New York Times (May 6)
“French officials should not seek to block G.E. simply because it’s based in Connecticut.” The protectionist arguments being used to thwart the sale of Alstom’s energy business “can only discourage non-European businesses from investing in France, further damaging a sluggish economy that already suffers from a 10.4 percent unemployment rate.”
Tags: Alstom, Economy, Energy business, France, G.E., Investing, Officials, Protectionist, Unemployment
Forbes (February 10, 2014)
“Beijing is becoming more dependent on the U.S. and the rest of the world for its strength and prosperity.” Though it may be the largest holder of U.S. Treasuries, this is not a sign of strength. “The idea that a government gains strength by piling up dollars or other foreign currencies is a mercantilist holdover from the 16th to 18th centuries, when France, Spain and others thought amassing gold and silver was how a country became wealthy. Trade, not hoarding, makes for a powerful economy.”
Tags: Beijing, China, Currencies, Dependent, Dollars, Economy, France, Gold, Government, Hoarding, Mercantilist, Prosperity, Silver, Spain, Strength, Trade, U.S. Treasuries, Wealth
Washington Post (January 24, 2014)
“France’s counterterrorism operations in Africa deserve U.S. support.” Though the U.S. is now largely disengaged from the area, West Africa continues to be a hot bed of al-Quaeda activity. Fortunately, France has moved to fill the vacuum and will likely have 3,000 troops stationed in the region by year end. “For the government of François Hollande, this is a costly and risky initiative, and it deserves strong support from the United States.”
Tags: Africa, Al-Quaeda, Costly, Counterterrorism, Disengagement, France, Initiative, Risky, Support, Troops François Hollande, U.S., Vacuum, West Africa
Bloomberg (December 27, 2013)
Medical implants have cleared another hurdle with a successful surgery to implant “an artificial heart that is expected to last five years.” The new heart was developed by the French startup Carmat. “Europe often leads the U.S. in bringing replacement body parts to the market — not because its researchers have much of an edge but because its health-care regulations are less cumbersome.”
Tags: Artificial heart, Carmat, Europe, France, Health care, Implant, Market, Regulations, Replacement body parts, Researchers, Surgery, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (August 29)
“In 1950 France had five people of working age per retiree. Today it has 1.4, and the ratio is expected to fall to 1.2 by 2050.” France’s newly unveiled pension reform will not “defuse” the pension bomb. “Paying for a growing number of retirees with a pay-as-you-go system that invests little for the future is a losing game. It will ultimately require much smaller pensions or much higher taxes, a fact that French businesses understand well even if the political class won’t admit it.”
Financial Times (May 30)
“In France, when public servants cash in by taking private sector jobs, it is called pantouflage. In Japan, it is amakudari (“descent from heaven”); and, in the US, it is normal.” The revolving door between government and private sector jobs is a perplexing global issue that recently garnered attention in Britain when the head of tax collection became a consultant to Deloitte.
Tags: Amakudari, Britain, Deloitte, France, Government, Japan, Private-sector, Public servants
Financial Times (February 23)
French leaders “should listen when international business leaders say how their French operations must change to be competitive. Ministers should share with multinationals a common interest in achieving that outcome. Otherwise, the workers will not be alone in facing accusations of being unproductive.”
Institutional Investor (February 14)
The “flood of institutional money” flowing into the European property safe havens of France, Germany and the U.K. could impact the markets, potentially increasing asset prices, lowering yields, and leading ultimately to a correction. “Since the 2008 collapse of Lehman brothers Holdings triggered the global economic downturn, these three countries have accounted for about 70% of the $100 billion or so a year of European commercial real estate purchases made by investors, well above the long-term average of about 50 percent.”
Tags: Europe, France, Germany, Property, Real estate, Safe havens, U.K.
The Economist (November 17)
While focus may currently rest on the PIIGS, “ahead looms a bigger problem that could dwarf any of these: France…. too many of France’s firms are uncompetitive and the country’s bloated government is living beyond its means.” Without decisive action, “France will lose the faith of investors—and of Germany. As several euro-zone countries have found, sentiment in the markets can shift quickly. The crisis could hit as early as next year.”
Washington Post (October 24)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its World Economic Outlook. It predicts that during the next four years, the U.S. “will be the strongest of the world’s rich economies. U.S. growth is forecast to average 3 percent, much stronger than that of Germany or France (1.2 percent) or even Canada (2.3 percent). Increasingly, the evidence suggests that the United States has come out of the financial crisis of 2008 in better shape than its peers — because of the actions of its government.”
Tags: Canada, Financial Crisis, France, Germany, Government, Growth, IMF, U.S., World Economic Outlook
