In 2006 the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet began an investigation into the curious rise of the Icelandic bank Kaupthing, which had come from a small community on a volcanic island and become an unlikely giant, buying assets across Denmark. The paper found that the bank had links with Russian oligarchs and tax havens and, more worrying, may have overstretched themselves. for more click here
The World Bank says the global economy is on the edge of a new financial crisis, deeper and more damaging than the one that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. for more click here
Loss-making taxpayer-funded banks are spending hundreds of thousands of pounds a year on lobbyists, it has emerged. The Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group between them have employed the services eight separate lobbying and public affairs companies, The Independent reports. for more click here
Standard & Poor’s downgraded the credit ratings of nine euro- zone countries, stripping France and Austria of their coveted triple-A status but not EU paymaster Germany, in a Black Friday the 13th for the troubled single currency area. for more click here
Opinion polls suggest Greek voters want the government to stay in the euro even if they disagree with deficit reduction measures. for more click here
Britain’s biggest firms owe the taxman up to £25.5billion, but are regularly let off the hook, MPs say today. The sum is equivalent to £1,000 for every British family – or the equivalent of 6p being cut from the basic rate of income tax. for more click here
Growth of the German economy will slow sharply next year as the crippling debt crisis puts the brakes on activity in Europe’s economic powerhouse, the Bundesbank, said Friday. for more click here
All key measures of the money supply in the eurozone contracted in October with drastic falls across parts of southern Europe, raising the risk of severe recession over coming months. for more click here
Crisis deepens as Germany fails to sell-out 10 year bonds; the public must take over the financial system. for more click here
The markets aren’t going to let this eurozone problem lie. Having toppled the Italian government, investors turned their gaze back to Spain. The gap between what Germany pays to borrow money and what Spain pays, hit a euro-era high yesterday, and it’s continuing to rise today. And once they get bored with Spain, they’ll turn to France. Or maybe Belgium. In short, this story is going to run and run. As we’ve noted several times already, this either ends with Germany paying for everyone else, or with the eurozone breaking up. So rather than talk about Europe today, let’s turn to a topic much closer to home – how is all this going to affect the UK?
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