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International tourist arrivals increased by 7% in the first four months of 2010. The 3% increase registered in April marks the seventh month of growth in international tourist arrivals after 14 consecutive months of negative results.

International Tourism: Recovery Confirmed, but Growth Remains Uneven

By: EBR | Monday, July 5, 2010

International tourist arrivals grew by 7% in the first four months of 2010 according to the latest issue of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. This growth confirms the recovery trend beginning in the last quarter of 2009 and comes despite the challenging conditions of recent months.

EBS CEO Survey results: Putting Europe Back On Track

By: EBR | Thursday, July 1, 2010

It became clear from the results, presented at the beginning of the European Business Summit (EBS), that Europe's CEOs are confident, realistic, and broadly in agreement on the directions that they need in order to achieve recovery.

The argument runs that credit mistakes are made during the boom, not during the crash, so better regulation and monetary policy during the boom years could limit the scale of any bust.

Where Europe and America differ on global banking regulation

By: Europe′s World | Tuesday, June 22, 2010

It's tempting to base ideas for global financial regulation on 'bashing big banks', says Avinash Persaud, who chaired the UN’s 'Stiglitz Commission' on financial reform. But he warns that the greater problem is that of diverging American and European views on a safer rulebook.

What is fascinating is that within the Bretton Woods bubble in which we all grew up, there evolved two very different cultures. The worlds of finance and trade are now truly two very different global systems.

Systemic Failure: Lessons from the World of Trade for the World of Finance

By: The Globalist | Saturday, June 19, 2010

The great Crisis of 2008-09 may well be to finance what the Great Depression was to trade — namely, an inflection point that changes our view of the interplay of capitalism, globalization and sound regulation.

After years of vigorous efforts by the TTRI in research and development as well as technology transfer, Taiwan has innovated and made steady breakthroughs in textile-fiber-production technology and dyeing techniques.

Nine World Cup teams play in Made-in-Taiwan uniforms

By: EBR | Friday, June 18, 2010

At the FIFA World Cup tournament in South Africa, Taiwan will be appearing not among the 32 contending teams but as a maker of team uniforms. Nine of the competing teams will be donning uniforms made of recycled materials 100-percent made-in-Taiwan (MIT)

The crisis has shown that the divergent growth patterns in EMU and growing macroeconomic imbalances implied contingent budgetary risks.

2010 Report on Public Finances

By: EC Press Room | Thursday, June 17, 2010

Events in Spring 2010 have exposed the urgency of addressing the fiscal challenge in the euro area and the EU. Sovereign risk premia increased to unprecedented levels in Member States with perceived high budgetary and macro-financial risks.

Digital information technologies and the emergence of new services, although beneficial to consumers, also represent a major challenge to consumers’ fundamental rights to privacy and protection of personal data.

10 principles, 5 years, 1 challenge: to achieve a European Digital Strategy that truly works for consumers

By: EBR | Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Major technological developments have significantly changed the way consumers live, shop, communicate, access employment offers, education, healthcare services, knowledge and information.

As European citizens embrace innovative technologies, new devices and increased value added online services the scene is set for a highly dynamic and evolutionary digital future for Europe

Cybersecurity - a key component in the new Digital Era

By: EBR | Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Safer internet and effective measures against cybercrime is a multinational issue that needs to be addressed through various channels involving multiple partners, from business, government and civil society, working actively together.

Digital Agenda calls for strong leadership. Momentum has been created for vigorous action. Solid commitment and political will is now required to ensure the successful implementation of the Digital Agenda.

The Digital Agenda for Europe

By: EBR | Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The European Commission has just published its Digital Agenda, a key component of its EU 2020 Strategy. This highly political road map for the information society sector looks at delivering a smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

‘Citizens should be able to enjoy commercial services and cultural entertainment across borders. But EU online markets are still separated by barriers which hamper access to pan-European telecoms services, digital services and content’.

What we need is a digital internal market!

By: N. Peter Kramer | Tuesday, June 15, 2010

European Commission Vice-President and Commissioner Neelie Kroes introduced the Digital Agenda for Europe, the first of the seven flagship initiatives under the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

The real problem is that Europeans are not ready for the reforms they need, and politicians have not clearly explained the severity of the situation to their citizens.

Europe Bought Time and Not Much Else

By: EBR | Monday, June 14, 2010

Stock markets reacted euphorically to the massive rescue package announced to prop up crashing European economies. Passions cooled slightly as the market rally halted, but still, it seemed, all was as it should be.

The committee suggested new features designed to reduce risk in the financial system. These include new rules on remuneration, selling of borrowed securities (short-selling) and marketing to retail investors.

Hedge Funds: The EP call for less speculation

By: Athanase Papandropoulos | Monday, June 7, 2010

On Monday, May 31st, members of the European Parliament voted for new ways to deal with managers and hedge funds located outside the EU, a proportionality system to regulate less risky funds more lightly, and rules on remuneration policies of short selling.

Policymakers want to make it easy and quick to wind up an ailing bank so that it does not destabilize the broader financial system as seen with the crash of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

G20 officials see no deal on bank levy

By: Reuters | Thursday, June 3, 2010

The Group of 20 has pledged a string of reforms to financial regulation in a bid to avert a rerun of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s that forced governments to use trillions of dollars of taxpayer cash to shore up banks.

Luxury sector will outperform in 2010

By: EBR | Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Watches and spirits are set for a solid rebound this year, with LVMH, Swatch and Richemont top of the list of luxury stocks with the biggest upside, Paris-based luxury fund SG Gestion said.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicts the euro zone will be the world′s growth laggard, growing at 1.2% this year and 1.8% in 2011, while the U.S. racks up growth of 3.2% in both years, and Japan records 3% and 2% growth rates in 2010 and 2011, respectively. And those projections might be overly optimistic: retail sales in the euro zone have declined for five consecutive months.

To Save the Euro, Cut Red Tape

By: EBR | Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Bailouts and fiscal coordination are all well and good. But to get the growth needed to bring deficits under control, the euro zone needs to reduce its more stifling regulations, says Robert Zoellick. He's right.

"We′re not back to the crisis days of 2008. The banks are not going into this period of turmoil with anything like the balance sheet structure they had two years ago, they are in much better shape," said Simon Maughan, analyst at MF Global."We′re not back to the crisis days of 2008. The banks are not going into this period of turmoil with anything like the balance sheet structure they had two years ago, they are in much better shape," said Simon Maughan, analyst at MF Global.

Markets fret, but chance of big bank crash slim

By: Reuters | Saturday, May 29, 2010

This week's market jitters that banks were heading back to the darkest days of 2008 look overdone because lenders have vastly improved their assets and central banks stand ready with abundant funding.

America′s interest lies in preventing a repetition. We ought to support Europe′s rescue package. Europe′s problems don′t belong to it alone; markets are global.

Why the U.S. should support Europe′s rescue package

By: The Washington Post | Thursday, May 27, 2010

The European Union's decision to rescue Greece and to create a massive financial safety net for its other vulnerable debtors is a momentous event -- though success is hardly guaranteed. Contrary to popular belief, the main purpose was not to save Greece but to prevent another financial panic.

Now, the German ant nest is very close to some small colonies of grasshoppers. German ants say: “We want to be friends. So why do we not all use the same money? But, first, you must promise to behave like ants forever.” So grasshoppers have to pass a test: behave like ants for a few years. The grasshoppers do so and are then allowed to adopt the European money.

The grasshoppers and the ants – a modern fable

By: The Financial Times | Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Everybody in the west knows the fable of the grasshopper and the ant. The grasshopper is lazy and sings away the summer, while the ant piles up stores for the winter. When the cold weather comes, the grasshopper begs the ant for food. The ant refuses and the grasshopper starves.

For Paris the answer is obvious -- Germany should boost domestic demand and cut taxes to encourage imports. For Berlin, the answer lies outside its borders -- other countries should simply copy it, primarily by lowering wages.

Economic Governance divides France and Germany

By: Reuters | Thursday, May 20, 2010

Germany's curb on speculative trading has cast doubt on Europe's ability to build the sort of economic governance that many believe is now essential for the euro's survival. At the heart of the problem are core contradictions between France and Germany, with no easy solutions in sight.

Across Europe, about 60% of the population use internet regularly and 48% on a daily basis. These levels compare well to the US where 56% use internet daily and 65% used it in the last three months. Nevertheless, in both the EU (30%) and the US (32%) about one third of the population has never been online.

Investment in Digital Economy holds key to Europe′s future prosperity

By: EC Press Room | Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Six out of ten Europeans regularly use the internet. However, if Europe wants to fully exploit the potential benefits of the digital economy, it must step up a gear and provide faster broadband and an internet people trust, improve citizens' skills, and encourage even more ICT innovation.