Economics
Who will rebuild Ukraine?
In a two-hour, on-the-record meeting at Bloomberg on May 26, France's Odile Renaud-Basso, the first female head of the London-based Bank for Reconstruction and Development, provided a detailed inside view of plans for rebuilding war-torn Ukraine once the war ends. While current spending on rebuilding heavily-damaged infrastructure stands at some 3 billion dollars annually, she confirmed that some…
OECD Outlook: Bad Times Ahead
“If you think energy prices are bad now, winter will be worse,” Alvaro Pereira, acting Chief Economist for the OECD told us by Zoom on November 21, the day before the Paris-based agency released its annual economic outlook. Pereira said the confluence of the war in Ukraine, Covid supply chain disruptions, and resulting inflation have created the worst energy shock since the 1970s. The crisis…
Professor Webber discusses Europe's immediate problems
"Europe must show it can provide solutions to problems facing people today," INSEAD Political Science Professor Douglas Webber told the AAPA on March 12 at Cafe Falstaff. "It's not enough…
Professor Greenwald talks to AAPA members about big economic issues
On October 15, the AAPA met Columbia University Professor Bruce Greenwald, a leading authority on global economics and "value investing" -- the art, or science, of picking stocks, as Warren Buffett amazingly seems to…
AAPA meets Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire
On Monday, June 25 the AAPA met with the French minister of economics and finance, Bruno Le Maire. Le Maire received the organization in his offices at the Ministry of Finance. The Minister gave a broad…
Pascal Lamy remains optismistic about the future of trade
Pascal Lamy, who was director-general of the World Trade Organization for two terms from 2005 to
2013, talked to 25 members of the AAPA at a breakfast meeting at Chez Françoise in late May. The meeting came just…
CGT union leader Martinez vows to keep up the fight against Macron reforms
Philippe Martinez, the leader of the hardline CGT union, conceded during his January 11 meeting with the AAPA that he had failed to prevent President Macron’s labour law reform. But he vowed to continue fighting tooth and nail to prevent France becoming more like Britain - in his eyes a land of zero-hours contracts, diminishing workers’ rights, and official contempt for the unemployed.
Macron’s Labour Market Reforms Crucial: Medef Chief
President Emmanuel Macron represents the last chance to reform France's rigid labour market, but his reforms should not make the country end up like the US or the UK, Pierre Gattaz told AAPA members over breakfast at Medef headquarters on June 23. “France won’t have another opportunity. Now we have no option,” the head of France's biggest employers’ federation said. Gattaz and his fellow business…
AXA CEO Says Brexit is No Display of Leadership
Henri de Castries did not mince his words when speaking about the Brexit fallout to the Anglo-American press Association in Paris recently:
“When you see two old Etonians (UK…
Tax Professionals Brief AAPA On Intrusive U.S. Law
Tax professionals John Fredenberger and Delphine Brett-Ziller and Lucy Laederich, former president of the Association of American Residents Overseas (AARO), shared their expertise with the AAPA on a recent U.S. law that affects the financial affairs of Americans abroad and is making them rethink their US citizenship. They spoke to 25 AAPA members at an informal gathering with refreshments kindly…