Sarkozy: niet bezuinigen, wel lenen

Sarkozy: niet bezuinigen, wel lenen

(Bron, De Telegraaf, DFT) PARIJS (AFN) - De Franse president Nicolas Sarkozy gaat op grote schaal geld lenen om met strategische investeringen de economische crisis te lijf te gaan. Hij zei dat maandag in een gezamenlijke bijeenkomst van de beide Kamers van het parlement. Bezuinigingen en belastingverhoging werken volgens Sarkozy averechts.
De omvang van de nieuwe staatsleningen wordt pas bekend als de regering haar nieuwe prioriteiten heeft gesteld. Sarkozy weet nog niet of hij het geld gaat lenen van het Franse volk of op de financiële markten.

Het Franse financieringstekort dreigt op te lopen naar meer dan 7 procent dit jaar en volgend jaar. Dat is meer dan twee keer de limiet die de Europese Unie daaraan stelt. Sarkozy heeft meermalen de vloer aangeveegd met wat hij noemde het “Angelsaksische kapitalisme”. Hij wil vasthouden aan de Franse traditie om flink te investeren in het publieke domein en aan relatief ruime sociale uitgaven. http://www.telegraaf.nl/dft/nieuws_dft/4224149/__Sarkozy__niet_bezuinigen__wel_lenen__.html?p=30,1

ECB Official Faults New EU Regulation

ECB Official Faults New EU Regulation

(Source Wall Street Journal)The European Union approved a compromise plan Friday to create new financial regulators for the bloc, but a senior official at the European Central Bank that would head the new effort said the plan allowed too little power for the regulators to act.

The EU would set up a European Systemic Risk Council for the bloc, headed up by the president of the ECB. But, largely due to pressure from the United Kingdom, the body would only be advisory. Final decisions on financial-sector rescues would rest with the national governments called on to fund them.
The ECB should have "the possibility to act," Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, a member of the ECB's Executive Council, said Friday, addressing a conference in Milan.

Under the plan approved Friday by the bloc's 27 leaders at a summit in Brussels, the Risk Council would have "the powers to make recommendations but not to implement policies directly," he said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has pushed hard for greater regulation in response to the financial crisis, told reporters at the summit that he expected the proposed council to acquire greater powers over time.

"We've created a new EU institution from scratch. ... We could have gone further, but I believe that it will widen [its powers] through experience and practice, the way it's always happened," said Mr. Sarkozy. EU institutions and policies have often begun small and gathered powers over time. Read Article...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124541961471231443.html

President Sarkozy Set to Announce Stimulus Plan Exceeding $25 Billion

Sarkozy Set to Announce Stimulus Plan Exceeding $25 Billion

Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy is set to announce today what he has called a “massive” plan to spur growth in an economy teetering on the brink of recession.
The aid, which Sarkozy will detail in a speech in Douai, in northern France, may exceed 1 percent of gross domestic product, or 20 billion euros ($25 billion), Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said last week. The package will total about 25 billion euros, Les Echos reported today, without citing sources.
“We’ll announce a quite massive stimulus plan for tackling the difficulties of the car industry” and “to reinforce construction,” Sarkozy said in Valenciennes on Nov. 25.

Christine Lagarde voit une hausse de l'inflation en 2008

PARIS (Reuters) - La ministre de l'Economie, Christine Lagarde, a dit samedi s'attendre à une hausse de l'inflation en 2008 en raison de l'augmentation du prix du pétrole et des matières premières agricoles.
"On aura sans aucun doute plus d'inflation en 2008 qu'on en a eu en 2007", a-t-elle déclaré sur France info.
Invitée dans la soirée sur France 2, Christine Lagarde a relativisé son propos, soulignant que l'économie française "résiste infiniment mieux" que ses voisins européens dans un "contexte international troublé."
"Je pense qu'on finira à 1,5 sur l'année 2007 et notre prévisionnel pour l'année 2008, c'est 1,6. On a un écart de 0,1 point, c'est à dire un peu plus mais un écart qui est extrêmement minime", a-t-elle expliqué.