Alfonso

I love how Vice-President @jdvance1.bsky.social called @ec.europa.eu Commissioners "Commissars" - like Stalin's.

It's accurate.

Elon Musk should spend a couple of weeks at the @ec.europa.eu…

#ECB cuts are necessary (trade war, etc…) but the problem is - Europe needs to spend enormous sums of money on defense to become strategically autonomous, and to catch up on technology.

So European sovereign long ends are still likely to experience a sell off eventually.

But Trump's remark - the 𝗘𝗨 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱𝗹𝘆 is spot on (the EU would probably call it "measures having equivalent effect."). Because there are no equivalent EU companies to target.

In effect, EU antitrust enforcement on big tech 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗳 𝗼𝗻 𝗨𝗦 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀.

Yes, the EU has exploited antitrust policy as a disguised protectionist move.

The Apple/Ireland case, which "used" antitrust enforcement (which is an EU prerogative) to trespass into tax policy (which is for the most part addressed through "national" legislation), was not the right example.

President Trump's virtual remarks at the Davos conference shed some light on his foreign policy agenda.

Perhaps because of my past working in the field, I focused on his comments on the 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗨 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆.

I found the comments accurate.

This makes no sense to a native speaker. @ec.europa.eu

This didn’t take long…

Here are the latest developments.

www.nytimes.com/live/2024/12...

Rebels entered Damascus. Russia & Iran nowhere to be seen.

It is about to conclude. Syrian rebels are pouring into Damascus City.

Assad is toast. Russian and Iranian friends won’t bail him out this time around.

The Commission is finally planning to cut some its wasteful foreign "embassies" apparatus, an idiotic duplication of EU member states diplomatic presence, built to feed yet more bureaucrats.

Please get it done.

#OAT-#Bund spread

Good job, #MichelBarnier. Utterly mediocre politician, could only thrive in an utterly mediocre city like #Brussels.

Macron appointed him because no one else would take the job, and it ended, predictably, with Barnier's demise.

Next.

Opinion | How Private Funds Could Hurt Americans Under Trump The fund managers who backed Donald Trump’s candidacy have welcomed his victory with calls for new directions in policy.

www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/o...

I vehemently disagree with this piece. Retail access to #privatemarkets is crucial to allow a full democratization of financial markets.

The #illiquidity = risky equivalence is an antiquated approach to investing.

The #SEC is behind the curve.