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With enemies like these

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  With enemies like these The EU has frozen Russian assets in Belgium permanently, with a view to use those as guarantee for loans to Ukraine in order to fund the continuation of hostilities and perhaps a more favourable outcome for Ukraine. The EU has decided to use art. 122 to circumvent the need to obtain unanimity on the EU commission decision to permanently freeze Russian assets already frozen , in custody in Belgium through Euroclear; There is objectively a wide gulf between what the official text of the article says and both the reasons and the purpose for which it has been applied in this case; Russia apparently has already filed a suit against Euroclear in a Russian court; The amount in question is approximately 50% of Belgium's GDP; No formal guarantees to Belgium by other EU countries has been finalized previous to the decision. A leaders' summit is due on December 18 th , where some of these issues will have to b...
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Darkest before the sunset

  Darkest before the sunset Why Europe is on the cusp of existential change - and why “wrong” pessimists and optimists are right Europe has been slowly changing allegiance from some kind of “western” value based one to a “China” based system; So far, it has managed to do so without alerting citizens of that ( they are such children ). This is fast becoming untenable, hence the internal and external pushback, see my previous piece ; The Stated EU model , “rule based change from above towards an environmentally friendly and uniform social contract” has its optimists and pessimists, and the same happens for those postulating that it won't work and opposing this; Both positions are based on the unstated assumption that while it's possible to exchange a religious oligarchy for another, religious oligarchy works long term. The assumption is wrong; All else being equal, from this starting point, the continents most likely to become prominent are the Asi...
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In Praise of Cash: Paper and Plastic Are Not Equal

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  In Praise of Cash: Paper and Plastic Are Not Equal Giovanni Battista Ponzetto I posted this on Linkedin on August 22, 2018 . Fast forward to October 2025 and the UK Government is infesting the media with Digital ID, and the push for a central bank digital currency hasn't stalled.   Disclaimer : This financial "painter" is strictly without academic qualifications; his opinions are personal and should not be taken as advice to guide anyone in buying or selling anything. Soak overnight in lukewarm water before ingesting. [Update September 14, 2018, Draghi's Communication] [Update February 21, 2019, Zimbabwe] [Update April 22, 2019, IMF] [Update Conte 2 Government]    Dedicated to Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffè, a good friend when we agree, and an even better one when we don’t. “ Lady Bracknell. Ah! A life full of incidents, I see; perhaps too exciting for a young lady. Personally, I am not in favor of premature experiences. [She rises, looks at her watch] Gwendolen! ...
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