Insights
The costs of the Spanish scandal
General Politics
Spanish politics have taken a dramatic turn in the last fortnight, and one that has not fully registered outside of Spain. Spain’s biggest political scandal of the post-Franco era may yet bring down Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. But the real cost of the ‘Bárcenas Scandal’ is as likely to be the compounding of a broader crisis of authority for the pre-crisis…
François Hollande and labour market reform
General Politics
January was a month of war and peace in Paris. The same day France committed military forces in Mali, a three month negotiation between France’s employers' federation and its major unions produced an agreement on changes to France’s labour laws. The agreement is a victory for Hollande’s consensus-building approach, but how much does it actually change?
China's part in Tom Albanese's downfall
Energy & Commodities
Tom Albanese’s departure from Rio Tinto last week was precipitated by substantial write downs in Rio Tinto’s aluminium businesses. Rather than just a case of a badly-timed bet on the global market for aluminium, this is the result of a bigger shift in aluminium markets. It is a structural shift in which speculative investors and Chinese state capitalism play a key role.
A very British split: the UK Banking Reform Bill
Financial Services
This week the UK government has published draft legislation that will restructure British banks on significantly different terms than the rest of Europe and the US, and on terms that the government itself would not have chosen. For all the talk in continental Europe of its Anglo-Saxon intransigence and resistance to reform, the UK will probably be the only major…
Why there will be no simple wins in the solar panel trade wars
Sustainability
Mr Singh's 'legacy' and the state of the Indian political economy
General Policy
Dutch Unease: the significance of this week’s Dutch election
General Policy
The strain on Spain: are we heading for a Spanish bailout ?
Financial Services