Fox Business: 2024 Olympic Games commence in Paris, but will they make money?

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

FRANCE — The world's finest athletes have arrived in Paris to compete in what will no doubt be a spectacular event. The organizers even made the novel choice of holding the opening ceremony Friday evening via boats along the Seine River rather than a stadium, as has been traditional.

But an important question for everyone in cash-strapped France is whether the Olympic Games will go over budget, leaving epic debts for French taxpayers. It’s not a trivial matter. 

"It’s expensive, and French public finances are not in the best state," says Leo Barincou, a Paris-based senior economist for Oxford Economics. The country’s budget deficit hit 5.5% last year, far beyond the European Union limit of 3%. Read more here.

Paris: Carlos Delgado, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

#MARKETS: Risk management and ages 50–80. Kiplinger's News Letter. @RealConstable @Batchelor Show

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#FRANCE: The harvest is in, planting sunflowers, crashing Lithium. @RealConstable @BatchelorShow Occitanie

 BY SIMON CONSTABLE

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Kiplinger's Retirement Report: Why Your Investments Must Change as You Age — and How to Do It

By SIMON CONSTABLE

Retirement planning has gone from fairly simple a few years ago to mind-bogglingly complex today. That means you must make investment decisions solid enough to provide income for many decades while remaining flexible enough to shift as your circumstances do.

It is a big change. “My grandparents had fixed pensions. They received the same amount of cash each month from the pension fund for the rest of their lives,” says Richard Rosso, director of financial planning at wealth management company RIA Advisors in Houston. The magic of managing the assets to make those payments possible was left to Wall Street. Now “the burden, more than ever, is on the individual,” he says. Read more here.

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#SCOTLAND: Net Zero means empty village shops. @RealConstable @BatcehlorShow Dumfries, Scotland

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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#BRETTON WOODS, NH: Celebrating 80 years the dollar supremacy. @RealConstable @BatchelorShow Occitanie

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Read more about Bretton Woods…

WSJ: FINANCIAL FLASHBACK• 80 YEARS AGO: Bretton Woods

In July 1944, representatives of 44 nations met in Bretton Woods, N.H., to rejigger the global monetary system and hopefully stabilize the war-ravaged world economy.

The dollar became the new reserve currency, officially replacing the British pound, which had been the dominant currency since the early 1800s. World War I almost bankrupted Britain decades earlier, so the move was long overdue.

The Bretton Woods agreement fixed the value of all exchange rates relative to the dollar. The greenback had a fixed value of $35 a troy ounce of bullion.

Marc Chandler, managing director at currency trading company Bannockburn Global Forex, says picking the greenback over other currencies made sense. “The U.S. emerged as the only major economy not hurt economically by the war,” he says. More here.

WSJ Video: Nelson Mandela's Life and Legacy

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Briefings Magazine: The (Tough) Economics of the Olympic Games

By SIMON CONSTABLE

The world is always revved up when the Olympic Games start. Tickets sell like hot croissants. The finest athletes in the world ready themselves for competition. And this year, Paris is the stage for it all. What’s not to love?

When it comes to money, quite a lot, actually. 

Historically, hosting the games has been an economic sinkhole. Go back and look at the results, and you won’t find any gold medals here. More than half of the 11 Olympic Games since 2000, in fact, lost money—often billions of dollars—or barely broke even. “The balance sheets are usually in the red when it’s over,” says Konstantinos Venetis, director of global macro at TS Lombard. Read more here.

A young Mohammed Ali (1942–2016) wins first prize. Boxing light-heavyweight podium 1960 Olympics 

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#FRANCE: Wheat crop and the National Rally. @RealConstable @BatchelorShow Occitanie.

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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#FRANCE: Wheat crop and the National Rally. Simon Constable, Occitanie.
https://www.esmmagazine.com/supply-chain/worse-than-expected-french-barley-crop-raises-concern-over-wheat-268942

France 1912

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WSJ: FINANCIAL FLASHBACK• 80 YEARS AGO: Bretton Woods

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

In July 1944, representatives of 44 nations met in Bretton Woods, N.H., to rejigger the global monetary system and hopefully stabilize the war-ravaged world economy.

The dollar became the new reserve currency, officially replacing the British pound, which had been the dominant currency since the early 1800s. World War I almost bankrupted Britain decades earlier, so the move was long overdue.

The Bretton Woods agreement fixed the value of all exchange rates relative to the dollar. The greenback had a fixed value of $35 a troy ounce of bullion.

Marc Chandler, managing director at currency trading company Bannockburn Global Forex, says picking the greenback over other currencies made sense. “The U.S. emerged as the only major economy not hurt economically by the war,” he says.

The creation of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were both designed to raise living standards for member nations and support the new currency system. Still, American bankers had reservations, especially about providing long-term loans.

The system ended in 1971 after President Nixon broke the gold link. However, dollars still reign supreme. “Inertia and lack of alternative currencies mean the U.S. dollar continues to succeed,” Chandler says. Read more here.

Snapshots Of The Past, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Fox News Digital: France’s election is a toss-up, but the economy is still facing rough ride

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Things aren’t looking good for France’s economy or its budget. And the forthcoming second round of the parliamentary election Sunday could make things even worse. 

"It’s almost like France has taken away the crown for financial instability from the United Kingdom," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown in Bristol, England. Britain went through similar tumult in September 2022. Read more here.

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#FRANCE: Labour has it for ten years or more: @RealConstable @BatchelorShow Occitanie

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

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 The women Bonapartes: the mother and three sisters of Napoléon

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