The coronavirus pandemic has raised deficit spending to new heights. Federal debt held by the public is expected to reach 100% of gross domestic product this year, effectively returning to the levels of World War II. The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, has also taken unprecedented action, increasing its total assets from about $4 trillion at the start of the pandemic to about $7 trillion now. The big question is when, if ever, this aggressive government action starts to incur negative consequences, such as rapid inflation. Macroeconomists should be investigating this question vigorously. But so far, interest in the question has seemed strangely muted among mainstream academics. Before the financial crisis of 2008, the dominant academic model of the business cycle held that there was a tradeoff between inflation and unemployment – a new version of what’s known in economics as the …
The European Union’s top court struck down the so-called Privacy Shield, a key method to transfer data across the Atlantic, amid fears over potential US surveillance. Thursday’s decision by the EU Court of Justice means thousands of businesses that ship commercial data across the Atlantic risk turmoil in their day-to-day activities. While a second, contract-based system to transfer data was approved, the judges saved their critiques for US surveillance. The controversy stretches back to 2013, when former contractor Edward Snowden exposed the extent of spying by the US National Security Agency. Privacy campaigner Max Schrems has been challenging Facebook Inc. in the Irish courts -- where the social media company has its European base -- arguing that EU citizens’ data is at risk the moment it gets transferred to the US. “It is clear that the US will have to …
In principle, summer is synonymous with holidays, but these will be peculiar this year. The uncertainty of the last few months and the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic is still developing outside Europe have prompted many of you to cancel your trips abroad. So, you could take the opportunity to discover the magnificent places of Luxembourg. Here are some suggestions. Hiking in Little Switzerland Often referred to as Luxembourg’s Little Switzerland, Mullerthal owes its name to its hilly landscape reminiscent of Switzerland. The region has a unique geological heritage of imposing sandstone cliffs with narrow clefts and deep gorges. On a length of 112 km, the spectacular Mullerthal Trail passes all the natural particularities of the region. Its three main routes have each their own character. Route 1 leads through woods and meadows. Route 2 brings hikers to impressive canyons …
Eurostat have released an interesting forecast about how long a person can expect to be active in the European labour market during his or her life. The data is measured in years and it’s based on someone who was 15-years-old in 2019. On average, the expected duration of working life in the European Union was 35.2 years - 3.6 years longer than in 2000. In individual member states, it ranges from 32 years in Italy to 42 years in Sweden. The data also includes several countries outside the EU and their figures are diverse. In Turkey for example, a 15-year-old can expect a working life of 29.3 years. In Iceland, however, a 15-year-old can expect to work for far longer - 45.8 years in total. Elsewhere, the duration of work is estimated at 42.6 years in Switzerland and 39.8 years …
The most popular employer of 2020 is Luxair according to Randstad's annual survey. It is one of three companies from the logistics and transport sector to make the top five. Luxair touches down in first place in the ranking of the most attractive companies in Luxembourg published by Randstad. More than 51% of the 1,500 respondents said they would like to work for this employer. The Banque et Caisse d'Epargne de l'État came second, followed by CFL, Post Group and then Cargolux. In the competition between sectors, logistics and transport are the most popular. They are perceived as "offering high job security and good financial health. What's more, companies in this sector enjoy a very good reputation," Randstad wrote. The annual study was carried out by the temporary work specialist before covid-19. "In these uncertain times, the employer brand is …
International law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is to open an office in Luxembourg, specialised in private equity client support with the establishment of funds and related regulatory matters. The firm announced its expansion plans in a press release issued on Monday. The office, the firm’s tenth, will be led by Christopher Dortschy, who joins Debevoise as a partner in Debevoise & Plimpton Luxembourg and an international counsel in Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. Prior to joining Debevoise, Dortschy served in the Luxembourg office of a magic circle firm. He will be supported by London and Frankfurt partner Patricia Volhard, a private funds lawyer. Volhard said that private funds regulatory requirements and Brexit had pushed the company to strengthen its European funds offering. “Luxembourg has become an increasingly important jurisdiction for our private equity clients. Having on-the-ground capabilities in the country …
I don’t live in the liveliest part of New York City. The Upper West Side, in fact, is known as one of the quieter neighborhoods in Manhattan. That being said, under normal conditions, I semi-regularly wake up to car horns or the emphatic reaction of a taxi driver to a UPS van parked too far out in the road. Lately though, I’ve been waking up to the sound of birds chirping and not much else. I could have mistaken it for nearly any sleepy street in the Grandest of Duchies, where waking to the sounds of birds was the norm unless you lived along one of the trans-frontalière veins like Route de Longwy – thank you Belgium. COVID-19 hit New York hard, with titles such as “global epicenter” being plastered on TV and across every social media platform for …
Luxembourg's fund industry rebounded by adding €253 billion in assets last month after the coronavirus pandemic put an end to a year of growth for Europe's largest investment fund centre, the country's financial regulator said on Wednesday. Assets in mutual funds domiciled in the Grand Duchy dropped by half a trillion euros in March as the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic and markets went into free fall. Investor confidence appeared to be returning after the initial battering though, with a 6% increase in assets in April from the previous month, bringing the total value to €4.4 trillion, a report published by the Financial Sector Supervisory Commission (CSSF) said. Assets under management had totalled €4.8 trillion in January. "The exceptional support measures implemented by most governments and central banks around the world to stabilise the economy …
On the Greek island of Mykonos, Mayor Kostas Koukas is desperately trying to revive the tourism that is the life blood of the local economy. Koukas, and his counterparts in towns and cities across Europe, are looking to salvage something from the summer season after the coronavirus pandemic brought travel to a standstill. With the disease largely under control in Greece, Mykonos is in a strong position to benefit as restrictions are loosened more quickly than in harder-hit nations like Italy and Spain. “Residents want the island to open up not just to contain economic losses but also because tourism is our life,” Koukas said. “For sure, this season won’t be normal, but we want to open because it will be very important for the following ones.” After a two-month battle to contain the virus, European governments have begun slowly …
Working from home ensures better work-life balance, reduces traffic Teleworking should become more prevalent after the pandemic lockdown has shown the merits of the home office, Luxembourg's Green party said. Teleworking gives people a "real work-life balance", cuts peak-hour traffic and reduces pollution, the party's presidents said on Thursday. Workers across Luxembourg have not seen the inside of their offices for almost eight weeks, since the country went into lockdown on 16 March. But many firms have been able to continue with business as usual with staff working from a distance, including cross-border workers logging in from neighbouring countries. The Greens now want to maintain the "positive dynamic" of teleworking and make it part of a "new national strategy", presidents Djuna Bernard et Christian Kmiotek said at a conference. "Such a reform could be put in place in the short …