Alphabet’s Google, Meta Platforms and TikTok on Thursday won backing from Europe’s top court in their fight against an Austrian law requiring them to delete hate speech or face fines of up to ($10.69 million). The Austrian law, enacted in 2021 and which obliges Big Tech to publish regular reports of illegal content, comes amid mounting concerns […]
An EU tribunal made legal errors when it ruled in favour of Apple over a 13-billion-euro ($14 billion) tax order and should review the case again, an adviser to Europe’s top court said on Thursday, in a potential setback for the iPhone maker. The tax case against Apple was part of EU antitrust chief Margrethe […]
The issues of whether and how banks penalise climate risk in their lending activities, and how monetary policy affects this, are key for policymaking. This column uses credit register data for euro area banks and carbon emission data for firms to show that banks charge higher lending rates to high-emission firms and lower rates to […]
The EU and US are negotiating a bilateral arrangement to address carbon emissions on steel and aluminium production while restoring “market-oriented conditions”. This column asks how much trade is at stake and what leverage the transatlantic trading powers have left over China in sectors already subject to supplementary tariffs. While EU and US purchases of […]
International reserves provide buffers against external financial shocks but maintaining reserves has a high cost, which needs careful consideration and strategic management. This column uses data from 110 countries between 2001 and 2020 to show the significant buffer effect of international reserves. The effects are stronger in Europe and Central Asia when reserves exceed 17% […]
The recent rate hikes to fight inflation have led to large transfers of central banks’ profits to commercial banks. This column argues, and provides evidence, that the remuneration of bank reserves reduces the effectiveness of interest rate increases. An interest rate hike by the central bank triggers large transfers to banks, increases the value of […]
PayPal Holdings added nearly $4 billion to its market value after a pledge to turn “leaner” fired up investors, even as the payments giant disclosed a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission tied to its stablecoin. The company’s shares climbed nearly 7% to $55.12 on Thursday as a strong full-year profit forecast also calmed […]
Many European leaders express concern, or even dismay, that Europe is unable to launch and grow its own tech giants like those in the US . This reflects European insecurity about tech inferiority that goes back at least as far as France’s Plan Calcul in the 1960s. Europe wants the benefits that large, innovative firms create […]
Africa is not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty. While many countries were successful in reducing poverty during the years before the pandemic, its economic disruptions coupled with climate disasters and food and fuel inflation caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have put spanners in the wheels. Growing vulnerabilities to […]
Clean hydrogen, including green hydrogen, is a building block for the energy transition. It can potentially eliminate the world’s reliance on fossil fuels, especially in hard-to-abate sectors, and contribute to achieving net zero emissions. We can produce green hydrogen by harnessing renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. As low-income countries and vulnerable populations experience […]
