François Fillon put his future as French presidential candidate for the centre right in the hands of party leaders after mobilising tens of thousands of supporters at a rally in Paris. Mr Fillon said he was the victim of a “manhunt” but notably omitted to tell the crowd — mobilised as show of strength among grassroots Republicans — that he would fight on as Republican candidate despite […]
By Jussi Rosendahl | HELSINKI HELSINKI Finnish foreign minister Timo Soini said on Sunday he would step down as leader of the nationalist and eurosceptic Finns party in June, a move which could challenge the future of the country’s three-party government. The departure of Soini paves the way for a more hard-line leadership, surveys have suggested, as many of its core voters bridled at compromises he made […]
Via Nicholas Eberstadt of CommentaryMagazine.com, On the morning of November 9, 2016, America’s elite—its talking and deciding classes—woke up to a country they did not know. To most privileged and well-educated Americans, especially those living in its bicoastal bastions, the election of Donald Trump had been a thing almost impossible even to imagine. What sort of country would go and elect someone like Trump as president? Certainly not […]
By Sophie Louet and John Irish | AUBERVILLIERS, France AUBERVILLIERS, France Embattled French presidential candidate Francois Fillon defended his political plans on Saturday as the only credible future for the country and vowed to stay in the race, a day before a Paris rally called to demonstrate the strength of his support. Once the frontrunner, conservative Fillon is mired in a scandal over his wife’s pay, and […]
KARACHI: The Panama Papers — a huge leak of documents detailing the alleged secret offshore holdings of global elite — were released in April 2016. The leak made headlines all-over the world, but its impact was probably most keenly felt in Iceland. Just two days after the leak appeared, Iceland’s prime minister had to resign from his office over protests by the people. Thousands of people had […]
People take part in a protest against corruption in Lima, Peru after a scandal involving bribes Brazil’s Odebrecht distributed in Peru, February 16, 2017 (Guadalupe Pardo/Reuters). A wave of corruption scandals has roiled Latin America in recent years, from Chile’s campaign finance affairs, through Mexico’s Casa Blanca revelations. Most recently, the information divulged in the December Odebrecht settlement has sent a shudder of fear across regional politics […]
By Michel Rose and Emmanuel Jarry | PARIS PARIS Presidential frontrunner Emmanuel Macron said he would root out inequalities in France’s pension system, sell down government stakes in major firms and downsize parliament, as he unveiled a manifesto to set him apart from traditionalists. Standing as an independent centrist, Macron is tipped by opinion polls to defeat far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a run-off vote in […]
TOKYO Already rare among Group of Seven leaders for the stability of his reign, Shinzo Abe will have a shot at becoming Japan’s longest-serving prime minister after his party changes a rule allowing him to serve a third consecutive three-year term. That would give Abe, whose resignation in 2007 after an earlier stint started a spate of revolving-door premiers, a chance to achieve his goal of revising […]
Education, rather than exposure to immigrants, is emerging as the clearest nationwide indicator of the likelihood of Dutch voters supporting Geert Wilders’ anti-immigration Party for Freedom, according to an extensive Financial Times survey of demographic and voting data from the most recent general election. Mr Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) looks on course to win the most seats in the upcoming election on March 15, but is […]
A storming start for risk assets has defined the first two months of 2017, with heightened optimism on Wall Street pushing the FTSE All-World equity index into record territory. Whether the rally can be sustained in March depends on the outcome of several key events. Here is a rundown of what looms for investors during the month. US jobs data and the Federal Reserve The bullish sentiment […]
By Thomas Escritt | AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM Hit by sliding poll numbers, Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders said he would resume his campaign this weekend after revelations of leaks from his police protection prompted him to halt all public appearances ahead this month’s election. Wednesday’s announcement follows the Dutch government’s decision to give a different squad the task of protecting the outspoken opponent of Islam, who has lived under […]
By Letitia Stein | CLEARWATER, Fla. CLEARWATER, Fla. While U.S. President Donald Trump tried to win over skeptics in Congress on Tuesday, he never had to worry about losing the faithful at the Quaker Steak and Lube. About two dozen fans of the 45th president gathered at the bar and restaurant in Clearwater, Florida, still committed to Trump despite the tumult of his first 40 days in […]
King Salman’s extravagant travel arrangements have captured the public imagination ahead of the Saudi monarch’s high-profile visit to Indonesia beginning Wednesday, but billions of dollars in oil and other investment deals are also at stake. The trade deals could be worth as much as $25 billion, including a $6 billion project between the two nation’s oil companies, according to Indonesian officials who briefed reporters on the scheduled […]
By Steve Holland | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON After a turbulent start to his presidency, Donald Trump goes before the U.S. Congress on Tuesday night to give a speech that will be closely watched for details of his plans for the economy and whether he can strike a more conciliatory tone. World financial markets will be scrutinizing the 9 p.m. (0200 GMT Wednesday) address in the House of Representatives […]
French government debt has capped its best run since the aftermath of Britain’s vote for Brexit, underlining the rapid shift in investor sentiment towards the country’s presidential election which now looms over financial markets. The yield on the 10-year French bond dropped to its lowest in a month, as money managers and traders continued to take succour after centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron received the backing of potential […]
In recent weeks, Mauricio Macri, Argentina’s president, has faced a storm of criticism. After failing to condemn an official who offended many when he played down the gravity of Argentina’s military dictatorship, he is now accused of favouritism towards his father’s company in negotiations over the repayment of a $300m debt to the state after a botched privatisation of the post office in the 1990s. But however politically tone […]
Apologies to Dickens, but this really might be the best and the worst of times for American journalism. As near-daily attacks on the press are launched from President Trump’s Twitter account and trust in the media sinks to record lows, readers are subscribing to national newspapers in droves and newsrooms across America are infused with a renewed sense of mission. “This is a moment where you’ve got […]
Independent French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron would beat far right leader Marine Le Pen in the second round of the French presidential election with 61 percent of the vote, according to an Odoxa/Dentsu-Consulting poll on Sunday. The pollsters said Macron had been buoyed by the alliance announced this week with centrist politician Francois Bayrou, which has enabled him to move ahead of conservative candidate Francois Fillon. The […]
BERLIN German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) are neck-and-neck in the latest Emnid poll with seven months to go before a federal election. The poll in Bild am Sonntag newspaper showed the SPD, which has surged in recent weeks since nominating former European Parliament President Martin Schulz as its candidate, dropping by one percentage point compared with the same poll last week […]
By Michelle Martin and Thorsten Severin | BERLIN BERLIN German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives held a narrow opinion poll lead on Friday over the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), whose support has surged in recent weeks. The Ipsos poll put the conservative bloc at 32 percent while the SPD, enjoying a revival in fortunes since nominating former European Parliament President Martin Schulz as its candidate to replace Merkel, […]
By Darren Staples and Phil Noble | STOKE-ON-TRENT/WHITEHAVEN, England STOKE-ON-TRENT/WHITEHAVEN, England Britain’s opposition Labour Party and the populist UK Independence Party suffered damaging defeats at separate parliamentary by-elections on Friday, raising serious questions about the long-term electoral prospects of both parties. Labour won the Stoke-on-Trent Central seat by a comfortable albeit reduced margin over the anti-European Union UKIP which had fielded its leader and had been hoping […]
Selling pressure on French bonds ebbed on Thursday, pushing the yield on the 10-year bond back below 1 per cent, as the prospect of a centrist alliance in the country’s presidential election eased anxiety that far-right candidate Marine Le Pen will win. The decision on Wednesday by independent candidate François Bayrou not to stand in the country’s elections, and instead throw his support behind fellow centrist Emmanuel […]
By Brian Love and Michel Rose | PARIS PARIS France’s presidential race took a new turn on Thursday as opinion polls began to show centrist Emmanuel Macron benefiting from an alliance with a veteran politician that could help him beat the far-right’s Marine Le Pen and win power at the age of 39. Macron, a fresh-faced ex-investment banker who has never held elected office, met his new […]
Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland fell to its lowest polling point in seven months, hinting that the Trump tidal wave is not one Germans are eager to ride. A poll by the Institute Allsenbach and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung asked whom respondents would vote for if elections were held Sunday. Just 8.5 percent said AfD, led by Frauke Petry — the first time since July the extreme right-wing […]
