Academics attack George Osborne budget surplus proposal

George Osborne’s plan to enshrine permanent budget surpluses in law is a political gimmick that ignores “basic economics”, a group of academic economists has warned.

Britain prepares to review bank tax to stop potential exodus - report

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is prepared to review a tax on banks to head off the threat that large multinational banks like HSBC could leave London's financial centre and shift their operations overseas, the Sunday Times reported, citing industry sources.

Reforming Egypt's black market - high hurdles, big rewards

(Reuters) - The economist behind a plan to unlock at least $380 billion worth of assets from Egypt's black market says President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi must first restore another asset that has depreciated over the years: the trust of a wary public.

Yemen government curbs travel, recruitment in austerity drive

DUBAI, July 10 (Reuters) - Yemen's president has ordered a raft of austerity steps, including a review of state-owned companies' viability and curbs on foreign travel by government officials, to ease pressure on the impoverished state's crumbling public finances.

France, Germany seek to finesse growth vs rigor divide

(Reuters) - The finance ministers of France and Germany sought on Thursday to play down differences over the euro zone's economic policy mix, saying budgetary rigor and growth were not incompatible.

Greece bailout: Merkel and Hollande in extension talks

The leaders of Germany and France are set to hold talks in Berlin on whether to give Greece more time to make the cuts required by its debt bailout.

U.K.’s $39 Billion Severn Tidal Power Seeks Sovereign Investors

The developers of a 25 billion-pound ($39 billion) plan to generate power from tides in the Severn Estuary are seeking investment from sovereign wealth funds, two years after the U.K. government rejected a previous proposal.

MF warns of £750bn pensions time bomb

The IMF said yesterday that even a slightly faster than expected increase in life expectancy could impose a huge new financial burden on Western economies such as Britain. “The time to act is now,” it said.

Russia told to clean up its act by OECD

Russia is being warned that the country’s future economic growth is likely to be hampered by a poor business environment, a lack of investment in innovation and heavy dependence on oil and gas sales.