Dettati riguardanti l'ambito finanziario

White House

The president is said to be trying to squeeze Mr Netanyahu into making concessions, such as freezing the building of Jewish homes in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, which Palestinians see as their future capital. Israel faced a further setback when Britain's foreign secretary denounced its secret service for forging passports in the names of 12 British citizens as part of an operation in which an official of Hamas, the Palestinian group, was assassinated in January in Dubai.

Help is on the way?

Speculation mounted ahead of a summit of European Union leaders that Greece would be offered some sort of financial rescue package. Significant involvement by the IMF looked likely, which would mark a victory for the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who has resisted direct offers of EU aid. Turkey's ruling Justice and Development party unveiled proposals for constitutional reform, aimed largely at the country's military and judiciary. Critics said the measures

threatened judicial independence and Turkey's secular tradition. The government said change was needed to prepare the country for EU accession.

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A joint plan

American and Mexican officials announced a new initiative to fight drug-traffickers, involving closer intelligence co-operation and more American help with police training. The announcement came during a visit to Mexico City by Hillary Clinton and other senior American officials.

The Inter-American Development Bank secured approval from its shareholders for an increase of $70 billion in its capital to allow it to maintain its annual lending at about $12 billion, double the level before the world financial crisis. The bank also agreed to forgive $480m owed to it by Haiti.

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The inflation solution

The merits of inflation as a solution to the rich world's problems are easily overstated. IT HAS long been considered a scourge, an obstacle to investment and a tax on the thrifty. It seems strange, then, that

inflation is now touted as a solution to the rich world’s economic troubles. At first sight the case seems compelling. If central banks had a higher target for inflation, that would allow for bigger cuts in real interest rates in a recession. Faster inflation makes it easier to restore cost-competitiveness in depressed industries and regions. And it would help reduce the private and public debt burdens that weigh on the rich world’s economies. In practice, however, allowing prices to rise more quickly has costs as well as benefits.

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American politics

Signature event

President Barack Obama signs the health-reform bill into law. What comes next?

After the vote, the ceremony. On Tuesday March 23rd, just two days after the House of Representatives narrowly approved a health-reform bill, Barack Obama brought together assorted guests at the White House to witness his presidential signature marking the bill’s passage into law.

Although the Senate is still to pass an

accompanying “reconciliation” bill, Mr Obama will begin a public tour to promote the benefits of the new legislation, which is designed to extend health insurance to millions more Americans. The public events are in recognition that his new law is not widely popular among voters. Pollsters suggest that more Americans dislike the bill than like it. Even those who thought it was, on balance, better to pass than not found the delays, messy compromises, and the incomplete nature of the bill frustrating.

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Disciplinary measures

THE difficulties facing Greece and other European borrowers expose two big failures of discipline at the heart of the euro zone. The first is a failure to encourage member governments to maintain control of their finances. The second, and more overlooked, is a failure to allow for an orderly sovereign default. To address these issues, we propose a new euro-area institution, which we dub the European Monetary Fund (EMF). Although the EMF could not be set up overnight,

it is not too late to do so. Past experience (with Argentina, for instance) suggests that the road to eventual sovereign insolvency is a long one. The EMF could be run along similar governance lines to the IMF, by having a professional staff remote from direct political influence and a board with representatives from euro-area countries. Just as the existing fund does, the EMF would conduct regular and broad economic surveillance of member countries. But its main role would be to design, monitor and fund assistance programmes for euro-area countries in difficulties, just as the IMF does on a global scale.

Western banks pay out for Asia talent

US and European banks are offering huge pay packages to hire top bankers in the Asia-Pacific region, in a sign that the compensation curbs pledged by financial groups after the crisis are already being eroded. A shortage of talent combined with rivalry among banks to expand or rebuild operations across the fast-growing region has sent

Compensation levels for some bankers are soaring to levels last seen before the financial turmoil, according to headhunters and bankers. Banking chiefs said that, unlike in the US and Europe, where a public backlash forced banks to keep a lid on pay, the war for talent in Asia prompted many institutions to make lucrative offers to star recruits. In the aftermath of the crisis, most banks pledged to reduce pay for staff around the world, tie compensation to long-term results and end controversial practices such as guaranteed sign-on bonuses.

Euro rises on hopes that debt crisis is abating. Hopes that the eurozone's sovereign debt woes no longer present a clear and present danger to the region's fragile growth helped support the euro and boost risk appetite on Monday. The FTSE All-World index rose 0.5 per cent, the dollar dipped and commodities rose as traders took a more optimistic slant on prospects for the global economy. Crucial to that rosier scenario will be confirmation.

that the US labour market is improving. Step forward the non-farm payroll report for March that will be released on Friday. Unfortunately for traders that is Easter Friday, when equity markets are closed. The preceding four days may therefore see either a flurry of hedging, or a dearth of trading as players remove bets altogether.

But first investors must take a proper look at the situation regarding Greece, because it is wishful to think the Brussels support agreement is the end of the matter. The next auction of Greek debt, which some believe may come this week, will need to be a success if contagion worries – even if now supposedly contained – are not to resurface.

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US economic growth revised down to 5.6%

The US economy grew at a slower rate than previously thought in the fourth quarter of last year on weaker consumer spending and commercial property investment, signalling a longer path to recovery.

Meanwhile, separate figures on Friday showed consumer sentiment muted.

and unemployment remaining stubbornly high across US states.