WSJ Video: Nelson Mandela's Life and Legacy

 By SIMON CONSTABLE

Watch here.

Paul Weinberg, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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 

Polish Press Agency (PAP), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

#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

See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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.

NonOmnisMoriar, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

#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

Internet Archive Book Images, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons

Fox News Digital: French right in commanding position as 'fed up' voters prepare to send Macron message in elections

By SIMON CONSTABLE

FRANCE - When the French go to the polls this Sunday, the result will likely reflect an unprecedented move to the right in what could lead to the most conservative parliament since the country was liberated in WWII, experts say. 

The reasons come down to unhappiness with immigration, a weak economy, a cost-of-living crisis and dissatisfaction with the current centrist government, especially among younger voters.

"Right now, France is seeing its biggest shift to the right," Matthew Tyrmand, adviser to conservative political candidates and parties across Europe told Fox News Digital. "This is democracy at work—the people are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore." Read more here.

Emmanuel Macron

Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons