Donald Trump is not just a problem for the EU, but for the whole
world.
Martin Schulz. German SDP leader.
We
focus this weekend on Germany, the current President of the increasingly
acrimonious G-20. With GB leaving the EUSSR, Germany will have to pick up the
lion’s share of GB’s former contribution, the second largest in the wealth and
jobs destroying, dying EUSSR. And that at a time when President Trump is
calling on all NATO members but three, to live up to their pledge to spend at
least 2 percent of GDP on their defence. In addition to the USA, only the UK,
Poland and Latvia comply.
Below,
China asks Chancellor Merkel to square the circle. So far, as seen from London,
President Trump seems to be in a ”take no prisoners” mood with Germany. Next
month’s G-20 meeting looks set to be the
most interesting in years.
“The EU has been created as a tool for solving problems, but
many people think of it as a part of the problem rather than a solution.”
Martin Schulz. German SDP leader.
Germany wants G20 to keep language on trade, currencies, climate: sources
Germany
will press the Group of 20 to reaffirm its commitment to promoting free trade,
resisting currency wars and fighting climate
change when finance ministers meet next month for the first time since the
election of Donald Trump, G20 sources said.
But the
sources said there was far more uncertainty than usual surrounding the drafting
of the G20 communique because of the Trump administration's confrontational
rhetoric on trade and currencies, and its scepticism about whether humans are
contributing to global warming.
Germany,
which holds the rotating presidency of the G20, is in the awkward position of
having to forge a consensus on a range of global issues without a clear sense
of where Washington stands and amid pressure from China to push back against
Trump's protectionist language.
"The
Chinese want the G20 to reaffirm the importance of free trade, a cooperative
financial order, and the fight against climate
change," one German official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
"The challenge is to do this without giving it an anti-U.S. flavor."
The
German government declined to comment.
The
sources said it was too early to say whether there would be a major clash at
the March meeting of finance ministers in the western spa town of Baden-Baden,
describing the outcome as wide open.
But one
G20 source said that Germany would push to preserve the essential elements of
what has been agreed by the G20 in past years. Another source said currencies
would "definitely be discussed".
In its
2016 communique, the G20 agreed to "refrain from competitive
devaluations" or any targeting of exchange rates for "competitive
purposes."
More
Merkel says euro zone must remain one bloc
The euro
zone must remain as one bloc, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday,
urging members of the single currency bloc to deliver on their common
commitments.
"For
me it is not a matter of two speeds within the euro zone," Merkel said.
"The euro zone must remain together. And what we agreed on should be
delivered together by all the euro member states."
Finance
Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Wednesday that Greece would have to leave
the euro zone if it failed to meet its bailout commitments.
"The
pressure on the Greeks to undertake reform must be maintained so that they
become competitive, otherwise they can't remain in the currency area,"
Schaeuble told public broadcaster ARD.
Next,
more on the arrogant German old socialist who wants to replace Migrant Mad
Merkel and boss around Europe and President Trump. If he wins power in Germany
later in the Autumn, continental Europe will split, though the next G-20
meeting with Trump v Schulzy in 2018 will be epic.
'Many of my colleagues say behind closed doors: 'Don't stop a rolling stone. If the Brits want to leave, let them leave'
Martin Schulz. German SDP leader.
SPIEGEL Interview with Martin Schulz'The Trump Approach Will Never Be Our Approach'
Martin Schulz, the former president of European
Parliament, is now running against Angela Merkel for the German Chancellery.
SPIEGEL speaks with him about populism, the stability of democracy and Donald
Trump.
February 08, 2017 03:01 PM
----- SPIEGEL: Donald Trump was successful
in reaching out to those American men and women who have been left behind --
the workers and normal people who used to vote for the Democrats. What can the
SPD learn from Donald Trump's electoral success?
Schulz: People must once again be able to
trust that Social Democratic politicians understand the lives they live. I can
say that of myself. I know their problems: the problems of those who work hard,
who must slave away. The couples who have two incomes but who can nevertheless
barely cover their rent. The people who get stuck in traffic on their way to
work. The people who have to wait in vain for a train to come just as they are
supposed to be picking up their children from daycare. I can say with a clear
conscience to those people: I understand your problems. And I will do all I can
to decrease them.
SPIEGEL: Can you also learn something from
the way in which Trump led his campaign?
Schulz: Yes. That one shouldn't run such a
campaign under any circumstances. What baseness! The overstepping of all bounds
necessary for the fundamental consensus of democracy! It takes my breath away.
Schulz: Very much so. A person who brings
the former head of the right-wing extremist Breitbart News into the National
Security Council is gambling with the safety of the Western world. Donald Trump
must be taken seriously. He is fulfilling his dangerous campaign promises.
SPIEGEL: Horst Seehofer, the head of the
CSU, recently praised exactly this aspect of Trump's leadership.
Schulz: That astonished me. If we, like
Horst Seehofer, no longer judge the content of people's actions, but merely
their form, then we are entering dangerous times indeed.
SPIEGEL: How should Germany react to Trump?
Schulz: With a real strengthening of the
EU. Trump has a clear goal: the division of Europe and the destruction of the
European domestic market. The fact that Brexit propagandist Nigel Farage was
the first European he received in his tower speaks volumes. That is why we must
strengthen the European domestic market and work even more closely together in
Europe. That is absolutely compulsory for Germany.
SPIEGEL: Do you think that Angela Merkel has
thus far struck the correct chord with respect to Trump?
Schulz: Trump is the freely elected
president of the U.S. and as such deserves respect. But she cannot remain
silent in the face of actions that we cannot accept. Gerhard Schröder offered a
clear German NEIN to an American president's war of aggression that was in violation
of international law. That took courage. Ms. Merkel did not join him at the
time. If Trump now begins to take the wrecking ball to our set of values, we
must say clearly: That is not our approach.
SPIEGEL: What will the long-term
consequences be of Trump's recent travel ban on the citizens of seven primarily
Muslim countries?
Schulz: Such a generalized assessment of
people is unacceptable. I find it shocking, particularly for a country which,
more than any other, always stood for freedom, tolerance and immigration.
(…...) For the United States of all countries to issue such a decree shows that
we are living through an epochal shift. If we aren't careful, the elementary
foundations of our pluralistic democracy will be threatened.
SPIEGEL: How would you deal with Trump were
you to become chancellor?
Schulz: It is impossible to swear an oath
to the German Basic Law without realizing that our constitution is among the
most liberal constitutions in the world. As the head of government in such a
country, I would stand up to all those who call into question this free, open
and tolerant model of society.
More
"When
it becomes serious, you have to lie"
Jean-Claude Juncker. Failed Luxembourg Prime Minister and ex-president of the Euro Group of Finance Ministers. Confessed liar. EC President.
Jean-Claude Juncker. Failed Luxembourg Prime Minister and ex-president of the Euro Group of Finance Ministers. Confessed liar. EC President.
In Brexit news, UK Plc will do just fine after the EUSSR.
Apple CEO Cook 'optimistic' about UK's future after Brexit: BBC
Cook met May at Downing Street and said he thought the UK would be "just fine" outside the European Union, BBC said.
Apple could not be immediately reached for a comment.
Last year, Apple said it was moving its London headquarters to the landmark Battersea Power Station, a move that was hailed by the government as a sign that major firms are still investing after the Brexit vote.
BOE Nears Its 2% Inflation Target for First Time in Three Years
by Fergal O'Brien and Harumi Ichikura
U.K. inflation is almost back on target.
Economists
forecast that consumer-price growth accelerated to 1.9 percent in January, part
of an upward trend that’s expected to continue through this year. While the
prediction would leave inflation just shy of the Bank of England’s 2 percent
goal, last hit in 2013, there have been upside surprises for the past two
months. The 1.6 percent pace recorded in December beat a 1.4 percent median
estimate.
Forecasts
in the survey for January range from 1.7 percent to 2.1 percent.
----While Governor Mark Carney has kept the central
bank in a neutral stance -- where interest rates could go up or down depending
on the outlook -- some policy makers have begun to sound the alarm on
inflation. Monetary Policy Committee member Kristin Forbes said this week that
the pace of the economy, coupled with the outlook for price growth, could mean
tighter policy will be justified soon.
More
We
close for the week with Trumpmania. The man has a plan from Goldman Sachs. Poor
sclerotic, dying Europe is becoming irrelevant. Everyone is moving on except
Europe. Still it might be a good time to add to holdings of fully paid up physical
gold and silver.
White House: Cohn-Led Tax Plan Is Real and It’s Phenomenal
by Margaret TalevUnnamed congressional leaders have been consulted on the blueprint, the official said. It’s separate from Trump’s proposed budget, the official said, requesting anonymity because the plan is still under development.
During a meeting at the White House with U.S. airline executives Thursday, Trump said he had a “phenomenal” plan to revamp business taxes that would be revealed within the next two or three weeks, without offering details. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer told reporters later that day that specifics would emerge only in the coming weeks. Still, he said the White House is at work on an outline of the most comprehensive business and individual tax overhaul since 1986.
Cohn, 56, stepped down as Goldman’s president and chief operating officer in December after agreeing to lead Trump’s National Economic Council, an influential panel that helps coordinate and develop the president’s economic program. He was long seen as the heir apparent to the bank’s Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein.
During a news conference Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump said he was working with House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the tax measure, which would be guided by an “incentive-based policy” and released “over the next short period of time.”
Congressional leaders weren’t commenting on Trump’s tax plans. Staff members in the offices of Ryan and Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady referred questions about it to the White House. A spokesman for McConnell had no immediate comment after a scheduled meeting Friday between the Kentucky Republican and the president.
More
There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as the result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved.
Ludwig von Mises.
As
usual at the weekend, we end with an update from Jason in California. The Trump
era is certainly different to the lethargy of the Obama era.
Fervor Over “Travel
Ban” Exemplifies Trumpian Shift in American Political Discourse
N. Jason Jencka February
11th 2017 2:20 am ET
In a few short days, a calendar month
will have passed since Donald J. Trump became the 45th American
president. In this time, the cable-news networks have careened between coverage
of a litany of presumed cataclysmic events from contentious Cabinet member
conformation hearings to the issuance of a litany of Presidential
executive-order. One such executive order though has garnered attention that
surpasses that of all the others combined. This is the so-called “travel ban”
that temporarily (for 90 days) bars entry to the country from Iraq, Syria,
Iran, Sudan, Libya,
Somalia and Yemen.
Additionally, the order freezes refugee applications for a variable period from
90 days to “permanently” in the case of Syria.
While commentators in the national
media have covered the sometimes dramatic stories of those with impacted travel
plans, one reality gets very little attention: This is that a majority of
Americas (55% per a recent Politico/Morning
Consult) poll actually are in favor of the restrictive policy. Fifty-five
percent is a particularly striking figure considering that President Trump’s
polled approval rating rests below 45%. Polling figures such as these suggest
that “Trumpian” policy on sensitive issues may be more popular than the
bombastic businessman himself. A shift of this nature represents a 180 degree
shift from former President Obama who consistently saw higher personal
favorability relative to responses to his legislative agenda. Following from
the example of the 2016 election cycle, featuring a ritual-like reading of the
polls at each rally, President Trump is acutely aware and indeed motivated by
this polling data as the Administration navigates the process of defending his
most controversial actions.
Sources:
Real Clear Politics “President Trump
Job Approval: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_trump_job_approval-6179.html
Adam Edelman New York Daily News, February 8th,
2017: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/55-voters-approve-trump-travel-ban-poll-shows-article-1.2967046
N. Jason Jencka is presently studying Finance and
Economics at Sierra Nevada College, located near the shores of Lake Tahoe on
the border of California and Nevada. His interests include the interplay
between world markets and the global political sphere, with a focus on
developments of both sides of the Atlantic in North America and Europe. In his
leisure time he enjoys connecting with those people that have an interesting
story to tell and a genuine desire to make an impact in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment