras, who is leading a Communist-backed pan-European leftist list in European Parliament elections in May, said his country's problems could not be solved by more loans, which just went to service past debts and shore up the banks.

"The solution isn't more loans. The solution is fewer loans and less debt," Tsipras, whose party leads Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' conservative New Democracy in opinion polls, told the Europresse association on a visit to Paris.

New Boss at Microsoft, With Gates at His Side

By NICK WINGFIELDFEB. 4, 2014

SEATTLE — Bill Gates is back in the building at Microsoft.

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced that Mr. Gates, a longtime titan of the tech industry, was shedding his role as chairman to dig in more with products and technology at the company, which he co-founded nearly 40 years ago.

At the same time, he is expected play a distinctly secondary role to Satya Nadella, whom Microsoft named as its new chief executive. Mr. Nadella asked Mr. Gates to become a part-time adviser to him, a change that comes with great potential upsides for the company, but some potential land mines, too.

No end in sight to 'pain' of betting on weaker euro

BY ANIRBAN NAG

LONDON Tue Feb 4, 2014 11:13am EST

(Reuters) - Anyone betting against the euro may well find this strategy remains a "pain trade", even though the common currency has fallen to a 10-week low against the dollar this week.

This drop looks unlikely to be the long-awaited breakout in what has been one of the world's most stable free exchange rates and, in a remarkable change of fortunes, the euro zone is showing signs of becoming a safe haven.

Earthquake strikes off western coast of Greece, USGS says

By Jethro Mullen, CNN

February 3, 2014 -- Updated 0957 GMT (1757 HKT)

(CNN) -- A magnitude-6.1 earthquake struck off the western coast of Greece early Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The quake hit near the island of Cephalonia, roughly 300 kilometers (185 miles) west of Athens, at a depth of about 14 kilometers (9 miles), the USGS said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Euro May Be Resurfacing as a Safe Haven

Currency Is Bucking Old Trend of Wilting Amid Headwinds

By TOMMY STUBBINGTON

Updated Feb. 3, 2014 3:11 p.m. ET

LONDON—Over the past few years, the euro has been a barometer of risk: When the markets got cloudy, it fell. But in recent weeks, that relationship has changed, leading some analysts to wonder whether Europe, after years of crisis, is becoming a haven again.

When emerging markets took a steep fall in the past few weeks, dragging global assets with them, the euro shrugged it off. On some days, the currency has even managed to rally while stocks are crashing—a tendency usually associated with the Japanese yen or the U.S. dollar.

Germany preparing third financial rescue for Greece

New loan, outlined in a German finance ministry position paper, would be worth €10bn-€20bn, says Der Spiegel magazine

Helena Smith in Athens

The Guardian, Sunday 2 February 2014 20.14 GMT