Transatlantic News

Transatlantic News

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Top global firms commit to tackling inequality by joining Business for Inclusive Growth coalition

A group of major international companies has pledged to tackle inequality and promote diversity in their workplaces and supply chains as part of an initiative sponsored by the French Presidency of the G7 and overseen by the OECD. The Business for Inclusive Growth (B4IG) coalition will be launched at the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Biarritz, France, which took place from 24 to 26 August 2019. Spearheaded by Emmanuel Faber, Danone Chairman and CEO, the coalition brought together 34 leading multinationals...
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An Autobiography That Puts The Irish Backstop In Context

By John Bruton, former Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) I have just finished reading Seamus Mallon’s autobiography, entitled a “Shared Home Place”.Boris Johnson, or one of his advisors, ought to read it if they wish to get an insight into the concerns that underlie the Irish backstop. They will learn that Brexit, and the Irish peace, are not events in themselves, but processes that will go on for years, and will either deepen or reduce division over generations to come.  This is not...
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Prime Minister Johnson’s Letter To Council President Tusk

By John Bruton, former Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) This letter is important because it sets out the thinking of the new UK Government. It should be taken seriously and analysed. It contains a number of internal contradictions which should be, politely but persistently, probed by EU negotiators. I hope to explore some of these in this note. WHAT IS THE ESSENCE OF SOVEREIGNTY? Some of the terms used in the letter need to be defined. For example, Mr Johnson claims the Irish backstop is...
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Worsening Water Quality Reducing Economic Growth by a Third in Some Countries: World Bank

The world faces an invisible crisis of water quality that is eliminating one-third of potential economic growth in heavily polluted areas and threatening human and environmental well-being, according to a World Bank report released today. Quality Unknown: The Invisible Water Crisis shows, with new data and methods, how a combination of bacteria, sewage, chemicals, and plastics can suck oxygen from water supplies and transform water into poison for people and ecosystems. To shed light on the issue, the World Bank assembled...
Chapter News

World Bank Group Warns of Advance Fee Fraud Schemes Misrepresenting Its Name

In light of a resurgence of "advance fee fraud schemes" misusing the World Bank Group’s name, the institution is warning against investment deals and advance fee schemes that fraudulently invoke the institution’s name or claim to be affiliated with the World Bank Group. Like many large organizations, we have seen increased use of sophisticated forms and letterhead that appear to be legitimate World Bank Group email correspondence or certificates. The World Bank’s name can be falsely invoked to give the...
Chapter News

France : Financial System Stability Assessment

Important institutional and policy changes have taken place since the 2012 FSAP. At the national level, the authorities have strengthened the macroprudential framework by establishing the High Council for Financial Stability (HCSF), enhanced monitoring of financial stability risks, prepared to manage the Brexit fall-out, introduced macroprudential measures, and taken various financial reform measures included in Loi PACTE—Action Plan for Business Growth and Transformation—and initiatives on digital finance, crypto-assets, green finance, and combating cyber risk. At the European level, significant...
Brexit News, Chapter News

UK has Committed Itself to Radically Contradictory Positions on Brexit and The Belfast Agreement

By John Bruton, former Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) WILL UK BE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE MORE EASILY WITH EUROPE IF IT BINS THE WITHDRAWAL TREATY? The new UK Foreign Secretary , Dominic Raab, has claimed on Radio 4 that the UK would find it “easier” to negotiate  a good long term deal with Brussels , if it had first crashed out of the EU , than if it ratified the Withdrawal Treaty.  Doing this would mean binning the entire content the Withdrawal Treaty,...
Chapter News

International community agrees on a road map for resolving the tax challenges arising from digitalisation of the economy

The international community has agreed on a road map for resolving the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy, and committed to continue working toward a consensus-based long-term solution by the end of 2020, the OECD announced. The 129 members of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) adopted a Programme of Work laying out a process for reaching a new global agreement for taxing multinational enterprises. The document, which calls for intensifying international discussions around two...

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