December, 2020

• 22 December

  It’s a good time to be an elite banker

  

  When the world’s biggest health crisis in a century struck in February, central bankers and politicians rushed to protect their economies. The devastation of lockdown threatened even the soundest financial firms, whose collapse would have worsened the crisis. But the trillions of dollars plowed into companies and households, accompanied by the easing of regulatory demands on lenders, didn’t merely ensure ...

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• 22 December

  Better accounting can get us through Covid

  The Covid-19 pandemic has revealed just how much governments matter — and that competent management can be the difference between life and death. Good leadership requires good information to support smart, timely decisions. Further, democracy itself relies on information that is understood and trusted by its citizens. High-quality accounting is a vital source of that information. In the fight against ...

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• 22 December

  Covid-19: The wrong time for a wealth tax?

  The arrival of vaccines carries hope that an end to the pandemic may be in sight. But even after the health crisis is brought under control, governments will have to continue dealing with the economic consequences. Two primary concerns have emerged: The first is addressing the inequalities caused by lockdowns and other social-distancing measures. The pandemic has caused a deep ...

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• 22 December

  Johnson facing deal-or-no-deal choice as EU balks at UK demands

  

  Bloomberg Boris Johnson faces a choice that will define his premiership: accept a trade deal with the European Union (EU) or go it alone. It could scarcely have come at a more difficult time for him. As he faces a binary choice about the UK’s relationship with its nearest and biggest trading partner, his government is battling a new highly ...

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• 22 December

  Europe moves to isolate UK as virus ruins Christmas

  

  Bloomberg The UK plunged into Christmas chaos with police blocking people from boarding packed trains, holidays abroad scrapped and travel with Europe banned after London went into an emergency lockdown. France has suspended inbound travel from the UK for 48 hours and Germany halted arriving flights from Britain, which is in the middle of delicate Brexit negotiations with its European ...

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• 22 December

  Hack attack adds to Putin mystique, even if Russia faces pain

  

  Bloomberg The storm over a cyber attack on US government agencies only helps Russian President Vladimir Putin’s image at home as a strong leader unafraid to confront the former Cold War enemy, even as the Kremlin denies involvement amid fears of a backlash when Joe Biden enters the White House. “Inside the country it bolsters the authorities’ prestige,” said Andrey ...

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• 22 December

  Hong Kong considers virus curbs, curfews

  Bloomberg Unprecedented virus control measures including curfews and shutdowns of non-essential businesses may be considered in Hong Kong, according to a government health adviser, as the city continues to see a high number of locally-transmitted cases and the holiday season looms. Limiting the number of people per household allowed to shop for groceries, shuttering all businesses deemed non-essential and shortening ...

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• 22 December

  Philippines murder video of mother, son goes viral

  Bloomberg The Philippine government said it would prosecute a police officer over deaths of a mother and son, after a video of point blank shooting went viral in social media, prompting renewed calls against police violence and extrajudicial killings. Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who is recovering from a near-fatal poisoning that he blames on President Vladimir Putin, said he ...

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• 22 December

  France halts UK freight over virus alarm, rocking supplies

  

  Bloomberg Britain’s biggest port stopped all traffic heading to Europe, triggering delays to food supplies after the discovery of a new variant of the virus prompted a wave of countries to ban travel from the UK. The escalating crisis prompted Boris Johnson to convene a meeting of the government’s emergency committee in a bid to keep goods flowing. The concern ...

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• 22 December

  Orban calls Merkel ‘brilliant’ after EU budget compromise

  

  Bloomberg Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said German Chancellor Angela Merkel was “brilliant” for the way she resolved a dispute over the European Union’s $2.2 trillion budget and stimulus package, in an interview in Welt am Sonntag. Germany brokered the compromise that led Hungary and Poland to drop a threat to veto the plan, which would make payments to EU ...

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