France

France Said to Seek Faster Start to EU Iran Oil Embargo

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Oil markets see a bit of a boost from France’s push toward cutting the grace period before implementing a ban on Iranian crude in half, breaking a 4 day loosing streak. Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) — France is pushing for faster enforcement of the European Union’s proposed ban on oil imports from Iran, two officials with knowledge of the matter said. France wants the embargo to be delayed by no more than three months to allow nations including Greece, Italy and Spain to find alternative supplies, according to a French government official, who declined to be identified, citing state rules. While … Read more

S&P Backs French Triple-A Rating

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PARIS—A senior Standard & Poor’s Corp. analyst Thursday confirmed France’s triple-A rating and stable outlook for the country, dispelling investor fears that the top-notch grade of the euro zone’s second-largest economy may be at risk. “We’re confident in the triple-A rating, stable. We have confirmed it, we confirm it today,” said Carol Sirou, the head of S&P in France, in an interview on French radio. “There are several rumors, but we never comment on them.” France has increasingly appeared to be the weak link among top-rated euro zone countries, with higher deficit and debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratios than the other five triple-A … Read more

France Seeks New Deficit Battle Plan

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PARIS—The French government pledged Wednesday to consider fresh tax rises, spending cuts and other budget measures to ensure the country doesn’t deviate from a challenging deficit-reduction trajectory as market concerns that France’s top-notch creditworthiness is at risk accelerated. French bank shares were hammered Wednesday also, with some traders citing the triple-A jitters. Shares in Société Générale were down over 18% in afternoon Paris trading and BNP Paribas shares slid over 10%. President Nicolas Sarkozy, who interrupted his summer holiday on the French Riviera for an unscheduled meeting with some of his cabinet Wednesday morning in Paris, will make decisions on … Read more