French Rebellion Against Deficit Reduction Raises Questions for Euro Zone
August 15, 2014 6:59 am
Tough questions for the Euro zone this morning, as French finance minister Michel Sapin declared that the Euro areas’ second largest economy will adjust the speed of its deficit reduction, instead of raising taxes in a bid to meet its deficit targets. This is likely to raise serious questions for the ECB, which faces growing criticism over its seeming reluctance to contemplate significant quantitative easing measures. The CAC 40 is currently up by around 0.25%, with the DAX up by 0.3%. BHP Billiton has announced that its board is considering spinning off its nickel, manganese and aluminium assets in order to concentrate more on core products such as iron-ore and petroleum. Though discussions concerning this possibility are not new, it is interesting that the mining company has publicised that the board is considering such a step just a few days before the company is due to release its earnings figures for the second quarter of 2014. Coca-Cola is to buy a 17% stake in Monster Energy Drinks for $2.15 billion. Energy drink consumption has risen rapidly in the last few years, with Monster in particular growing by almost 7% in 2013. Shares in Coca-Cola closed up at 40.18, but spiked in after-hours trading, reaching 40.76. Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares cracked the 200k mark for the first time, with 1 share of BRK.A currently trading at $202,850. The firm has never split its Class A shares. It’s a bank holiday in many European countries today, though markets are still open. Later today we have US PPI figures and Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index Numbers due to be released.
Tough questions for the Euro zone this morning, as French finance minister Michel Sapin declared that the Euro areas’ second largest economy will adjust the speed of its deficit reduction, instead of raising taxes in a bid to meet its deficit targets. This is likely to raise serious questions for the ECB, which faces growing criticism over its seeming reluctance to contemplate significant quantitative easing measures. The CAC 40 is currently up by around 0.25%, with the DAX up by 0.3%.
BHP Billiton has announced that its board is considering spinning off its nickel, manganese and aluminium assets in order to concentrate more on core products such as iron-ore and petroleum. Though discussions concerning this possibility are not new, it is interesting that the mining company has publicised that the board is considering such a step just a few days before the company is due to release its earnings figures for the second quarter of 2014.
Coca-Cola is to buy a 17% stake in Monster Energy Drinks for $2.15 billion. Energy drink consumption has risen rapidly in the last few years, with Monster in particular growing by almost 7% in 2013. Shares in Coca-Cola closed up at 40.18, but spiked in after-hours trading, reaching 40.76.
Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares cracked the 200k mark for the first time, with 1 share of BRK.A currently trading at $202,850. The firm has never split its Class A shares.
It’s a bank holiday in many European countries today, though markets are still open. Later today we have US PPI figures and Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index Numbers due to be released.
Related Posts: