How to destroy Islamic State: What Obama could learn from Wall Street November 17, 2014 TWENTY years ago, I sat on Wall Street as an expectant, newly-hired investment banker, being trained in the arts (although there was some science involved) of corporate finance, bond maths, and company valuations. One phrase from a shouty lecturer remains imprinted on my mind to this day. “Life’s just a stream of cashflows,” he bellowed [...]
G20 summit: Cameron, Obama and world leaders pledge $2 trillion boost and 2.1pc GDP growth by 2018 November 16, 2014 Countries of the G20 have pledged to grow their economies by 2.1 per cent by 2018, adding $2 trillion (£1.25 trillion) to the global economy. The G20 summit in Brisbane was brought to a close by leaders committing to more than 800 reforms aimed at growing their collective GDP, including employment measures, Infrastructure investment, increasing [...]
Lazard head to be Obama’s Bank Manager November 13, 2014 Lazard banker Antonio Weiss is set to become Barack Obama’s top domestic policymaker on banking and finance, as the president’s pick for the US Treasury. Weiss is the global head of investment banking at Lazard. The Senate will get the final say on his appointment.
Barack Obama backs net neutrality and says Internet must stay “free and open” November 10, 2014 US President Barack Obama has nailed his colours to the mast of net neutrality, as he urged the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to fully embrace the principle in its new rules on internet governance. The FCC, an independent governmental agency, is currently drawing up new rules on internet governance which are expected to [...]
Obama dealt blow by Republican victory November 5, 2014 BARACK Obama was dealt a significant blow yesterday when the Republican Party won control of the Senate in the US mid-term elections, increasing their power in the final two years of his presidency. The Republicans also increased their grip on the House of Representatives and now control both chambers of Congress for the first time [...]
Barack Obama faces the press after Republicans triumph over Democrats in US midterms November 5, 2014 President Obama has finished his first press conference since his party's shellacking in America's midterm elections. Republicans strengthened their control over the House of Representatives gaining ten seats. However, the big story of the night was the GOP takeover of the Senate going from 45 to 52 seats so far. Furthermore, Republicans won governors' races [...]
US elections: Obama can only salvage his failing presidency if his party loses November 2, 2014 There is a lovely story about how the administration of US President John F Kennedy – for all its intellectual glitter and panache – managed to get Vietnam so wrong. Coming back from his first cabinet meeting, vice president Lyndon Johnson told his mentor and great friend Sam Rayburn, a crafty giant of the House [...]
Obama under pressure to put a stop to forced Ebola quarantine October 27, 2014 President Obama is under pressure to end the practice of forced quarantines, imposed by some US states on healthcare workers returning from countries affected by Ebola. The row was sparked after volunteer nurse Kaci Hickox became the first person to be held in New Jersey under the measures, despite not showing any symptoms of the [...]
Ebola travel bans: Obama says blocking flights from west Africa could make the outbreak worse October 18, 2014 US President Barack Obama has said that blocking flights from west Africa to stem the spread of Ebola could actually make the situation worse. Lawmakers have been placing pressure on him to block all flights from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone – the three countries suffering most at the hands of the epidemic – [...]
Obama and US Treasury announce new rules to end tax inversion deals September 23, 2014 US president Barack Obama has announced sweeping new measures to end the increasingly popular practice of US firms relocating their headquarters to countries with more favourable tax regimes through foreign takeovers. The US Treasury will introduce new measures making so-called tax inversion deals less attractive to firms. Measures include an end to “hopscotch” loans whereby [...]