Connect to share and comment

IMF welcomes Spain's plan to ease up on austerity

April 26, 2013 12:45
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund on Friday welcomed Spain's decision to ease up on its austerity drive, saying it should aid employment while still helping to return the nation to fiscal health.

IMF chief 'strongly' supports Spain's new budget plan

Agence France-PresseApril 26, 2013 12:30
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde voiced robust support Friday for Spain's newly announced budget plan to meet EU deficit rules. "I strongly support the Spanish government's objectives of restoring a sound fiscal position while securing a recovery and creating jobs," Lagarde said in a statement. vs/pmh

'Sleeping' finance minister slams 'French-bashing'

Agence France-PresseApril 24, 2013 14:31
Accused of nodding off during lengthy EU talks to bail out Cyprus, France's Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici took to Twitter on Wednesday to slam what he called "French bashing". Media had seized on his apparent nap to question France's role and diminishing authority in the 27-nation bloc, gripped by a debt crisis and disagreements over economic reforms.

Glamorous Sarkozy protege quits Paris mayoral race

Agence France-PresseApril 23, 2013 08:46
Former French justice minister Rachida Dati said Tuesday she was pulling out of the competition to be the right-wing candidate for next year's Paris mayoral vote, which is shaping up to be a historic all-female race. Dati, a glamorous protege of ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy, told newsweekly Le Point she was dropping out of the primary vote to be the candidate for the right-wing UMP party. She said her rival Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Sarkozy's former spokeswoman, already had the primary vote sown up.

France salutes Nobel-winner and WWII veteran

Agence France-PresseApril 22, 2013 06:30
The French government paid tribute on Monday to Francois Jacob, a Free French fighter whose post-World War II work in genetics earned him a share of the 1965 Nobel Prize for Medicine. Jacob, who died on Friday at the age of 92, was "a great researcher, a great doctor, one of those strong personalities whose insistence on truth and science allowed him to write history," said Health Minister Marisol Touraine. The minister for higher education, Genevieve Fioraso, described Jacob as "an exceptional figure, one of those whose life and commitment are our country's pride."

Nobel prize-winning French biologist dies

Agence France-PresseApril 21, 2013 17:31
French biologist Francois Jacob, who won the 1965 Nobel prize for medicine for his research into enzymes, has died at the age of 92, a relative told AFP on Sunday. Jacob, a member of the prestigious "Ordre de la Liberation" awarded to those who performed heroic deeds during the liberation of France in World War II, died on Friday, the relative said. He won the Nobel prize jointly with compatriots Andre Lwoff and Jacques Monod "for their discoveries concerning genetic control of enzyme and virus synthesis."

Osborne hit by call for austerity rethink, downgrade

April 19, 2013 17:15
By William Schomberg WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Chancellor suffered a double setback on Friday when the head of the IMF said it might now be time for a change in his austerity push and the country lost its AAA status from a second ratings agency. George Osborne came to the twice-yearly meetings of the International Monetary Fund this week vowing to stick to his plan to fix Britain's still-wide budget deficit.

IMF chief says UK might need to rethink austerity now

April 19, 2013 14:30
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Friday it might now be time for Britain to consider relaxing its focus on austerity. Christine Lagarde was asked in an interview with BBC television whether the British government should show more flexibility in its approach to fixing the country's economy.

Osborne locks horns with IMF economist over austerity

April 19, 2013 13:30
By William Schomberg WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Britain's Chancellor George Osborne dismissed suggestions by the IMF's chief economist that he should consider relaxing his austerity program to help the country's stagnant economy. Earlier this week, Olivier Blanchard said very weak private demand in Britain showed it might be time for policymakers to consider an adjustment to their fiscal plans.

Sarkozy investigated over Kadhafi funding claims

Agence France-PresseApril 19, 2013 10:16
French former president Nicolas Sarkozy is to be investigated over allegations that he accepted cash from former Libyan dictator Moamer Kadhafi to fund his 2007 election campaign. Judicial sources confirmed Friday that a formal probe has been opened that could lead to Sarkozy facing a second set of corruption-related charges arising from his campaign. Sarkozy, 58, was charged last month with taking advantage of a person incapacitated by illness in a case that centres on allegations he accepted envelopes stuffed with cash from France's richest woman, Liliane Bettencourt.
Syndicate content