The French government on Friday announced a further €3.5bn of tax rises for 2011 the latest in a series of announcements that puts Paris’s austerity drive on par with Berlin’s much-criticised plan to trim its budget.The latest announcement – intended to reassure the markets while not scaring the French public about impending austerity –- brings to €13.2bn the amount France aims to raise from tax
Convened in Washington, in November 2008, the first G-20 summit was a hasty attempt by top economies to forge common cause against a rapidly escalating financial crisis.That initial consensus risks unraveling at the G-20's fourth summit, in Toronto on June 26-27, with the U.S and the European Union notably parting ways on how best to restore economic health.The summit follows an extraordinary au
RIGA – Forget the ponytail.Forget the glasses.Forget every stereotype of a hacker, despite the scifi-geek pseudonym Neo .A clean-shaven, 31-year-old married Latvian wearing a buttoned-up shirt sat down this week to explain why he leaked the pay details of public officials onto the Internet.Ilmars Poikans' exposure of alleged flaws in an austerity drive grabbed headlines and embarrassed th
Attempts to cut Italy’s bloated state spending were fine as long as the target was ordinary civil servants and recalcitrant trade unions, but Renato Brunetta, minister for public administration reforms, is facing a tougher task in persuading ministries and local governments to cut back their vast fleets of official limousines.Sleek Maseratis, costing more than €150,000 each, are a daily sight out
ATHENS – Greece announced drastic spending cuts Sunday to clinch a 110-billion-euro international bailout, warning that widespread sacrifices were needed to save the country from bankruptcy.The government said Greeks would have to work longer before they can retire, public workers would lose year-end bonuses, and sales taxes would go up under a deal with the European Union and Internationa