Tag Archive: Angela Merkel

Deal or no Deal: How five non-member states handle EU relations

2021-01-30

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2021-01-30

With Brexit done, Switzerland is hoping it can restart negotiations on its framework agreement with the European Union. The experience of other non-member states offers some valuable lessons on how it can engage with Brussels, though no blueprint exists.  SWI swissinfo.ch looks at how five other non-member states have negotiated with the EU.

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Swiss finance minister concerned about Covid-19 debt crisis in Europe

2020-05-21

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2020-05-21

Ueli Maurer has warned that the financial crisis following Covid-19 and the resulting instability in Europe are a danger for Switzerland. In an interview with public broadcaster RTS on Tuesday, he said that he is concerned about the repercussions on Switzerland of a possible debt crisis in certain countries, especially Italy.

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Germany’s Superstimulus; Or, The Familiar (Dollar) Disorder of Bumbling Failure

2019-08-24

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2019-08-24

European Economy, 2004-2019
The Economics textbook says that when faced with a downturn, the central bank turns to easing and the central government starts borrowing and spending. This combined “stimulus” approach will fill in the troughs without shaving off the peaks; at least according to neo-Keynesian doctrine. The point is to raise what these Economists call aggregate demand.

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The Beginning of the End for Angela Merkel

2018-11-04

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2018-11-04

Germany Next General Elections, Sep 2017 - Nov 2018
As a consequence of the heavy drop of support in recent regional elections, Chancellor Merkel has declared she would not run again for leadership of the CDU at the 6-8 December party convention. Merkel also said she would retire from politics at the end of the current parliament in 2021. It is questionable whether she will get that far, and well before then, the transition to a new leader amid a loss of electoral support for the main centre-right...

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FX Weekly Preview: Forces of Movement

2017-10-09

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2017-10-09

Over the past few weeks, the markets have come to accept the likelihood of a December Fed hike. US interest rates have adjusted. The pricing of December Fed funds futures contract is consistent with around an 80% chance of a hike. The two-year yield is trading at the upper end of what is expected to be the Fed funds target range at the end of the year, after slipping below the current range a month ago. The Dollar Index formed a bottoming pattern.

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Merkel says Brexit talks mustn’t impact Swiss-EU negotiations

2016-11-06

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2016-11-06

Angela Merkel
Swiss talks with the European Union about immigration restrictions mustn’t be impacted by the U.K.’s decision to leave the bloc, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. “In the EU, we should carry on negotiations with Switzerland in the same way as we would have if there were no question on Britain,”.

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FX Daily, July 04: Four Things that Happened on the Anniversary of the Original Brexit

2016-07-04

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2016-07-04

Inflation expectations fall in Japan. UK construction PMI fell sharply before Brexit. The Australian dollar recovers from the dip as investors await more results. It is not clear that Brexit has sparked a wave of nationalism or anti-EU sentiment.

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The Worst is Yet to Come–Don’t be Seduced by the Price Action

2016-06-29

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2016-06-29

The two-day bounce in sterling seems technically driven rather than fundamental. The Brexit decision has set off a unfathomable chain of events whose impact and implications are far from clear. The economic hit on the UK may spur a BOE rate cut, even if not QE, as early as next month.

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FX Weekly Preview: Post-Brexit: Week One

2016-06-26

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2016-06-26

The EU response to Brexit is important. The EU summit and the talks with Turkey are very important. Brexit leaders seem as surprised and unprepared for the results as anyone. And a preview on economic data for the week.

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The EU and Turkey: Unvarnished Truth and Stuffing

2016-06-23

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2016-06-23

Turkey and the EU will begin negotiations over financial and budget reform. It is one of 35 areas (chapters) of negotiations. Turkey is no where close to joining the EU, for which it initially applied in 1987.

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Who Is The “European Movement” And Why The Answer May Change How You Vote On “Brexit”

2016-06-23

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2016-06-23

The UK has to choice: Remain as sovereign state or merge it into the undemocratic United States of Europe. Big business, banks, central banks and the IMF want to excercise their power through unelected officials. And wonder who is responsible for the "European Movement."

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Macro Thinking: FOMC, USD, and EU

2016-06-16

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2016-06-16

The Federal Reserve modified its stance yesterday without changing rates.  It is not just about how fast the Fed sees itself normalizing monetary policy but also where the level of the equilibrium rate. The FOMC statement, but especially the officials’ forecasts (dot plots) effective unwound the impact of the earlier Fed talk of the likely …

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Politics and Economics

2016-06-10

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2016-06-10

Many people understand politics and economics to be two different disciplines. I remember in graduate school more than two decades ago, many colleagues and professors operationally defined political economy as how politics, by which they meant the state, screws up economics. I spoke at the Fixed Income Leaders Summit earlier this week and teased that many seemed …

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Switzerland’s Gotthard Base Tunnel: Swiss Engineered, Foreign Made

2016-05-30

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2016-05-30

Earlier we introduced the Gotthard Base Tunnel, the longest and deepest tunnel in the world. The 35 mile long tunnel which cuts underneath the Alps helps remove natural barriers to trade and tourism, and is undoubtedly a testament to Swiss precision ...

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Introducing The Gotthard Train Tunnel, The World’s Longest and Deepest Train Tunnel

2016-05-23

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2016-05-23

On June 1, Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande will take a break from their respective domestic crises and attend a ceremony to inaugurate the Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT) in Switzerland.

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